Varian ProStar 430 Driver Manual

Varian, Inc.

2700 Mitchell Drive

Walnut Creek, CA 94598-1675/USA

©Varian, Inc. 2005 03-914947-33:Rev.2

ProStar 430 AutoSampler

Control

Galaxie Driver Manual

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Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................. 2

General................................................................................................................................2

Installation and Configuration................................................................ 3

Installing the Driver Software...............................................................................................3

Configuring the Communication Server...............................................................................3

Configuring the Driver..........................................................................................................4

Configuring the Varian ProStar 430 Autosampler.........................................................4

Configuring the Synopsis..............................................................................................9

Building a Method ................................................................................. 11

Creating a New Method.....................................................................................................11

Varian ProStar 430 Autosampler Control Method.............................................................13

Injection Control..........................................................................................................15

Timed Events Control..................................................................................................19

Automix Control...........................................................................................................21

User Program Control.................................................................................................24

Starting and Viewing an Acquisition.................................................... 28

Quick Start and Sequence.................................................................................................28

Quick Start (Single Acquisition) ..................................................................................28

Sequence....................................................................................................................30

Running Acquisition Status................................................................................................31

Viewing a Running Acquisition....................................................................................31

Varian ProStar 430 AutoSampler Status ....................................................................31

Appendix................................................................................................ 41

Injection Mode ...................................................................................................................41

Injection Principle........................................................................................................41

Full Loop Injections.....................................................................................................43

Partial Loopfill Injections .............................................................................................47

µL Pick-up Injections...................................................................................................51

Syringe Speed...................................................................................................................56

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Introduction

General

This document describes the configuration procedure of the

Varian ProStar 430 AutoSampler driver. It also explains how to

build a control method for this driver, how to start and view a

running acquisition and what actions are available during an

analysis.

The ProStar 430 is an autosampler that offers a wide variety of

possibilities for HPLC. It incorporates among other things the

following features:

- suitable for use with various types of plates by various

manufacturers.

- capable of executing full loop injections, partial loopfill and µL

pick-up injections.

- accommodates use of various types of syringes (volumes of

100 µL, 250 µL, 500 µL, 1000 µL, or 10 mL).

- options like plate cooling, plate feeder and a second switching

valve are available for the ProStar 430.

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Installation and Configuration

Installing the Driver Software

To install the Galaxie Drivers software refer to the Galaxie installation

Guide.

Configuring the Communication Server

To communicate with the ProStar 430 module an RS232_Interface or

RS232_PC communication bus must be configured on the acquisition

server.

The parameters of the bus must be the following:

Stops

1 Stop

Baud 19200

Parity EVEN

Bits 8 Bits

Flow Control NONE

Buffer Tx 4096

Buffer Rx 4096

NOTE: For more details about the configuration of an RS232_Interface or RS232_PC

bus, refer to the Galaxie Chromatography Data System Installation’s Guide.

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Configuring the Driver

The driver software configuration is done in the Galaxie

Configuration Manager.

Configuring the Varian ProStar 430 Autosampler

Click on the button corresponding to the Varian ProStar

430 driver and the configuration screen appears.

The toolbar enables to easily scroll through the configuration

windows:

to select the first configuration window.

to select the previous configuration window.

to select the next configuration window.

to select the final configuration window.

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Communication Window

Communication Settings parameter group:

In the Name field, select the name of the bus previously

configured with the Communication Server Configuration

program.

In the Autosampler Device Identifier field, enter the device

identifier of the ProStar 430 Autosampler.

NOTE: For more details about the Bus configuration, refer to the Configuring the

Communication Server section.

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Hardware Window

Options parameter group:

Check Plate cooling if installed in the autosampler.

Check Plate feeder if installed in the autosampler.

Check Solvent selector valve if a 6-way integrated solvent

selection valve is installed in the autosampler.

Check Integrated stream switching if an optional high pressure

6-port valve is installed in the autosampler.

Check Alarm buzzer, Key click and/or Error beep to switch

sound signals on.

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Hardware parameter group:

Tray type/Vial type

Select the plates that are to be used on the Varian ProStar 430.

Five choices are available:

- 96 low wells.

- 96 high wells.

- 384 low wells.

- 48 standard vials.

- 96 user-defined wells.

NOTE: The 96 user-defined wells plate requires that the plate dimensions and settings

be entered from the front panel of the Varian ProStar 430.

Loop volume (5 to 1000 microliters)

Enter the volume of the installed loop. The Varian ProStar 430

driver uses this value for calculating injection volumes.

Syringe volume

Select in the list the volume of the installed syringe.

Five choices are available:

- 100µL.

- 250µL.

- 500µL.

- 1000µL.

- 10 000µL.

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NOTE: The 10 000 µL syringe can only be used with the User Program mode of injection

and not with the standard injection program.

Tubing volume (1 to 200 microliters)

Enter the volume of the tubing and needle connected to the

injection valve. The Varian ProStar 430 uses this value for

calculations of flush volumes.

NOTE: With standard loop, syringe and tubing, the injection volumes are:

Full loop: injection volume = loop volume

Partial loopfill: maximum injection volume = 50% of loop volume

µL pick-up: maximum injection volume = 1/2 * (loop volume – 3 x needle tubing

volume)

Refer to the Autosampler Operation Manual to know more about the calculation

of the maximum injection volume according to the loop, syringe and tubing

volumes.

Check Use transport vials to activate the two following features:

First transport vial (1 to 4)

Enter the transport vial number of the vial containing the

transport solvent (mobile phase to avoid disturbance of the

chromatogram with a solvent peak). During µL pick-up

injections, this transport solvent will be used to purge the

sample loop of wash solvent prior to sample loading.

Last transport vial (1 to 4)

Enter the transport vial number of the last transport vial. The

ProStar 430 scans the transport vial area starting with the first

location selected and ending with this location. If no vial is

found, an error will be reported.

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Configuring the Synopsis

In the Overview part of the system configuration, a synopsis can

be defined for the system. This synopsis depends on the

configured devices.

1. To save the configuration of these devices, click on the OK

button.

2. Right click on the system name in the bottom part of the

Galaxie Configuration Manager screen. A pop-up menu

appears: click on Stop. Then right click on the system name

again, and click on Start.

3. Go back to the System Configuration screen (Properties

wizard). A graphic of the devices that comprise the system

is displayed in the synopsis screen. To configure the

synopsis as the real instrument configuration, move each

module then connect it appropriately. To do this, select one

anchor for each of the two modules (the selected anchors

become red) and click on the

button; a connection

tube will appear between the two anchors.

Click on the

to delete a selected tube, click on the

button to delete all the tubes.

Click on

to define a background color, or on to

make the background transparent.

Click on the

icon to change the grid color.

4. Once the synopsis configuration is complete, it will be

displayed in the Galaxie Chromatography Data System, in

the Systems tab. In this tab, the Overview part will show the

synopsis of the system with some parameters displayed

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(temperature, flow, signal, etc.) depending on the installed

devices.

For example, the following pictures represent the synopsis

of the Varian ProStar 430:

Galaxie Configuration Manager Screen

Galaxie Chromatography Data System Screen

NOTE: Once the system has been created and correctly configured, it must be

associated with one or more projects in order to start some acquisitions. For

more details about the creation and configuration of a system, refer to the

Galaxie Configuration Manager User’s Guide.

Click on the

button to print the current configuration.

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Building a Method

Creating a New Method

The method contains parameters for instrument control, data

acquisition, chromatogram processing, and editing of final

results. To initially set up a method, it is not necessary to define

all of the sub-method sections, however, the instrument control

section must be filled in prior to starting an acquisition.

1. To create a new method, select the FILE / NEW METHOD

option from the Galaxie Chromatography Data System main

menu.

A wizard guide will appear and provide assistance during

the first steps of method creation:

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2. Choose the system (chromatograph) associated with the

method. A method is created for a particular system. When

starting an acquisition, the name of the system that

performs the acquisition must be correct, since method

access is limited only to those methods associated with this

system.

3. Once this field is completed, click on the Next button to

move to the second step of the method creation:

4. Enter the New Method Name in the first field. In the

Description field, enter information concerning the method

(optional).

5. Once these two fields have been completed, click on the

OK button. The new method is created and is opened with

default parameters in the Galaxie Chromatography Data

System. The next step is the definition of each of the

method sections.

The instrument control section must be defined in order to

start an acquisition. In the following part of this guide, only

the instrument control section for the Varian ProStar 430 is

detailed. Other parameters such as Injection Volume, Vial

and Rack number may be necessary and are defined in the

acquisition section.

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NOTE: For more details about the programming of each method section, turn to the

Galaxie Chromatography Data System User’s Guide.

Varian ProStar 430 Autosampler Control Method

Once the new method is created, select the control section in

the lower part of the browser.

The following screen appears:

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Press the button to display the System Control Method

Advanced Tools window:

to send the current method to the instrument.

to get the active method from the instrument.

to print the current method.

Click on the

button to display the Varian ProStar 430

control method sections. It contains four sub-sections: Injection,

Timed Events and Automix or User program. The User program

sub-section appears when this option is selected in the Injection

sub-section, Injection mode parameter. Click on the required

sub-section to define the corresponding parameters that will be

used during the chromatographic run. The toolbar enables to

easily scroll through the control method windows:

to select the first window of the control method.

to move back to the previous window of the control

method.

to move forward to the next window of the control method.

to select the final window of the control method.

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Injection Control

Injection mode parameter group:

Select one of the five available choices: None, Partial loopfill,

Full loop, µl pick-up or User Program.

If User program is checked, the Automix control sub-section is

replaced by the User program sub-section.

NOTE: Refer to the User Program sub-section for more explanation of this injection

mode.

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Some of the following parameters depend on the injection

mode selected.

The Flush volume parameter is the amount of sample used to

fill the needle plus tubing connection to the injection valve (not

the loopfill volume). Only used for Full loop and Partial

loopfill injections.

NOTE: Flush volumes smaller than twice the volume of the needle plus tubing between

needle and injection valve may result in a decrease of performance.

NOTE: For more details about the injection modes, refer to the section Injection Mode at

the end of this manual.

Wash parameter group:

Select the Wash mode in the scrolling list. Three choices are

available: None, After injection (single run) or After sequence

(of injections).

If After injection is selected, enter the Wash volume in the

corresponding field.

If After sequence is selected, the wash procedure is fixed by

the instrument and the wash volume cannot be set.

Options parameter group:

If a plate cooling has been previously declared in the Galaxie

Configuration Manager, the Plate cooling fields can be

activated. Check Plate cooling to set the temperature setpoint

(4 to 40°C).

If Plate cooling automatic stop is checked, the temperature

control is switched off, then some variations of temperature will

be able to occur during a single run or a sequence.

If this option is not checked, the temperature between the

injections will be kept.

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NOTE: The temperature range for sample plate cooling is from 4 °C to 40 °C and the

maximum cooling capacity is 20 °C below ambient temperature.

Check Use air segment to inject a sample with an air segment

between the sample and the wash solvent. If Use air segment

is checked, the ProStar 430 will draw an air segment of 5 µL

before the flush volume prior to an injection. The air segment

will not be injected into the analytical system.

In case of µL pick-up injection, the sample will be preceded by

an air segment, which will be injected into the analytical

system.

Check Headspace pressure to use headspace pressure in

combination with the syringe to introduce sample into the loop.

The compressor will always be used in the wash position of the

ProStar 430. The accuracy and reproducibility of the ProStar

430 can decrease when no headspace pressure is used.

However, headspace pressure will only be useful if sample

wells are airtight.

If Skip missing vials is checked, the ProStar 430 will continue

with the next programmed vial even if a vial is not found.

Uncheck this option to stop the ProStar 430 if a vial is not

found.

NOTE: The Skip missing vials option is available only when the tray type configured in

Galaxie Configuration Manager is a 48 standard vials.

Select the Syringe speed for injections. Three choices are

available: Low, Normal and High. The aspirating speed of the

syringe used in injection modes can be adapted depending on

viscosity of samples. These values are dependent of the

volume of the installed syringe (previously configured in the

Galaxie Configuration Manager):

Syringe

100 µL 250 µL 500 µL 1000 µL 10 mL

LOW (µL/min)

125 315 630 1255 1.3 mL/min

NORMAL (µL/min)

250 625 1250 2495 2.5 mL/min

HIGH (µL/min)

375 940 1880 3765 3.8 mL/min

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Alternatively, syringe speeds can be reduced by entering a

Scale Factor. The syringe speed will be the Scale Factor

multiplied by the Syringe speed. The speed of the syringe

during the wash or the rinsing procedure of the buffer is not

affected by this setting.

The Needle height is the distance between the needle point

and the plate holder (default: 5 mm ; range: 0-40 mm). This

value is only used in injection modes (this value is

programmable in case of mix).

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Timed Events Control

Use timed events parameter group:

Check the Use timed events box to activate the program table.

Use the following buttons to edit the table:

to add a line to the table.

to delete a line in the table.

to clear the entire table.

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Varian ProStar 430 Driver Manual

Varian ProStar 430 Driver Manual

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