SEC Column Cleaning and Maintenance

Regular Column Cleaning (from Cytiva)

Routine cleaning after every 20 runs is highly recommended. Cleaning is performed to remove any precipitated proteins or other contaminants that can build up on the column.

Reversing the flow during the cleaning of Superdex and Superose columns is recommended.

Cleaning is performed at low flow rates using 1 CV of NaOH (500 mM NaOH for Superdex and Superose columns). Note that the column should never be stored in NaOH. Equilibrate the column immediately after the cleaning with 2 CV of water followed by 2 CV of running buffer.

If cleaning using NaOH is not sufficient, additional cleaning using 500 mM acetic acid can be useful.