Varian columns aid solvent residue monitoring
ultra-low-bleed columns for monitoring solvent residues in
pharmaceutical preparations.
The new products, in the FactorFour family of columns, are made of cyano/phenyl/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and are intended for trace analysis of volatile and semi-volatile compounds according to methods developed by the US Pharmacopeia and Environmental Protection Agency.
The Varian FactorFour(TM) VF-1701ms, VF-624ms, and VF-1301ms columns are the latest additions to the FactorFour family of ultra-low-bleed gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) capillary columns, which offer a bleed specification of up-to-four times lower than comparable products, according to Varian.
In the pharmaceutical industry, the columns are aimed at quality assurance laboratories which follow the USP Method 467 targeting residual solvents in pharmaceutical preparations. Meanwhile, environmental lab technicians can use the columns for the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, such as pesticides in drinking water and pollutants in groundwater as well as industrial and municipal waste discharges.
Cyano-based columns can exhibit very high column bleed caused by degradation of the stationary phase and resulting in a variety of problems that hinder government-mandated analysis and quantitation of critical trace analytes. Those problems include ghost peak formation, breakdown of analytes, loss of high-boiling semi-volatile compounds, and unstable baselines. Column bleed can lead to contaminated detectors, instrument downtime, and loss of sensitivity of targeted compounds in trace analysis, according to Varian.
In contrast, the ultra-low-bleed characteristics of Varian's new VF-1701ms, VF-624ms, and VF-1301ms columns enable environmental, pharmaceutical, industrial, and toxicology analysts to virtually eliminate bleed-related problems, which Varian says should mean faster, more accurate analysis.
"Drinking water authorities, industrial and municipal waste discharge facilities, contract research laboratories, and drug manufacturing quality assurance departments will benefit from improved quantitation of trace analytes and faster throughput, giving lower-cost-per-sample analysis," said the company.
The new range is available for immediate order, with shipments beginning later this month.
