Agilent OpenLab HPLC & LC/MS
In this guideline, the integration process of an Agilent HPLC or LC/MS controlled via OpenLab ver.2.6 in Windows 10 into the Chemotion ELN is explained. The procedure is split into three aspects that can be set up independently or in parallel:
- Remote connection to the device
- Post-Processing conversion of files into open formats
- transfer of experiment data to the ELN.
General preparation aspects can be found here.
Considering all these aspects, this procedure has been conducted on the following system configurations. However it is likely to work on systems with different software versions as well.
Specifications of the device's PC
- Operating system: Windows 10
- Software Name: Agilent OpenLab ver.2.6
- Connected to LAN (Intranet only): Yes
- Data files generated: OpenLab *.sirslt Folder with multiple files
- Automatic conversion to: AIA &/or ASR &/or ChemStation &/or CSV &/or OpenLab CDS2 raw
- Static IP address has been configured
Objectives
- Remote Device Control
- Data transfer to Chemotion ELN inbox
Configurations
Remote Device Control
General guideline regarding the configurations of remote device control can be found here.
Data transfer
Data will automatically be transferred to the Chemotion ELN once OpenLab has finished recording data of the current run. The user is required to input a valid file output name according to the naming convention for the Chemotion ELN to sort the file into the correct user's inbox.
Please take care that you communicate name conventions to all users of the Chemotion ELN.
Necessary configuration in OpenLab
Data Conversion
Data conversion is coordinated by the experiment's processing method.
In OpenLab Data Analysis enter the "Processing" tab and open the processing method. NOTE: These changes have to be done in every method used if the data is to be converted and transferred. In the Processing Method window expand the "Tools" tab and open "Post Processing Plugins" view. From the dropdown choose "AIA export" and click on the "+" button next to it. Then assign a custom name (example: "AIA conversion"), activate the "Run plugin" checkbox and choose the desired output path. Repeat these steps for more output formats if desired. Finally save the changes to the processing method.
When setting up experiments in the OpenLabs Acquisition window make sure the correct processing method has been selected under "Run Information" in the "Proc. method" path.
Data transfer to the Chemotion ELN
The HPLC or LC/MS computer and Chemotion ELN need access to a common network storage location. The network storage can be set up on a third-party storage (a NAS server, shared storage of another PC etc.). In this case, the LSDF storage service from KIT has been used.
An EFW executable needs to be configured, downloaded from the EFW builder and set to run on the device's PC. The EFW program will run on the device's computer in the background and transfer the converted files from the target directory configured in the "Data conversion" step above to the shared network location accessible by both the device's computer and the ELN. More Details can be found here.
If the *.sirslt folders are also to be transferred to the ELN and/or multiple converted file formats are to be transferred an EFW executable has to be configured for each file type. Note that there is no limit on the number of EFW executables running in parallel, as long as all are named differently and all are started upon Windows booting.
Configurations in Chemotion ELN
The Chemotion ELN’s data collector has to be configured to collect the HPLC or LC/MS data from the network location.
As for the file collector mechanism, there are two options.
- Collecting attachment files from emails
- Collecting file or folder from local drives or over SCP
For this procedure the folder collection from local drives or over SCP needs to be chosen and configured to collect the data from the network drive where the EFW program has uploaded it to.