EPA 549.2 Conditioning Solution A

Discussions about sample preparation: extraction, cleanup, derivatization, etc.

3 posts Page 1 of 1
I'm working on setting up an extraction method on a Biotage 5000 extractor for EPA 549.2 . I'm experiencing an issue where when it dispenses Conditioning Solution A (0.500 g of cetyl trimethyl ammonium
bromide and 5 mL of concentrated ammonium hydroxide in 1000 mL of
deionized water) it comes out all foamy. The foam ends up getting on the liquid level sensor and triggers the overflow alarm.

That is the short and sweet of my issues. My question is more on the Conditioning Solution A. Since I'm not super familiar with it and I had one of my analysts prepare it for me... I have a suspicion that it may not have been prepared correctly as there was still undissolved ammonium bromide in the solution. It was also full of foam. I asked the analyst if it always comes out like that and they said yes. So the question is: Is it supposed to be all foamy and some of the ammonium bromide undissolved when you prepare it or is it being prepared incorrectly?
It is all supposed to dissolve, otherwise the composition wouldn't be consistent batch to batch.
For the foaming, does the analyst shake it?
CTAB is a surfactant, so foaming will always be an issue. After reagents are mixed, the foam will settle after awhile, but as soon as it is shaken more suds will form. All of the CTAB should go, and stay in solution.

It works on a manifold, but i could see how other forms of dispensing could be problematic. I am not familiar with Biotage extractors but can the dispense rate be adjusted?
3 posts Page 1 of 1

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