Shimadzu’s Nexera X4 UHPLC promises up to 14x productivity

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has introduced the Nexera X4, a new ultra-high-performance liquid chromatograph aimed labs that need faster separations without sacrificing sensitivity or using excess solvent. The system, positioned for work in pharmaceuticals, food, environmental science and chemistry, builds on its Nexera platform with a low-dispersion design meant to sharpen peaks, improve separation performance and maintain stable flow during fast, ultra-high-pressure runs.

The Nexera X4 uses a new four-drive binary pump, independently activated plungers and pressure feedback control to speed solvent delivery. Shimadzu says the chromatograph can cut analysis times by 92% versus typical HPLC systems and by 78% versus other UHPLC-class systems. In company materials, Shimadzu says that can translate into as much as 14 times greater laboratory productivity.

Shimadzu is also positioning the system around analytical miniaturization and solvent savings. Used with narrow-bore columns, the company says, the Nexera X4 reduces solvent consumption while using micro-volume injection and low-dispersion flow paths to limit band broadening. Shimadzu says the same design should help preserve performance in LC-MS workflows, where its Nexflow tubing kit is intended to reduce peak broadening between the column outlet and the mass spectrometer interface.

For labs already running Shimadzu mass spectrometry, the company is pitching the Nexera X4 as a front end for its triple quadrupole LCMS-TQ RX series. Shimadzu says that pairing supports high-speed, high-sensitivity LC-MS/MS analysis, and it highlighted UFswitching technology that can alternate between positive and negative ionization in 5 msec.