GC Capillary Columns and Accessories

The Fused Silica Tubing

We produce all of our GC Capillary columns from the purist form of glass, namely fused silica. Fused silica capillaries consist of fused silica tubing (SiO2) and many external coatings of polyimide. It is the polyimide coating that is primarily responsible for the notorious flexibility of the capillary column. Our tubing can withstand temperatures of over 425°C. However, the polyimide coating, along with the upper operating temperature of the liquid phase, is what limits the high temperature end of the capillary column. Although the tubing that comes from the manufacturers is an excellent grade, it is not suitable for coating stationary phases. We typically use highly advanced deactivation techniques at extreme temperatures to ensure that our GC capillary columns are the most inert possible. Our deactivated tubing is excellent to use as guard columns or retention gap columns. In fact, we pretest every piece of deactivated tubing before we sell it. Our tests yield tubing that is free from defects and exhibits extremely low surface activity. We specially deactivate tubing for the more polar phases, which allows us to better wet polar phases for higher efficiencies and theoretical plates.

The Stationary Phase

In 1966, we introduced our first liquid phase, the first silicone designed for use as a gas chromatographic stationary phase, OV-1. Since then, we have continued to develop and manufacture, exclusively for gas chromatography, the most complete line of liquid phases available. We have modified our phases with a variation of functional groups to achieve a wide polarity range. All OV capillary columns ensure very reproducible results with low bleed, high thermal stability, and high theoretical plate counts.

Bonding & Conditioning

All OV columns are bonded and cross linked. We condition each column to achieve excellent thermal stability. The conditioning process is an important part of manufacturing capillary columns. We use conditioning techniques that give excellent thermal stability and allow a long lifetime for the column.

Testing

Each OV capillary column is tested individually. We do not batch test columns. We are happy to consider “special testing.” We will run your sample on our column. Please contact us for more information on this service.

Custom Manufacturing

Interested in a custom length, ID, phase, or film thickness? We can manufacture these special columns to fit your individual analysis needs. Delivery times depends on the capillary column. Please contact us for a custom quote.