Lehi, UT | June 14, 2025 — Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” are a class of fluorinated compounds engineered to repel water, oil and heat. PFAS compounds do not break down naturally and bio-accumulate in people and wildlife. PFAS has been linked to cancers, liver and heart disease, immune suppression, and developmental harm.
Axcend, in collaboration with Agilent Technologies, Inc., transferred a standard flow oligonucleotide analysis method to microflow using Axcend’s Focus LC with Agilent’s newly released Pro iQ Plus mass spectrometer. This method was tested using a DNA Ladder and oligonucleotide standards producing baseline resolution and clean mass spectra for each analyte. In addition, the analysis was applied to Givosiran (Givlaari) an N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-conjugated siRNA targeting aminolevulinate synthase 1(ALAS1). This drug contains two “tagged” oligonucleotide strands, sense (SS) and antisense (AS) in which both components of the drug provided correct MW assignment.
This low-flow method resulted in a remarkable 220x-less consumption (>99.5% reduction) of Methanol, HFIP (a PFAS substance), and TEA as compared to the conventional method. The reduction isn’t just an environmental win; it results in significant solvent cost savings and minimizes lab personnel’s exposure to harmful modifiers while reducing the risk of long-term system fouling. See the full application note here.
Operational and safety gains cannot come at the expense of reliable, repeatable results. Responding to that imperative, Axcend has adapted a USP monograph using USP 621 guidelines to convert a hydrochlorothiazide monograph to the capillary scale, demonstrating performance that meets USP system suitability criteria—again consuming a fraction of the resources.
The Axcend Focus LC® maintained full system suitability, including critical metrics like resolution, tailing, and RSDs, while reducing solvent waste by over 99% compared to traditional HPLC methods.
Complementing this, intraday and interday repeatability studies confirmed the Focus LC’s reliability, with peak area and retention time RSDs all within accepted thresholds (<2% and <1%, respectively) over multiple runs and days.
“These results aren’t one-off wins—they showcase the day-in, day-out consistency of a regulatory-ready platform,” said Greg Ward, CEO of Axcend. “With the Focus LC, labs can dramatically reduce both solvent use and bench space while delivering the rock-solid performance auditors expect.”
Axcend will be exhibiting at HPLC 2025 in Bruges, Belgium, and will showcase data supporting the reliability and regulatory readiness of its capillary HPLC systems. As laboratories seek leaner, more sustainable, and still fully validated workflows, Axcend is positioning its capillary platform as a modern alternative that doesn’t ask labs to compromise on quality or reproducibility.
Axcend’s portfolio now spans in-line and automated sampling, a compact diode array detector, and flexible software compatibility with major CDS platforms. Together, these components form a fully integrated, compliant system that’s already delivering value for pharma, biotech and industrial chemical manufacturers worldwide.
Visit Booth #23 at HPLC 2025 in Bruges, June 15–19, to explore the data, discuss your workflows, and discover what a compact, compliant HPLC system really looks like.
About Axcend
Axcend designs and manufactures high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems with the smallest footprint in the industry, enabling scientists to generate reliable, repeatable data with a fraction of the solvent, sample volume, and lab space. The Axcend Focus LC® and its integrated accessories—including AutoFocus™, InFocus™, and FocusArray™—support rigorous workflows while reducing hazardous waste and operational overhead. Learn more at axcendcorp.com. Axcend is a Catalyze Partners portfolio company.