Prove your system is giving you the right results, beyond a doubt.
How often do I need to calibrate my instrument? How do I know the results are accurate? These are questions we often hear when visiting customers new to using Ion Chromatography, and they are valid questions too.
Using check standards
Simply looking at a chromatogram and seeing clear peaks is not enough to prove your results are accurate, nor that your system does not need re-calibration. Instead, check standards of known value are used to validate the calibration and ensure the system is operating correctly.
It is also important to use check standards that are made up from a different stock than that used for calibration. Why? If there has been an error in diluting your stock standard, the error will not be identified when the stock is used for calibration and check standards.
Most laboratories register this and analyse check standards regularly. Provided the results are in specification, the system is ready to go. However, the results from our check standards can tell us so much more about our system.
Drifting concentrations can tell us that our system is about to need a calibration, best to do so before starting a long sample table. Drifting retention times, theoretical plate count or peak symmetry can let us know that our column is aging, time to ensure there is a spare on site.
MagIC Net provides simple filters and clear reports for monitoring check standard data.
Ensuring accuracy in IC analysis:
Contact us to see how to get more out of your MagIC Net software.
