How to prepare your system for the holidays
The most wonderful time of the year is approaching quickly but…❤️actually…there are some things you must prepare before you can start rocking around the Christmas tree or roasting chestnuts on an open fire.
As the year winds down and the scent of gingerbread and pine fills the lab, it’s time to tuck your HPLC in for a cozy winter’s nap.
What does my column want for Christmas?
How to pamper your column. Photo by Juliane Kramer, @knauer
To make sure your LC column gets all it wants for Christmas, spread some festive care by removing any sample and matrix residues properly. Start by giving your column a joyful flush to sweep away buffer salts and modifiers. Check the column certificate to find the recommended storage solvent for your stationary phase. Think of it as picking the perfect cozy blanket for the season. After this is done, remove the column from the system and replace it with a zero dead volume coupling. Don’t forget to plug the column for storage. With everything in place, your column is ready for a silent and holy night, dreaming of sparkling baselines and joyful runs to come.🔔
Sweep away buffer salts and modifiers. Check the column certificate to find the recommended storage solvent for your stationary phase.
Dashing through the flow: How to flush the HPLC system before a longer break
Your column already has been sent on holiday and now the rest of your system also hears the distant sleigh bells ringing.
If you used buffered or aqueous mobile phases, start to flush your system with water to wash away any leftover “salt snowflakes.” After that, use a mixture of water and organic solvent as a transition, e.g. water:methanol 50:50 (v/v). At least, flush your system with 100 % organic solvent (typically methanol, acetonitrile or isopropanol) to leave it sparkling clean for the holidays.
If your method used purely organic solvents, a simple flush with the same solvent grade is often enough—quick, easy, and as effortless as hanging up stocking decorations.
And remember: Be nice, not naughty! Avoid sudden switches between high-salt buffers and strong organic solvents or non-miscible pairs like hexane and water. This can cause precipitation or pump damage.
Keep things smooth and your HPLC will stay as cheerful as a Christmas morning. 🎅✨
Don’t sample too much cookie dough: How to store the Autosampler
Rinse the needle and injection loop with the same solvents, giving them a gentle, soothing cleanse, like wrapping them in a little holiday warmth. And don’t forget to empty and softly tidy the sample tray and waste container. A calm, clean workspace helps your HPLC settle in for a peaceful, cozy Christmas season. If you have some clear vials and screw caps with pre-slit septum to spare, pop them onto your Christmas lights. You surely need some sparkle for the last step!
Make your vials shine bright! Photo by Juliane Kramer, @knauer
Silent Night: Final shutdown and storage
Fill the system and tubings with 100% organic solvent to keep any mischievous holiday microbes from joining the celebration. Then power down the modules (pump, autosampler, detector, thermostat) like switching off the lights on a beautifully decorated tree at the end of a joyful evening. Store your columns separately according to the manufacturer’s instructions, giving each one a cozy, glittering little bed under the tree, ready to wake up refreshed for the next magical, holiday-season run. If you want to treat future-you as well, dispose of the solvent waste already. You surely don’t want to start the new year with old tasks and dirty flasks.
AI generated Image, Johannes Menke @knauer
You better watch out, you better check now,
You better make sure your HPLC’s clean somehow!
Check the injection ports, and check the lines too,
Make sure everything’s working before you’re through!
He sees you when you're cleaning, he knows when it’s done,
He knows if the autosampler is having fun!
So clean up your HPLC, make it shine bright,
And you’ll get perfect data all through the night.
Falalala-Lab: Decoration (optional)
Of course, if you want to keep the festive spirit as long as possible you can decorate your system…it’s Christmas all over…
There's no such thing as too much decoration! Photo by Juliane Kramer, @knauer
For further information on this topic refer to our Good HPLC Practice Guide or contact our authors: santa.claus@knauer-northpole.net (just kidding 😉), kramer@knauer.net, pruefer@knauer.net
#Yippee-Ki-Yay #MerryChristmas #SystemMaintenance #GoodHPLCPracticeGuide #HPLC #FAQ
