Appendix A
– Column Care
Thermo Scientific
Product Manual for CarboPac PA200 Columns
Page 34 of 37
065734-01
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Appendix A
–
Dionex CarboPac PA200
Column Care
A.1 Recommended Operation Pressures
Operating a column above its recommended pressure limit can cause irreversible loss of column
performance. The maximum recommended operating pressure for Dionex CarboPac PA200
column is 4,500 psi (31.03 MPa).
A.2 Column Start-Up
The Dionex CarboPac columns are shipped using potassium methanesulfonate/potassium
hydroxide/ (see QAR) as the storage solution. Use Dionex EGC-400 MSA/KOH cartridges to
generate eluent shown in the Quality Assurance Report (QAR). Install the column in the
chromatography module and direct the column effluent to waste for 60 minutes, and then connect
to the ED cell. It is recommended to clean the column for 1 to 2 hours with 100mM KOH at 0.063
mL/min for 1 mm and at 0.0.010 µL/min for 0.4 mm column to ensure good chromatography
without baseline artifacts. Test the column performance under the conditions described in the
QAR. Continue making injections of the test standard until consecutive injections of the standard
give reproducible retention times. Equilibration is complete when consecutive injections of the
standard give reproducible retention times.
If chromatographic efficiency or resolution is poorer than the QAR, see Sections 5.3 Poor
Resolution and Section 5.3.1 Loss of Column Efficiency.
IMPORTANT
When making any tubing connections (column installation, replacing tubing etc), it is
recommended to make these connections with the pump turned off. This will avoid any
slippage of the ferrule under high pressure conditions.
A.3 Column Storage
For short-term storage (< 1 week), use Eluent, for long-term storage (> 1 week), see QAR. Flush
the column for a minimum of 10 minutes with the storage solution. Cap both ends securely, using
the plugs supplied with the column.
A.4 Dionex CarboPac PA200 Column Cleanup
The Dionex CarboPac PA200 can be readily cleaned by an approximate 60-column-volume rinse
with 100 mM KOH. More stubborn contamination problems may necessitate thoroughly cleaning
the column. Use the following steps to thoroughly clean the Dionex CarboPac PA200 at a flow
rate similar to application flow rate or half the application flow rate to avoid the over-
pressurization of the column:
