Short column life? There's a way to help you live longer!

Why are chromatographic columns of different brands used in this project, and the service life is about 100 needles?
1) The most likely reason is that the sample components are adsorbed in the front of the column. It may be due to the low solubility of the sample in the mobile phase, or it may be a strong adsorption, or a weak and unpredictable chemical reaction between the sample itself and the filler surface. The pH value of the sample solution itself is near the critical value of the chromatographic column, and the larger injection volume (inner diameter of 4.6 mm, loading volume of more than 50 UL) has a greater impact on the packing at the end of the column.
Solution: select appropriate sample pretreatment technology to remove strong retention substances. The protection column with the same packing and bonding method as the analysis column should be selected as far as possible. If different brands of packing and packing process protection column are used, the separation capacity and protection of analytical column may not be the best. Also, do not use a protective column with larger particle size, because of its peak broadening effect, the separation capacity of the protective column with larger particle size or poor packing will decrease.
2) The bonding phase was exfoliated and denatured. In general, the small group bonding phase is easier to be hydrolyzed and fall off. The higher the concentration of salt, the easier the mobile phase will be. In this case, the chromatographic conditions can only be redeveloped.
Why is the brand's chromatographic column always very good, and the service life of this one is extremely short?
Make sure that the use frequency, washing frequency, mobile phase replacement frequency, mobile phase reagent brand, purity, etc. are the same as before. If there is replacement, it is normal that the service life is different. If they are the same as before, it is necessary to check whether the chromatographic column has been subjected to severe vibration, such as accidentally falling, or violent vibration during transportation. It is recommended to communicate with the technical personnel of the manufacturer.
Why is it that the first chromatographic column of this brand has a long service life when it is used to establish the method, but when the method validation is started after the establishment of the method, the service life is short?
The main reason for this is that the mobile phase is constantly replaced instead of continuous projects. This means that the washing frequency of chromatographic column is relatively high, and the cleanliness of the replaced mobile phase is also better. When establishing the method, it is difficult to inject multiple samples continuously, sometimes even once a week, which may lead to the illusion that the first column will be used for a longer time. After the method is established and verified, the mobile phase will be configured with a large volume once the mobile phase is fixed. In this way, the mobile phase is easy to deteriorate and sometimes can not be directly distinguished by the naked eye. In addition, the sample will be injected overnight for many times, so the washing of chromatographic column is not very timely. All of these factors may lead to shorter column life.
For more related technologies, please consult MS technologies technicians