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Webinar Highlights: Best Practices to Reduce Water Contamination in Your Chromatography Analysis

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Read the highlights from this indispensable webinar

7 Jun 2016
Lynsey Forsyth
Post Doc / Research Fellow

Expert insights

Image: Jaroslav74/Shutterstock

The quality of the ultrapure water you use for your HPLC, LC-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses has a critical role in the accuracy of your results. Any contamination present in the water used in your HPLC and LC-MS mobile phase, for the preparation of samples, standards and blanks, and for instrument cleaning, can affect your analyses.

In this webinar, Anastasia Khvataeva-Domanov, Global Application Engineer at Merck Millipore, discussed best practices for performing reliable HPLC and LC-MS analyses. Read on for the highlights of the Q&A session, including additional questions answered offline. If you missed it, watch the full webinar here.

Water quality and recontamination

Q: Can the laboratory environment affect water quality?

A: Yes, laboratory environment is an important factor. Any contamination present in the lab environment may contaminate water, so you should avoid storing water in the laboratory for a long time. If for some reason, you do need to store water, tightly sealed containers should be used to avoid particle, bacterial, ionic or volatile organic contamination from the environment.

Q: How can I reduce the risk of water recontamination?

A: Water collection containers should be kept closed and repeated opening and closing of water containers should be avoided.

Q: Can you recommend a cleaning procedure for lab ware?

A: Many customers will already have established procedures for cleaning glassware and, unless they have contamination problems, do not need to change them. We process glassware at high temperature, clean with a suitable solvent, then rinse several times with ultrapure water.

Water containers

Q: What type of glass container do you recommend for LC-MS?

A: Borosilicate glass is recommended as it is less prone to ionic leakage and no organic contamination issues have been reported, which is why it is commonly used in LC-MS.

Q: How many times can we use ultrapure water from a bottle once it has been opened?

A: It is reasonable to use ultrapure water for up to one week, but you should avoid leaving the bottle open for extended periods and repeated opening and closing.

Water purification systems

Q: How long can we store the ultrapure water after it has been dispensed from the system?

A: This depends on instrument and application sensitivity but it is generally recommended to avoid water storage. If you work in an appropriate laboratory environment it is reasonable to store water for 1–2 days or even for one week, but the longer it is stored, the greater the risk of contamination. The use of fresh water is always recommended.

Q: How can I be sure my water system is operating correctly?

A: That will be dependent on your water purification system but normally they have monitoring tools to measure water quality parameters, such as resistivity and TOC. You should maintain the system regularly according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Find out more about water contamination on the Merck Millipore website and watch the full webinar.

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UHPLC and HPLCHigh performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), also known as UPLC, are analytical techniques used to separate, identify and quantitate components of complex mixtures including biological samples such as proteins and lipids as well as chemical mixtures of pesticides, drugs and oils. Both techniques are liquid chromatographic methods but differ by operating pressures (HPLC < 6000 psi < UHPLC ). Components of HPLC and UHPLC systems include columns, detectors, pumps, autosamplers and column heaters. Explore a range of UHPLC and HPLC columns for your specific sample needs including reverse phase, normal phase, ion exchange, HILIC, ion exclusion and size exclusion columns. For more specialized HPLC, explore FPLC, countercurrent LC and simulated moving bed systems. Find the best UHPLC and HPLC equipment in our peer reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Ion ChromatographyIon chromatography, also known as ion exchange chromatography, is a high-performance liquid chromatographic technique used for the separation and identification of ions or polar molecules in a sample, including proteins, nucleotides and amino acids. Equipment includes ion exchange columns, ion exclusion columns, ion chromatography systems, pumps, and detectors. Find the best ion chromatography equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Size Exclusion ChromatographySize exclusion chromatography (SEC) is a liquid chromatographic technique used to separate and identify molecules based on their size, including polymers, proteins, nanoparticles & nucleic acid. 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Find the best preparative chromatography equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Thin Layer ChromatographyThin-layer chromatography (TLC), also called planar chromatography, is an inexpensive and simple liquid chromatographic technique used to separate and identify small amounts of compound in a mixture, monitor progress of a reaction or determine purity of substance. TLC plates come in multiple sizes with common adsorbent layers being silica, aluminum oxide or cellulose and high-performance (HP-TLC) plates are also available for increased sensitivity. Other equipment needed includes TLC developing chambers, applicators, TLC sprayers and visualizing devices, such as a viewing cabinet and UV lamp. Find the best TLC products in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Water PurificationThere are a number of water purification methods available to remove contamination from laboratory water. These systems include demineralization, reverse osmosis, filtration and ultrafiltration. A combination of methods is sometimes necessary to achieve purified water suitable for use in experiments.Mass SpectrometryMass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical technique used to identify and quantify molecules based on the mass-to-charge ratio of gas-phase ions. It provides detailed information about the structure, composition, and properties of compounds and is widely used across fields such as environmental monitoring, materials science, drug discovery and development, food and beverage testing, and wider chemical research. 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