Advancements to Freeware ACD/Column Selector Help Take the Guess Work Out of Column Selection

Toronto, Canada (July 4, 2006)—Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc., (ACD/Labs) today announce the latest update to ACD/Column Selector, a freeware reversed-phase HPLC column selection tool.  The latest upgrade increases the number of columns available for selection from 153 to 187, which will allow chromatographers to compare and contrast the latest columns, and help take the guesswork out of column selection.

ACD/Column Selector was created through a collaboration with Mel Euerby and Patrik Petersson of AstraZeneca.  The freeware application was developed from over 3000 experiments characterizing the most commonly-used reversed-phase columns.

Patrik Petersson, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca, states, “ACD/Column Selector allows chromatographers to scientifically compare the most popular columns according to certain parameters (ligand density, hydrophobic selectivity, shape selectivity, hydrogen bonding capacity, total ion-exchange capacity, and acidic ion-exchange capacity).  Users may identify equivalent columns (“backup columns”) as well as columns with widely differing characteristics to fully exploit selectivity differences in method development.”

Mike McBrien, M.Sc., Chromatography Product Manager at ACD/Labs, comments, “The team at AstraZeneca has done a tremendous job in characterizing the world’s most popular columns.  It’s commendable that they’ve made this information available to the chromatographic community in this way.”

ACD/Column Selector is a free ChemBasic application that runs within freeware ACD/ChemSketch.  Both ACD/Column Selector and ACD/ChemSketch may be downloaded from our website at: www.acdlabs.com/columnselector.

About Advanced Chemistry Development

Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc., (ACD/Labs) is a chemistry software company offering solutions that truly integrate chemical structures with analytical chemistry information to produce ChemAnalytics^®.  ACD/Labs creates innovative software packages that aid chemical research scientists worldwide with spectroscopic validation of structures, elucidation of unknown substances, chromatographic separation, medicinal chemistry, preformulation of novel drug agents, systematic nomenclature generation, and chemical patenting and publication.  Combined, ACD/Labs' solutions create an analytical informatics system that provides dramatic feed-forward effects on the chemical and pharmaceutical research process.  Founded in 1993, and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, ACD/Labs employs a team of over 100 dedicated individuals whose continual efforts carry ACD/Labs' innovative technologies into pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, and materials companies throughout the world.  Information about Advanced Chemistry Development and its products can be found at www.acdlabs.com.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, dedicated to the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of high quality, effective prescription medicines that bring benefit for patients and add value for shareholders and wider society. Their medicines are designed to fight disease in important areas of medical need: cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience and respiratory & inflammation and are available in over 100 countries. Sales in 2005 totaled $24 billion, with an operating profit of $6.5 billion.  They employ around 12,000 people in research and development at 11 R&D centres in seven countries: Sweden, the UK, the US, Canada, France, India and Japan. More information can be found at http://www.astrazeneca.com