Protecting Gas Chromatograph Syringes Syringes for injecting samples into gas chromatagraphs are relatively delicate devices easily damaged by students. We feel that syringes with replaceable needles and a plunger guide apparatus are the most cost effective syringes for the way they are used in our laboratories. Regardless of the measures available to minimize damage, the syringes can still roll off tables and break. To reduce this hazard, we have found a simple protective device. The top of a one-hole rubber stopper is sliced off to form a disk about a quarter inch thick. The sides of the disk are cut off to make a square. The knurled nut, which holds the replaceable needle on, is inserted into the hole. For a syringe without a guide apparatus, a second rubber disk should he placed a t the top of the syringe. With this device in place, the syringe is less apt to roll. If the syringe is dropped, the glass barrel is less apt to be struck and shattered. Ben Ruekberg University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881
Volume 72 Number I2 December 1995
1141
