Frequently Asked Questions About SPE Cartridge

Solid Phase Extraction (SPE in short) technology was developed in the 1970s. Due to its advantages such as reliability, low consumption of reagents, etc., it has replaced traditional liquid-liquid extraction in many fields and has become an effective means of sample pretreatment, which have been used more and more widely in the laboratory.

When low recovery of analyte and poor reproducibility of extraction occur, it is better to collect the sample, then carry out analysis, and determine the source of the problem. SPE cartridge can be used as a good supplement to pretreatment, but it is necessary to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages, pay attention to local conditions, strengths and circumvent weaknesses.

1. Which sample loading method is suitable for the SPE instrument?
Currently, there are two methods of extraction: positive pressure loading and negative pressure loading. However, negative pressure loading can not effectively control the flow rate, which results in unstable recovery and poor repeatability of the instrument. Therefore, mainstream manufacturers generally use positive pressure loading method. The automatic solid-phase extraction instrument uses a high-precision syringe pump to positively load the sample to elute the sample, which further controls the liquid flow rate, thereby significantly improving the repeatability of the instrument and ensuring the sample recovery rate.

2. What are the requirements for the processing speed of the automatic SPE?
The solid-phase extraction cycle of a single sample is generally about 20 minutes, and the solid-phase extraction instruments of general manufacturers are similar. Therefore, in general, the more samples the instrument processes simultaneously, the faster the processing speed. Full-automatic solid-phase extraction has more flexible extraction, which maximizes sample processing speed.

3. Can the SPE instrument effectively avoid the blockage of the flow path during the extraction process?
Common problems encountered in the application of automatic solid-phase extraction instrument: blockage of the flow path causes the instrument to malfunction.
When column clogging occurs, most solid-phase extraction instruments cannot detect automatically, causing samples and solvents to leak, causing serious losses and cross-contamination. HAWACH solid-phase extraction instrument has a built-in high-sensitivity pressure sensor in the flow path. When the pressure in the flow path is> 0.6Mpa, the system will automatically alarm to protect the device effectively.

4. Can the HAEACH SPE instrument effectively control cross-contamination?
In some automatic solid-phase extraction instruments, the sample and solvent use the same pipeline, which is likely to cause pollution. Especially for instruments without cleaning function, a variety of compounds will remain in the pipeline in a short time, which is the root cause of many experimental failures. The HAWACH solid-phase extraction instrument uses a flow path separation unit to automatically select the solvent. The organic solvent waste liquid has an independent waste liquid channel, which effectively avoids cross-contamination.

Frequently Asked Questions About SPE Cartridge

Different materials of filter membranes with different features

Hawach have Nylon, MCE, CA, PES, PVDF, PTFE, GF membrane material of membrane filters, they have different features.

Membrane material	Features
Nylon	Natural hydrophilicity No need to infiltrate before use Uniform aperture with good mechanical strength Threaded interface design
MCE	High porosity and good interception effect Not resistant to strong acids, strong alkali solutions, and most organic solvents Ideal for filtration of aqueous water solutions Unique threaded interface design
CA	Natural hydrophilicity Low protein adhesion, suitable for aqueous solution treatment No nitrates, suitable for filtration of groundwater Uniform pore structure Extensive pore size selection Retention of granulosa cells
PES	High solvent recovery rate, low residual amount; high throughput High microbial filtration capacity Unique threaded interface design Low protein adsorption, low dissolution
PVDF	Hydrophobic membrane, no moisture absorption, easy to maintain weight Temperature resistant, repeated hot pressing Chemical resistant, oxidation resistant Threaded interface design
PTFE	Excellent chemical resistance High-temperature resistance, strong acid-resistance, strong alkali, and extremely hydrophobic Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic membranes are available to meet different liquid filtration needs
GF	Natural hydrophobicity Large flux and large pollution hold ability Good mechanical strength

Generally, the PES membrane filters are very suitable for the filtration of aqueous phase samples. The high-performance PES membrane filters have the advantage of low protein adsorption, so they can reduce the loss of samples to a minimum level. Also, in comparison with other membrane filters, the PES membrane filters have a higher flow rate and better handling capacity. As a result, they are always bestsellers among all kinds of like products.

Furthermore, the high-performance PES membrane filters have a high level of consistency as well as a slight batch difference to make sure that when the laboratory worker is filtering unwanted particulate matters, new pollutes will not be produced. In a word, other than sterilization and filtration, the PES membrane filters can also be applied in the regular preparation of samples, the clarification of lysate, and combined filtering of magnetic beads and resin beads.

During sterilization and filtration, the PES membrane filters with the pore size of 0.2 μm are always solid choices. However, there are lots of other options of pore sizes including 0.1 μm, 0.45 μm, and 0.8 μm. Basically, the membrane filters with the pore sizes of 0.45 μm and 0.8 μm are mostly used in the clarification of lysate and pre-filtration.

Parameter of HAWACH Hydrophilic PTFE filter membrane

Features and applied industry
Hydrophilic PTFE filter membrane uses PTFE as raw material, biaxial stretching using the unique node fibrillation of polytetrafluoroethylene membrane, with a smooth surface, chemical resistance, breathable and impermeable, large air permeability, flame retardant, high temperature, strong acid and alkali resistance, non-toxic and other characteristics. The finished product has high filtration efficiency, which can reach 99.99%, zero-emissions; Also, it features low running resistance, fast filtering speed; long service life, reusable, thus reducing running costs.

Hydrophilic PTFE filter membrane is mainly used for anhydrous sample filtration, for caustic acid and caustic solutions, HPLC sample preparation and moving image clarification and for the filtration of flue gas in various industrial furnaces such as chemical industry, steel, metallurgy, carbon black, power generation, cement, waste incineration and so on.

Parameter
Brand: Hawach
Pcs/pack: Membrane of different diameters with different numbers in each pack. For example, 47mm with100pcs/pack and 142mm with 50pcs/pack.
Membrane material: Hydrophilic PTFE
Membrane type: surface filter
Maximum operating temperature, °C: 130
Membrane diameter: 13; 25; 47; 90; 142; 293mm
Membrane color: white
Membrane surface: glossy
Porosity%: 80

Different materials of filter membranes with different features

Filter Paper Chromatography, Classification, And Use Notes

Filter paper is frequently used in many different experiments and today HAWACH would like to talk about the filter paper chromatography, classification, and use notes.

Filter paper chromatography
Filter paper chromatography uses filter paper as an inert support. The filter paper fiber has a strong affinity with water and can absorb about 22% of water, and 6 to 7% of the water is hydrogen-bonded to the hydroxyl group of cellulose, which is difficult to remove under normal conditions. The affinity of filter paper fibers and organic solvents is very weak, so the general paper chromatography actually uses the binding water of filter paper fibers as the stationary phase and the organic solvent as the mobile phase.

Partitioning is continuously performed between water and organic phases. Part of the sample moves with the mobile phase and enters the solute-free zone. At this time, it is redistributed, and part of the solute enters the stationary phase (water phase) from the mobile phase. Various parts are continuously distributed based on the respective distribution coefficients, and move along the mobile phase, to make the material separated and purified.

Filter paper classification
Generally, filter paper can be divided into qualitative and quantitative. In the application of analytical chemistry, the residue collected on the filter paper after the separation of inorganic compounds by filtration to separate the precipitate can be used to calculate the loss rate during the experiment. After the qualitative filter paper is filtered, more cotton fibers are generated, so it is only suitable for qualitative analysis. In the production of quantitative filter paper, the pulp is treated with hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid and washed with distilled water to remove most impurities in the paper fiber.
So there is little residual ash after burning, and it has almost no effect on the analysis results, which is suitable for precise quantitative analysis. After ashing, the ash amount is less than 0.0009%.

Filter paper is a filtering tool commonly used in chemical laboratories. The common shape is round and mostly made of cotton fibers. HAWACH can provide both the round and square filter papers. Round filter paper has conventional specifications 70, 90, 100, 125, 150, 180, 55, 47, 185, and also the unconventional sizes of 240, 270, 300. For the square sizes, there are two specifications, 60×60 and 41×45. Welcome to contact HAWACH (hawach.com or info@hawach.com)to learn more details.

Notes before the use of filter paper.
Filter paper is a scientific tool that can effectively filter media and can be divided into two types. Qualitative analysis filter paper generally has a large amount of residual ash compared with quantitative. It is only used for general qualitative analysis and for filtering sediment or suspended matter in solution, and cannot be used for mass analysis. No matter for the qualitative or quantitative filter paper, there are some notes that should pay attention to before use.

1. In general, it uses natural filtration, with the filter paper body and the ability to retain solid particles, to separate the liquid and solid;
2. Because the mechanical strength and toughness of the filter paper are both poor, try to use less filtration to filter. If the filtration speed must be increased, the filtration failure will be prevented to prevent the filtration. When the air pump is filtered, it can be stacked in the funnel according to the pumping force. Put 2~3 layers of filter paper, when vacuuming filtration, in the leak. First pad a layer of dense filter cloth, then put filter paper on it;
3. Filter paper is best not to filter hot concentrated sulfuric acid or nitric acid solution.

Filter Paper Chromatography, Classification, And Use Notes

Different Membrane Materials And Main Applications Of Disposable Syringe Filters

First of all, the nylon membrane of disposable nylon syringe filters belongs to the general type of filter membrane and it is suitable for the filtration of most sample solutions and solvents. Moreover, the nylon membrane has high mechanical strength and stable chemical properties. It can be applied for the filtration of both organic solvents and aqueous solutions, so it is mostly used for filtration of samples and solvents in high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and ion chromatography.

Secondly, the PES membrane belongs to hydrographic membrane. It has the advantages of low resistance, high filtration rate and less protein adsorption. In general, the PES membrane is suitable for the filtration of viscous biological and cell tissue samples. Besides, it has excellent permeability and is good for fast filtration of large-volume of aqueous solution samples, aqueous solvents and biological reagent.

Thirdly, the hydrophilic PVDF membrane belongs to hydrographic and organic general types of filter membrane. Disposable hydrophilic PVDF syringe filters is special for biological samples.

Fourthly, the PTFE membrane belongs to organic filter membrane. It is suitable for the filtration of organic solvent media samples including strong acid and strong alkali. Furthermore, it can be applied in extreme liquid and temperature conditions. Also, its hydrophobicity can be used for gas filtration or degassing filtration.

Generally, the disposable syringe filters are mainly applied in the filtration of mobile phase and samples in chromatographic analysis.

If there are impurities in the samples and solvents, they can not only damage the chromatography instruments, but will also greatly affect the analysis results. The disposable syringe filters play a very important role in preventing the chromatographic columns and systems from being polluted. At the same time, they can improve the sensitivity and accuracy of the analysis results. Also, the disposable syringe filters are widely used in pharmaceutical analysis, food detection, environmental monitoring, protein extraction and sterility test.

Basically, the disposable syringe filters have good quality performances and complete categories and specifications. In general, the shells of disposable syringe filters are made of polypropylene materials which possess excellent chemical stability. Most of the manufacturers make different colors on the disposable syringe filters in order to help the users distinguish them as well as mark the specifications to avoid confusion.

Furthermore, the high-performance filter membranes in the disposable syringe filters are always with stable quality and good reproducibility. Also, the standard filters can be connected with all kinds of syringes and after filtration, the laboratory workers can directly operate sample loading.

Different Membrane Materials And Main Applications Of Disposable Syringe Filters

About The D-SPE Technology In QuEChERS Method

Overview
The QuEChERS method was first proposed by Anastassiades et al. of the US Department of Agriculture in 2003 and aims to replace the traditional pre-treatment method for pesticide multi residue detection in vegetables and fruits. The QuEChERS method is a sample pretreatment using dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) technology, taking acetonitrile as the main extraction solvent, and N-propyl ethylenediamine (PSA), C18 and other materials with adsorption as a purification agent. Compared with traditional methods such as solid phase extraction, the QuEChERS method has the characteristics of fast speed, easy operation, low cost, high efficiency, strong durability, and safety.

D-SPE
The principle is to grind materials coated with various polymers such as C18 together with the sample to obtain a semi-dry mixture, and use it as a packing to fill the column, and then rinse the column with different solvents to remove various analytes.

The advantage is that it concentrates the process of sample homogenization tissue cell lysis, extraction, purification, etc. in the traditional sample preparation, without the need for tissue-homogenization, precipitation, centrifugation, pH adjustment, and sample transfer steps, which avoids the sample loss.

Stationary phase for D-SPE
Many stationary phases used in dispersion matrix extraction come from SPE. The so-called perfect adsorbent should be able to remove only impurities in the final extract without damaging the target. In all foods, these impurities include fat, carbohydrates, protein, water, and a small number of metal components, vitamins, and various natural products that vary from individual to individual.

The selective extraction step in the QuEChERS method removes some impurities (fat, water, protein, sugar). The design of the dispersion matrix extraction step is to further reduce residual impurities, because these impurities will affect the analysis and lead to matrix effects, reduce recovery, and reduce equipment ruggedness, such as fats and other acidic substances, chlorophyll, anthocyanins, etc.

Adding 150mg magnesium sulfate, 50-150mg PSA, 50mg C18, 7.5mg GCB per milliliter of extract for extraction is the best dispersion matrix extraction solution we know for pesticide residue analysis in food, which can provide high recovery in a wide concentration range. These steps-using other adsorbents, changing their dosage, adjusting PH or solvent composition, de-fatting n-hexane, may make the impurities better removed, but this will reduce the recovery of pesticide residues. Molecular imprinting technology (MIPs) can specifically remove certain types of impurity components, which is a good supplement without reducing the recovery of the test substance.

About The D-SPE Technology In QuEChERS Method

310rpm Water Bath, LCD Display Multi-Bottled Rotary Evaporator

RE1-W-L series multi-bottled rotary distiller’s main metal parts adopt stainless steel and rustproof aluminum alloy, which ensures the compact structure, elegant appearance, good durability, and strong practicability.

The sealing system adopts double PTFE composite material, along with the glass rotary shaft, which ensures the high vacuum and long service life of

 

rotary distiller

 

. Rotary evaporator supplier has 3 types of multi-bottled rotary distiller for you to choose—5*50ml, 5*100ml, and 5*150ml.

The RE1-W-L series multi-bottled rotary distiller is specially designed for the concentration experiment, which can concentrate on five solution samples at the same time. It is very suitable for several people to carry out the same experiment in the laboratory and compare the result. To

buy rotovap

 

for compare experiment, RE1-W-L series multi-bottled rotary distiller will be cost and time-effective.

Features of RE1-W-L series-multi-bottled rotary evaporator

1. Temperature range: RT-99°C. The heating tube stops heating automatically when the temperature is higher than the set temperature. The safe handle on heating bath is safe. Moderate volume of heating bath makes the rotary distiller heat quickly. The heating bath is teflon compound, which is anti-corrosion and easy cleaning.
2. The rotating speed can be adjusted by electronic stepless controller. Rotating speed is suggested to adjust lower in multi-head rotation. Positive-reverse rotation function is optional. It can be rotated intermittently for drying process.
3. The rotary evaporator supplier equipped the rotary condenser with large condensation area, drop point and backflow prevention design, which effectively improves evaporation efficiency.
4.

Rotary evaporator suppliers produce evaporation flask use pushing mechanism device for convenient disassemble, which is safe and reliable.

5. Buy rotovap with multi-bottled design, you may enjoy 5 concentration experiment in one rotary distiller.

310rpm Water Bath, LCD Display Multi-Bottled Rotary Evaporator

Glass Molecular Distillation A-type

Glass molecular distillation unit also called (short path wiped film distillation unit), is a special liquid-liquid separation technology. The principle is distillation and purification of heat-sensitive substances or high-boiling substances via using the differences in the free path of the molecules of different substances under a high vacuum situation. It can be used in industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical, perfume, petrochemical, and oil. The general workflow of plant extraction is followed by 4 steps:

1. Extraction
2. Concentration via the thin-film evaporator
3. Molecular distillation
4. Isolation via a crystalization reactor.
Hawach A-type glass molecular distillation unit is a standard design for

CBD wiped film distillation.

Structure

1. Feeding system
• Single-layered feeding bottle
• Standard capacity feed tank matched with the 

glass wiped film evaporator

• Can upgrade to a-type equipped with gear pump feeding for molecular distillation equipment

2. Main evaporation system
• Full jacket type main evaporator equipped
• High borosilicate glass made receiving bottles
• Heating & cooling circulator(-20 to 200°C) system available
3. Vacuum system
• Coil cold trap and supporting cryogenic machine available
• Gear pump, improve working efficiency and save time.
• With a vacuum pump for higher extraction speed
4. Control system
• Glass wiped film evaporator condensing system
• One exhaust valve, adjust the vacuum inside the evaporator system
• One coil condenser, expand distillation condensation area, this can liquefy the gas quickly
• One collect bottle

Features

• Customized requests are acceptable
• Thin distillation liquid film, higher heat transfer efficiency, the lower energy consumption of the substance
• Made of high borosilicate glass 3.3 with high airtightness, easy for viewing evaporation and separation working process, also easy for adjustment or stop processing in emergency
• PTFE blades available to make sure anti-corrosive and high temp resistance
• The receiving system can be upgraded to a non-stop operation type
• The Controller Console with high precision vacuum display to modify the pressure during the unit is working
• German imported technology for inverter geared motor to make sure a safe and reliable operation circumstance. The motor born with a self-cooling system to make sure a continuously working
• The complete set glass wiped film evaporator are fixed in a movable frame with a small footprint and easy to move

Specific Parameters

Detailed information in below chart, 

vacuum distillation unit price is depend on customer final choice of equipment.

Glass Molecular Distillation A-type