In High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), tubing plays a critical role in enabling the precise separation and quantification of components within a mixture.
The process occurs within a cannular tube, often referred to as a “column” or “cartridge”, which contains the stationary phase.
The tubing ensures the smooth flow of the mobile phase and sample mixture under high pressure, facilitating effective interaction between the sample and the stationary phase. This interaction is essential for achieving accurate separation and reliable analysis.
Additionally, the quality of the tubing’s internal surface directly impacts the performance of the HPLC system. A polished, smooth surface ensures consistent flow and reduces turbulence, which enhances the separation characteristics and ensures reproducible results.
HPLC tubing issues often arise from several factors, including:
To ensure accurate and reliable results in HPLC, the following measures should be taken:
By addressing these factors, the efficiency of the HPLC system can be maximized, ensuring clearer results and improved reproducibility.
Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) is a cutting-edge surface finishing technology that has revolutionized the manufacturing and maintenance of tubing used in High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
This process is specifically designed to address challenges related to surface roughness, contamination, and wear, ensuring that the internal surfaces of the tubing meet the highest standards of precision and reliability.
AFM involves the controlled flow of a semi-viscous, abrasive-laden polymer (media) through the internal passages of a tube. As the media moves through the tubing under pressure, it removes material from high spots and smooths the surface at a micron level.
This method is highly customizable, allowing manufacturers to fine-tune the abrasive composition, pressure, and flow rate to achieve the desired surface finish.
By enhancing the quality of HPLC tubing, AFM indirectly improves the reliability and clarity of chromatographic analyses. This advancement is particularly valuable in industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and environmental testing, where precise chemical separation and quantification are essential.
| ADVANTAGES | EXPLANATION |
|---|---|
| Micron-level surface finish | AFM creates a uniform and ultra-smooth internal surface, reducing surface roughness to a micron fraction. This smoothness minimizes turbulence within the tubing, promoting consistent flow and enhancing the separation characteristics of the HPLC system. |
| Enhanced accuracy and reproducibility | The precision achieved by AFM ensures repeatable results, which is critical in applications requiring high sensitivity, such as pharmaceutical analysis or glucose monitoring. |
| Improved durability | By eliminating surface imperfections and stress points, AFM extends the lifespan of the tubing. This reduces the likelihood of cracks or wear caused by high-pressure operations. |
| Reduced risk of contamination | A smooth, polished surface is less prone to trapping residues or particles. This minimizes contamination risks, ensuring cleaner operation and reducing the need for frequent cleaning cycles. |
| Fluid dynamics | AFM's ability to remove irregularities improves fluid dynamics within the tubing, allowing for a more predictable and laminar flow. This contributes to more precise separation and quantification in HPLC. |
| Adaptability to complex geometries | AFM can be applied to tubing with intricate internal structures or tight bends, ensuring consistent finishing in areas that are difficult to access using conventional polishing methods. |
Extrude Hone offers you its chromatography tube supply service.
The benefits:
With the supply of tubes cut at the desired length (up to 1 meter, depending on diameter), polished, and equipped with connectors and filters, you deal with only one supplier and remove the need fit connectors manually at the lab, giving researchers and scientists more time to concentrate on more important things.
The VECTOR Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) system can polish and deburr precision parts in small to high-volume batch quantities for a wide range of applications in a reasonable space.
No question, with 400+ VECTOR machines in 22 countries worldwide, VECTOR is the best seller in its category.
Benefit now from the latest VECTOR iteration.
Learn more about our medical and AFM experience
HPLC is one medical area where manufacturing accuracy and surface finishing are critical.
