A variety of factors should be considered when choosing the best Cherry Instrument for your needs. Below, we present a summary of the most important factors and how they combine to effect machine performance and system characteristics.

Throughput

Throughput is defined as a measure of processing capacity per time period, and in CCC is the one variable that most closely corresponds with instrument cost.  An example is the amount of material processed in a work day.  The most important factors of throughput in CCC are loading capacity and typical run length.  The more runs you can accomplish in a work day the more compound you can produce. Similarly, the more you can load (generally the larger the column capacity) the more compound you can produce.

Cherry instruments offers a variety of options in loading capacity, 20ml columns on up to 12L and above, as well as a variety of run length options from as little as 30 minutes on up to several hours.  Throughput is the one factor that most directly relates to the human hours required to operate the machine, producing pure compound.

Determining the right level of throughput will depend on how much material you need to purify, your requirements for instrument productivity and, quite simply your capital equipment budget.  

Resolution

Peak resolution depends on a number of factors: the most important of which has no relation to the instrument, but instead the chemical properties of the sample and solvent system, the number of theoretical plates a system can produce, and the quality of mixing between the phase systems. Resolution to a large degree corresponds the number of winds in a column.  

Manufacturing Quality

Cherry Instruments are designed by their respective manufacturers to reliably run six months to one year between regular maintenance (including flying lead replacement for j-type instruments).  For long time followers of CCC the maintenance improvements alone are worth investigating replacing your old columns.  

Here are some helpful questions to ask when considering an instrument:

*How often is regular maintenance required?
**Flying leads?
**Bearings?
*How easy are common maintenance routines?
*Is a visit from a service provider recommended and at what frequency?
*What are the most common problems with the machine?
*Can I get replacement parts if needed?  
*Are there technicians available to do difficult part replacements?

Scalability
Another question you need to ask yourself is if you or your company needs the option of fast scale up to production levels.  With modification to the original method, most separations can be recreated on any CCC.  However, certain manufacturers maintain system variables within tight tolerances, which allow the successful use of essentially the same method across their entire product line.  If you are likely to scale your projects up to production levels, consider a manufacturer that tailors to such.

Safety
Safety is always an issue in the laboratory.  And, like any other instrument, it is important that users understand how the instrument works in order to avoid damage to the machine, or worse, the user.  Similar to cars that have anti-lock breaks and air bags, modern CCC systems can provide many safety features, such as:

*Strong and robust construction materials, which would contain any mechanical failure.
*Automatically locking doors, which prevent human contact with moving parts.
*Automatic leak shutdown.
*Automatic out of balance shutdown.
*Automatic temperature shutdown.

Availability of these systems vary from machine to machine, but it is important to know that they exist.  Further, as stated above, it is very important that the user know how to properly operate the machine.  In this regard, you want to make sure that you will be provided with sufficient on-site training.
Support Availability
It is important to note that, because CCC has only recently become a highly-viable technique, the availability of qualified support/knowledge is limited. You will probably want to investigate your vendor's ability to provide fast, responsive and knowledgeable service.  Further, do they provide a convenient way for you to contact them during your work hours?
Peripheral Equipment
Like any other LC system, CCC instruments require peripheral equipment (See [[A Typical Setup]]).  Solvent pump, detector, fraction collector, chiller, etc..  If it is important to you or your company, you may want to find out if the vendor provides this equipment, or if you will need to deal with outside vendors.  Further, if your vendor does not carry this support equipment, will they, and do they have the ability to, make recommendations?
Warranty
All Cherry Instruments are backed by at least a 1 year parts and labor warranty, the standard for the industry.  Beyond this, a CCC user should feel comfortable with the service and support options