Troubleshooting, instrumentation

Tips on Instrument Troubleshooting Recorders and Recorder-Controllers... 

Problems with the mechanics of a procedure can involve an improperly diluted sample (perhaps manifested by an absorbance reading that is greater than specified or expected), an obstruction in the sample or reference beam, an improperly aligned source or mirror, the incomplete programming of a scan, or improper or inappropriate software entry. In these cases, the operator will need to carefully examine his or her technique or procedure, or instrumental parameters, such as the optical path, perhaps with the help of the instrument troubleshooting guide, to solve the problem. 

However, those who have worked with smaller diameter columns have often experienced lower performance and other difficulties. This is primarily due to extra-column effects the bandspreading in the injector, detector and tubing, or the gradient delay volume of the instrument. Troubleshooting guidelines for sorting out the causes of these difficulties are available in Reference f. With proper care, 2-mm columns can be run on a standard modern HPLC instrument with few difficulties. Smaller i.d. columns require special instrumentation. 

In HPLC instrumentation troubleshooting, problems can be classified as follows. Major HPLC problems are discussed under this paragraph, while an extended summary of problem causes and remedy actions are tabulated in the respective tables. 

HPLC Instrumentation Troubleshooting Table 1 Peak shape problems and remedies. 

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