Every year in my annual Spring Cleaning, I sort through my closets for donations. There are always those “two-sizes too small” suits and dress clothes in the back of the closet, representing those unrealistic hopes of being able to wear them one day. I found the perfect place to donate… Dress for Success. They are a global nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support and professional attire. Frankly, I found it difficult to discard those visual symbols of hope. But as I gave them away, I felt lighter and brighter as I swept-out those unrealistic and burdensome expectations.Well, that was dramatic! On a more natural note, many of our loyal ion chromatography customers have stayed with their 1980s EPA-approved columns in their favorite 1990s ion chromatography instruments. Forty-five years ago, these were state-of-the-art as Dionex Corporation (now Thermo Fisher Scientific) and chemists like me developed water analysis methods with and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1984, Dionex Corporation and the EPA jointly developed EPA Method 300.0 using ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection to ensure that drinking water was cleaner, safer, and more palatable. This new innovation of ion chromatography specified the Dionex IonPac AS4, 4 x 250 mm column into the method. Customers who loved that column are now using the Dionex IonPac AS4A-SC column. It too is behind the times.
So why upgrade if everything is working fine? Times do change, often for the better. In 1984, I was a young mother starting my chemistry career with a 5-year-old daughter who celebrated a primarily pink and purple wardrobe. Now she is an emergency medicine doctor seldom seen in pink or purple and has two young daughters of her own. Just like my daughter, column and instrument technologies have grown up. Here at Thermo Fisher Scientific, research and applications chemists have continued to advance column technology with at least three generations of columns since 1984.
The Thermo Scientific¢ Dionex¢ IonPac¢ AS29-Fast-4µm (4 x 150 mm) is the modern version of an anion-exchange column designed for carbonate buffer eluents. The Dionex IonPac AS29-4µm column (as compared to the Dionex IonPac AS4A-SC column):
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- Reduces operating costs because the column has similar run times at half the flow rates
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- Results in more accurate reporting of fluoride because the peak is out of the water dip and is resolved from the acetate peak
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- Improves reporting of other anions in more challenging samples, including those with higher ionic strengths and those with acidic and basic pH
In summary, the Dionex IonPac AS29-4µm column is a modern column with many advantages over the 1980’s Dionex IonPac AS4A-SC column. For more details, see my white paper.
Are you ready to give up those 1980s leather pants, shoulder-padded dresses, and the Dionex IonPac AS4A-SC column? And ready to go for the straight-leg jeans and the Dionex IonPac AS29-Fast-4µm column? Use our online ordering.