GHOST-BUSTER COLUMN
What is Ghost Peak?
Ghost Peak is the peak appears erratically like ghost in chromatographic separation, especially during gradient elution
or long-period operation.
Where is Ghost Peak from?
- Water, with impurities
- Purification system, polluted or poorly functioning
- Storage containers, polluted or breeding bacteria
- Mobile phase additives, like salts, acids and alkalis
- Instrument, polluted after long-period use
- Other organic pollutants
Application and Result
Figure : without Ghost-Buster column(a) and with Ghost-Buster column(b)
| Column: | Ultisil® XB-C18, 4.6×250mm, 5μm |
| Flow Rate: | 1.0mL/min |
| Injection Volume: | 10μL |
| Detection: | 210nm |
| Temperature: | 40°C |
| Sample Preparation: | Ultra-pure water |
| Mobile Phase A: | Ultra-pure water |
| Mobile Phase B: | Acetonitrile |
| Time(min) | Mobile Phase A(%) | Mobile Phase B(%) |
| 0 | 90 | 10 |
| 20 | 10 | 90 |
| 30 | 10 | 90 |
| 30.1 | 90 | 10 |
| 38 | 90 | 10 |
| Name | P/N | Dimension | Pressure |
| Ghost-Buster Column | 06100-31000 | 4.6×50mm | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster Column | 06100-31001 | 7.8×50mm | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster HP Column | 06100-31021 | 2.1×33mm | 100MPa |
| Ghost-Buster HP Column | 06100-31025 | 2.1×50mm | 100MPa |
| Ghost-Buster Column Kit | GBKIT-01 | 4.6×50mm, With 4 connectors and 2 pipelines | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster Column Kit | GBKIT-02 | 7.8×50mm, With 4 connectors and 2 pipelines | 40MPa |
GHOST-BUSTER II COLUMN
Further improvement, excellent performance!
During HPLC analysis, especially gradient elutio or after long-term system usage, some unexpected peaks, often called "Ghost Peaks", may appear in the chromatogram. Welch Materials original Ghost-Buster Column can capture ghost peaks, but sometimes this has been accompanied with baseline fluctuation which may affect the integration of some peaks.
Precautions
- The new Ghost-Buster II Column, should be flushed with 80% methanol at 1.0mL/min for 4-5 hours before using.
- Not all impurities can be absorbed by the Ghost-Buster II Column.
- The GB II column is not compatible with 100% aqueous mobile phases. Mobile phase A should contain at least 5% organic solvent.
- lon-pair solvents in mobile phase would be absorbed by Ghost-Buster II column and affect retention and peak shape. Whether this type of mobile phase can be used should be determined by testing a new GB II column with the specific method.
- Replacement of the GB II column is recommended once the trapping effect begins to deteriorate. We do not recommend a washing or clean up procedure due to the highly retentive nature of the GB II column packing materials.
More Stable Baseline
When the initial proportion of aqueous phase is high (generally more than 95%), using conventional GB columns can remove impurities effectively. But some ghost peaks may still occur when the proportion of mobile phase has drastic change in a few minutes or the baseline has large fluctuation. By improving the overall design of the Ghost-Buster II column, the mobile phase is fully mixed before entering the analytical column, greatly reducing the baseline fluctuation and drift in the intial phase of the gradient program.
Column: C18 column
GB Column: Ghost-Buster II Column, 3.0x50mm
Mobile phase: A: phosphoric acid buffer B: acetonitrile
Gradient program:
| Time/min | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 15 |
| A/% | 96 | 89 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 50 |
| B% | 4 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 50 |
From the above case, it can be seen that Ghost-Buster II Column, 3.0x50mm is perfectly compatible with the high proportion of aqueous phase, reducing the run time of the gradient program and providing a more stable baseline.
Ordering Information
| Name | P/N | Dimension | Pressure |
| Ghost-Buster II Column | 06100-31008 | 4.0×50mm | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster II Column | 06100-31016 | 3.0×50mm | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster Column Kit | GBKIT-03 | 4.0×50mm, With 4 connectors and 2 pipelines | 40MPa |
| Ghost-Buster Column Kit | GBKIT-04 | 3.0×50mm, With 4 connectors and 2 pipelines | 40MPa |
