SPME fibre stuck in septum issue

[fancys]

Hi, has anyone come across the issue of getting Supelco SPME fibres stuck in headspace vial septa? We are using a CTC-PAL setup on a Varian GC and found that fibres have been caught in the septa, presumably as the protective needle is withdrawing from the sample vial.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we could check for needle penetration given that this normally happens in the heater shaker so isn't visible?

Could it be that we've just purchased a faulty batch of 100micron PDMS fibre assemblies?

Any advice would be gratefully received, many thanks in advance,

Sally

[Peter Apps]

Odd. To check needle penetration take one of the needle where the fibre is already broken off, run a sample and see whether there is a hole all the way through the septum. If not, increase needle penetration.

Peter

[fancys]

Thanks Peter, that's a great idea. I'll give it a go.

Sally