The BorateTrap^™ is an in-line trap column, and is recommended for optimal performance during carbohydrate analysis.

• In-line trap column removes borate contamination for HPAE-PAD.

• Eliminates peak tailing for mannose, fructose, and sugar alcohols resulting from borate contamination. 

Borate contamination in eluents can cause a significant loss of peak efficiency, especially for mannose, fructose, and reduced monosaccharides. If borate is present in the eluent, it binds both to the anion-exchange column and to the carbohydrate analytes. The carbohydrate-borate complex is less efficiently eluted from the anion-exchanger than is the carbohydrate, resulting in peak tailing, particularly where vicinal cis hydroxyl groups are present, such as for mannose and sugar alcohols. The BorateTrap eliminates peak tailing for mannose, fructose, and reduced monosaccharides, resulting from contamination of the eluent from borate. Therefore, the BorateTrap is highly recommended for optimal performance during carbohydrate analysis.

The BorateTrap is a 4 × 50 mm column placed between the eluent pump and the injection valve to remove borate contamination from eluents used for HPAE-PAD. Because it is placed before the injection valve, it has no effect on the efficiencies or retention times of the carbohydrate analytes. This column is packed with a 20-µm high-capacity resin that has high selectivity for borate. The resin used in the BorateTrap is functionalized with a polyol capable of complexing borate in the presence of hydroxide. Borate is a known contaminant in laboratory water supplies. In chromatography, borate contamination of HPLC eluents may be a result of degrading deionized water systems or as leachate from borosilicate glassware.