Agilent Community
Agilent Community
  • User
  • Site
  • Search the Community
  • User
Gas Chromatography Portal
  • Agilent Knowledge Portal
Gas Chromatography Portal
GC Articles Peak Tailing in GC Systems
  • GC Articles
  • GC Videos
  • GC Forum
  • More
  • Cancel

Browse the Agilent Knowledge Portal

  • Chromatography
    • Gas Chromatography
    • Liquid Chromatography
  • More
  • Cancel
  • GC/MS
  • More
  • Cancel
  • Spectroscopy
    • Atomic Absorption
    • ICP-OES
  • More
  • Cancel
  • Automated Electrophoresis
  • More
  • Cancel
  • Software and Informatics
    • OpenLab CDS
    • MassHunter
  • More
  • Cancel
  • -Gas Chromatography
    • +GC Operation
    • +GC Maintenance
    • -GC Troubleshooting
      • -Basic Troubleshooting for GC Systems
        • Source of Ghost and Carryover Peaks in GC
        • Excessive Background Noise in GC
        • Baseline Instability in GC
        • Peak Fronting in GC
        • Peak Tailing in GC Systems
        • Peak Splitting in GC
        • Peak Retention Time Shift in GC
        • Peak Size Changes in GC
        • Loss of Peak Resolution in GC
      • Using the Condensation Test to Troubleshoot the GC Inlet
      • How To Ping the IP Address of an Agilent Gas Chromatographs
      • Checking for External Leaks on 7697A Headspace
      • Troubleshooting a Leak or Poor Chromatography on the Agilent 7697A Headspace Sampler
      • Inlet Pressure Shutdown / Gas Cannot Achieve Setpoint
      • Troubleshooting a Leak in a Split/Splitless Inlet
      • How to Run and Interpret the Inlet Leak and Restriction Test for the Agilent 7890/8860/8890 GC Systems
      • How to Bake-out the Split/Splitless Inlet (S/SL) on Agilent GC Systems
      • Troubleshooting an FID not Igniting
      • Agilent GC FID Jet Restriction Test
      • Troubleshooting FID Noise and High Background
      • Agilent Thermal Conductivity Detector Troubleshooting
      • ECD Baseline Troubleshooting
      • Gathering GC Diagnostics Log Files Using the Agilent Acquisition Software
      • Gathering Diagnostics Log Files from the 8890/8860/Intuvo 9000 GC Systems Using the Browser Interface
    • +GC Best Practices

Peak Tailing in GC Systems

Created by Agilent Knowledge Portal Agilent Knowledge Portal 8 months ago | Last modified by Carlos Vargas Carlos Vargas 7 months ago

This Information Applies To: Agilent GC systems


Issue

Peak fronting is present in a chromatography peak when it has an excessive asymmetry with a trailing edge. A normal peak is almost symmetrical.  

Other chromatographic problems are identified in  Basic Troubleshooting for GC Systems . Regular maintenance of your instrument in accordance with the recommended maintenance schedule will reduce the incidence of chromatography problems.


Background

Tailing can be caused by several reasons. Figure 1 shows some examples of peak tailing at several degrees. 

           
Figure 1. Peak tailing
1. Symmetrical peak with no tailing 

Resolution

 Tip 
Tip: Some active compounds always tail. 

Possible cause of tailing Solution
Split ratio too low  Increase the split ratio
Column contamination Bake out the column. Limit the bake-out for 1 to 2 hours or until the signal is stable
 Caution
Caution: Do not exceed the manufacturer recommended maximum column temperate limit as it will damage your column.
Trim the column: Remove 0.5 to 1 m from the front of the column 
Column activity Irreversible. Replace the column
Improper injection technique (slow/erratic plunger depression) Check that the syringe plunger is moving freely. The solution should be pulled into the syringe body, and moving freely and fast when plunger is depressed
Improper column installation, including poor column cutting Remove and reinstall the column. See Capillary column installation quick reference guide 
Solvent effect violation for splitless or on-column injections Lower the oven start temperature
Mixed sample solvent with large differences in polarity or boiling points Change the sample solvent or use a retention gap


If these procedures have not resolved the peak tailing problem, contact Agilent Technical Support.

 Tip 
Learn how to effectively troubleshoot your Agilent GC System:
GC-0GEN-1040z - Practical Steps in GC Troubleshooting
GC-0GEN-2040zs - GC Troubleshooting Series e-learning courses available from Agilent education
  • Troubleshooting
  • 7820
  • Intuvo 9000
  • GC Systems
  • 7890
  • 8890
  • 8860
  • Share
  • History
  • More
  • Cancel
Was this helpful?
  • Yes
  • No
Thank you for your feedback!

Agilent Community Feedback

Agilent Community Feedback

×
We are glad this was helpful! We are sorry this was not helpful. If you still need assistance please create a community post or contact support. To help us improve, please provide any additional feedback. For full details of how we will treat your information, please view our privacy policy.
Submit Cancel
Submit Cancel

Contact Agilent Support

 Still Need Assistance?

 Contact Agilent Support >

Related
Recommended for you
Privacy Statement
Terms of Use
Contact Us
Site Help