The Scientist : NewsBlog Print: Win a free LC/MS!
The Scientist: NewsBlog:
Win a free LC/MS!
Posted by Jeff Perkel
[Entry posted at 14th March 2006 06:06 PM GMT]
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Have you been wanting to break into proteomics or metabolomics but just haven?t had the resources? Well you could be in luck.

Agilent Technologies will launch Wednesday (March 15) its "Agilent 6000 Series LC/MS Lab Makeover" sweepstakes -- the winner of which will take home a brand-new Agilent 1200 series HPLC and either an Agilent 6410 triple-quadrupole or 6510 quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-tof) mass spectrometer. (I say "bring home" metaphorically ? presumably, the instruments will be delivered.)

The 6410 triple-quad is primarily a tool for small molecule profiling, while the Q-tof is marketed toward the proteomics market. But whatever your interest, with a value of some $550,000 ($240,000 for the triple quad or $225,000 for the Q-tof, plus the value of the HPLC itself), the prize represents real money to any lab, not just LC/MS neophytes.

The competition is open to anyone in the US (except Rhode Island ? sorry Brown!) or Canada (except Quebec), and runs through July 31. According to Frank Orrico, a PR rep working with Agilent, participants log onto www.win-a-mass-spec.com , provide contact and demographic information, choose which mass spec they?d prefer to receive, and indicate how the prize will further their research. "As it is a random drawing, the most important thing is that they answer the questions." A winner will be drawn by September 30.


 

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comment:
Update2
by clayton bhymer

[Comment posted 2008-03-18 14:31:53]

Dear Sirs,

The third version of Agilent's MassHunter software, which came out in March 2008, along with recent patches still fails to autotune the instrument without problems. After just two chromatographic runs, running autotune afterwards leads to failure with a lockup. One wonders how such an essential feature as autotune for a mass spectrometer can go unrepaired to date from an instrument which was placed on the market in August of 2006! Agilent software support is still very poor making this instrument not a viable option for reliable analysis or research.




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comment:
Update
by clayton bhymer

[Comment posted 2008-03-17 13:58:52]

Dear Sirs,

Agilent has worked out most of the hardware problems on the 6410A. The software problems are still a work in progress. They have finally issued a software update to MassHunter [March 2008] which was long overdue considering the fairly useless version issued with the instrument back in the Fall of 2006. It remains to be seen if the revised version can perform basic functions such as tune or checktune, a gross oversight by Agilent on their first software version. The lack of service support has improved by the training of some of the local service techs. Our local service tech is outstanding, but the lack of support from the factory has made his job difficult. As the 6410A was sold a year before the hardware was ready and at least a year and a half before the software was ready, Agilent will have to go through a lot of hoops to regain any customer trust. Our lab is acquiring a Waters/Micromass system which has been demonstrated by EPA and other labs to be a usable MS/MS. I would recommend Waters system over Agilent until they catchup to what others already have established on the market. Our laboratory has lost over a year's research work essentially being a "beta tester" for Agilent's not ready yet 6410A MS/MS and MassHunter software.




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comment:
Wait a long while or buy a Waters-Micromass system
by clayton bhymer

[Comment posted 2008-01-14 08:44:55]

Dear Sir,

The Mass Hunter software is still packed with bugs. The check tune is still faulty after a major software fix and the full auto appears to work, but I have lost much confidence. My area service representative orders two boards for every repair, because the factory keeps sending out of date boards [the protype which do not work]. The factory also has an attitude problem that I am doing things wrong, when all I have every tried to do is run standards in clean water matices. I would pass on the 6410A.

EPA uses Waters-Mircromass which appear to work, so you might want to check them out.

Sincerely,

Clayton B'Hymer

P.S. Sorry about the delay in my response as I do not regularly look at this website.




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comment:
For Dr. B'Hymer
by Antonio Bruni

[Comment posted 2007-11-04 05:51:06]

Dear Dr. B'Hymer,

In these days I'm considering the purchase of a 6410. So your input would be very valuable to me.
Are the problems with your two 6410 solved?


If you think that an answer to my email address would be more appropriate please use this one:bhuvfe@yahoo.com

Thank you in advance.


Best regards,

Antonio Bruni




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comment:
The Agilent 6410A
by Dr. Clayton B'Hymer

[Comment posted 2007-09-27 12:54:54]

Dear Sir,

We have all always expected Agilent to do great things with their past record of excellent instrumentation. Unfortunately, their movement into to the triple quad mass spectrometry has been a very shakey start. We have had two modle 6410s in our lab, the first one was replaced after four months because it would not tune; the second was a replacement which had a long term drift problem which took Agilent four months to fix. The 6410 has been shipping out from Agilent since August of 2006, but the Mass Hunter Software is full a bugs and not particularly useful. Never have I experienced a product which was so unready for the market, and a support service so unresponsive to problems. I hope that those laboratories needing a triple quad review the market carefully.




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