Keeping particulates out of the flowpath prevents premature wear on vital components, drastically reducing the need for costly replacements or repairs. A holistic approach to filtration addresses potential particulates throughout the solvent flowpath and leads to consistent and efficient chromatography. Generally, there are three critical areas where filtration is necessary.
solvent reservoir
While the availability of HPLC-grade solvents diminishes the need for pre-filtering, it is still imperative that a filtration device be installed in the reservoir filter. Placing a filter in the reservoir is an economical way to filter particles that may result from buffer salt precipitation, airborne dust, improperly cleaned glassware, or microbial contamination; none of which are remedied by the use of HPLC-grade solvents.
in-line
The frictional forces generated at the piston/seal interface inevitably lead to particulate shedding. Placement of a filtering element between the pump and injector/autosampler removes these particulates, preventing problems with downstream components and costly downtime.
pre-column | direct connect
Many things contribute to particulates in the post-injector region: incompatibilities between sample matrix and mobile phase, septa coring from the sample needle and shedding from moving parts in the injector, among others. Use of a low-impact, pre-column filter removes these particulates from the flowpath, saving your analytical column and detector from deleterious effects.
Filtration
