Uniqsis reports on how its Flow-UV™ inline UV-Visible spectrometer sets a new benchmark for real-time dispersion and nanoparticle distribution and agglomeration experiments.

Designed for use with almost any commercially available flow chemistry system,  Flow-UV™ allows dispersion experiments to be monitored in real time so that product collection can be controlled according to the onset and decline of steady-state conditions. It also provides a useful indication that steady state is maintained consistently throughout a continuous flow-through process. UV-Visible measurements can also be particularly significant for nanoparticle distribution and provide information about particle size and whether agglomeration is occurring.

Compact and with no moving parts, the highly reliable Flow-UV™ fits conveniently into even crowded fume cupboards and does not require calibration routine servicing. In contrast to conventional Deuterium lamps, the Flow-UV™ uses a Xenon flash lamp source which has a lifetime of up to 10 years in normal use.

Fibre optic waveguides connect the Flow-UV™ flow cell to the source and detector thereby permitting the flow cell to be positioned virtually anywhere in the flow path. The flow cell itself utilises a short length of PFA reactor tubing and is therefore not restricted to being located after the outlet back pressure regulator in the low-pressure region of the flow path where outgassing can be problematic.

Flow-UV™ has been designed to be extremely easy to use. To assure linearity of response, Flow-UV™ offers users the ability to select up to five wavelengths over which to monitor a reaction, so helping to avoid detector saturation. Absorbance is plotted against time using the system control software. The control software can be configured to automatically record a background spectrum at the beginning of each experiment. Having previously set up and saved a method, pressing a single button is all that is required to start acquisition.

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