New Refractive Index Detection Instrument from Wyatt Provides Greater Dynamic Range

The new Optilab® T-rEX™ Refractive Index (RI) detection instrument from Wyatt Technology has 256 times the detection power and up to 50 times the dynamic range compared to other RI detectors. It also has the unique ability to measure both large and small signals within the same data run. The range of the Optilab T-rEX enables the instrument to be used in almost any standard isocratic chromatographic conditions and for many gradient applications.

While other RI detectors offer extreme sensitivity over a limited range and reduced sensitivity over a greater range, the Optilab T-rEX provides full range of detection and sensitivity across the entire dynamic range, meaning there is no longer a need to compromise one for the other. The new instrument has evolved from Wyatt Technology’s award-winning Optilab® rEX™, which revolutionized RI detection in 2004, offering an alternative to the standard two photodetector deflection-based design.

In addition, recent developments in heterojunction light emitting diodes (LEDs) allow the T-rEX to have a light source 50 times brighter than previous instrumentation. This superior light source results in the detector array filling with light much faster than previously possible. The new instrument also offers high speed data acquisition and includes an onboard computer, allowing the rapid scanning of arrays, with 1 million measurements made every second. The T-rEX also has a flow cell with a total volume of only 7.4 μL, which is 25% less than the leading refractometers available today. This results in minimized band broadening and better temperature stability.

Geof Wyatt, president of Wyatt Technology, comments: “The new Optilab T-rEX builds on the Optilab rEX, which became a first in liquid chromatography detection by combining cutting edge technology with measurement and processing techniques from the field of particle physics. Since the launch of the rEX, technology continues to evolve, enabling us to develop an instrument that now offers full sensitivity and range of detection across the entire dynamic range. This has been achieved while still incorporating the developments in nanoscale semiconductor fabrication techniques, NMOS linear photodiode array technology, high speed data acquisition and raw computational power that made the rEX a success.”