ChromManager Software Evaluation

Reproduced with permission by a corporate client who wishes to remain anonymous

ChromManager software from ACD/Labs™, Inc. is designed as a tool for the chromatographer to assist in:

• processing and organizing chromatograms, including the chromatographic parameters used to generate the chromatogram and any structure information association with peaks.
• building a database that coordinates non-chromatographic information (such as structures, NMR curves, etc.) with text and numbers from the chromatographic system.
• retrieving the database information via search routines (e.g. search by molecular weight, retention time, etc.).
• report writing.

Hewlett Packard ChemStations are used in our lab to collect and process chromatographic data. ChromManager will import a chromatographic rawdata file created by the Hewlett Packard ChemStations, but it does not import the processed results such as the area percent values for each component. Instead, the imported datafile must be processed using the integration algorithms of the ChromManager software. Because this software is being purchased for use by clients not skilled in chromatographic data processing, the processing capabilities of this software were compared to the Hewlett Packard ChemStation processing capabilities currently used by us to generate results for clients.

Most chromatographic data systems provide what are called "integration events" to allow the analyst to influence the final reported results. No such events exist within ChromManager; ChromManager software uses drop down menu items or "tool bars" to perform the necessary steps to arrive at the final report.

To compare the two software packages, the same chromatogram (rawdata file) was processed so a comparison of the likely final results generated by the two software packages could be compared. The chromatogram chosen was a relatively complex separation that contained some components not well resolved from each other. Such a chromatogram is difficult for any data system to process correctly automatically. Therefore, the results using ACD software both in the "automatic" and the "manual" modes were compared to results that would have been supplied to the client by the analysts in our lab using the data manipulation capabilities of the ChemStation software. The peak location results are compared in the following table. The integrated peak areas determined by the two software packages will be compared and discussed below. The processed chromatograms that are the source of the table data are attached at the end of this article for information only.

Peak Retention Times