Choosing the Best Vial for Your LC and LC-MS Experiment

APPLICATIONS OF LOW-ADSORPTION SHIM-VIALS Small molecule pharmaceuticals Small-molecule drugs with basic properties often face adsorption issues in standard vials, affecting stability over time. By reducing the adsorption of compounds to vial walls, Shim-vials ensure reliable results for pharmaceutical development and quality control. Food safety Analyzing pesticides and veterinary drug residues often involves substances that interact with glass or polypropylene, such as amines or highly hydrophobic compounds. Low-adsorption Shim-vials provide stability in these challenging analyses, delivering precise and reproducible results. PFAS analysis By minimizing hydrophobic and ionic adsorption, Shim-vials optimize the simultaneous detection of compounds with varying chain lengths and hydrophobicities, delivering precise and consistent results. Nucleic acid therapeutics Nucleic acid drugs often undergo chemical modifications, resulting in complex physical properties. For oligonucleotides with hydrophobic or ionic adsorption challenges, Shim-vials provide an optimal solution, ensuring reliable analytical performance. Environmental analysis Environmental pollutant analysis requires simultaneous detection of diverse components with varying physical properties. Low-alkali treated Shim-vials reduce interactions with a wide range of chemicals, making them ideal for multicomponent analyses. Rigorous comparative testing, conducted using atomic absorption spectroscopy referring to USP 660 standards, confirmed that Shim-vials consistently demonstrate significantly lower sodium elution than conventional vials. Each production batch of Shim-vials undergoes thorough testing to ensure the effectiveness of Shimadzu’s low-alkali treatment, guaranteeing consistent quality and reliability for sensitive analyses. Shim-vial’s innovative low-alkali treatment minimizes adsorption and elution effects, ensuring more reliable and reproducible results. By reducing impurity signals and supporting accurate peak detection, Shim-vial optimizes LC and LC/MS performance, making it an essential tool for high-sensitivity analyses for different applications. SETTING THE STANDARD FOR LOW SODIUM ELUTION 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Products Sodium elution (mg/L) SHIM-VIAL H SHIM-VIAL S LOW ADSORPTION VIAL LCMS VIAL LC VIAL Glass surface (Schematic diagram) Special processing O Si Na HIGH COST HIGHER QUALITY Breakage Leaching and contamination Sample loss Accuracy Precision Validation LOW COST LOWER QUALITY To overcome these challenges, Shimadzu developed Shim-vial™, a cutting-edge solution designed to minimize sodium elution. The Shim-vial line reduces metal ion elution through advanced low-alkali treatment during manufacturing. Vials are among the first components targeted for cost-cutting. However, opting for low-cost vials can risk breakages, contamination and sample loss. These issues disrupt workflows, lead to costly troubleshooting and reruns, and waste valuable time and resources. LOW-ALKALI SOLUTIONS FOR ACCURATE ANALYSIS SAVE COSTS AND IMPROVE ANALYTICAL RESULTS This process can leave you with varying results, often without a clear explanation as to why. The adsorption of basic compounds Contaminants Changes in pH NaOH Weak spot Borosilicate glass surface Sodium deposits react with moisture over time, forming sodium hydroxide (NaOH) NaOH creates weak spots in the glass, causing peeling or delamination. Sodium accumulates on the inner walls as the vapor cools. During the shaping process, sodium evaporates and migrates upward due to heat. Flakes contaminate the solution, leading to: O Si Na Recent advances in liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation have dramatically improved sensitivity and selectivity, enabling the detection of target compounds at ultralow concentrations. However, the importance of optimizing vials for these types of experiments is frequently overlooked, with inconsistent results often attributed to analytical equipment or techniques instead. This infographic explores how alkali metals in borosilicate glass vials affect analytical accuracy and suggests practical solutions to mitigate these challenges, ensuring reliable and reproducible results. Many researchers assume all vials are the same. In reality, vial material and treatment significantly influence sample quality and analytical results. Choosing the right vial means considering factors such as cap type, material and lightreactivity to ensure sample stability, minimal contamination and reduced variability. Alkali metal ions on glass surfaces can lead to critical elution and adsorption problems: This can disrupt analysis in different ways: Borosilicate glass, commonly used for vials, contains metal oxides to aid in processing. However, during manufacturing, these oxides can vaporize and redeposit on vial walls. This can impact results by adsorbing basic compounds, introducing contaminants through flaking or altering pH levels via elution.1 NOT ALL VIALS ARE CREATED EQUAL HOW METAL IONS DISRUPT ANALYSIS WHY ALKALI METALS MATTER Will my sample react with any chemicals on the inner vial? How can I reduce ionic absorption? Will my sample react to light? What cap type is the best? Is glass or polypropylene better? A critical aspect of vial selection is understanding the interaction between the vial’s inner surface and the sample or solvent. Key considerations include: Compound stability Preventing degradation caused by interactions with alkali metals, such as sodium Adsorption Minimizing ionic interactions. Volatility Managing evaporation of sensitive solvents or compounds. Borosilicate glass surface ELUTION Released ions or compounds from the vial can contaminate the analyte, complicating analyte detection ADSORPTION Analytes in the sample may adhere to the vial surface, reducing detection sensitivity and affecting quantification Metal silanolate Na Analyte + - Silanol Na + - Analyte Na - + These effects are especially problematic in highly sensitive analyses, where even minor variations can compromise reproducibility. Therefore, selecting a vial that minimizes surface interaction with the sample is essential for accurate results. By reducing alkali metals on the glass surface, Shim-vials prevent both the adsorption of basic compounds and the elution of metal ions, ensuring accurate LC and LC/MS results. UNCONTAMINATED SAMPLE CONTAMINATED SAMPLE Less soluble Undesired compounds Metal ions Impurity peaks Eluted ions may appear as unexpected impurity peaks. Reactivity Eluates can react with analytes, forming undesired compounds. Solubility changes Eluates may alter the solubility of target compounds, affecting results. Costly troubleshooting Sample reruns Wasted time and resources Accurate results Higher sample throughput Fewer reruns Lost time and money Save time and money To meet diverse experimental and budget needs, Shim-vials are available in two performance levels: References 1. Gamal Abd-Elsatar A, Elsayed H, Kanková H, et al. Ion-exchange enhancement of borosilicate glass vials for pharmaceutical packaging. Open Ceramics. 2024;20:100689. doi:10.1016/j.oceram.2024.100689 Shim-vial S Cost-effective for everyday applications (P/N 227-34500-51) Shim-vial H High-performance for applications requiring maximum sensitivity (P/N 227-34500-01) Shim-vial is a trademark of Shimadzu Corporation or its affiliated companies in Japan and/or other countries.