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Choosing the right NIR instrument for the application

Q: Which is the "best" near-infrared instrument on the market?

A:

Emil W. Ciurczak replies:

In short, "That depends..." How are you using the instruments? If I were taking my wife to dinner and a show, I would prefer a nice sedan; if I were hauling bricks, I probably would prefer a pickup truck.

That having been said, if I wanted a durable laboratory instrument, there are a number of reliable companies with lots of experience. If I were looking for a small, wireless instrument for a process application, I would look at yet another set of vendors. [I prefer not to endorse any vendor; in my experience, any vendor in business over five years has an instrument worth investigating.]

There is no ONE best instrument, only the best for the application. You need to check the:

1. Instrument durablility/ability to interface with your process;
2. Software versatility/ability to interface with your LIMS;
3. IQ/OQ/PQ attributes;
4. Vendor/customer experience;
5. 21 CFR 11 compliance.