HPLC Guard Columns, Guard Cartridges, and Accessories

Overview

Protect your (U)HPLC column and it will give you better results over a longer column lifetime

HPLC guard columns are short columns or cartridges that, when installed before an analytical or preparative (U)HPLC column, act as a filter to prevent particulates from entering the main column and trap any chemical contaminants with a high affinity for the stationary phase. This filter helps to ensure the integrity of (U)HPLC results and increase data reproducibility by removing chemical impurities that could prevent your main column from effectively retaining target analytes from your sample. A guard column’s ability to retain physical contaminants also greatly increase the lifetime of your main column by reducing the chance of column blockage.

Our guard columns are available in a variety of packing material chemistries and dimensions. This allows you to select a column that is packed with the same stationary phase and has a comparable inner diameter to your main column to avoid selectivity discrepancies and increased back pressures.

UHPLC filters are available for higher pressure applications.

All HPLC and UHPLC columns

HPLC guard cartridges–simplified guard column technology

Cartridge-style guard columns, or guard cartridges, contain a small quantity of stationary phase packed in a tablet-like housing. To install a guard cartridge to your main column, the cartridge must first be connected to a reusable guard cartridge holder (and coupler in some applications), at which point the cartridge and holder can be attached directly to the column inlet much like a column fitting. This design reduces dead volume and band broadening and makes it easy to replace your guard cartridges as necessary, minimizing downtime in your lab.

Guard cartridge holder and filter options

Uniguard Direct-Connection Guard Cartridge Holders	Acclaim Guard Holder and Coupler	UHPLC filters

Reusable, stainless-steel guard cartridge holders compatible with all Hypersil GOLD and Accucore guard cartridges.	Guard cartridge holder and coupler kit compatible with all Acclaim guard cartridges.	Low-volume filter cartridges compatible with all Thermo Scientific guard columns; ideal for small particle columns and high-pressure applications.

HPLC guard column stationary phases and their holder compatibilities

Reversed phase–hydrophobic retention cartridges

For columns with reversed phase chemistries such as C18, C8, C4, C30, RP-MS, and polar-modified stationary phases such as Polar Advantage I and II, Polar Premium, and C18 aQ, find your compatible guard cartridge and holder below.

C18 and polar-modified C18 columns

Acclaim 120 C18	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore C18	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore XL C18	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD C18 Selectivity*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore aQ C18 Polar-Endcapped	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD aQ C18 Polar-Endcapped*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore Polar Premium	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Polar Advantage I	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Polar Advantage II	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

*For all columns with sub 2 µm particle sizes, use our UHPLC filters and filter holder.

C8 columns

Acclaim 120 C8	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore C8	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore XL C8	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD C8*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

*For all columns with sub 2 µm particle sizes, use our UHPLC filters and filter holder.

C4 columns

Accucore 150-C4	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD C4*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

*For all columns with sub 2 µm particle sizes, use our UHPLC filters and filter holder.

C30 columns

Acclaim C30	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore C30	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

RP-MS columns

Accucore RP-MS	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

Reversed phase–aromatic retention cartridges

For reversed phase columns with phenyl-based stationary phases such as phenyl, phenyl-hexyl, phenyl-1 , phenyl-X, PFP, and biphenyl, find your compatible guard cartridge and holder below.

Phenyl-based columns

Accucore Phenyl-X	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore Phenyl-Hexyl	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD Phenyl*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Phenyl-1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD PFP*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore PFP	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore Biphenyl	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

*For all columns with sub 2 µm particle sizes, use our UHPLC filters and filter holder.

HILIC and normal phase retention cartridges

For columns packed with HILIC and normal phase chemistries such as amide HILIC, HILIC, PEI HILIC, amino, cyano, and silica, find your compatible guard cartridge and holder below.

HILIC and normal phase columns

Accucore 150 Amide HILIC	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD PEI HILIC*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim HILIC-10	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Accucore HILIC	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD Amino*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD Cyano*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil GOLD Silica*	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

*For all columns with sub 2 µm particle sizes, use our UHPLC filters and filter holder.

Mixed-mode retention cartridges

For columns packed with mixed-mode stationary phases such Trinity P1, Trinity P2, and Trinity Q1, as well as WAX-1, WCX-1, and HILIC-1, find your compatible guard cartridge and holder below.

Mixed-mode columns

Acclaim Trinity P1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Trinity P2	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Trinity Q1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Mixed-Mode WAX-1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Mixed-Mode WCX-1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Mixed-Mode HILIC-1	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

Application specific retention cartridges

For application specific column chemistries with selectivity for carbamate pesticides, explosives, organic acids, carbonyl compounds, surfactants, aminoglycosides, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, find your compatible guard cartridge and holder below.

Application specific columns

Acclaim Carbamate	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Explosives E2	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Organic Acid	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Carbonyl C18	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Surfactant	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim Surfactant Plus	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Acclaim AmG C18	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder
Hypersil Green PAH	Guard Cartridge	Guard Holder

HPLC column selection guide

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Featured resources

How to prolong the lifetime of your HPLC column

Prolonging the lifetime of your analytical column is good business, as a longer lifetime means more injections per column and reduced cost of analysis per sample. To achieve a longer lifetime requires concrete action, and those actions are what we will discuss in this white paper.

Download white paper ›

Introduction to the Thermo Scientific Uniguard system

Thermo Scientific Uniguard Direct-connection Guard Cartridge Holders were introduced to battle the challenges with older technology guards. The Uniguard cartridge holders directly connect with the column and can be attached much like a column fitting to reduce the dead volume of the connection.

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Acclaim guard holder and coupler system

Guard columns have a great effect on your analytical HPLC column lifetime. A guard column functions as a particular and chemical filter for the main analytical column.

Download white paper ›