Guidelines For Use Of Flow Cells - Thermo Scientific Vanquish VH-D10 Operating Manual

6.7

Guidelines for Use of Flow Cells

Operating conditions
Use of solvents and eluates
Diode Array Detectors (VH-D10)
Operating Manual
NOTICE—Highly sensitive flow cells
Flow cells are highly sensitive to damage.
• Handle flow cells with care.
• Observe the following guidelines for use of the flow cell.
• Observe the specified maximum temperature limit and pressure
limit for the flow cell. See the specifications for flow cells in
Specifications (} page 174). If your application requires column
temperatures above the specified maximum limit, install and use a
post-column cooler in the flow path before the flow cell.
• Allow the flow cell to warm up.
• The flow cell is sensitive to thermal changes in the environment. If
the doors are opened during analysis, the thermal changes may lead
to a baseline drift. To avoid a baseline drift, keep the detector doors
closed.
• Solvents with a low boiling point can evaporate in the warm flow
cell, thus degrading the performance of the flow cell. Consider that
the combination of temperature and pressure of the eluate in the
flow cell can prevent boiling of the eluate.
• Particulate matter from the eluate, system modules and
components can deposit in the flow cell and clog it. This can lead to
an instable baseline behavior, such as increased noise, or a blockage
and a destruction of the flow cell. To avoid this, observe the
following:
Use the flow cell only with a column or a filter frit connected in
¨
the flow path before the flow cell.
Use highly pure solvents, such as of LC/MS-grade, only.
¨
If capillaries are removed from the flow cell inlet and outlet,
¨
install the plugs supplied with the flow cell to close the ports.
• When system operating parameters, such as temperature or
pressure, change in the flow cell, salt from eluates with high salt
contents, such as buffers, may crystallize in the flow cell and cause
precipitations.
Never leave eluates with high salt content in the flow cell
¨
without flow. Flush the flow cell regularly when using
concentrated salt solutions. Monitor the backpressure via the
pump pressure.
Make sure that buffer salts remain soluble also with the highest
¨
applied content of organic solvent.
6 • Operation
Flow Cell
Page 93