Jason Herrington recently wrote a post titled SPME Arrow Configurations.  The last paragraph in this post stated:

“One last talking point: We told you there is no free lunch when incorporating the SPME Arrow into your laboratory, because you will have to install a GC Inlet Conversion Kit. It is important to stress that the inlet conversion kits work with all 3 types of SPME Arrow AND you may use the converted inlet with all your standard injection techniques (e.g., liquid syringe, headspace syringe, etc.). So, there is no need to swap back and forth between inlets.”

What I would like to do in this post is to help you select the correct Conversion Kit for your specific model GC. First, here again is a link to the Conversion Kits which we sell.

The table may look a little intimidating for those not familiar with it, so let’s break it down into more manageable sections, but before we do that, listed below are a few things to keep in mind.

A. Each kit is designed only for a split/splitless injection port for the particular GC make/model which is listed. It is not for on-column, LVI, PTV or any other type of injection port.

B. Each kit is designed only for the specific GC make/model listed. While it is possible that a kit may fit a different model of GC, since we do not have every make/model of GC at Restek, we can only guarantee that it will fit the model(s) listed.

C. Please read the description of the kit very carefully since there may be additional stipulations for a proper fit. As an example, for the Agilent 6890 Conversion Kits, the split vent filter needs to be the type which is referred to as the “canister-type filter”. Here is a photo of this canister-type filter.

D. Each instrument has three options for the conversion kits.

1. A kit without any additional products from Merlin Microseal. These kits should include all you need to get started with either the 1.1mm or 1.5mm Arrow fiber.

2. A kit with additional products from Merlin Microseal for 1.1mm Arrow fibers.

3. A kit with additional products from Merlin Microseal for 1.5mm Arrow fibers.

E. As you may have guessed, you should not attempt to use a 1.5mm Arrow fiber with a kit designed for a 1.1mm Arrow fiber. In addition, we do not recommend that you use a 1.1mm Arrow fiber with a kit designed for a 1.5mm fiber because you will not get proper sealing around the SPME Arrow. To further clarify, each Merlin Microseal has a specific “duck bill” designed to tightly seal around that specific SPME Arrow diameter. You may wish to review the following post for additional information on how the Merlin Microseal works.

My Merlin Microseal Septum seems to be leaking!

F. As Jason mentioned, once any conversion kit is installed, you do not need to uninstall the kit to use regular SPME fibers (you can also keep using your same syringe). However, you may want to replace the injection port liner with a more appropriate internal diameter liner. For example, if switching from an Arrow fiber to a regular fiber, a smaller ID liner is usually used, such as 0.75mmID (or 1.0mmID).

Below are the various GC makes/models in which Arrow Conversion Kits are available. I hope this post has helped simplify the selection of Arrow Conversion Kits which Restek offers. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Agilent 6890 for Split/Splitless injection ports with canister-type filters

1. # 27492  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit

2. # 27356  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.1 mm Merlin Microseal

3. # 27361  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.5 mm Merlin Microseal

Agilent 7890 with Split/Splitless injection ports

1. # 27493  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit

2. # 27357  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.1 mm Merlin Microseal

3. # 27362  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.5 mm Merlin Microseal

Shimadzu 2010 with Split/Splitless injection ports (not compatible with SE or Plus models)

1. # 27491  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit

2. # 27355  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.1 mm Merlin Microseal

3. # 27360  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.5 mm Merlin Microseal

Thermo Trace 1300/1310 with Split/Splitless injection ports

1. # 27494  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit

2. # 27358  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.1 mm Merlin Microseal

3. # 27363  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.5 mm Merlin Microseal

Thermo Trace Ultra with Split/Splitless injection ports

1. # 27495  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit

2. # 27359  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.1 mm Merlin Microseal

3. # 27364  Restek PAL SPME Arrow Conversion Kit with 1.5 mm Merlin Microseal

I hope this post has helped simplify the selection of Arrow Conversion Kits which Restek offers. Please le