Congratulations you are on your way to better chromatography. Here are our best suggestions for how to properly condition a Flash Chromatography column for maximum results and extended run life.
Initial Preconditioning
- You must condition a “Dry Reverse-Phase Flash Cartridge” before use!
- At a slow flow rate (1/2 of the normal flow rate), Flush the column with 4 – 6 column volumes (CV) of your strong organic solvent (B) used for the run (typically methanol or acetonitrile) to activate the Bonded flash columns.
- Following the above step, flush your column with 2 CVs of at least 1:1 methanol:water or 1:1 acetonitrile:water, or again a ratio of at least 1:1 Solvent B:Solvent A used for your run.
- Finally equilibrate the column with 3 – 6 CVs of the mobile phase which is intended to be used in flash chromatography at the run flow rate.
Post-run Cleaning
With proper cleaning after each run, Bonded Series flash columns may be used twenty times or more. After each run, the flash column should be flushed with the mobile phase which has higher elutropic strength.
- If there are no acidic, basic, or salty additives in the mobile phase used in separation, then 90% methanol in water is suggested as the cleaning solvent to flush the column for 5 CVs.
- If you are using a buffered mobile phase, then the aqueous part (A) of the mobile phase should be replaced by pure water as the cleaning solvent to flush the column for 5 CVs.
- This should be followed with a flush with 100% organic phase (B) for another 5 CVs. The reason behind this cleaning manner is that the flash column might be damaged due to the precipitation of salty additives resulting from direct flushing with the pure organic phase first before the aqueous (A) solvent flush in step 2.
Storage
To maintain the performance of Bonded Series flash columns, these columns should be kept in a proper storage condition. Please follow these general rules as listed below:
- Once wetted, never dry out a reversed-phase column. Drying the column with an air purge will induce channeling due to the expansion and contraction of the stationary phase. Please make sure the air purge feature (if available on the flash chromatography system) is turned off.
- Store the column well-capped and wet in the solvent with a high ratio of the organic phase. The solvent used for column storage should be at least 70% but no greater than 85% acetonitrile or methanol in water. Mark the column or the column-use register with the mobile phase the column is being stored in. It is preferred that a column used with a particular organic solvent be used under those same conditions after storage.
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