I found that there is little discussion about making instruments in your lab more sustainable. This has always surprised me.
There is so much potential and several companies are continuously innovating.
However, limited experience and expertise might often be the restricting factors.
Therefore, I have put together an overview for you - including concrete examples for HPLC and some other instruments:
Today's Lesson: Optimizing Your Instruments
Strategies and examples for greener devices
Number Of The Day
You can save 93.7% of the mobile phase (eluent) in an HPLC when switching from a standard setup to a modern one - in this case, to a UPLC with ACE C18-PFP columns. Just imagine: if your normal analysis run took 30 minutes, you could reduce it to less than 180 seconds. However, few people realize this potential, as it requires rethinking how we use our instruments. Let me explain:
93.7
Compiling Sustainable Practices
To reduce the footprint of our instruments, there are five major aspects to consider as I outlined in an article I reuploaded for you:
Analytical performance | Energy consumption | Type and volume of required chemicals | Availability of alternative methods | Embodied carbon.
Let’s look at some concrete examples of how you can make your instruments in these aspects more sustainable:
Establish Smart Setups
In many labs, instruments are used exactly as they arrive.
Yet, for several systems, there are fittings, adapters, and accessories that can improve performance, reduce waste, and increase safety.
These options are often overlooked — especially in academic settings, where there is no dedicated specialist for every instrument.
All of these gadgets may seem very technical, but in the end, most of them are actually quite simple to install, even for non-experts. This is why it’s so surprising they haven’t been adopted everywhere.
What This Might Look Like for an HPLC:
Dead-volume-free fittings (e.g., Thermo Viper / nanoViper) create leak-free connections that save solvent and prevent the frustration of chasing leaks.
A €70 guard column can extend the life of a €3000 analytical column and use reusable steel or titanium frits, which can be cleaned in an ultrasonic bath.
Bottle caps with integrated filters (like SCAT units) prevent solvent evaporation, keep your lab air safe, and feature visual replacement indicators.
> Another example: for Mass Spectrometers, optimized nebulizers can improve sensitivity while reducing gas consumption.
Build Habits That Maintain Your System
Maintenance like cleaning or routine check-ups are straightforward but tedious.
Whether Flow Cytometer, HPLC or Microscopes, there are maintenance guides for all sorts of equipment. Admittedly, it is not the most fun to read but most labs have big potential for optimization on that front.
Still, how often I have seen: wasting unique time samples, or even shut down of instruments for weeks or even months... Not to mention the large technician bill.
What This Might Look Like for an HPLC:
De-gas and filter mobile phases to avoid bubbles that stop runs and waste solvent.
Replace flushing solvents regularly to prevent microbial growth and blockages.
Fully equilibrate your column before a sequence — re-runs waste far more time and solvent than a few extra minutes of equilibration.
> Another example: Most flow cytometers have extended cleaning modes included, also decontamination of fluid bottles should be included at least on a monthly basis.
Optimize Your Procurement
The "best" experiments are those that deliver the level of detail needed to answer your question, no more and no less.
Tip: Click To Enlarge - This is one of my favorite figures—showing the translation of a method from a legacy column (a) to a 50 mm UHPLC column packed with the same C18 stationary phase chemistry (b), and then to a UHPLC column packed with a novel C18-PFP stationary phase chemistry (c). Also, take a look at the time scale and see how much time you can save. Here’s the excellent article that compiled this graph.
This means selecting the right size, format, and components for your actual application can reduce run times, lower consumable use, and prevent unnecessary wear while giving you all you need.
What This Might Look Like for an HPLC:
Switching from a 4.6 mm i.d. column to a 3.0 mm i.d. column can cut mobile phase use by ~60%. Dropping to 2.1 mm can save up to 80%.
Shorter columns with smaller particles can maintain resolution while cutting run times — replacing a 250 mm, 5 μm column with a 50 mm, 1.7 μm column can reduce solvent use by 85%.
This graph should show how fast our instruments are improving. The little spheres you see there are the particles within the HPLC, like the matrix you have in column chromatography. HETP is a measure of column efficiency, with lower values indicating sharper peaks and better separation. Linear velocity refers to the speed at which the mobile phase moves through the column. The curves show that smaller particle sizes yield lower HETP values across a range of velocities, meaning higher efficiency and reduced band broadening. This improvement is due to shorter diffusion paths and more uniform flow through the packed bed. You can readmorehere.
Choosing an efficient model such as a UPLC when purchasing new equipment will save solvent, time, and increase resolution.
> Another example: With microscopes you might not need to scan an entire slide or do 50 z-stacks and in your NMR you might not need a long, high-resolution sequence for a low-complexity sample.
Use Alternative Eluents (Where They Work)
Whether your instrument uses solvents, gases, buffers, stains, or standards, there are often more sustainable alternatives that are less toxic, cheaper to dispose of, and easier to source.
What This Might Look Like for an HPLC to replace acetonitrile:
100% aqueous phase (water) — safest option, but require special columns to prevent phase collapse.
Cyrene — biomass-derived; promising but currently niche, with viscosity and UV limitations.
> Another example: In GC, swapping helium for hydrogen can cut running costs and reduce supply risks.
Rethink Method Development
The fastest way to waste time, solvent, and energy is to jump into unplanned trial-and-error.
A better approach is to use modeling, simulations, or prior data to narrow your options first — then design smart experiments to fill in the gaps.
No doubt, not all labs can afford combination methods, and for some experimental questions, it doesn’t make sense to apply them. However, I wanted to include this example because it shows that (A) you save a lot of time in sample preparation by having a single workflow instead of two, and (B) you use much less sample and fewer reagents by working within one closed system.
What This Might Look Like for an HPLC:
When using a new parameter range, start with a small scale test.
Coupling HPLC with MS can shorten run times and reduce solvent use, since MS can confirm identity without perfect baseline separation.
Build a model to predict optimal separation and robustness.
> Another example: In MS, test only the most promising ionization modes before committing to full runs. In NMR, try pulse sequence variants on a model sample before using them on precious material.
Applying The Knowledge
These largely overlooked tips can be summarized into five principles:
Check whether your instrument can be improved with better components — even if no one has told you so.
Prevent failures before they happen.
Design your experiment so it is right-sized for your needs, balancing efficiency with the quality of data required.
Use safer, greener substitutes where possible — but commit to testing them properly.
Rethink your experimental design, including the methods used.
Overall, partial substitution and gradual optimization are often the best starting points. Also, just looking into the manuals your manufacturer provides can do a lot – especially for maintenance.
Each icon represents one of the aspects mentioned earlier, along with their impact on scientific workflows. Analytical performance clearly enhances data quality. Energy efficiency not only saves money but, protects from strained electricity grids and rising temperatures (preventing overheating). The type and volume of required chemicals can safeguard research continuity, whether during an acetonitrile shortage or when helium is scarce and even in 2025 remains scarce. We have discussed alternative methods, and reductions in embodied carbon (emissions from manufacturing, transport, and components) can support carbon reporting and meet the growing demand from funding bodies for greener actions - see our previous lesson #1 and #2 to learn more.
When it comes to driving change, many people exclude sustainability especially from purchasing decisions, assuming it is unrelated to performance. I hope I have shown you that this is not the case.
A smart decision achieves the required performance while minimizing time and costs - which is, in essence, sustainability.
Upcoming Lesson:
A Literal Lab Walk-Through
How We Feel Today
References
Mahesh, M. et al., 2016. The MRI helium crisis: Past and future. J. Am. Coll. Radiol., 13(12, Part A), 1536–1537. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2016.07.038.
Guo, Z. et al., 2022. On the journey exploring nanoscale packing materials for ultra-efficient liquid chromatographic separation. J. Chromatogr. Open, 2, 100033. doi:10.1016/j.jcoa.2022.100033.
Tu, K.J. et al., 2025. Rethinking research funding through a sustainability lens. Clin. Biochem., 139, 110987. doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2025.110987.
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Edited by Patrick Penndorf Connection@ReAdvance.com Lutherstraße 159, 07743, Jena, Thuringia, Germany Data Protection & Impressum If you think we do a bad job: Unsubscribe
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