Cryogenically cooled probes

Varian's Interchangeable Flow Cell (IFC) accessory is designed to be used with the company's cold probes, in which the electronics are chilled to approximately -250°C for improved sensitivity. Equipped with the IFC accessory, the probes are highly complementary to LC-NMR/MS instrumentation and are claimed to provide up to three to four times more sensitivity than standard room-temperature probes for metabolites and natural product studies.

The probes are cryogenically cooled using liquid helium to cool the electronics contained within the probe to reduce noise and improve sensitivity. The LC-NMR/MS is an information-rich detection system that produces data on both molecular structure and molecular weight on one integrated platform. The addition of the cryogenically cooled probe with the IFC accessory advances the technique even further by enabling the study of samples available in smaller quantities.

Varian's IFC design enables this cold probe to be used in demanding tubeless applications such as LC-NMR/MS without having to remove the whole probe from the magnet to clean, exchange or remove the flow cell. With the IFC design, only the flow cell is removed from the probe, resulting in less downtime.

The IFC cold probe is an integral performance enhancer for the study of metabolites and natural products. Cold probes complement high magnetic-field NMR spectrometers, and have the potential to further accelerate the use of NMR in bio-pharmaceutical and life science research.

Varian's LC-NMR/MS can more easily separate, identify and quantify molecules, such as metabolites, produced through biological processes.

A Varian cold probe equipped with the IFC accessory can also be used with other NMR techniques incorporating flow technology such as combinatorial chemistry and bodily-fluids screening.