Analytical Guard Column Holder

The HPLC column is an essential part of the HPLC system that warrants careful handling and protection. Frequent replacement of columns can be costly, so the goal should be to extend the useful life of the column to achieve consistent and accurate results every time.

Adding a guard column

The role of the guard column is to filter out the chemical “trash” from the mobile phase and the sample, and also to effectively remove the insoluble material from the mobile phase and the sample. Although chromatographs nowadays are equipped with filters of different pore sizes such as 1 and 2 μm in the mobile phase inlet, the back of the inlet valve and both ends of the column, the filters can only remove insoluble particles but not chemical contamination, therefore, the addition of a protective column is necessary, especially in the analysis of complex mixtures of traditional Chinese medicine, proprietary Chinese medicine and biological samples is an essential measure to protect the analytical column.

Guard column packing should be consistent with the analytical column, the particle size can be larger than the analytical column. Guard column is a consumable, after a certain number of sample analysis (50-100 times), there is a significant increase in column pressure or peak shape deterioration or baseline drift, should consider replacing the guard column.