英语小角04丨液相出问题，怎么用英文求助老外同事？（实际案例视频）

之前有热心的同学给我们建议，

希望我们讲一些如何用英语描述仪器故障的内容，

所以从这一期开始，我们就用一些实际的仪器故障诊断例子，看看老外们是怎么用英文描述，表达和沟通的。

 

（强烈建议打开视频多看几遍，边看边读，效果更佳）

这一次是实验室的小姑娘Mary碰到了液相方面的一些问题，

她向实验室的同事Nick请教。我们一起看看Nick是怎么帮助Mary的吧。

————————————————•♥•————————————————

•♥•   Day1   •♥• 

 

Mary: Hi Nick, I’ve been monitoring several reactions over the past few weeks with HPLC.

Suddenly, and with the same method,

my spectra look very different! Retention times are much longer and there is much more noise in the baseline.

The same sample runs on another machine with the same method produces the “correct” spectrum.

Can this be an indication that the column needs cleaning or replacing?

 

     词汇表     

 

Retention times丨保留时间

more noise in the baseline丨基线噪音变大

indication丨指示

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Nick: Just as a point of terminology, it’s a “chromatogram“,not a “spectrum“. With that nit-pick aside, 

the problem could be either with the column or with the pumping system.

Since you have another instrument,

the easiest diagnostic is to switch columns and see if the problem follows the column or stays with the instrument.

既然你还有一台仪器，那就交换一下色谱柱，看看问题是跟着色谱柱走，还是跟着仪器走。

 

     词汇表     

 

terminology丨专业术语

chromatogram丨一般指的是色谱图

spectrum丨一般指光谱图或者质谱图

With that nit-pick aside丨意思是“先把吹毛求疵地提意见放到一边”

————————————————•♥•————————————————
Mary: Oh, okay! I see.

Nick: Another hint is to look at the dead time marker,

sometimes called the “solvent front”.

If the dead time and the retention times of all your analyte peaks changed “by the same percentage”,

that strongly suggests a flow problem.

 

     词汇表     

 

hint丨提示

dead time丨死时间就是不保留的化合物出峰的时间。

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Mary: A flow problem?Like what?

Nick: Like leaks, bad seals, bad check valves, air bubbles in the pump head – stuff like that.（泄漏，磨损的密封圈，故障的单向阀）

Mary: Is there anything else that could be the cause?

Nick: You can also check the compatibility of the reaction media and the column.

Make sure you adjust the sample pH to neutral or acidic before injecting it into the RP column.

Also, make sure other ingredients are not irreversibly sticking to the column.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out, so we can all learn from it!

 

     词汇表     

 

compatibility丨兼容性，这里指的是样品反应基质与色谱柱的兼容性。

irreversibly丨不可逆的，这里说确保样品里面没有回与色谱柱发生不可逆吸附的东西。

————————————————•♥•————————————————

•♥•   Day2   •♥• 

Mary: Hey Nick, thanks for your help yesterday! Today, the problem is a little different.

I ran the same sample on 2 instruments this morning, including the one that was giving me problems yesterday,

which is “my instrument”.

My instrument produced a chromatogram that was identical to what I had seen in previous weeks.

The other instrument was similar,

but retention times were about a half a minute shorter and it picked up a minor peak that my instrument did not.

今天仪器出的结果跟几周前一样，说明恢复正常了。但是两台之间保留时间有些偏差。

 

     词汇表     

 

identical丨完全相同的。

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Nick: Did you check the compatibility issue?

Mary: The compound itself is compatible with the column and mobile phase and should not stick to the column.

There are unidentified impurities in the reaction mixture,

but I don’t think they should cause a problem either. Any suggestions?

 

     词汇表     

 

unidentified impurities丨未知的杂质

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Nick: If “your instrument” is back to normal, that suggests

that yesterday’s problem was caused by a flow problem. A trapped bubble would be my guess.

Mary: Then, what do you think caused the difference between the two instruments?

Nick: The instrument-to-instrument difference you’re seeing could be due to a couple of things.

The most likely reason is a slight difference in the selectivity of the two columns.

In many cases, retention and peak spacing can be affected by the very subtle differences of column chemistry

(including those brought about by the aging of the column).

A second possibility, if your separation involves the use of a gradient,

is a difference in the gradient delay volume between the two instruments.

If your separation is isocratic(meaning, the mobile phase composition remains constant during the run),

then you can ignore this.

 

     词汇表     

 

selectivity丨色谱柱的选择性

the very subtle differences丨细微的差别

gradient delay volume丨梯度延迟体积

isocratic丨等度洗脱

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Mary: I forgot to mention, that I did try swapping the columns between the two instruments.

The retention times were constant to the column.

That is, I saw the same retention times with the columns as before,

but the different instruments.

So, your assessment of aflow problem seems most likely for the original problem.

The only question I have left is,

what could cause that type of problem?

Should any maintenance be done to prevent it from happening again?

 

     词汇表     

 

swapping the columns丨交换色谱柱

assessment丨估计，评估

maintenance丨维护。这里是问是否需要对仪器进行一些维护，防止类似的故障以后还会发生。

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Nick: Since the problem went away, the most likely culprit is a bubble.

the General remedy is to make sure you’re degassing effectively.

Also, check the “sinker” frit on the inlet line to make sure it’s not partially plugged,

and check the inlet lines themselves to make sure they’re not kinked – a flow restriction on the inlet side

can cause enough of a pressure drop to persuade residual dissolved air to come out as bubbles.

 

     词汇表     

 

culprit丨罪魁祸首

remedy丨补救的措施

sinker丨这里是将流动相瓶子里面的过滤头比喻成钓鱼用的铅坠，因为看起来的确比较像。

partially plugged丨部分堵塞。

kinked丨弯曲，打结的。液相管路有时候折的厉害会导致部分堵塞

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Mary: Ohh! I did not know that!

Nick: When all is said and done, “bubbles happen”.

If you’re getting longer-than-usual retention times and if all the peaks are off by the same percentage,

just re-prime the pump and run again.

 

     词汇表     

 

When all is said and done丨总而言之，言而总之

off丨偏离。这里指的保留时间偏离正常的值。

 

————————————————•♥•————————————————

Mary: Okay. That sounds simple enough.

Nick: Since you’ve pinned down your selectivity difference to the column,

you can now look at what might be causing “that”.

Are the columns from the same lot?

Are they different ages? Different histories?

All of those can contribute to selectivity differences.

If HPLC were easy, we’d all be unemployed!

 

     词汇表     

 

pinned down丨确认，这里说已经确认了保留时间不同的原因是跟色谱柱有关系。

same lot丨同样的批次

contibute丨贡献，导致。

 

————————————————•♥•————————————————

Mary: I did check the inlet lines for kinks. I can see a minor kink,

but it doesn’t seem to be enough to reduce flow and drop the pressure.

Am I wrong? I mean, can a slight bend cause a flow restriction?

Nick: Yes, sometimes it can if the tubing is bent badly enough.

 

     词汇表     

 

bend丨弯曲

tubing丨管线

 

•♥•   Day3   •♥• 

 

Mary: Hi, Nick. Selectivity difference between the two columns I tried doesn’t surprise me too much.

The”other” instrument I used belongs to someone else,

so it has a much different history.

I believe both are from the same lot,

but mine has been used more heavily.

 

Nick: It sounds like your system is basically ok.

Like I said earlier, “bubbles happen”!

If the problem doesn’t recur, don’t worry about it.

If it happens again, you may want to think about having your pumping system serviced.

 

     词汇表     

 

recur丨复发，重现

————————————————•♥•————————————————

 

Mary: I see. Thank you so much for your advice, Nick! I appreciate your help.

Nick: Of course, Mary! I’m glad we could resolve your issues together. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Mary: I sure will.Thanks again, bye!

 

大家对于英语角有什么意见，欢迎给我们留言哦！

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