Chromatography Forum

Hi everyone,
I have limited experience with HPLC, coming from the field of structural biology/molecular biology. We are using HPLC for enzyme characterisation and peptide purification. We currently have 2 Agilent 1200 systems in the institute, but they are heavily booked. I am interested in purchasing a second hand Agilent for my lab and would be super grateful to hear your opinions about whether that makes sense or not.

The applications would be 1) separation of nucleotides on C18 2) separation of peptides on a superdex peptide column (MS sample prep) and 3) purification of refolded proteins on C18. We would need a fraction collector and if the budget allows it an autosampler.

I checked on some used lab equipment websites and found Agilent 1100 machines under 20k Euros (we are based in Germany).

How can I judge if this is a good offer? I am an Aekta expert, but know practically zero about HPLC hardware.
Help?!
Thanks!!

The Agilent 1100 systems are practically identical to the 1200 systems.

A long time ago we purchased a used Agilent 1050 system, and it worked great for many years, until new boss replaced it with an 1100 system.

The only problem w/ used 1100 systems is that if you need parts, you're down to whatever inventories Agilent or 3rd party vendors have on hand as Agilent no longer supports them. So long as you stick to pretty common components, this may be fine.

.. and make sure you know what you're getting: will the instrument be set up for you, or will you have to make it work yourself? Is the supplier also giving you a copy of Chemstation or something to run it?
The good news about 1100 systems is that they were (probably are) so common that 3rd-party support is probably available - but it's worth checking that you've got someone in your region who's able to help with spare parts and repairs.

Thanks for your thoughts! I am now wondering if we really need an Agilent or if we maybe modify an Aekta FPLC instrument...

You can buy refurbished instruments from Agilent with 1 year full Warranty. Maybe that is more interesting to you?

The applications would be 1) separation of nucleotides on C18 2) separation of peptides on a superdex peptide column (MS sample prep) and 3) purification of refolded proteins on C18. We would need a fraction collector and if the budget allows it an autosampler.

For separation of nucleotides you should go for a biocompatible system, the phosphate will interact with stainless steel and giv you bad hape. You will hardly find a used titanium Agilent 1100 system. Maybe you wold be better off with an Äkta Explorer 10 (not 100, 10 works up to 250 bar, 100 only 100 bar).
Regards,
Jörg