Beckman P/ACE System 5000 Capillary Electrophoresis System with UV Absorbance and Fluorescence Detection

Software:

Complete instructions for developing a method and executing an analysis are beyond the scope of this introduction.  A person-to-person discussion with an experienced user is the best way to become familiar with the operation of the CE instrument.  The screenshots below will give you a little preview of what you will see.

Getting Started:

Once you have started the P/ACE Station software, you are presented with the menu of options above.  Typically, you will be interested in collecting data.  If this is the case, double-click on "Instrument 1" to open the instrument control screen.  You may also want to initialize "Instrument 2" so that you can be working with data while "Instrument 1" is running an experiment.

Methods:

The collection of instrument and software parameters that defines how an experiment will be carried out is called a Method in the software.  Once you have clicked on "Instrument 1" in the first screen, you will see a screen similar to that shown below.  From this screen you can open an existing method by starting at the "File" menu, or you can develop a new method by starting with the "Method" menu.  Method development is beyond the scope of this tutorial, only the most commonly used operations are described below.

A.  Button Bar:  The most commonly used commands can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate button here.

B.  Data Windows:  Experimental data will be displayed here.  The example shows the electropherogram on the left and a plot of separation current as a function of time on the right.

C.  Time Program Button: Clicking here brings up the Time Program Window (described below).  From this window you can make several types of modifications to your experiment.

D.  Run Button:  Click here to initiate a run.

E.  Analyze Button:  Use this button to execute peak position and area calculations.  Specifications for these calculations can be modified if necessary.

F.  Print Button:  Prints a report according to your specifications.

Time Program:

The time program specifies the order and duration of any events that occur during the course of your separation.  Such events include rinsing, sample injection and separation.

A.  Detector parameters:  Summary of the current detection method and detector settings.  These can be modified by clicking on "Change..."

B.  Time Program Events: Listing of events in the current program.  Each may be modified as necessary.