Pickering Laboratories Pinnacle PCX - Precautions 6

6.2-18
Section 6
ApplicAtions
Pinnacle Operators Manual
Pickering Laboratories Inc.
Precautions for Amino Acid Analysis
Use Pickering Laboratories reagents and eluants. The quality of the chemicals is excellent, and the cost is low
relative to the worth of your analytical results.
Use the Pickering column and eluants. They are designed to work together.
Use the proper start-up and shutdown procedures consistently (see Chapter 2 and 4).
Avoid touching the interior of the mobile phase reservoirs and the dip tubes with your skin. Amino acids in
fingerprints will cause contamination. Gloves are suggested.
When switching a system between ion-exchange and reversed-phase applications, be sure to flush the HPLC
and injector with water before connecting the column. Eluants for one analysis may damage the column for the
other.
Always protect the analytical column by use of the guard column. Always filter the samples through 0.45 m
filter before injecting.
Daily check for leaks at the column fittings; the eluants can be corrosive.
Do not operate with a column pressure above 2800 psi (193 bars) for an extended period of time. Isolate the
source of the high pressure—guard column, analytical column, or in-line filter (if in use) — and replace
items causing the increased back pressure.
Note: Back-pressure from filter and guard column should be < 36 bars.
During shutdown, flush the column with regenerant for 15–20 min. Store the column in regenerant.
When removing the column, rinse the end-fittings with water then plug the column to prevent corrosion.
Contamination usually occurs on the guard column first. Wash it separately from the analytical column. This
will save much time in the washing and re-equilibration.
Contaminants to be especially wary of: iron and other polyvalent cations, organic dyes, lipids, surfactants, and
detergents. These may cause irreversible damage.
Organic solvents will cause the resin in the column to swell leading to high back-pressure and broadened
peaks. The column sometimes can be regenerated.