[Monoamine]

I am in the process of research the various FTIR ATR devices on the market. While FTIR is by no means the best analytical technique out there (mass spectrometry and NMR are obviously the ideal choice, if ones budget can allow it... which mine unfortunately does not... Therefore, FTIR ATR spectroscopy is probably the only some identification and purity analysis method which might work in on our budget.

So far I have looked at Bruker, Thermo and Agilent devices, with the conclusion that Thermo systems see to be the least costly out of these manufacturers.

At the moment Thermo seems the most attractive option, but since my budget is somewhat limited, I am still hoping to find a stem that sold at price that will no blow my limited budget.

Do any of you know what manufacturer sells the cheapest FTIR ATR device that is currently on the market?

Of course one option is to look into buying a second hand system, as long as it is good working order. The only potential issue here however is that I'm a bit afraid to go this route because I don't really know the state of the system until I have received it... These systems are of course considerably cheaper, but they tend to be older model, which I'm not even sure are produced anymore. Do you think that this could nevertheless be a viable option or do you think it's too risky?

Thank you in advance for any advice you may be willing to share. Thank you.   

[Corribus]

While FTIR is by no means the best analytical technique out there (mass spectrometry and NMR are obviously the ideal choice, if ones budget can allow it... which mine unfortunately does not... Therefore, FTIR ATR spectroscopy is probably the only some identification and purity analysis method which might work in on our budget.

There is no "best" analytical method. There is only what is fit for your purpose. Mass spec, NMR, and FTIR are very different techniques that provide very different types of information. You cannot just swap one in for the other and say it's almost as good but not quite. An instrument either does what you need it to or it doesn't.

Do any of you know what manufacturer sells the cheapest FTIR ATR device that is currently on the market?

Not a question that can be answered generally. Instrument pricing is determined a lot based on who you work for. Academic pricing is going to be a lot different from industry pricing. And even more important, pricing depends on what accessories and capabilities you include. Just as an example, for ATR: do you need spatial measurements, NIR capabilities, what is your sensitivity requirement, does it need to be portable, what wavelength range do you need, what kind of material do you need your ATR crystal to be made from, how quickly do you need to acquire data, how many samples do you typically run, do you need to be able to measure spectra at different polarizations, and so on. These all greatly influence how much your instrument is going to cost. In short, you should work with sales reps to design an instrument that meets your budgetary and technical needs rather than just buying the cheapest instrument you can find.

[marquis]

Be very cautious of used instruments.  Make sure that -
1. It is demonstrated to work.
2. All necessary parts (data stations also) are included to make it work.

Some instruments had a special cable that looked standard, but wasnt.  LIkewise, the computer had a few bits of special code installed. If you didn't get the computer the instrument was installed with, too bad.  You were out of luck.

[javhert]

Have you evaluated Shimadzu instruments? Their model IRSpirit is quite compact and has an ATR accesory (QATR-S). My main issue is that their software (LabSolution IR) doesn't have a feature to identify functional groups but for purity testing it would probably fit your needs.