Search Thermo Fisher Scientific
What are chromatography consumables?
Chromatography consumables include everything from the columns, vials, and chemicals, you use to prepare, handle, and run your sample for analysis.
Read on for more information about the types of columns, vials and well plates, and sample preparation techniques chromatographers use to prepare and analyze samples.
Chromatography columns
Physical separation of individual sample components happens on the column stationary phase.
Analytical techniques like liquid chromatography and gas chromatography use different column chemistries to separate compounds based on polarity.
Chemical attributes such as polarity, presence of certain functional groups (e.g., amines, acids, aromatic rings, etc.), compound size, or stereochemistry influence analyte retention and selectivity on the column. Column properties, such as column packing material and pore size, column length, and internal diameter affect separation efficiency.
There are many chromatography columns, and the chemical composition of each varies based on the instrument type, analytes of interest, and application.
Gas chromatography (GC) columns
GC columns are open tubes called capillary columns.
- Capillary columns, referred to as open tubular columns, include wall-coated open tubular (WCOT) columns, which are common today. Porous-layer open tubular (PLOT) columns, have a porous layer of solid adsorbent within the column to separate gases and light volatile compounds.
- Packed GC columns are composed of stainless steel or glass, and packed with a solid, inert support material coated with a stationary phase. Packed GC columns are used to analyze a mixture of gasses or find the purity and quality of a gas.
Visit our selection guide to see the variety of GC columns we offer.
HPLC/UHPLC columns
HPLC columns are closed stainless steel or polyether ether ketone (PEEK) tubes filled with small silica particles or polymer, referred to as the stationary phase.
- Silica-based columns are the standard column type thanks to the application versatility and separation efficiency. These columns feature silica particles of varying sizes and are often functionalized with chemical ligands to enhance analyte selectivity. Ligand choice significantly influences column selectivity and retention characteristics.
- Hybrid silica columns are widely used in chromatography today. The chemistry is based on the same principle as regular silica columns and bonding of the stationary phase. The biggest difference is the addition of carbon atoms in the silica particle to make the stationary phase more durable under high pH conditions.
- Polymer-based columns are useful for separating proteins and nucleic acids. Polymer bead columns are super effective under extreme conditions, like high pH and temperature.
Visit our selection guide to learn more about the variety of LC columns we offer.
Guard columns
Whether you are performing HPLC or GC analysis, using a guard column helps protect your analytical column from deterioration by contaminants.
Learn more about the chromatography guard columns we offer.
Changing column length
- Shorter columns offer faster run time and higher throughput.
- Longer columns offer higher resolution and are ideal for complex samples.
Changing internal diameter (ID)
- Wider columns allow for increased sample capacity.
- Narrower columns decrease solvent consumption and offer higher sensitivity and resolution.
- Using a narrower ID is particularly important in HPLC-MS applications because the vaporization in MS instruments has a limited capacity. A column with 2.1 mm ID or smaller provides the best vaporization of the sample inside the ion source.
Changing particle size for HPLC columns
Particles in HPLC columns vary in size and the choice of particle size can significantly alter the performance of your chromatography method.
- Small particles (1.7 µm to 3 µm) are common in ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems and provide high resolution and fast separation but require higher operating pressures.
- Medium particles (3 µm to 5 µm) are standard in many HPLC applications and give you a good balance of resolution, separation speed, and pressure requirements.
- Larger particles (5 µm to 10 µm) are used for preparative HPLC applications or when you need lower pressure and are suitable for larger-scale separations but may offer lower resolution compared to smaller particles.
- Solid core HPLC particles are about 20–25% more efficient than fully porous particles of the same size but have less capacity, so you need smaller injection volumes or less concentrated samples to get the best peak shapes.
Changing film thickness for GC columns
- Thinner films offer high resolution for high-molecular-weight compounds, lower bleed, faster runtimes, and higher maximum temperatures.
- Thicker films offer high resolution for low-molecular-weight compounds or volatiles, better inertness, and higher sample load capacity.
Sample vials and caps
Sample vials and plates in chromatography are the physical containers you use to hold samples for injection into your instrument and storage.
Throughout every analysis, vials/plates store and preserve the integrity of your samples before, during, and after analysis. Contrary to common belief, vials can affect your compound integrity and data quality. Hence selecting the right vial for your application is imperative.
Choosing a vial color and material compatible with your sample is important for supporting sample integrity, quantitative accuracy, and analytical precision.
Learn about our selection of chromatography vials and caps.
Vial material type
Vial material may impact your analysis more than you think. Glass quality and using materials other than glass may improve your method significantly for certain applications.
- Plastic
Polypropylene (PP) plastic vials are important for separating polar analytes like oligonucleotides and polar pesticides. Analytes stored in glass vials rather than a PP vial tend to adhere and react with the residual metals in the glass, challenging the reproducibility and accuracy of the method.
- Regular-quality glass vials
For most methods regular-quality glass, called type 70 glass, is sufficient. These methods are common with higher sample concentrations and more samples, where small sample variance is less important.
- High-quality GOLD grade vials
For trace analysis methods, with low concentrations or low sample volume, glass quality has a larger impact on overall method robustness. Higher-quality glass vials offer fewer bonding sites for analytes to adhere to and help improve quantitation.
For certain applications like environmental, you can buy pre-cleaned and certified vials and caps together in a sealed package to help preserve sample integrity.
Pre-collected kits exist in EPA, MS-certified, and PFAS kits.
Vial size and design
The size and design of a vial you choose depends upon the volume of your sample. The smaller your sample volume, the smaller the vial volume you should use.
- Micro vials hold 300 µL or less and are effective for small sample volumes.
- Total recovery vials can hold about 1.5 mL and are good for small samples because the container provides a <4 µL residual volume, which makes the sampling process highly dependable.
- 2 mL vials are standard-size and ideal for large sample volumes at reasonable concentrations.
- 10 or 20 mL vials are larger vials for GC headspace analysis, where a part of the technique is to make the analytes vaporize in the vial before injecting the gas into the instrument.
Vial color
Certain analytes are light-sensitive, and may even decompose when exposed to light, affecting sample integrity, separation efficiency, and peak resolution.
- Clear vials offer no light-sensitivity protection, so avoid use with light-sensitive samples.
- Amber vials protect your sample against light-induced degradations.
Vial cap types
How you seal your vial affects the accuracy and precision of your method. The two biggest factors depend on how long your sample sits in the vial and the room temperature.
Most injection solvents in chromatography are organic and have a low boiling point, which means the solvent will evaporate if not sufficiently sealed. Insufficient sealing of samples can give you irreproducible results or incorrect quantitation due to preconcentration caused by evaporation, and reduced method robustness.
- Crimp caps are common in GC where injection solvents and analytes may have a low, even ambient boiling point, and seal the cap tight to the top of the vial.
- Screw caps are common within HPLC where analytes and solvents have a higher boiling point. Screw caps allow tight fastened to prevent most evaporation at ambient temperature and are easier to install and remove for the laboratory technician.
- Snap caps are a form of “click-on-cap". The seal will not be as tight as screw and crimp caps but is easy to work with for laboratory technicians.
- Advanced vial closure system caps are a form of screw cap that help ensure a perfect seal every time.
Septa
The septum you choose for your vial will also impact your analysis.
Each instrument vendor uses different injector needle types and, for some instruments, having pre-slit septa, or a material with a lower shore (hardness) value will help reduce the chances of needle issues, such as needle bending.
Choosing a septum with a tight seal is key to preventing compound loss if your compounds are volatile.
Various septum types available are:
- Butyl rubber/chlorobutyl rubber
- Rubber and silicone rubber
- PTFE and fluoropolymers
- Integral plastic seal
- Silicone rubber
For HPLC applications, there is also the opportunity to use 96 well plates for higher throughput.
Well-plates come in various volumes, shapes (round well, square well, U-bottom, V-bottom), and materials.
Some 96 well plates are glass coated, to provide a higher quality sampling and throughput.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.