Agilent InfinityLab LC Series Vialsamplers User Manual
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4
Preparing the Module
Solvent Information
General Information about Solvent/Material
Compatibility
Materials in the flow path are carefully selected based on Agilent’s experiences in
developing highest quality instruments for HPLC analysis over several decades.
These materials exhibit excellent robustness under typical HPLC conditions. For
any special condition, please consult the material information section or contact
Agilent.
Disclaimer
Subsequent data was collected from external resources and is meant as a
reference. Agilent cannot guarantee the correctness and completeness of such
information. Data is based on compatibility libraries, which are not specific for
estimating the long-term life time under specific but highly variable conditions of
UHPLC systems, solvents, solvent mixtures and samples. Information can also
not be generalized due to catalytic effects of impurities like metal ions,
complexing agents, oxygen etc. Apart from pure chemical corrosion, other
effects like electro corrosion, electrostatic charging (especially for
non-conductive organic solvents), swelling of polymer parts etc. need to be
considered. Most data available refers to room temperature (typically 20 – 25 °C,
68 – 77 °F). If corrosion is possible, it usually accelerates at higher temperatures.
If in doubt, please consult technical literature on chemical compatibility of
materials.
PEEK
PEEK (Polyether-Ether Ketones) combines excellent properties regarding
biocompatibility, chemical resistance, mechanical and thermal stability. PEEK is
therefore the material of choice for UHPLC and biochemical instrumentation.
It is stable in the specified pH range (for the Bio-inert LC system: pH 1 – 13, see
bio-inert module manuals for details), and inert to many common solvents.
There is still a number of known incompatibilities with chemicals such as
chloroform, methylene chloride, THF, DMSO, strong acids (nitric acid > 10 %,
sulfuric acid > 10 %, sulfonic acids, trichloroacetic acid), halogens or aqueous
halogen solutions, phenol and derivatives (cresols, salicylic acid, and so on).
When used above room temperature, PEEK is sensitive to bases and various
organic solvents, which can cause it to swell. Under such conditions, normal
PEEK capillaries are very sensitive to high pressure. Therefore, Agilent uses
stainless steel cladded PEEK capillaries in bio-inert systems. The use of stainless
steel cladded PEEK capillaries keeps the flow path free of steel and ensures
pressure stability to at least 600 bar. If in doubt, consult the available literature
about the chemical compatibility of PEEK.
