GC Technical Tip
Level: Intermediate
How to Protect Your GC Column - Part 1
Protecting your GC column and instrument components from exposure to dirty samples is important. Non-volatile or high molecular weight components can contaminate the stationary phase, causing poor peak resolution, lower accuracy, and poor column lifetime. Cutting off the damaged portion of column tubing will often restore your column’s performance, but over time performance will degrade to a point where the column can no longer be used. If you are experiencing rapid degradation of column performance, there are several simple ways to help protect your column and increase its lifetime.
Ensure Proper Sample Preparation
Sample filtration and SPE products can help to eliminate or mitigate contaminants and matrix effects, resulting in longer column lifetimes and increased signal-to-noise ratios. Not only will proper sample preparation prolong the life of the analytical column, it will also protect your system and improve method accuracy by removing unwanted contaminants or particles. Sample filtration in particular, helps reduce system downtime and equipment replacement, resulting in time and money savings. Filtering samples before injection is one of the quickest (and easiest!) way to protect your GC column and lengthen lifetime.
Use A Guard or Integrated Guard Column
With integrated guard columns, unlike traditional guard columns, the guard is built directly into the analytical column in one continuous length of tubing. Traditional columns may be difficult to seal and can leak after normal column maintenance, whilst integrated guards such as the Zebron™ Guardian system provide the same inert column protection, but eliminate the possibility of leaks.
Traditional guard columns such as Zebron Z-Guard™, are 5 or 10 meter pieces of deactivated tubing that are connected to an analytical column using a glass press-fit connector. The tubing acts like a trap for non-volatile residues that would otherwise damage the stationary phase of your analytical column.
In addition to providing column protection, traditional guard columns can also be used for solvent focusing, or for large volume injection when the guard section is long (8 to 10 meters). When using a traditional guard column, success lies in proper installation. Ensure that column ends are cut cleanly and that any polyimide resin used is cured.
Look out for our second part on how to protect your GC column next month!
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