NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Agilent Technologies and Shimadzu today said they will exchange RapidControl.Net (RC.Net) instrument drivers, strengthening RC.Net as "an emerging open industry standard for instrument control across multiple data systems."
As a result of the exchange, Shimadzu LabSolutions and Agilent OpenLab Chromatography Data Systems will control each other's instruments, allowing customers greater freedom in instrument choice for their facilities, regardless of which CDS they use. Customers will also be able to "preserve their investment in workflow definition and supporting operating procedures," Agilent and Shimadzu said.
Initially, the new Shimadzu RC.Net drivers will support the company's Nexera and Prominence HPLC lines. The drivers will be available on Agilent's OpenLab CDS later this month, the partners said. In August, Shimadzu's LabSolutions CDS will gain the Agilent HPLC RC.Net drivers to support that firm's 1100, 1200, 1260, and 1290 line of liquid chromatographs.
For gas chromatographs, Shimadzu's RC.Net drivers will first support its GC-2010/Plus and GC-2014 product lines, while Agilent's GC RC.Net drivers will support its 6890, 7820, and 7890 instruments. This is anticipated to occur late this year.
"Our collaboration will provide a more integrated solution for customers who require a single CDS product to provide seamless multivendor control of all instruments in their laboratory," Masami Tomita, Shimadzu GM of LC Business Unit, Life Science Business Department, said. "This will allow any CDS which supports RC.Net to control our instruments. Shimadzu’s adoption and implementation of the RC.Net standard will also enable Agilent instruments to be controlled by Shimadzu LabSolutions CDS."