Before operating the system, you must fill the needle wash reservoirs and purge the needle wash systems.
TIP
To avoid the formation of air bubbles in liquid lines, always place reservoirs in the solvent rack on top of the system stack.
Tools required
Tubing cutter
Preparations
Rinse the wash reservoirs thoroughly. Use a high-purity solvent for rinsing.
Wash Liquids
Choose wash liquids that are suitable for your application and that remove residual sample from the needle sufficiently. There is a reservoir for strong and a reservoir for weak wash liquid. Typically, the strong wash liquid is solvent B of your application or a stronger solvent, while the weak wash liquid is close to the starting solvent of your gradient.
Wash liquid type | Description (for reversed-phase applications) | Tubing |
---|---|---|
Strong | High organic wash liquid, for example, 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile | Wash line for purging and short term shutdown labeled S (red): connected to Strong degasser inlet port in the pump. |
Wash line for inner and outer needle wash labeled SWP (red): connected to upper inlet port on needle wash pump. | ||
Weak | Low organic wash liquid, for example, 0.1% formic acid in water | Wash line for inner needle wash and purging labeled W (green): connected to Weak degasser inlet port in the pump. |
Wash line for outer needle wash labeled WWP (green): connected to lower inlet port on needle wash pump. |
Follow these steps for each reservoir
No. | Description |
---|---|
1 | Wash line |
2 | Retaining guide |
3 | Reservoir cap |
4 | Cap plugs |
5 | Solvent line filter with solvent line adapter |
Feed each wash line through a retaining guide.
Feed each wash line through an open hole in a cap for a reservoir. The retaining guide keeps the solvent line in place in the reservoir.
Close any open holes in the reservoir caps with the cap plugs.
Slide a filter holder with adapter onto each wash line.
Fill the wash reservoir with wash liquid.
Tighten the reservoir cap hand-tight. Press the retaining guide into the hole in the reservoir cap so that the tubing is kept in place in the cap.
Place the wash reservoir in the solvent rack.
Check the wash lines over the entire flow path:
- Make sure that no bending (kink), pinching or squeezing of the wash lines is present at any point in the flow path.
- If you have to cut tubing to length, use a tubing cutter. Make sure that the cut is at right angle to the length of the line.
Purging the Needle Wash Systems
The needle wash systems are purged when you run the A02 - Auto Start Up script after you have turned on the system. See Preparing the System for Initial Operation.