What steps should be taken to extend the life of a reversed-phase HPLC column?
The answer to the following question was provided by LCGC’s “LC Troubleshooting” columnist John Dolan.
Q: What steps should be taken to extend the life of a reversed-phase HPLC column?
A:John Dolan: Here’s a short list of the basics:
Protect it:
• Perform sample cleanup and filtration or centrifugation
• Place an inline filter between the autosampler and column with smaller frit porosity than that of the column frit (for example, 0.5 µm is good for 3- and 5-µm particles columns)
• Use a guard column (optional)
Keep it clean:
• Flush with the strong solvent of the mobile phase (for example, acetonitrile or methanol) after each batch of samples
• Backflush if necessary to remove particulates from frit (shouldn't happen if you take the steps in “Protect it”)
Use dedicated columns:
• One column per method, even if a different method calls for the same column
Remember that the column is a consumable item:
• After you reach ~500 injections, the cost per sample from the column is
Fundamentals of Benchtop GC–MS Data Analysis and Terminology
April 5th 2025In this installment, we will review the fundamental terminology and data analysis principles in benchtop GC–MS. We will compare the three modes of analysis—full scan, extracted ion chromatograms, and selected ion monitoring—and see how each is used for quantitative and quantitative analysis.
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This information is supplementary to the article “Accelerating Monoclonal Antibody Quality Control: The Role of LC–MS in Upstream Bioprocessing”, which was published in the May 2025 issue of Current Trends in Mass Spectrometry.