Articles in this category What is the optimal needle penetration of the OPTIC inlet system? In general the optimum needle penetration for OPTIC (and LINEX) is 43 mm measured from the top of the septum nut. The injection speed depends a bit on the syringe type, injection volume and temperatur... What should be the minimum and maximum Air pressure for the OPTIC cooling valve? The OPTIC inlet is standard cooled with Air, the Air supply to the valve on the back of the OPTIC controller should have a minimum pressure of 1 BAR and maximum of 7 BAR. For normal operation 5 ... How far must the column go into the OPTIC inlet? With the OPTIC-3 and 4 units a tool is provided to install the column. A full description can be found here... What is the maximum temperature of the OPTIC? The maximum temperature of the OPTIC (versions 1,2,3,4) is 600°C. The OPTIC-4 Pyro can go up till 700°C, in the case quartz liners should be used. Can I use metal ferrules with the OPTIC inlet? Yes, metal ferrules are available for OPTIC-3 and OPTIC-4. Please take care that you use a different nut, the standard supplied nut should not be used. How can I clean the OPTIC inlet? Check our YouTube channel or follow the steps below Cleaning steps: I see solvent tailing in my chromatogram, what can I do? - Too much solvent tail can be related to an injection with too much solvent going to the column, please use longer vent time.- There are some o-rings that are no I have unstable flows and pressure, what could this be? - Most common error is a leak. Replace the septa and check for leaks. Also replace the ferrule and install the column. - Check if column parameters are set correctly. (done in the configura... Is the OPTIC inlet compatible with PAL SPME-Arrow? Yes, OPTIC-4 is compatible with PAL SPME-Arrow but you need a special Top Boss. Can I do On-Column with OPTIC? The OPTIC inlet can also be used for on-column injections. GL Sciences has designed a tool that enables true on-column injection using OPTIC inlet without an on-column liner. The on-column tool is ver... Can the OPTIC-3 and the latest version of Evolution Workstation be used on Windows 10? We have found that the latest version of Evolution Workstation for OPTIC-3 (Software:2.41 and Firmware 2.7) can only work in Serial mode with Windows 10. Officially we do not support this any more. The Inlet or CryoTrap won’t heat up and the value remains 0 / zero Zero (0) temperature value suggests that the processor board has no communication with the inlet board. Pleas CryoTrap temperature is not stable, what could be the problem. Problem with unstable CryoTrap temperature at low and high temperature. Can I use a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated stir bar with OPTIC? Yes, most of the stir bars used have an OD of 3.2mm and the OPTIC standard fritted liner has an ID of 3.4mm. The OPTIC 1/4 inch version has an ID of 4.0 mm. There is a special liner available: Can the Merlin Microseal be used with the OPTIC? Yes, the Merlin Microseal Septum fits standard on the OPTIC 3 and 4. It's however important to use it with the correct needle gauge, and do not over tight the injector nut. The needle gauge should be ... I have a standard OPTIC-4S and I want to make a liquid pyrolysis of a polymer, is that possible? Yes, with all versions of the OPTIC-4 it is possible to make a liquid pyrolysis. All you need is the correct liner and OPTIC method to perform a pyrolysis. There is no extra hardware needed. The foll... The polyamide of the first part of the column is gone. The OPTIC inlet can heat fast and can go to very high temperatures. Most GC columns have a maximum temperature of 240 till 400 depending on the coating and stationary phase. The OPTIC inlet can go ti... How can I optimize my Large Volume Injection (LVI) ? We recommend you to read the training guide first. I want to add a temperature step in the Expert Method, but cannot do this because it is greyed out. In order to have an extra step in the Expert Method you have to move the mouse into the graphic part of the method and click the right mouse button. Now click Add Step. Can 2 OPTIC's be installed on one GC and one computer? Yes it is possible to have 2 OPTIC-4 units in one GC and the software on one computer. But for the second unit it is needed to have a special Evolution Workstation. This version Evolution Workstation has stopped working. error. Error "left axis". Do you get an error like to picture below, it could be related to the log file. Please go to the Evolution Workstation folder on the installed drive (normally C:\ATAS\Evolution Workstation 4) locate ... Is there a log file available? The OPTIC software Evolution Workstation has 3 different log types: - There is a log file of the instrument actions and error's. When the software has a standard installation, the file can be found he... How can I do floating of Inlet temperature in Expert Method? In the Expert Method there is no selection for Temperature Control (Keep Until End / Floating). So it looks like it is not possible to make a floating temperature. The way to do this is... Evolution Workstation does not hold the settings like IP address etc. When Evolution Workstation is installed without administrator rights it will not keep the setting like IP address USB port or other settings. This happens with versions older than 4.6.5. The so... What can I do with 'Run Time Data' from Evolution Workstation? When the Safe Run Time Data is On a data file will be created in the method folder for each run. The file contains all raw data of the OPTIC parameters. The file is a .dat file and... Can I use a metal column in the CrypTrap of the OPTIC? No, sorry it is not possible to use a metal column in the OPTIC CryoTrap. The CryoTrap uses a direct heating technique, when a metal column is inserted, it will shortcut the heater. Can I use a metal column in OPTIC Inlet? No, the OPTIC inlet is heated with a direct heating technique, this means that a current goes true the metal inlet tube here the liner is placed. If the inlet body is in contact with the chassis of th... How often do I need to replace the Split Line Filter? The OPTIC-3 and OPTIC-4 Multi Mode Inlet for Gas Chromatography have a filter in the Split liner to protect the Electronic Gas Control. This filter needs to be replaced minimum once My Split line is blocked very fast, what can I do? When very dirty samples are used it could be that the Split line of the OPTIC inlet gets blocked or partially blocked. When column backflushing is used this problem can be bigger. To reduce the ... Can the industry-standard (¼-inch (6.4 mm) o.d. x 3½-inch (89 mm) long) sorbent tubes be used with OPTIC? Introduction Analytical thermal desorption, known within the analytical chemistry community simply as "thermal desorption" (TD), is a technique that concentrates volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in g... Errors and Warnings / OPTIC-4 All OPTIC-4 error and warning messages are displayed in the status pane of the Evolution Workstation. >> No pressure readout in the OPTIC Status View When the split line of the OPTIC 3 or 4 is completely blocked there will be no pressure readout in the status view. With a partial blocke Gas connection leaking / Coupling leaking The gas lines from and to the OPTIC inlet body have a connector on a distance of about 35 cm from the inlet. The tubing's are If we were to use a pre-column, do we need to set the column length to be longer in the OPTIC software (pre-column + analytical column)? With the OPTIC-4 it is possible to configure 2 columns in series and here it is not needed to calculate an average column length (pre + analytical column). PTFE ring looks broken on Top Boss (top of inlet) The PTFE ring that is mounted on the Top Boss of the OPTIC inlet has a slit. It looks like that the ring is broken, but this is normal and it is done for the production of the Top Boss part. OPTIC-4 Gas Control Connections. Question; On the back of the OPTIC-4 the gas lines are connected to the Gas Control. I try to figure out what line is the Split, Carrier and Septum Purge. Answer; Please check the picture below.... Black parts in the liner / inlet and I have a carry over problem When the column nut of the OPTIC is tightened too strong the ferrule moves up into the inl LINEX Method doesn't start when I use the Run Button. The LINEX Methods in Evolution Workstation are methods made for the liner exchanger. This method expects a Run Signal from the PAL System and not from the operator. The 'Run CryoTrap cannot reach low setpoint If the cryotrap cannot reach the low setpoint it could be related to: LN2 version; Higher Nitrogen signal with low split flows, problem or not? So now and then we get the question if there is a leak in the system when low split flows are used. When the Nitrogen signal is checked with a MS Detector you will find a higher Nitrogen level w... I am not sure what liner I should use. If you are not sure about what liner to use, please download the liner selection guide. Do I need Peltier cooling with the OPTIC inlet? The OPTIC inlet is standard supplied with Air cooling. The Air cooling of the OPTIC is very fast because the OPTIC inlet has a very low thermal mass. The Air cooling can be used to cool the inlet till... Can I get a CryoTrap without the OPTIC inlet? Yes, we have a stand alone CryoTrap. The stand alone CryoTrap is called CryoFocus. The CryoFocus can work with any GC and is simple to install. It come also the film of the column is gone at the entrance and the exit of the cryotrap. When the coating of the column is burned like the picture above, this can be 2 reasons: - the maximum temperature of the trap is a bit too high for the column. Reduce the temperature with 20&d... Split flow measured at the Exhaust is wrong. When the OPTIC-4 is in Split mode (method is running) it is possible to measure the Spilt flow at the Exhaust on the back of the controller (done with an external flow meter). If there is no leak, the... support for OPTIC-2 or OPTIC-3 The OPTIC-2 and OPTIC-3 are out of service and we do not have parts any more more these units. So broken instruments cannot be repaired, sorry. The liners, ferrules and o-rings are still the same as ... Software Access Control, lost password Sometimes it happens that the password for the Evolution Workstation Software Access Control is lost. If this pappend to you, no problem. Please log in as Super User and use password 'derun4441' . Nex... What Dewar is needed for the CryoTrap when using LN2? For good operation of the CryoTrap a Dewar with a pressure of 1.5 BAR is needed. Our advise is to use minimum a Dewar with a volume of 70 Liters. (better with more volume). The consumption of the Cryo... Setup LAN or USB to make communication with OPTIC-4 from Evolution Workstation We have 2 movies informing you how to setup LAN / USB communication to the OPTIC-4 from Evolution Workstation. Standard the OPTIC-4 is supplied with a USB cable. Please select the movie of your inter... GCMS Ions, what is what ions (m/z) How to check the thermocouple The resistance of a thermocouple can be measured to understand if a thermocouple of the OPTIC inlet or cryotrap is broken or not. A digital multimeter is needed to check the resistance between the 2 t... Siloxane peaks in baseline GCMS GC-MS Siloxane Peak Contamination (masses 73, 147, 207, 281, 355) Running a baseline chromatogram done without sample or solvent injection should show a nice chromatogram without peaks, but sometimes ... Why do I have a double solvent peak with large volume injections? (LVI Method) A double solvent peak when a LVI method is used is normal. The first peak comes from the solvent venting and the second peak from the splitless transfer. The picture below shows an example of such dou... I have an OPTIC-4SC (cryotrap version) and I like to use some methods without the cryotrap, how can I do this? The OPTIC-4 has many version and can also be supplied with a cryotrap in the oven. When the trap is not needed in your method it is the easiest to remove this from the configuration in the software (n... Explanation of method parameters from Evolution Workstation The parameters of the methods from Evolution Workstation are sometimes not clearly understood. The attached document gives better understanding of each parameter. What Ramp Rate should I use for Thermal Desorption (TD)? The OPTIC inlet is used a lot for TD applications. The most common TD application is a desorption of a Tenax filled tube/liner. After placing the TD tube, the tube should be flushed with the carrier g... Configuration of Shimadzu 2030 GC start signal for OPTIC In order to get the Start from OPTIC to GC2030 correct the signal must be configured in the GC. The setting must be done via GCMS Solution. How to configure this from GCMS Solution can be seen in the... Log4j2 vulnerability The OPTIC and PAL software do not make use Apache Log4J2 and we can therefore confirm that neither desktop applications nor firmware are affected by this vulnerability. What is the inlet bottom thread of the OPTIC? If for some reason the thread of the inlet bottom is damaged it is worthwhile to try to fix this. Make sure that th Cryo CO2 connection on the bottle with dip pipe. When CO2 cooling is wanted for the CryoTrap or Inlet cooling, it is needed to have a CO2 bottle with dip pipe. The connection on the bottle is without pressure regulator. There should be a direct outl... Can a Liquid Nitrogen Withdrawal Device be used with the CryoTrap? No, a Liquid Nitrogen Withdrawal Device doesn't work with the cryotrap. The pressure is too low to get a good working solution. Please use a Dewar like: What Dewar is needed for the CryoTrap when usi...