Merck and Waters to Collaborate on Extractables and Leachables Reference Library

• Library will enable analytical labs to identify potential E&L compounds in their samples using instruments from Waters and confirm the identity using Merck reference materials.
• Collaboration to provide testing labs with unrivalled confidence in their results and enhance consumer safety

Darmstadt, Germany, February 15, 2022 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that its Life Science business sector has entered into a collaboration with Waters Corporation to build and expand an Extractables and Leachables (E&L) Reference Library to include ion mobility measurements. The library will enable analytical labs to identify potential extractables and leachable compounds in their samples by using Waters’ ion mobility-enabled Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) instruments and then confirming the identity and quantity using Merck reference materials.

“Accurate screening for extractables and leachables is imperative to ensuring consumer safety, especially in pharmaceuticals, food packaging, or medical devices,” said Heike Petri, Head of Advanced Analytical and Industrial & Testing. “This collaboration will provide manufacturers with unrivalled confidence in their results, help improve workflow efficiency for labs, and ultimately contribute to consumer safety.”

Under the agreement, Waters will use high-quality analytical standards and Reference Materials from Merck to build and expand an E&L library of collision cross-section (CCS) values for Waters’ LC-MS instruments. The library, which will be available for download from the Waters Marketplace (login required), will help to identify E&L compounds, with each addition to the library carefully selected to ensure maximum relevance to users. The library is cross-linked to the Merck online product catalogue to provide users access to reference materials to confirm their results.