Controlled Atmosphere vials and seals

[lperelman]

Howdy Fellow Chromatographers!

I am looking for a semi-specific item to support some stability testing. We are trying to investigate the performance of some of our materials under controlled atmospheres, such as all N2 or a fixed volume of air. The key attribute(s) is that these vials are impermeable to gas leaks from -20C to 60C. The secondary attribute is volume--it would be good for these containers to be capable of holding at least 20 mL of fluid, but 40 mL would be even more ideal. Finally, materials compatibility is close to that of limonene (viton or teflon seals are appropriate). I know there are some options with secondary bagging of vials or flame-sealed ampules, but our volume of samples is much too large for those approaches to be practical. I am currently discussing options with some GC consumables manufacturers--headspace vials with crimped seals seem like a potential approach.

My humble request to you, the brilliant and experience chromatographers/scientists on this board, is to point me towards some containers that will achieve what I am after. If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I appreciate any advice you may have! Thank you SO much in advance.

[chromatographer1]

TIme of storage is a critical factor in your request.

Be mindful that teflon coated seals are not impermeable, nor are uncoated silicone or butyl rubber seals. Aluminum coated seals would perform best for gases but not with anything that could be acidic in nature.

The temperature ranges you gave are tough to seal manually without some possibly small leaks.

A tough challenge you have posed.

best wishes

Rod

[Peter Apps]

Googling "ampoule 40 ml" gets:

http://www.schott.com/pharmaceutical_pa ... oules.html

Peter

[lperelman]

Thanks Rod and Peter--the replies are much appreciated.

Rod - I would be storing samples as long as 2 years, but if I could find seals that gave me two months, that would manage most of my heavy lifting. I could put >2 month samples in bags.

Peter - my first thought was flame-sealed ampules, but these are not feasible in our experimental design. Good idea for most applications though!

[Peter Apps]

I really doubt that there is a polymer seal that will not scalp some organics over a period of two years - the only off the shelf application that I can think of with those storage times for liquids is wine - multilayer foil bags and artificial corks might be worth looking at. The temperature range might be a deal breaker though.

Peter

[chromatographer1]

I concur with you Peter. But even with the hardware you mentioned, I have doubts.

best wishes,

Rod