Tip of the Week

#2 How Do You Best Prepare Your Columns for Chromatography?

Check your system pressure when first running a column and record it in a place that can be easily referred to. You can use this reading for comparison should you observe abnormal performance.

Height equivalent theoretical plate (HETP) count and asymmetry factor (As) are dependable measures of column performance. Note these parameters before first column use to enable monitoring over time.

Always make sure to take your column out of line or put your valves in column bypass prior to purging.

Replace worn frits and O-rings in manually packed columns when they are observed.

When attaching a column to your system, you should use the drop-to-drop method to avoid introducing air onto your column. This is a method of filling the column inlet with fluid prior to final attachment.

Use of an inline precolumn filter (20 μm) between your inject valve and column is an effective way to increase column lifetime.

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