Spot the Source of Vacuum Pump Contamination
Learn how to identify potential sources of contamination before they affect your experiments with this infographic from BRANDTECH and Biocompare.
Learn how to spot sources of vacuum-pump contamination before your experiments are ruined. Whether a scientist is running a mass spectrometry experiment or lyophilizing precious samples, they risk encountering contamination from their vacuum pump. Oil from rotary vane pumps can drip onto lab benches and back flow from the pump can enter tubing and equipment. Dust from scroll pump wear and tear can likewise coat surfaces and make its way into samples.
Knowing the common signs of vacuum pump contamination is crucial for keeping the laboratory clean and samples pure. If a problem arises, scientists can upgrade to an oil- and debris-free vacuum pump for optimal results.
Rotary vane and scroll vacuum pumps can exhaust oil droplets and residue from internal wear into the environment, resulting in visible debris on benchtops.
Oil and dust within vacuum pump tubing can back-diffuse into the equipment, contaminating valuable samples
Unexpected results, such as the presence of hydrocarbons in samples, can point to contaminants back-diffusing into the equipment.
- Scientists can identify vacuum pump contamination in the laboratory environment by detecting odors that smell like oil or plastics.
To eliminate sample contamination, scientists can switch to a cleaner and more efficient vacuum pump. The VACUUBRAND® VACUU-PURE® 10C is a chemically resistant, dry screw pump that does not use oil and has no internal wear parts to generate dust and particulates. It can pump aggressive gases, handle a wide pressure range, and rapidly dry, increasing pure sample throughput.