Waters Guard-Pak Holder and Inserts - Manual (Page 2)

[ Care and Use ManUal ]
Guard-Pak Holder and Inserts
a. Sorbents
The sorbents used in Guard-Pak inserts are identical to the sorbents used in
Waters HPLC columns and cartridges. Select an insert with the same sorbent
as your column or cartridges. Use the Nova-Pak
® Silica insert when using a
μPorasil ™ column or cartridge.
a. Precautions
When using a Guard-Pak insert with high performance/low volume columns,
some loss of efficiency may result. When using the Guard-Pak holder and
insert, observe the same precautions that you follow with an analytical col-
umn. To prevent precipitation inside the insert, use only miscible eluents in
series.
II. INsTallINg The gUaRD-pak
To install the Guard-Pak on your HPLC system:
• If necessary, condition the insert
• Assemble the Guard-Pak
• Install the assembled Guard-Pak holder
a. Conditioning the Insert
Before use, condition dry-packed inserts (Nova-Pak ® , Resolve ™ , μBondapak ® ,
and Delta-Pak ™ ). Polymer-based Guard-Pak inserts are shipped wet and does
not require conditioning.
Remove and discard the polyethylene foam shipping plug.
To condition the insert, either:
• Soak the insert for minutes in 5 mL of the organic component of
the mobile phase.
• Assemble the Guard-Pak. Run 5 mL of the organic component of the
mobile phase through the assembled Guard-Pak and out to waste.
b. Assembling the Guard-Pak
Place the Guard-Pak insert on the outlet unit and place the Guard-Pak holder
inlet and collar on top. Hand-tighten only.
c. Installing the Assembled Guard-Pak
This procedure requires a 5/6-inch wrench. To install:
Ensure that the spiral-cut distributor disk in the outlet unit was not dislodged
during shipping.
. Use 0.009-inch (0.3 mm) i.d. tubing to connect the Guard-Pak
assembly to your system. Use the fittings included in the kit to
make the extra connections.
. Connect the Guard-Pak inlet to the injector and the outlet unit to
the column or cartridge.
Figure 1: System with Guard-Pak Holder and Insert (Exploded View)
Keep the tubing between the holder and the column as short as possible.
Ensure that the tubing is seated in the bottom of the fitting before tightening
the compression screw.
III. ReplaCINg The INseRT
Replace Guard-Pak inserts before contaminants appear in the chromatogram.
For best results, replace the insert:
• After completion of a set of analyses
• After running 50 to 00 samples
• When the initial backpressure increases significantly
Procedure:
To replace the Guard-Pak insert:
. Unscrew the inlet unit from the outlet unit. Hold the outlet unit to
prevent the injector tubing from twisting.
. Use the insert removal tool to remove the old insert.
Figure 2: Using the Insert Removal Tool