The most common and standard vial size used in HPLC is:
– 2 mL
The 2 mL vial size is a typical default for:
– Autosampler vials – These small vials hold sample injections. A size of 2 mL is large enough for most injection volumes.
– Standard vials – Reference standards are usually prepared in 2 mL volumes for calibration.
– Fraction collector vials – Collecting fractions from 0.5 mL to 2 mL per vial is ideal.
Other standard HPLC vial sizes include:
– 1.5 mL – Smaller autosampler vials used for micro-HPLC or when smaller injection volumes are needed.
– 4-5 mL – For larger injection volumes or when collecting more fractions.
– 10-20 mL – For preparing larger quantities of standards.
– 0.3-0.5 mL – Micro-autosampler vials for low-volume analysis like LC-MS.So while many sizes exist, 2 mL is the conventional standard size that provides a good balance of volume capacity versus the small size needed for auto-injection and fraction collection. The 2 mL vial size is used across most HPLC applications and systems.
