US 12,420,215 B2
Sample injector with sample fluid filtering
Blasius Nocon, Waldbronn (DE); and Thomas Ortmann, Straubenhardt/Ottenhausen (DE)
Assigned to Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/801,767
Filed by Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 26, 2021, PCT No. PCT/IB2021/051599
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 23, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/171232, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 2, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2002841 (GB), filed on Feb. 28, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0085894 A1, Mar. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. G01N 30/14 (2006.01); B01D 15/12 (2006.01); G01N 30/16 (2006.01); G01N 30/02 (2006.01)
CPC B01D 15/125 (2013.01) [G01N 30/14 (2013.01); G01N 30/16 (2013.01); G01N 2030/027 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating a sample injector for a chromatography system, the method comprising:
providing the chromatography system, comprising:
a mobile phase drive and a separation unit, wherein the mobile phase drive is configured to drive a mobile phase through the separation unit, and the separation unit is configured to chromatographically separate compounds of a sample fluid in the mobile phase; and
the sample injector, wherein the sample injector is configured to inject the sample fluid into the mobile phase and comprises a needle, a handling unit configured to position the needle, and a further unit;
providing a filter element configured to filter the sample fluid;
pinning the needle into the filter element to attach the filter element to the needle;
moving the filter element attached to the needle into a receptacle;
operating the further unit to move the filter element within the receptacle to filter at least a portion of the sample fluid contained in the receptacle, thereby forming a filtered sample fluid;
operating the handling unit to position the needle into the receptacle; and
aspirating a volume of the filtered sample fluid from the receptacle.