Accura Triart Bioinert (U)HPLC columns from YMC are characterised by a bioinert surface coating on the column body and frit. With the same features and specifications as the standard YMC-Triart columns, the inert hardware of the Accura range makes them ideal for many challenging bioseparations of substances such as oligonucleotides, nucleotides, peptides, proteins, and metal co-ordinating compounds. In this article we explore the stationary phases and key features and benefits of YMC’s Accura Triart range.

YMC-Accura Triart columns are a further option to the already existing PEEK-lined Triart Metal-free range of columns. However, the bioinert coating of the Accura columns is less hydrophobic compared to the PEEK lining used in the Metal-free range – this makes the Accura Triart a suitable choice for more hydrophobic peptides, which tend to show pronounced interactions with PEEK. The optimum inert hardware of the Accura-Triart columns allow for analysis of many sensitive compounds, providing excellent peak shapes, complete recovery and minimum carry over. The Accura columns are also ready to use without any pre-conditioning, unlike the analysis of sensitive substances using standard columns. They are also an ideal choice for the use in highly sensitive LC/MS applications.

YMC-Accura Triart Stationary Phases:

The available Accura-Triart stationary phases are illustrated in the below diagram: 

Bio C18, Bio C4, C18, C8 phases are ideal for the separation of biomolecules – the Bio C18 and Bio C4 have a pore sizes of 300 Å, while the C18 and C8 have a 120 Å pore size.

For small molecule analysis, there is the choice of C18, C18 ExRS, C8, Phenyl, PFP, Diol-HILIC stationary phases. The majority of these phases have the benefit of a wide pH range and 100% aqueous compatibility. Each phase has particle size options of 3 µm and 5 µm, as well as 1.9 µm options for UHPLC analysis. 

The 3 µm and 5 µm columns have a pressure limit of 450 bar (45 MPa/6,525 psi), while the 1.9 µm columns have a higher limit of 1,000 bar (100 MPa/15,000 psi). The Accura columns also have the benefit of easy installation – no special connections are required to set up to your instrument.

High Sensitivity and Excellent Recovery:

The YMC-Accura Triart columns significantly enhance sensitivity, and show excellent recovery, helping to save precious samples from any loss. The graphs below show the Accura Triart Bio C18 column providing approximately double peak height and peak areas for oligonucleotide analysis in comparison to those for standard stainless steel hardware columns:

Challenging analytes such as phosphorothioate oligonucleotides also show increased sensitivity and high recovery when analysed with the Accura-Triart Bio C18 column:

Immediate Reliability

The YMC-Accura Triart columns provide reliable results from the first injection, with no pre-conditioning required. The data below illustrates the Accura Triart Bio C4 column providing stable peak areas from the very initial injection, while the comparable standard stainless steel column gives just 10% of the peak area (for the 300 base marker) with initial injection:

After the tenth injection, the peak areas of the Accura column are still considerably greater than those of the stainless steel column, resulting in higher recoveries:

High Inertness from a Robust Coating

The bioinert coating utilised on the YMC-Accura column hardware displays higher durability than other similar hardware on the market. This is due to the coating being 130 – 320 times thicker than competitor materials. 

YMC ensures long term inertness against sensitive substances with the Accura bioinert coating. The robustness of these columns was tested by packing an Accura-Triart column multiple times. This can be challenging for the column surface, however, it was shown that the bioinert coating remained unaffected as demonstrated by the SEM image below (for comparison, the top area is bare steel material): 

Competitor coated columns have been shown to lose their inertness over time, leaving the metallic surface uncovered, allowing adsorption of sensitive analytes. The delamination of this coating leads to peak tailing, recovery loss and sample carry-over. YMC found the coating of a competitor column was already delaminated after simply unpacking, shown in image below (the remain coating is the dark spots):

The data below demonstrates that the YMC-Accura Triart columns provide significantly higher recoveries and sensitivities that cannot be achieved with regular stainless steel columns – even after conditioning with 20 sample injections.

No sample conditioning is required for use with the Accura columns; they are ready to use from unpacking, ensuring high recovery and reproducibility from the very first use.

Conclusion

YMC’s diverse portfolio of YMC Accura Triart HPLC columns with bioinert coating allow scientists to perform challenging separations of sensitive analytes. With a wide range of phases to choose from, these inert columns provide highly accurate results, give exceptional peak areas and excellent recoveries. Other benefits features include high sensitivities, superior reproducibility, and no carry-over effects. No column pre-conditioning is required, while also being suitable for highly sensitive LC/MS applications. 

Element Lab Solutions stock the full range of YMC Accura Triart Bioinert HPLC columns.