Chromatographic data shows both high backgound signal and discrete contamination peaks in the trace for data acquired on an ACQUITY UPLC H-Class and Xevo TQD - WKB79501

SYMPTOMS

• High background signal
• Discreet peaks in the trace that should not be there

ENVIRONMENT

• ACQUITY UPLC H-Class
• ACQUITY UPLC I-Class
• ACQUITY UPLC
• SQD2
• Xevo TQD
• Xevo TQ MS
• Xevo TQ-S
• Xevo TQ-S micro
• Xevo TQ-S cronos

CAUSE

System is contaminated both in the solvent lines and in the injector. Source of contamination unknown

FIX or WORKAROUND

1. Replace chromatographic column with a union or set the the column position for the Column Manager to bypass
2. On the MS Tune page, set the flow state for the fluidics valve to waste
3. Prepare a solution of Water/Methanol/Acetonitrile/Isopropanol, 25/25/25/25 (v/v/v/v). Prepare at least 1 liter.
4. Fill 10 2 mL sample vials with this solution. Place vials in sample tray. Put tray into Sample Manager
5. Put all solvent, wash, and purge (if applicable) lines for the Solvent Manager and Sample Manager into the bottle containing the solution
6. Prime all solvent, wash and purge lines with this solution.
7. Create an inlet method for an isocratic run with a run time of 3 minutes
   1. For QSM, method should be 25% for each solvent line
   2. For BSM method should be 50% for each solvent line
8. Set up a batch in the Sample List (MassLynx) or Sample Set (Empower) that will make 5 injections from each vial (50 injections total) using the largest allowable injection volume for the current configuration.
9. Flush the system, all lines in the Sample Manager and Solvent Manager with 100% methanol.
10. Flush and prime the lines with the appropriate solvents for the normal assay run.
11. Run Blank injections to see if contamination has been cleared or if it still persists.
12. If contamination persists, repeat procedure.
13. Repeat procedure up to 3 times. If issue persists, contact the Expert Center in your geography.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION