Customizable Methods

Every experiment might require different methods. For example, a user with a ViscoStar is probably interested in measuring intrinsic viscosity, while a user with an Eclipse and HELEOS might want to measure particle sizes and number densities.

To accommodate these different users, ASTRA splits apart each method into logical units called procedures. Advanced users can choose from a rich variety of procedures to build custom methods, while standard users can choose from a variety of provided system templates to immediately collect data and analyze it appropriately.

There are dozens different procedures that can be used to build methods, including:

Collection procedures
  • basic collection: Quickly enter collection times, triggering from auto-inject signals, and inject-to-collect delays.
  • script collection: Build any collection imaginable with the ASTRA scripting language. Send commands to instruments, collect data, run conditionals and loops.
Transform procedures
  • despiking and smoothing: Two different procedures can be used to despike or smooth data if necessary.
  • baselines and peaks: The baselines procedure can be used to subtract baselines from any signal, and the peaks procedure to define peak regions and all associated parameters.
  • blank baseline subtraction: FFF users or others with complex, varying baselines can subtract a pure solvent collection from their sample run to produce a stable baseline for analysis.
  • conversion procedures: Convert raw voltages to physical units, or RI and UV signals to concentrations.
  • fitting: Fit mass and radius results to polynomial or exponential models to extend analyses to low signal regions.
  • band broadening: Apply the revolutionary band broadening correction to your chromatography data.
Configuration procedures
  • calibration: Four separate procedures can be used to determine calibration constants for a variety of instruments, including those connected via aux channels.
  • normalization: Perform light scattering normalization for the DAWN and miniDAWN.
  • interdetector delays: Specify interdetector delays between an arbitrary number of instruments in the flow path.
  • determine band broadening: Perform a sophisticated analysis of online data to determine the parameters used in the revolutionary band broadening correction.
Analysis procedures
Over two dozen different analysis procedures available in ASTRA provide a richness of chromatography analysis unmatched by any other software package. Please see the separate section on data analysis for details on the available procedures.

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