easy step-by-step guide to setting up methods and ... - Gerstel

GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide Service
GERSTEL MAESTRO Software
Virtuosity Defined
The GERSTEL MAESTRO software provides harmonious and efficient
integrated control of GERSTEL modules and solutions. MAESTRO was
introduced in early 2006, replacing the established MASter software;
MAESTRO provides significant improvements in flexibility and ease-ofuse,
both in method generation and in the analysis sequence set-up.
Ease-of-use ultimately translates to less errors, less time spent setting up
analyses, and improved lab productivity. GERSTEL gratefully acknowledges
our customers contributions.By providing valuable insights and suggestions
they have made MAESTRO software more useful in the laboratory
environment. In this article, we would like to show how MAESTRO helps to
quickly and easily set up analyses, simplifying and speeding up your every
day activities in LC/MS and GC/MS
The author
Sabine Fischer
GERSTEL GmbH & Co. KG
Aktienstraße 232 – 234
45473 Mülheim an der Ruhr
sabine_fischer@gerstel.de
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GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide – May 2007

GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide Service
How to conduct yourself in a new software environment
GERSTEL MAESTRO step-by-step
To give you a clear view of the efficiency
and ease-of-use of MAESTRO software
operation, this article will provide a
step-by-step guide on how to set up a method.
Even with little or no experience from
MAESTRO’s predecessor, the MASter software,
you will be able to familiarize yourself
with MAESTRO very quickly.
Whatever the task at hand and no matter
which system configuration you have:
The detailed, easy-to-use MAESTRO-online
help guides you all the way. Help topics
are divided into chapters and sections similar
to the structure of an operator’s manual.
The information is easily accessed, providing
answers to your questions concerning
software handling in a clear and concise
manner, in English, German or Japanese.
Several convenient ways to
find help and information:
Accessing on-line help
There are several easy ways to find information
when you need it. You can either
select the menu item Help – Help Topics –
GERSTEL MAESTRO from the menu line,
opening the start page of online help, or you
simply click on the help button in the input
window. Context-sensitive on-line help
is available, just place the cursor on an input
field or button and push the F1 key. In
this case, help pages appear with information
on the selected element.
Method step-by-step
To demonstrate the set-up in practice, the
following example shows step-by-step how
to generate a method. The example is for
the Cooled Injection System (CIS) GC inlet
combined with liquid injection based on
the MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS).
Step 21
Select Sampler
Now select the MPS as sampler; when the
MPS has been selected you can select the
relevant parameters for liquid injection.
For this purpose, select the menu item
GERSTEL – Select Sampler from the menu
line. The window Select Sampler opens.
Select MPS from the list.
Step 31
Parameters for liquid
injection
From the menu bar, select the menu item
GERSTEL – Edit GERSTEL Parameters.
The window GERSTEL Parameters opens
up, displaying the parameters System Settings.
At the bottom left, click on the MPS
button. The parameters for liquid injection
are shown on the tab page Liquid Injection
Settings. Enter the required method
parameter values. If you want to add
rinse steps, to rinse the syringe between injections,
click on the tab Rinse Settings –
this will open up the page with rinse parameters.
Indicate for each type of rinse, when it
must take place and from which wash vial
the rinse solvent should be taken. Preclean
rinses, as the name implies, are performed
prior to injection, post-clean, after
the injection. Please note: Rinsing with
sample can only be selected for pre-clean,
not for post-clean.
Now please
switch to the
CIS page.
Step 41
Enter CIS parameters
At the top left, click on the CIS button and
the method parameters for the CIS are displayed;
enter the desired CIS parameters.
Should a parameter value lie outside the
permitted range, the software will respond
with a warning. If the parameter value is
changed to fall within the allowed range,
the software will accept the value. By clicking
OK, the parameters are accepted and are
uploaded to the controller. The CIS is now
ready to start. Close the window.
Step 51
Save method
Now all you have to do is save the parameters
in a named method, which you can load
again later and use as basis for the analysis
sequence. Save and name the method
and then proceed as you would normally
do when working with the ChemStation
without integrated MAESTRO software.
You are now ready to go!
Select CIS with the mouse to set the parameters
of the Cooled Injection System (CIS).
Step 11
Start MAESTRO
Let’s assume you work with the Agilent
Technologies ChemStation software.
When you start ChemStation, the integrated
MAESTRO software is automatically
started in the background. Switch on
all hardware components before starting
the software.
Parameters for the liquid injection can only
be set after you have selected Multi Purpose
Sampler (MPS). Otherwise, the MPS parameter
window will not be displayed.
The GERSTEL MAESTRO software runs in the background when
operating the Agilent Technologies ChemStation software.
MAESTRO can operate with any standard software in “standalone”
mode.
GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide – May 2007
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GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide Service
By expert users for expert users
GERSTEL MAESTRO
Ralf Bremer
As a company that specializes in developing,
manufacturing and supporting instruments
and systems for chemical analysis, GERSTEL
relies on input from experienced users. Input
is needed in order to constantly offer the best
possible solutions for modern
laboratories. Equally, cooperation
with experienced
beta testers is vital. GER-
STEL has always had cooperation
with users in government
agencies, academia
and industry in order to always
be able to provide advanced and rugged
solutions that are useful in the lab.
“Such collaborations provide a win-win
situation for the parties involved”, says Ralf
Bremer (photo), General Manager, GERSTEL
R&D and Production. Ultimately, they help
us bring better products and solutions to the
market place; The most recent example is the
Dynamic Headspace (DHS) accessory for the
MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) (see page 17).
The MAESTRO software development
project was no different. MAESTRO controls
and interacts with all GERSTEL modules
and systems. Still, it is easy to configure
and set up – whether in “stand-alone“
mode or integrated with the Agilent Technologies
ChemStation. Fred Schwarzer,
Ph.D., manager of the GERSTEL Software
Development Department explains: “We
implemented a long list of customer suggestions
and were able to significantly improve
and expand functionality, efficiency
of operation and ease-of-use.”
Guido Deußing
Editor
If you have questions
about the MAESTRO
Software, whether about
functions, configurations
or any other items of
interest, please mail us
at gerstel@gerstel.com.
MAESTRO offers
freedom of entry and
freedom of selection
The method parameters that must be entered
to set up a method depend on the
configuration and on the task at hand. How
much time and effort is needed to set up
a method depends not only on the complexity
of the analysis, but also on the system
you use.
MAESTRO makes your life easy: parameters
can be directly selected by mouse
click and filled in - or the method editor can
simply take you through all parameters step
by step until all entries have been made
and the method completed. Whenever the
mouse cursor is placed over a parameter
entry field, a text field with a short explanation
pops up to make it as easy as possible
to fill in the parameter correctly. For
example, if you place the mouse cursor on
the Initial Temperature entry field, the valid
range is automatically displayed: min: -150
°C to max: 400 °C. For more detailed info,
just highlight an entry field and press F1 to
get full context-sensitive help.
Explanations
about each
parameter can
be accessed
via contextsensitive
help.
For more information
about the MAESTRO
software, please visit our
website at www.gerstel.
com or contact your local
GERSTEL representative.
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GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide – May 2007