Overview
Before launching DataPro 900, make sure the Analyzer and GE Autosampler are both powered on. DataPro 900 can be run when the Analyzer is not powered on, but some menu items will not be available; in addition, DataPro 900 will display error messages indicating that the Analyzer is not responding properly. Also note that if the Analyzer is performing a reagent syringe flush, you should wait for the flush to complete before starting DataPro 900.
Protocols instruct the GE Autosampler how to sample from vials in the sample racks, and all GE Autosampler operations are performed via a protocol. The GE Autosampler can sample from vials in any order you specify, allowing for great flexibility in the way racks are loaded and protocols are constructed.
DataGuard Dialog Boxes
Many dialog boxes display slightly differently if DataGuard is active (see Figure 17). The primary difference is the presence of Login ID and Password fields, required for saving settings or performing various operations, depending on the minimum User Level to specific tasks by the DataGuard administrator. When DataGuard is not active, the Analyst’s Name field appears in place of the Login ID and Password fields.
Figure 17: Save Protocol Dialog Box With and Without DataGuard Active
Working with Protocols
Whenever you launch DataPro 900, a new protocol is automatically created and displayed in the DataPro 900 main screen (see Figure 18). A protocol comprises groups of one or more vials that have the same sampling properties. New protocols contain a single group with the properties specified by the default values in the Set Options dialog box (see “DataPro 900 Main Screen” on page 53).
The DataPro 900 main screen is divided into four main areas.
The Protocol area lets you specify the sampling characteristics of the groups in the protocol.
The Result area displays the data and results of analysis when you are running the protocol. Results are ordered by groups; the results of individual replicate measurements as well as the vial average and standard deviation are displayed.
The Vial Configuration area represents the racks in your GE Autosampler. If you want to change the location of a vial so that the protocol matches your rack, simply click on a vial number and drag it to the appropriate
location. When you click on the vial, its group will be highlighted in the Protocol area. You also can click the Reorder Vials button to have the vials reorder in ascending numerical order.
The Status area reflects the current phase of the sampling you are running, along with related details for the protocol (such as the vial and repetition number of the current sample). The serial number for the connected Analyzer also appears in this area.
Setting System and Protocol Preferences
DataPro 900 allows you to set default values for fields that apply to all new protocols or just to the current protocol, to minimize the changes you will need to make manually while working with protocols.
To set default values
1. Click Setup
Options to display the Set Options dialog box.2. Select the System tab if you want to apply default values for all new protocols that you create. Select the Protocol tab if you want to apply default values that will only apply to the current protocol. 3. Specify the default values in the following fields:
• Vials Per Group — Enter a value from 1 to 120 for the default number of vials in a group. Vials in groups automatically share the same values for repetitions per vial and the number of rejections per vial. If you specify a value greater than 62 (and you use 40-mL vials), upon inserting a group, DataPro 900 will automatically warn you that the number will be reduced to the maximum allowable. This is based on how many groups already exist in the protocol.
• Repetitions Per Vial — Enter a value for the default number of replicate TOC measurements (“reps”) to be made on each vial. Table 2 lists the repetition guidelines when using either the Auto Reagent flow rate method or the Manual Reagent flow rate method.
For more information, see “About Repetitions and Rejections” on page 64
• Number of Rejected Repetitions — Enter a value to set how many of the replicate measurements will be rejected at the beginning of the protocol in calculating average values and standard deviations. The Number of Rejected Repetitions (“rejects”) must be lower than the number of Repetitions Per Vial. For more information, see “About Repetitions and Rejections” on page 64.
• Select Auto or Manual for the default reagent flow rate method.
• Select Auto to have DataPro 900 automatically calculate the appropriate flow rate for the acid and oxidizer. See “About Reagent Flow Rates” on page 66 for details.
• Select Manual to enter specific values for acid and oxidizer flow rates. 4. When you are finished making changes, you have three options:
• Click OK to save the changes you have made.
• Click Cancel to close the Set Options dialog box without applying any changes you have made. • Click the Reset to Default Values button to return all default values to their original factory
settings, and click OK to save.
Table 2: Repetition Guidelines
Vial Size Flow Rate MethodAuto Reagent Flow Rate MethodManual Reagent
17 mL n/a from 1 to 5
35 mL from 1 to 5 from 1 to 10
40 mL from 1 to 8 from 1 to 13
60 mL from 1 to 14 from 1 to 19
Table 3: Rejected Repetition Guidelines
Vial Size Flow Rate MethodAuto Reagent Flow Rate MethodManual Reagent
17 mL n/a from 0 to 4
35 mL from 0 to 4 from 0 to 9
40 mL from 0 to 7 from 0 to 12
Specifying Result Preferences
You can specify preferences for how DataPro 900 handles results data by following these steps: 1. Click Setup
Options and select the Result tab.2. Specify values for each of the options.
• Print Rejected Repetitions — Specifies whether data for repetitions that are rejected get printed (only applicable if you set Number of Rejected Repetitions value for a given group to more than 1). • Automatically Print Results — Specifies whether DataPro 900 automatically prints results after a
protocol has completed or waits for the user to select the print option manually (File
Print
Print Current Result or Print button).• Automatically Export Results — Specifies whether DataPro 900 automatically exports results after a protocol has completed or waits for the user to select the export option manually (File
Export Results).• Export Path — Specifies the folder where automatically exported files are saved. To change the folder, click Browse and navigate to the desired location. This directory applies only to files that are exported automatically when a protocol is completed. DataPro 900 exports a .csv file in addition to saving an encrypted results file.
3. To revert all values back to the factory default, click Reset To Default Values. 4. Click OK to save the changes.
Specifying Environment Preferences
DataPro 900 allows you to specify basic environment settings that can affect the way you collect data. To set environment preferences, follow these steps:
1. Click Setup
Options and select the Environment tab2. Specify values for each of the options.
• Communications Port — Specifies the communications port (COM port) that Windows uses to communicate with the Analyzer. If you have only one serial port, generally this value is set to COM1. For help determining which COM port Windows has reserved for the Analyzer, see “Determining Your Communications Port Number” on page 127.
• Date/Time Display Format — Specifies the format for date and time data as it appears in printed and exported files.
• Show confirm vial setup dialog before each run? — Specifies whether a confirmation dialog asks you to verify every time a protocol is run that the vial arrangement shown in the Vial Configuration area on-screen matches the setup of your vial racks.
Adding Groups to a Protocol.
Figure 19: Insert Groups Dialog Box
To add a group to the protocol, select a row and click Edit
Insert or press the Insert key on your keyboard. When the Insert Groups dialog box (Figure 19) appears, specify how many groups you want to insert (between 1 and 120); whether you want to add them above or below the current selection or at the end of the protocol; and then click the OK button. The inserted groups reflect the default values specified in the Set Options dialog box.If you try to insert a number of rows that exceeds the number of vials available based on the current vial configuration, a warning will display and the number of inserted groups will be reduced to the maximum allowable, based on how many groups already exist in the protocol.
Understanding How Groups Are Added to Protocols
When you add groups to a protocol, you can choose whether to add the new groups above the selected group, below the selected group, or at the end of the protocol. Depending on your selection, the list of groups in the Protocol area adjusts accordingly; in the Vial Configuration area, the appropriate number of vials is added, starting with the first available slot and continuing to fill the next available slots; the placement of existing vials is not changed, although the vial number of existing vials may be changed.
Groups in the Protocol area are always numbered sequentially, starting with 1 and proceeding until the maximum number of vials for the configuration is reached. Vials in the Vial Configuration area, on the other hand, are numbered according to when they were added to the protocol and which rack slots were available at that time.
The following examples of the Protocol area (Figure 20) and Vial Configuration area (Figure 21) show a protocol containing three groups. The three groups appear sequentially in the Vial Configuration area, and are ordered in the same sequence in the Protocol area.
Figure 20: Protocol Area - Three Groups — Numbered Sequentially
Figure 21: Vial Configuration Area — Ordered According to When Added
If you select Group Two and press the Insert key on the keyboard, the Insert Groups dialog box appears. Next, select Above Selected Group and set the Number of groups to insert to 2, and click OK. The Protocol area (Figure 22) and Vial Configuration area (Figure 23) now appear as follows:
The two new groups have been added above Group Two. In the Protocol area, groups are always sequentially numbered, so the two new groups have become Vial No. 2 and 3. In the Vial Configuration area, the vials that were formerly 2 and 3 have been changed to 4 and 5 as a result of inserting the two rows, but you do not need to move the vials from their placement in the vial rack.
In this example, if you preferred to have the vials in the Vial Configuration area numbered sequentially and were willing to physically move the vials in the vial racks to follow the order shown in the Protocol area, you could click the Reorder Vials button. The result would not change the Protocol area from what is shown in Figure 22, but the Vial Configuration area (Figure 24) would appear as follows.
Figure 24: Vial Configuration Area — Reordered Vials
You MUST now physically move the vials in the vial rack to match the layout of the Vial Configuration area.
Changing the Order of Groups
You can change the order of groups in the protocol by this process:
1. Select the rows you want to move or copy. To select multiple rows, click and drag or hold down the Shift key while clicking on rows.
2. Click Edit
Copy or Edit
Cut depending on whether you want to copy or move the row(s).3. Highlight the row above which you want to move the selected row(s). This can be in the same protocol or in a new protocol.
4. Click Edit
Paste to insert the cut or copied rows.Deleting Groups
To permanently delete one or more groups in the protocol, highlight your selection and click Edit
Delete or press the Delete key on the keyboard. Once your selection is deleted, it cannot be pasted back into a protocol. If you are not certain that you want to delete the group permanently, you can cut the group (Edit
Cut) to remove it from the protocol and then paste (Edit
Paste) the row back in to the protocol.Naming Groups
To change the name of a group, highlight the current name of the group and type the new name. Group names can be anything meaningful for your work flow; they do not affect the way DataPro 900 measures the sample or calculates values.
Types of Vial Groups
DataPro 900 recognizes 12 types of samples, several of which are dependent on each other. Group types include: • Sample • W. Flush • Blank • Standard • Cleanup • Linearity • Rs • Rss • Accuracy • Specificity • Robustness • JP Protocol
Sample Group Type
Sample is the basic group type for regular TOC analysis and is assigned to most vials. Sample groups are not blank-corrected.
Wash Station Flush and Cleanup Groups
Wash Station Flush (W. Flush) and Cleanup groups are used to run low-TOC DI water through the
GE Autosampler needle assembly and Analyzer, generally after analyzing unusual samples, such as samples that contain particles or have a TOC concentration at the upper end of the analytical range.
W. Flush groups instruct the GE Autosampler to sample from the fixed wash reservoir (represented in the top left corner of the Vial Configuration area). To display “W. Flush” in the list of menu selections for Type, click Enable Flush on the Setup menu.
Figure 25: The Type Menu List
Cleanup groups are regular vials that contain low-TOC DI water; they can occupy any position you specify in the Vial Configuration area. The results data for these protocols do NOT report W. Flush or Cleanup measurement data.
Blank, Standard, and Linearity Groups
The water used to prepare TOC standards always contains background TOC. Background subtraction provides a means for measuring the TOC of the water used for standards and subtracting this measurement from the results obtained from the standards analysis. Background correction thus allows for the calculation of blank- corrected measurements. If a group contains more than one blank vial, the blank value calculation uses the average of all the reps for all blank vials included in the group.
To identify sample vials for measurement of background TOC, select the sample type Blank. The next group should either be set to Standard or Linearity (other groups do not allow for blank-corrected values). For example, if a group is identified as a Blank and a Standard group follows it, the average Blank group value is subtracted from the Standard group value.
When background subtraction is used, the results on the screen are color-coded according to the legend, to help differentiate those samples that have been background corrected from those samples that have not. When applicable, the printed results designate the values as TOC-Blank and TC-Blank in their respective headers. Background is not subtracted from the IC values.
In some cases, the standards used may have been prepared on different days or using different water supplies for the dilutions. In this case, use a protocol with several blank samples.
Note:
The W. Flush groups referenced here are a separate functionality from the R. Flush (reagent flush), which can be activated from the Setup menu. The R. Flush pertains to manually activating a flush/rinse of the reagent syringes located inside the Analyzer. This selection ONLY appearsif “Enable Flush” is first selected on the Setup menu.
The default system protocol for linearity (Edit
Run System Protocols
Linearity) includes a blank group to provide background-corrected values. The results of the computation are shown on a separate page at the end of the printout, or click Calculations in the Result area to view them. A user protocol for linearity is available with Volume II of the Validation Support Package.Rs and Rss Groups
Rs and Rss Groups are used when running a system suitability verification. A default system protocol for system suitability (Edit
Run System Protocols
System Suitability) is provided. User protocols for system suitability verification are available with Volume I of the Validation Support Package.Accuracy Groups
DataPro 900 automatically computes the Analyzer accuracy. The protocol must contain a Blank followed by an Accuracy group. Because raw TOC values for both blank and accuracy are reported, blank correction is not necessary. Group names do not affect the sampling method. The theoretical concentration of the standard must be entered in the Conc. column.
The results of the computation are shown on a separate page at the end of the printout, or click Calculations in the Result area to view them. A user protocol for accuracy is available with Volume II of the Validation Support Package.
Specificity Groups
Specificity groups are used to measure the ability to accurately measure different organic carbon compounds, regardless of their chemical structure or specific molecular composition. Specificity group protocols instruct the GE Autosampler to sample from a blank and three standards vials, containing Methanol, Nicotinamide, and KHP. To pass, method specificity verification should produce a percent recovery between 85% and 115% for each standard (after blank correction). A user protocol for specificity is available with Volume II of the Validation Support Package.
Robustness Groups
These groups measure the robustness of an analytical procedure by measuring its capacity to remain unaffected by small, but deliberate variations in method parameters. The Robustness protocol verifies the proper operation of the analyzer with deliberate changes to the pH of the standard. Robustness groups instruct the GE Autosampler to sample from a blank and two pre-acidified standards vials [Rs (sucrose) and Rss
(benzoquinone)]. The acceptance criteria for relative recovery should be between 85% and 115% (after blank correction). A user protocol for robustness is available with Volume II of the Validation Support Package.
JP Protocol Groups
JP Protocol groups are used to meet the testing requirements outlined by the Japanese Pharmacopeia (JP) 2.59 Test for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) for Water Injection and Purified Water. JP protocol groups instruct the GE Autosampler to sample from a blank and a vial of 500ppb Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (SDBS). The Analyzer averages the measurements from the blank and averages the measurements from the SDBS standard. The TOC Blank Average is then subtracted from the SDBS Average to produce the SDBS Blank-Corrected Average. The acceptance criteria for the amount of TOC in the samples is TOC Blank Average 250 ppb and the Blank-Corrected Average 450 ppb. A user protocol for JP is available with Volume II of the Validation Support Package.
About Repetitions and Rejections
When switching from a sample containing a higher level of TOC, it is possible for the next TOC measurement to be outside of the repeatability of the Analyzer. For example, this situation could arise when sampling a 500 ppb TOC standard and then measuring a sample containing low-TOC DI water. Therefore, to ensure optimum analytical results, it is suggested that you specify protocols to use at least 4 Reps and 1 Reject. This practice