Capillary Ion Chromatography - Bringing a new level of speed and resolution

Always On, Always Ready, Better Results

Capillary IC takes performance and ease-of-use to a whole new level, simplifying ion chromatography analyses while increasing throughput. By scaling down column size, injection volumes, and flow rates by a factor of 10 to 100, Capillary IC provides excellent solvent economy, small sample requirements, and high mass sensitivity. Additionally, Capillary Ion Chromatography provides true on-request 24/7 uptime with no equilibration necessary, thus the system is always on, always ready and delivers better results.

Save Time and Resources

The benefits of capillary IC are both unique and multifaceted. Capillary IC consumes only 15 mL of water a day, translating into 5.2 L a year due to the low flow rates of 10 μL/min. When a Reagent-free Ion Chromatography™ (RFIC™) system is used in capillary mode, the Eluent Generation Cartridge lasts for 18 months with continuous operation resulting in a system that provides 24/7 sample analysis. The nonexistent need to equilibrate helps virtually decrease any waiting time, including preparation labor.

Speed Up Your Analysis

Capillary IC allows for higher flow rates by optimizing column dimensions (i.d. 0.4 mm). The typical capillary flow rate is only 1/100th the eluent flow rate of an analytical format which typically run at flow rates of 1 mL/min. Due to the smaller cross-sectional area, the flow rate on a capillary format can be scaled down to 10 μL/min enabling dramatically decreased run times while maintaining sufficient resolution.

Improve Sensitivity and Selectivity

The combination of a first-dimension standard bore column (i.d. 4 mm) with a second-dimension capillary column (i.d. 0.4 mm) permits lower detection limits in the low ng/L range. Combining columns with disparate stationary phase properties is especially important for high-ionic-strength samples. This precludes the need for equilibration and dramatically reduces waiting time, including sample preparation.

Capillary Ion Chromatography Solutions

The Thermo Scientific™ Dionex™ ICS-5000+ and ICS-4000 HPIC™ Systems are the world’s first capillary ion chromatography (IC) systems on the market. The Dionex ICS-5000+ operates at standard bore, microbore and capillary flow rates at pressures up to 5000 psi enabling it to also perform high-resolution and fast IC analysis with the latest 4 μm particle-size columns. The Dionex ICS-4000 capillary HPIC system is solely dedicated to Capillary IC and provides all the benefits of high-pressure capabilities for high chromatographic resolution. The Dionex ICS-5000+ and ICS-4000 systems are designed to take advantage of small particle IC columns for faster and improved separations.