2 glossary – Metrohm 790 Personal IC User Manual
Page 73
4 Operation
790 Personal IC
64
4.1.2 Glossary
System
The term “system“ is used to describe the combination of
instrument
settings, time program and processing method which have been
optimized for the specific separating column and the determination to
be carried out with it. A system is used to start single determinations or
determinations with the help of a sample queue.
Systems are stored as
system files (
*.smt
) in the
Systems
directory.
Method
A method contains all information necessary for
data acquisition, in-
tegration, peak evaluation and quantification. It can be considered
as the chromatogram template, i.e. chromatogram without raw data.
Methods are stored as
method files (
*.mtw
) in the
Methods
directory.
Each system is linked to a method. This method is called
processing
method and is opened automatically at the start of a new determina-
tion.
Chromatogram
A chromatogram is a graphic plot of the elution curve (signal vs. time)
recorded following a chromatographic separation on a separating col-
umn.
Chromatograms are stored as
chromatogram files (
*.chw
) in the
Data
directory. As well as the measuring data, the chromatogram files also
contain the method parameters and system settings, which have been
used for data recording, data processing and remote control.
Determination
In order to carry out a determination a suitable
system must be se-
lected for the separating problem. The result of the determination is a
chromatogram, in which the measuring data and results of the deter-
mination are stored.
Calibration
Calibration is used to describe the method of determining the relation-
ship between the peak height or peak area found for one component
and its concentration in the sample. The result of the calibration is a
calibration function (calibration curve), which shows the relationship
between the amount of sample and the evaluated quantity.
The determination of the calibration function with reference solutions
can be carried out as a
one-point or as a multiple-point calibration.
The calibration method that is mainly used in ion chromatography is the
external standard calibration (absolute calibration); calibrations with
an
internal standard (relative calibration) or tabulated calibrations
are also possible.