The ProfIC 15 Ancat is a professional IC system for determining anions with sequential suppression and cations with partial-loop injection capability.
Partial-loop injection allows concentrated samples to be injected without previous manual dilution as well as multipoint calibrations from a single standard solution.
A revised setup of the ProfIC 15: enables a flexible partial-loop method; provides automatic calibration; improves the convenience, accuracy and reproducibility; and speeds-up sample-handling times (around three minutes plus analysis).
The ProfIC 15 configuration forms one part of Metrohm inline sample preparation (MISP) techniques.
Quantification in ion chromatography requires a calibration that covers the defined measuring range.
The automated MISP method makes it possible to prepare a mg/L to ng/L calibration graph without preparing individual standards, eliminating operational errors.
The ProfIC 15 configuration comprises the 850 Professional IC, 858 Professional Sample Processor and employs Metrohm's Dosino liquid-handling technology.
The external rinsing-station helps prevent contamination at trace levels.
The 850 Professional IC features: the IPump with 15 per cent less pulsation compared with previous generation design; IDetector, with a single range and test chromatograms for training use; IColumn with intelligence and traceability of its analytical working life; IDosing with Dosino technology for precise liquid-handling; and Magic Net software with smart system-control and results monitoring.
The build quality of the system ensures low detection limits for chemistries and precise results.
Particular attention has been given to the long service interval that can be monitored and flagged by the Magic Net software.
The Ancat system features two IPumps and two IDetectors and provides space for a total of three IColumns in two different temperature environments within a single housing.
The anion system is equipped with sequential suppression.
The combination of chemical and downstream CO2 suppression results in low detection limits.
The flexibility of the carbonate eluent is complemented by the low background conductivity of a hydroxide eluent.
The cation system operates using direct conductivity with a nitric acid or oxalic acid eluent without compromising detection limits.
A major application benefit of working with direct conductivity is that transition metals such as manganese and zinc can also be quantified.
When a cation suppressor is employed for samples that contain transition metals, these can precipitate out onto the suppressor, leading to reliability issues and high running costs.
The Metrohm 800 Dosino ensures sample transfer with high precision and partial loop injections are performed.
It also ensures accurate results are obtained when calibrating from a single standard solution.
The size of the injection volume is automatically controlled by the Magic Net software, but using a 250ul fixed loop, the actual volume injected is adjustable between 2-200ul.
Liquid handling can be completely automated by using control procedures included in the IC software, the sample table serving as the user interface.
The different chemistries can either be run in parallel or independently of each other from a single sample processor.
An external rinsing station located on the edge of the sample processor is essential for low-level trace analysis and needle rinsing.
The Dosino pull-mode technique ensures the carryover is less than 0.001 per cent.
All system parameters are monitored and optimised through the Magic Net software's smart control.
Control cards for the calibration and samples can be freely defined and inform the user should an important parameter leave a predefined tolerance.
