Starting up a HYDROCELL column:

Whether from storage or fresh from the manufacturer, the baseline can 
drift when you first use a Hydrocell Ion Exchange column. The column needs to be activated. The procedure
of activating a 4.6 mm Hydrocell column is as follows:

1. Flush with 100% water to remove any salts from your HPLC system,
then 80% methanol in water at a flow rate of 3 mL / min. for 10
minutes (Do not repeat this procedure) .

2. Flush the HPLC system with 100% water, and then flush the
column with 20% methanol in 1 M sodium chloride solution at flow rate 
of 3 mL / min for 10 minutes.

3. Flush with your B Buffer of choice at flow rate of 3 mL / min for 10 minutes.

4. Equilibrate with your starting buffer of choice at a flow rate of 2 mL / min.

5. Run a 10 minute blank gradient from 0 -100 % B buffer at flow rate of 2 mL / min.

*If the column baseline is still not straight or has spike peaks, please repeat the procedure from

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