How to revive a column that has been blocked by a 'thick' sample
A thick sample is often the result of precipitate forming after the addition of loading buffer to a sample vial. There are two things you can try to revive the column:
- Run 5 - 10+ blank gradients
- Run 85% acetonitrile at 400nl/min for an extended period of time
We have tried testing a variety of other solvents to clean up columns but have not discovered anything suitable. If the back pressure remains below the operating maximum of your UHPLC then we normally find that the chromatography isn't significantly affected in these situations so you may be able to continue with additional samples using the same column.
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