Automated Trapping Column Exchanger for High-Throughput Nanoflow Liquid Chromatography

As
compared to conventional high-performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC) techniques, nanoflow HPLC exhibits improved sensitivity and
limits of detection. However, nanoflow HPLC suffers from low throughput
due to instrument failure (e.g., fitting fatigue and trapping column
failure), limiting the utility of the technique for clinical and industrial
applications. To increase the robustness of nanoflow HPLC, we have
developed and tested a trapping column exchanging robot for autonomous
interchange of trapping columns. This robot makes reproducible, automated
connections between the active trapping column and the rest of the
HPLC system. The intertrapping column retention time is shown to be
sufficiently reproducible for scheduled selected reaction monitoring
assays to be performed on different trapping columns without rescheduling
the selection windows.