SureSTART Autosampler Vials and Caps

The SureSTART portfolio is a comprehensive list of vials, caps, inserts, well plates, mats and accessories that are suitable for use with chromatographic workflows. The SureSTART portfolio contains three different performance levels that have been quality checked to provide a robust and reliable product.

The SureSTART portfolio includes products that could previously been found in our legacy brands such as National Scientific, Chromacol, and Sun-Sri.

Many of the products that were branded as National Scientific and Chromacol have been absorbed into the new Thermo Scientific SureSTART Collection, although there are still a few products that still exist within the marketplace.

For more information please contact your local sales representative or complete the Inquiries form on this page.

All glass vials found within the three different performance levels are made from Type 1 Class A Borosilicate glass. This type of glass has excellent chemical resistance properties that make it ideal for the containment or storage of acidic, neutral and alkaline samples/analytes. The vials also have high temperature resistance and are suitable for use in temperatures between -50°C to 120°C (although a rapid change in temperature of the products should be avoided). 

The Performance Level 1 vials are designed to identify those which are suitable for simple routine, testing with limited budget. Glass vials have a single wavy line.

For most analytical requirements the Performance Level 2 products will be suitable for use with higher sensitivity methods while maintaining throughput. Glass vials have two wavy lines.

For the most stringent analytical requirements the Performance Level 3 products have advanced features which make them suitable for use with difficult samples in terms of chemistry and available sample volume. All products are made from 33-expansion glass and these vials have three wavy lines.

These are vials are suitable for use when sample volume is limited or when you need to get maximum recovery from the vial. These vials allow small volumes to be sampled accurately by autosamplers with a recoverable volume of much less than 100 µL. High recovery, total recovery and vials with fixed inserts are all classed as microvials.

How to choose the right microvial

The micro inserts have a small total volume capacity of <400uL and can be classified as either Polyspring, conical, or flat bottom within the SureSTART Collection. Micro inserts are placed and sealed inside a vial so they can be used in conventional autosampler racks. The smaller 6 mm diameter of the insert gives better sample recovery than a routine flat based vial; with conical inserts being most effective with residual volumes of 1-2 microliters. Many are held in place by a Polyspring, which cushions and centers the insert.

How to choose the right microvial

During manufacture the outer vial has a glass micro-insert precisely positioned inside and this is permanently fused to the base of the outer vial. This gives a 12 mm x 32 mm microvial with a capacity of 350 microliters with a narrow reservoir with <10ul capacity. Removes the need to assemble a vial and insert prior to use.

These one-piece microvials have a very low residual volume due to a specially shaped deep and narrow inner reservoir which collects the liquid in the base so compatible autosamplers can collect all but 1-2 microliters of sample while having a total sample volume of 1.2mL. The outer dimension for these vials is 12x32mm.

How to choose the right microvial

These one-piece microvials have an internal conical reservoir which collects liquid in a 30uL volume for extraction with a conventional autosampler from a total usable volume of 1.7 mL. The outer dimension for these vials is 12x32 mm.

How to choose the right microvial

In addition to the features on standard 2 mL vials, SureStop vials also have a patented definite stop point (alignment ring) in the design of the vial finish. This prevents the vial from being an optimal seal which eliminates under- and over-sealing by the cap/closure, and user-to-user variance.

SureStop vials are designed for use with AVCS system screw caps. They improve transfer reliability and give a more secure liquid seal than standard screw vials. SureStop vials are available as a 2 mL as either clear or amber options and are highly recommended for use with GC and LC applications.

Thermo Scientific Advanced Vial Closure System (AVCS) caps are polypropylene caps that are compatible with all 9 mm short thread screw vials, although we recommend that they are used with our Thermo Scientific SureStop vials to get maximum benefit of the two technologies. There is a leveling feature within the AVCS designed caps that provide optimal liquid sealing. The innovative features found on the AVCS cap also give more autosampler compatibility with less autosampler interruptions, as a result of misaligned cap tilting, dislodged septa or septa push through.

AVCS caps not only have the most effective seal but they also contain significantly less leachables than bonded caps. You’ll see a noticeably cleaner spectra when you use SureStop and AVCS as an alternative to bonded caps. The AVCS caps also come with a range of different septa materials.

For analysis of compounds which show interactions with untreated glass surfaces it may be necessary to use a deactivated glass vial. The effect of adsorption is most apparent when dealing with very low concentrations of the sample. It is likely that this effect will only be identified during calibration. Analytical results will show poor reproducibility and linearity for active samples while non-adsorbing species show good results.

Inert glass products can be found in Performance level 3 and include silanized glass and GOLD-grade technology deactivated glass.

For very polar compounds including ionizable biomolecules and inorganic ions the use of a plastic vial may be considered. Polypropylene vials are included in the SureSTART range as a Level 1 range of products.

Most polar analytes can be analyzed successfully in glass vials with few problems at normal analytical levels. Low concentrations may require investigation of deactivated vials but in most cases the control of the sample pH is enough to maintain linearity.

Type 1 neutral borosilicate glass is suitable for neutral/acid samples with little change of pH caused by the glass surface.

GC: Vials are most applicable with GC methods with longer run-times. The glass vials are more compatible with the strong organic solvents used to solubilize liquid samples.

HPLC: When processing samples in batches of less than 50 use vials as there is little advantage using a 96-well plate as the plate capacity would not be fully utilized.

HPLC/UHPLC: Plates are most useful when utilizing a high sample throughput for sample preparation with automated sample handling.

They must also be utilized with short run times to give the required throughput.

Use with multi-plate stackers to give maximum sample capacity.

BioLC/NanoLC: When using very small samples it may be more convenient to use plastic or glass microvials. The sample is secure and maximum recovery of the sample from the narrow inserts is possible.

Headspace vials are used when you want to analyse the gaseous phase of the sample rather than the liquid phase. These vials have a thicker glass wall to withstand higher temperature and internal pressure for the analysis of volatile gas in the vial’s headspace. Headspace vials with 20 mm crimp tops and 18 mm screw tops in sizes ranging from 6 mL to 20 mL are available in clear or amber glass. Choose from a round or flat base with a beveled or square edge finish.

• Round base vials are compatible with most autosamplers and are more easily handled by robotic arms that lift the vial from the tray.
• Flat base vials maximize heating efficiency in manual headspace sampling and are required for use in some instrument models.
• The bevel edge on a vial lip provides additional sealing power for greater leak resistance under high pressure.