• Drives efficiency and reliability in Quality Control and Development environments, integrating seamlessly with world-class Empower™ Chromatography Data System (CDS).
• Mitigates CDS communication errors encountered in up to 70% of multi-vendor LC-CAD configurations.¹
• Delivers near-universal detection of an expansive range of analytes across pharmaceutical formulations, food additives, and environmental pollutants, including those that are challenging to measure using UV or mass spectrometry methods.

Waters Corporation has announced the launch of its Charged Aerosol Detector (CAD) specifically designed for use with Waters Empower Software, the world's most trusted chromatography data system (CDS). Waters is the global market leader in chromatography software solutions for regulatory filings, as Empower Software is used to submit data for approximately 80% of novel drugs to regulatory authorities.²

The Waters CAD delivers sensitive, consistent, and reproducible measurement of analytes with little or no UV absorption, including sugars, lipids, impurities, and excipients, often without the need for sample pre-treatment. This makes CAD ideal for characterizing an exceptionally broad range of materials, from small molecule and biopharmaceutical formulations to food additives, nutrients, and environmental pollutants.

"Customers want a better experience controlling CAD as part of their chromatographic analysis, with 70% noting recurring dropped CDS communications when using multi-vendor LC-CAD configurations," said James Hallam, Vice President, Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Waters Corporation. "Waters' CAD resolves these issues with a robust, easy-to-adopt, single-vendor solution for LC-CAD methods – underpinned by our familiar, compliance-ready Empower Software."

The Waters CAD delivers competitive dynamic range and sensitivity, alongside optimized compatibility with MaxPeak™ High-Performance Surfaces that mitigate non-specific adsorption. The new detector can be used with a wide range of Waters liquid chromatography systems, including the Alliance™ iS HPLC System, the Arc™ HPLC System, and all ACQUITY™ UPLC™ Systems.

The seamless integration of this CAD with broadly-adopted Empower Software delivers an enhanced user experience, supported by Waters' leading support and service provision. Issues commonly seen in multi-vendor LC-CAD systems, including challenging set-up and dropped communication between detector and chromatograph – leading to interrupted sample sets and in some cases detector flooding – are significantly reduced when using a Waters LC-CAD configured with Empower CDS. In addition, methods developed for existing CADs can be easily transferred using built-in tools.   

The introduction of the Waters Charged Aerosol Detector reinforces the Company's commitment to provide the world's widest range of liquid chromatography detectors, all compatible with Empower Software – enabling scientists to fully characterize the physical and chemical properties of molecules within a secure and compliant workflow.

The Waters Charged Aerosol Detector (CAD) is available for pre-order now, with shipments available by April 2026.

1. According to internal analysis, 70% of multi-vendor LC-CAD users experience dropped CDS communications. Source: Waters data and Voice of Customer research.
2. Presented at the J.P. Morgan 43rd Annual Healthcare Conference. According to internal analysis, ~80% of the drugs filed with the FDA, EMA, and China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in 2023 were done so using Empower Software. Source: Waters data and estimates.

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About Waters Corporation

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences for over 65 years. Our Company helps ensure the efficacy of medicines, the safety of food and the purity of water, and the quality and sustainability of products used every day. In over 100 countries, our 7,600+ passionate employees collaborate with customers in laboratories, manufacturing sites, and hospitals to accelerate the benefits of pioneering science.

1 According to internal analysis, 70% of multi-vendor LC-CAD users experience dropped CDS communications. Source: Waters data and Voice of Customer research.
2Presented at the J.P. Morgan 43rd Annual Healthcare Conference. According to internal analysis, ~80% of the drugs filed with the FDA, EMA, and China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in 2023 were done so using Empower Software. Source: Waters data and estimates.

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