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- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:00 pm
- Location: NH, USA
I'm working with a Dionex IC 5000 system, and I have some questions that I can't seem to find the answers to. I was hoping someone could help.
1. Many of the columns were purchased in 2004-2005, but were never opened. There are expiration dates of 2006 or 2007 on most of the columns. Do those expiration dates mean very much? Someone really stocked up, but didn't get down to work, so I've got quite a few, and really hate to have to re-purchase.
2. I did install one of those columns (Dionex AG21 guard column and AS21 analytical column). Using a conductivity detector, I was able to run an anion standard and separate the peaks (I didn't have the exact mix that they used in the QA report that came with the column, but did have some anions in common). I've been running standards (perchlorate and fluoroacetate in DI), and suddenly, my conductivity is all over the place--I had a fine baseline for several days, and now I'm getting humongous (21,000+ on the conductivity detector) lumps--I can't even really say peaks. Would that be due to the column being 'expired'? Or did I mess something up somewhere? Do I just need to clean everything, since the system sat for a few months without being used.
The system is sitting at 0.35 ml/min, 10mM KOH, from an eluent generator. I think this is ok for this column and this system.
3. Can anyone point me to a good resource for ion chromatography basics? I'm not sure a training course is anywhere in the budget.
thanks so much for any help anyone can give me!
mty