LC Technology case studies
LC Technology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
LC Technology is a professional certification exam for people who work with liquid chromatography in analytical laboratories - bench analysts, method development scientists, QC reviewers, and instrument owners who need to demonstrate applied competence rather than recall of a single vendor's software. The exam is delivered as multiple choice and is organized around seven content areas: laboratory safety and regulatory compliance; LC fundamentals and separation theory; instrumentation and system components; method development and optimization; sample preparation and injection; data acquisition, integration, and quantitation; and troubleshooting and maintenance. The LC Technology case studies are 5 cases and about 3,413 words.
1Waste Container in a Shared LC Laboratory
In a US university LC laboratory, a 4 L amber glass bottle sits on the floor beside an HPLC. It contains about 3.2 L of waste from a method using 55:45 acetonitrile/water with 0.1% formic acid, accumulated over nine days.
613 words, about 3 min2Early-Eluting Basic Analytes with Poor Resolution
A reversed-phase method uses a 150 x 4.6 mm, 5 µm C18 column at 1.0 mL/min, 30°C, and a 25 min linear gradient from 10% to 80% acetonitrile in 10 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.8. The column dead time is 1.75 min.
755 words, about 4 min3Autosampler Precision Problem with a Strong Sample Solvent
A partial-loop autosampler is set to inject 5 µL from a 150 µL vial. The sample is dissolved in 80:20 water/acetonitrile, while the method starts at 95:5 water/acetonitrile and ramps to 95% acetonitrile.
695 words, about 3 min4Coeluting Degradant in a Stability-Indicating UHPLC Method
A stability-indicating UHPLC assay is being developed for a small-molecule drug and its carboxylic acid degradant. The current method uses a 100 x 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm C18 column, 0.4 mL/min, 40°C, 220 nm, and a linear gradient from 5% to 95% acetonitrile in 10 mM phosphate buffer pH 3.0 over 8 min.
681 words, about 3 min5Rising UHPLC Backpressure After Weekend Idle
An UHPLC system runs a 50 x 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm C18 column at 0.4 mL/min with a gradient from 5% to 70% acetonitrile in 20 mM phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The method is used five days a week; the system sits idle over weekends with the column left in the method final condition.
669 words, about 3 min