Chromatography Forum

Hello experts,

i've already been reading posts in this forum from time to time. Now, this is my first question and I hope that, in spite of my fair english, there are not too many mistakes in it.

We are getting an UHPLC-MS-system for our lab in a couple of weeks and will have to do a lot of transfer and especially new development of methods.
As the system will be equipped with a 6-port column switch, my idea was to buy a set of different columns (3-4) with complementary selectivities for fast method screening.

So could some of you who are experienced with UHPLC give me some hints what might be a useful combination and what brands have shown to deliver good and stable columns? We are mainly doing small molecule and protein / peptide analytics.

In the moment I am tending to buying Waters Acquity columns 2.1x100mm 1.7 µm with C18, C8, Phenyl (130A pores) and a C18 with 300 A pores (for the proteins/peptides).
The idea behind buying from one manufacturer was to get some discount (e.g. 3 for 4 columns)

So what do you think?

Thanks for your replies
Stefan

These are the exact columns that we use in our lab when analyzing vitamins and supplements. We also use them for small, aromatic compounds often used in fragrances. Sounds to me like you have the columns that you need for this type of work, but hey that is just one opinion.

if i would be to start with uhplc again i would't buy this 100x2.1 1.7 columns for sure cos i rarely used them
i would go for shorter ones

The workhorse for UPLC is the 5 cm column. I would use a longer column only, if I need more separation power than normal.

We actually need the 10 cm as we have some critical seperation problems and in general resolution for us is more important than saving time.

"We actually need the 10 cm as we have some critical seperation problems and in general resolution for us is more important than saving time."

UHPLC is meant to increase speed and save time, so...