Agilent Technologies raises the stakes in LC and LC/MS.

During the last week in January, the Bio-Analytical Measurement Group of Agilent Technologies announced a series of new products, the scope of which are seldom seen in this industry and rarely with such market changing potential. On January 23, Agilent announced the introduction of its latest liquid chromatography (LC) offerings, the 1200 LC series. The Agilent 1200 Series is a family of LC modules and systems configurable to 16 possible systems, according to Agilent. But perhaps the most important aspect of this product line introduction is the 1200 Series Rapid Resolution System, purported to be the fastest LC system on the market. Clearly, this sets up a two-horse race with Waters and its ACUITY UPLC System introduced two years ago (see IBO 3/15/04). But before discussing some of the unusual features of the 1200, we should also mention Agilent's other product announcement, the 6000 Series Mass Spectrometers (MS).

On January 30, Agilent announced the 6000 Series LC/MS portfolio, including two new mass spectrometers, the 6510 Quadrupole Time-of-Flight LC/MS (QTOF) and the 6410 Triple Quadrupole LC/MS (QQQ). In addition, Agilent announced updates of three existing LC/MS products: the 6300 Series Ion Trap LC/MS, the 6210 Time-of-Flight LC/MS and the 1200 Series Single Quad LC/MS. And while the 1200 Series Single Quad LC/MS is clearly matched with the 1200 LC, all of Agilent's LC/MS systems will now be offered with various configurations of the 1200 LC. The QTOF and QQQ introductions represent Agilent's entry into the QTOF and triple quad segments of the LC/MS market. As a result, Agilent will now be able to participate in about 70% of the LC/MS market, twice the market size it addressed before.

The introduction of the 1200 LC Series and 6000 MS Series has been accompanied by a blitz of press releases and media interactions. On January 26, Agilent held a LC and LC/MS press event in Waldbronn, Germany, where the 1200 is manufactured and, on January 30, Agilent conducted a teleconference with media in the US. IBO attended the Waldbronn meeting in person as well as participated in the conference call. Additional press conferences and customer presentations are planned for Pittcon and subsequent events this year. Such exposure suggests the importance of the introductions and the confidence that Agilent has in these products.

1200 LC Series

The genesis of the 1200 LC series was closely linked to Waters's introduction of its ACUITY UPLC. Prior to that successful introduction, Agilent had no explicit plans to introduce an entirely new LC product line. It had been content with enhancing the 1100 modules throughout the previous 10 years. But with ACUITY aimed at the high-performance segment of the LC market, including its use as a front-end HPLC for mass spectrometry, Agilent quickly initiated a product development program. Early in development, Agilent decided to design a completely new line of LC systems, including the 1200 Series Rapid Resolution System. This strategy was conceived not just to counter the competition for high-end HPLC, but to raise the stakes in most LC product segments. Of course, this also meant that the task would be more formidable and costly. In fact, the Group's R&D expenditures increased 4% in fiscal 2004 and another 16% in fiscal 2005 to $136 million, a good deal of which was likely related to 1200 Series and 6000 Series development costs. Along the way, Agilent also decided to discontinue production of the 1100 Series because of economic considerations and in order to focus the company's resources on the 1200 and its potential in the marketplace.

In fact, one of the most important features of the 1200 Series is backward compatibility with the 1100 Series. An 1100 user can order 1200 modules for use with the 1100 and can download methods from existing 1100 systems to the 1200, creating an easy transition. While the only distinguishing visual feature of the 1200 compared to the 1100 is its off-white color, the customer will now have access to new system features and software as well as the ability to upgrade to a higher performance system. Even more attractive to customers will be the standard 1200 system's price, which is the same as the 1100. As of this writing, 1100 modules can no longer be ordered, and the production lines in Waldbronn have been fully converted to production of 1200s.

The 1200 Series consists of a comprehensive line of systems including for preparative LC, standard LC (isocratic, gradient, quaternary and binary), the high-performance Rapid Resolution LC and LC/MS, and capillary and nano LC systems. A total of 60 modules are available, including a binary pump, autosampler, thermostatted column compartment, various detectors and several control and data analysis modules. In addition, 70 new Rapid Resolution High Throughput columns have been introduced, including the Zorbax RRHT 1.8 micron columns.

The 1200 Series Rapid Resolution System has been designed to provide higher resolution than standard HPLCs with an emphasis on speed. In one example Agilent presented, a Phenones test sample was separated 27 times faster on the Rapid Resolution system than on a standard HPLC (0.4 min. versus 11 min.). This was accomplished using a 2.1 mm x 50 mm 1.8 micron column with a flow rate of 2.4 ml/ min. at 95[degrees]C. Agilent also suggests that throughput has been improved, noting that up to 2,000 samples per day per instrument can be achieved with the Rapid Resolution System by incorporating Automated Column Regeneration (ACR), which can save up to 50% of cycle time. ACR technology enables the operation of two separate columns in overlap mode.

Such a fast separation is accomplished as a function of several new features of the system. The new features include a new binary pump, the use of "engineered particle size distribution" in the Zorbax RRHT columns, which allows greater than 20% lower back pressure, and the ability to run a sample at higher temperatures. An additional feature is the 1200 Series Instant Pilot, the handheld user interface with a larger screen that is color capable and allows instant access to instrument setpoints and data as well as an online view of multiple signal plots. The 1200 Rapid Resolution System is projected to cost 20%-25% more than the standard 1200 systems. All 1200 systems are available for order starting February 1 and various upgrade options can be used as customer requirements change.

6000 MS Series

Although Agilent's announcement included enhanced versions of existing Agilent mass spectrometers, we will focus on the two new additions to the product line, the QTOF and QQQ. Product development of these systems was driven by a desire to maximize all mass spectrometry analytical measurement capabilities, including sensitivity, mass accuracy, dynamic range and speed. Likewise, innovation was focused on the system level, including ionization, separation and informatics. The new mass spectrometers also draw upon the capabilities of the new 1200 Rapid Resolution LC, the HPLC-Chip, Agilent's wide range of ion sources, including the Multimode ion source (see IBO 3/15/05), and software enhancements.

Although the QTOF and QQQ are new products, they each incorporate designs from other Agilent products, including the quad mass filter, which is based on its successful single quad MS design. The QTOF also benefits from design efforts in other FOF instruments. Both mass spectrometers use a common axial acceleration collision cell, which provides for manufacturing economies and greater consistency of results, for example, when using the QTOF for MS/MS fragmentation in discovery studies and using QQQ for validation studies.

The Agilent 6410 Triple Quad LC/MS is also attractively priced at $205,000, 30%-50% lower than comparable instruments. Manufacturing efficiencies and shared components with the QTOF (platform, collision cell, and quad mass filters) help to enable this lower price point. Also, a new, more cost-effective pumping system provides additional cost savings. The 6410 is clearly aimed at market segments that need high sensitivity at an affordable price.. Initially, the triple quad is strategically focused on the food safety, environmental, chemical and forensics markets, with pharmaceutical and metabolomics as secondary targets. This acknowledges the current difficulties with big pharma and minimizes and direct conflict with Applied Biosystems, which OEMs Agilent's HPLC as a front end to its triple quads. Agilent also emphasizes the system's ease of use and its reliability. The 6410 can be ordered beginning March 1 and is scheduled to ship in the late summer.

The 6510 QTOF LC/MS is positioned quite differently. While prices have yet to be established, the 6510 could address the low end of the QTOF market. It is designed for very high sensitivity and mass accuracy with a wide in-scan dynamic range and fast scan speeds. According to Agilent, it is intended to be the new workhorse for proteomics, metabolomics and pharmaceutical markets. The 6510 can be ordered beginning May 1 and will ship in late summer.

The combination of the 1200 LC Series and 6000 MS Series introductions has the potential to change significantly market dynamics in both the LC and MS marketplaces. Agilent now has an entirely new line of HPLC products, including a high-end fast LC. This development will likely slow the market penetration of the ACUITY, but it is just as likely that each system will find somewhat different market niches. Thus far, only Waters and Agilent are addressing the high-end HPLC market. If that market expands, others may enter the fray. In any case, the broad line of 1200 products raises the ante for all HPLC vendors to upgrade their products as well.

Agilent enters the triple quad and QTOF markets as a new player and thus its future in these markets is less certain. Competition in the mass spectrometry market is more intense, and new products come to the market on very short notice and in rapid succession. Agilent's pricing strategies and features packages represent new choices for mass spectrometry customers. No doubt, the future for mass spectrometry just got a lot more interesting.

Five Major Benefits of the Agilent 1200 LC Series

1. Fast LC--Up to 20 times faster than conventional HPLC

2. Efficient LC--60% higher resolution compared to conventional HPLC

3. Flexible LC--Uses RRLC and standard HPLC methods with fast transfer

4. High Throughput--2000 samples/day with Automated Column Regeneration

5. Usability--Higher uptime and serviceability with improved instrument control