Applications of Ghost-Buster II in Removing “Ghost peaks” and Baseline Drift in HPLC analysis
During HPLC analysis, especially in gradient elution or after long time system usage, some unexpected peaks called "Ghost Peaks" may appear in the chromatogram, particularly when UV-vis or PDA detector are used. These Ghost peaks can interfere the data interpretation and analysis. Welch Materials original Ghost-Buster Column I can capture ghost peaks, but sometimes it comes with baseline fluctuation. This can affect the integration of some peaks. As shown in Figure 1, after using conventional GB columns, some ghost peaks and baseline fluctuation may still occur when mobile phase composition has a drastic change in a few minutes, especially when initial proportion of aqueous phase is more than 95%.
Figure 1 Baseline drifts in high proportion aqueous gradient
Ghost-Buster Column II is a new product upgraded from the version I of Ghost-Buster Column. It can remove impurities of low polarity and prevent interferences from different kinds of ghost peaks. It can also resolve the baseline drift caused by the excessive initial proportion of aqueous phase in the gradient program. These are achieved through the following improvements:
- First, by using proprietary packing materials and optimizing packing process, Ghost-Buster Column II has stronger absorption of non-polar and weak-polar impurities. It also has better tolerance to different mobile phase conditions.
- Second, the design of the column is optimized to allow the mobile phase to mix more thoroughly in the column. This reduces the likelihood of baseline fluctuation and drift in the gradient program.
As a result, Ghost-Buster Column II are more compatible with high proportion of aqueous phase. This generates a more stable baseline and thus allows shorter running time in the gradient program to achieve the efficient separation.
Installation of Ghost-Buster Column
Ghost-Buster Column II should be installed between injector and mixer as shown in below image. Mobile Phase A and B solutions are injected into the mixer by metering pumps. After fully mixed via the mixer, the resultant solution is transferred to the Ghost-Buster II column and the injection prior to the detector. The sample solutions shall not pass through the Ghost-Buster II column directly. An installation video can be found at this link.
Figure 2 Installation of Ghost-Buster Column
Two Case Studies
- Case I
Column: Ultisil AQ-C18 4.6x100mm, 3 μm
Ghost-Buster Column:
Ghost-Buster Column II, 3.0×50mm
Ghost-Buster Column II, 4.0×50mm
Mobile Phase: A：0.05% phosphoric acid solution; B: Acetonitrile
Gradient Program:
| Time (min) | 0 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 20.1 | 30 |
| A/% | 95 | 95 | 15 | 15 | 95 | 95 |
| B/% | 5 | 5 | 85 | 85 | 5 | 5 |
Figure 3 HPLC Chromatograms of blank solution without or with the use of Ghost-Buster II
- Case II
Column: Ultisil AQ-C18 4.6x250mm, 5 μm
Ghost-Buster Column II, 3.0×50mm
Mobile Phase: A: phosphoric acid buffer; B acetonitrile
Gradient Program
| Time (min) | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 15 |
| A/% | 96 | 89 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 50 |
| B/% | 4 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 50 |
Figure 4 Baseline of HPLC Chromatograms with the use of different Ghost-Buster Columns
| P/N | Product | Specification | Max Pressure |
| 06100-31008 | Ghost-Buster Column II | 4.0 x 50 mm | 40MPa |
| 06100-31016 | Ghost-Buster Column II | 3.0 x50 mm | 40MPa |
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Tags Ghost peaks, HPLC, Baseline, UV-vis, Gradient elution