Inert HPLC Hardware via CVD Coatings for Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverage, Environmental, and More

As HPLC techniques move toward higher sensitivity, smaller components, and higher pressures, the choice of material for the flow path has become more critical. Traditional materials such as stainless steel can handle the high pressures; however, steel typically contains active sites and requires routine passivation and priming to be effective at low detection limits or when analyzing metal loving analytes such as proteins and chelating agents. PEEK is an inert option; however, when operating at UHPLC conditions PEEK tubing can fail or burst, and PEEK frits can deform and clog. Other metal alloys are available such as titanium or MP35N, but these are not without their own problems such as reactivity hot spots, availability (especially for frits), cost, and solvent compatibility issues.

A new option available to HPLC scientists is an inert coating performed via CVD onto metal hardware. This allows for the robustness of steel to couple with the inertness of PEEK. It can be applied to capillaries, pumps, columns, frits, and any other portion of the fluidic flow path. This talk will investigate areas where the coating is necessary for separation scientists including oligonucleotides, lipids, PFAS molecules, small molecule pharmaceuticals, pesticides, mycotoxins, and many more. The coating can be altered to be compatible with reverse phase, HILIC, ion pairing, and SEC analyses.