Pierre-Georges Galliano and Damien Formaglio from the R&D department perform a wide range of physico-chemical analyses for their customers concerning the purification of active ingredients. They work with automatic titrators purchased from Radiometer Analytical about three years ago to replace manual titrators used with a burette and colour indicators.

“We perform titrations on conventional acids such as sulphuric acid used as a catalyst in organic synthesis or on organic acids like succinic acid. However, we also specialise in titrating fatty acids and fatty amino acids in solvents. The TitraLab 860 Potentiometric Titrator lets us plot the pH curve according to the titrant volume which gives us more information than with a colour indicator as a change in colour can concern several different acids.

Once the method has been tested, we have large batches to handle which explains our need for automation. Another useful feature is the continuous IP mode which is both fast and efficient. The only parameter you have to set, apart from the minimum and maximum addition speeds, is the smoothing parameter.

The TitraLab 860 helps you throughout the analysis and provides electrode and titrant calibration prompts. You still have a choice; the instrument simply guides you. The TitraLab 860 configuration can easily be expanded to include a sample changer and additional burettes.

We also perform Karl Fischer titrations to determine the water content of solvents or in enzyme reactions involving water in oils and powders. We chose the TitraLab 55 Volumetric Karl Fischer Titrator because of the accuracy of the 18,000-step burette, which allows us to perform certain Karl Fischer titrations that should be done by coulometry. In R&D, it is important to have a wide spectrum of measurements in order to be able to measure down to a hundred ppm in certain solvents. I was able to measure both traces of water in oil and oil in water and we determined a water content of between 80-90%.

On the TitraLab 55, the reagents, solvents and cells are easy to change. Everything is tight so no solvent vapours can escape. Electrodes can be rinsed and the cell emptied or filled at the press of a button. Thanks to the clear instructions from the software, you can’t go wrong which means you can rely on your results. The TitraLab 55 is delivered complete
with all you need to get started right away which is important for an application like ours. Another point we appreciated: the operating instructions are in French and are extremely clear and easy to follow. We also use the plastified short-form instructions, which I keep next to the instrument as a reminder.

To sum up, we got to know Radiometer Analytical thanks to this purchase and have been faithful customers ever since. We like the compact design of the instruments and the fact that they are easy and safe to use. We are also perfectly satisfied with the after-sales service and sales contacts.”

To find out more about our TitraLab range of Potentiometric and Karl Fischer Titration Workstations, please click here.