UV spectrophotometry just gets better and better

The technique of UV/visible spectrophotometry has long been used as a universal laboratory tool covering a variety of applications, ranging from chemical analysis to clinical assays to water quality monitoring.

The technique has enjoyed a renaissance with the industry's increasing need to improve quality and process control yet keep costs down. The simplicity of use, the speed of analysis and the cost-effectiveness of the technique have proved very beneficial in most laboratories.

Spectrophotometers seem to last forever and are often bottom of the pile when it comes to budget time; however, performance deteriorates with age due to optical degradation, especially in instruments with too many mirrors. They take a long time to warm up, were not designed with regulatory compliance in mind or are incompatible with new PC technology.

The latest instruments have been developed to overcome many of these problems, so warm-up time is reduced, analysis times are faster due to greater use of diode array technology, and lamp lifetimes have improved due to Xenon or specialised press-to-read systems as used in the Biochrom Libra spectrophotometers. In addition, optics have been minimised to reduce optical components without affecting stability, and internal calibration systems have been incorporated to support regulatory compliance.

The Libra range consists of 14 models to suit every budget and application, making selection of both the instrument and the methodology for a wide range of applications a simple process. This shows that even established techniques may continue to evolve to keep up with market forces.