Peak fronting with ACQUITY UPLC I-Class - WKB121741

SYMPTOMS

• Poor chromatographic peak shape
• A high degree of chromatographic peak fronting 

ENVIRONMENT

• ACQUITY UPLC I-Class

CAUSE

Fronting can be caused by a variety of issues, but it points mainly to a chemistry issue with mobile phase, stationary phase, or injection sample organic solvent strength.

In this case, historical data was reviewed and the cause was determined to be that the column had degraded over time, with the peak shape increasingly deteriorating over analytical runs.

FIX or WORKAROUND

Replace the analytical column with a new column.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Consider testing an alternative column that is more suitable or robust for the application.