Low bleed capillary columns

Varian has released a family of ultra low bleed capillary columns that detect lower concentrations for more accurate quantification and qualification of trace compounds, boost instrument uptime, and speed instrument stabilisation.

The Varian FactorFour line of fused silica columns offers a bleed specification that is claimed to be up to four times lower than comparable competitive offerings. The FactorFour columns are also efficient, inert, and provide improved sensitivity and thermal stability.

Bleeding is caused by degradation of the stationary phase. It can contaminate detectors causing instrument downtime, and shorten the useful life of GC detectors. It can also hinder the ability of a GC/MS to detect lower concentrations of trace compounds.

During GC/MS analysis, gaseous samples are introduced into columns that contain a liquid stationary phase. Due to specific physical properties of the stationary phase, different components of the sample move through a column at different rates, thus separating the sample into its constituent components. These separated components are then introduced into a detector, such as a mass spectrometer, for identification and quantification.

The FactorFour columns are appropriate for the full range of GC/MS applications, including industrial, toxicology, environmental and petrochemical analyses, plus all other GC applications where reliability is important. FactorFour columns are outfitted with the Ez-Grip system that can boost laboratory productivity by providing simple, error-free installation and operation of single and dual GC columns.