Using the Thermo Scientific Vanquish UHPLC or UltiMate 3000 SD HPLC system with the Waters Empower 3 chromatography data system (CDS)

Importance of the Topic

In pharmaceutical laboratories, integrating UHPLC and HPLC instruments from different vendors into a single chromatography data system enhances workflow efficiency, minimizes training requirements, and ensures compliance with data integrity standards.

Objectives and Study Overview

This white paper demonstrates how Thermo Scientific Vanquish UHPLC and UltiMate 3000 SD HPLC systems can be fully controlled by Waters Empower 3 CDS using the Thermo Scientific Standard Instrument Integration (SII) driver. A practical application involving a rapid ibuprofen assay illustrates method development, system qualification, and throughput improvements.

Applied Methodology

Integration involved installing the SII driver on Waters LAC/E32 Acquisition Server units or Citrix-type clients. Instruments were configured via the SII for Empower interface and added to Empower 3. Method development used Empower’s wizard for instrument settings, followed by creating method sets that include processing and reporting parameters. Sample injections and quantitative processing were executed entirely within Empower 3, maintaining native workflows.

Instrumentation

• Thermo Scientific Vanquish Horizon UHPLC system
• Thermo Scientific UltiMate 3000 SD HPLC system
• Waters Empower 3 chromatography data system
• Standard Instrument Integration (SII) driver for Empower
• Pump, autosampler, column compartment, and detector modules

Main Findings and Discussion

The SII driver provided seamless real-time control panels and full command sets in Empower 3 without any loss of functionality. Advanced features such as two-dimensional LC sequencing and parallel sample preparation remained available. A fast UHPLC method for ibuprofen, adapted from the USP monograph, achieved significant throughput gains, highlighting potential acceleration of batch release testing.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Unified CDS control for multi-vendor instruments
• Reduced network complexity and software maintenance
• Consistent Empower 3 user experience for acquisition and data processing
• Improved laboratory productivity via accelerated methods and parallel workflows

Future Trends and Opportunities

Ongoing developments in vendor-neutral integration will enable expanded multimodal chromatography, cloud-based CDS deployment, remote instrument access, and incorporation of real-time analytics with AI support, further simplifying operations in high-throughput environments.

Conclusion

The Thermo Scientific SII driver for Empower 3 delivers robust integration of Vanquish UHPLC and UltiMate HPLC systems into Waters CDS, preserving full functionality while streamlining laboratory workflows and enhancing productivity.

References

1. United States Pharmacopeial Convention. United States Pharmacopeia USP 40–NF 35. Rockville, MD, 2017. p. 4555–4559.
2. Grosse S., De Pra M., Steiner F. Fast Methods for the Determination of Ibuprofen in Drug Products. Thermo Scientific Application Note 72709, June 2018.