Sometime last year it became just about impossible for me to find good autosampler vials for my Accela system. Thermo got tired of making them, or changed the catalog number or something. After weeks of searching and multiple calls to manufacturers, we were able to secure several boxes to set us up for the future. Then I started my new position.
We have been making due for the last 4-5 months by using the autosampler vials for our Shimadzu HPLC with spring-loaded glass inserts from Thermo that run about $70/100 inserts. Couple this with the price of the glass vials, and we're running a couple of bucks a sample vial.
Tonight I happened to be proof-reading my recent entries and an ad for Colbert Associates popped up. Although I'm not supposed to click on the Adsense ads, I did in this case. (Google, you can take back the 0.02 cents that I earned for that click, I apologize). I don't think Colbert Associates would be too angry considering that I ordered 500 of their polypropylene inserts which run about $0.15/insert. As long as the inserts are of good quality, we'll definitely be switching over to their autosampler vials. I need to check the numbers, but it looks like they are substantially cheaper than the ones we are using. It looks like we could save at least $1 per sample, which doesn't seem like much, but will definitely add up at 24 samples/day.
I'll report later on the quality of the inserts when they arrive.
