Waters Corporation launched 1 mm I.D. microflow LC columns with MaxPeak Premier Technology across the ACQUITY, BioResolve, and GTxResolve brands. The release targets applications where sensitivity, sample conservation, and solvent reduction directly shape analytical performance.
The new microflow LC columns deliver up to 2× higher sensitivity than stainless steel microflow columns. This gain lowers detection and quantitation limits across high-throughput bioseparations, DMPK, and ‘omics workflows. The 1 mm I.D. format uses up to 75% less sample than 2.1 mm I.D. columns, enabling scientists to conserve limited materials, including cell and gene therapy and personalized medicine candidates. Solvent consumption drops by up to 4× versus 2.1 mm I.D. columns, supporting sustainability targets and cost control.
Waters engineered the columns by applying MaxPeak High Performance Surface Technology to a 1 mm I.D. format. The design minimizes nonspecific adsorption and improves analyte recovery for small molecules, peptides, and oligonucleotides. The technology provides particular advantages for molecules with challenging recovery characteristics, including phosphorylated peptides. Users obtain sharper peaks, higher peak capacity, and reduced peak tailing at low flow rates. The columns deliver reproducible performance from the first injection while reducing time and variability linked to column passivation.
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Rob Carpio, Senior Vice President, Waters Analytical Sciences, emphasized the operational drivers behind the release. "Waters continues to invest in the advancement of breakthrough technologies to remove common obstacles for our customers in high-throughput pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical laboratories, accelerating and simplifying the development of life-changing therapies. We know that in disciplines such as cell and gene therapy and personalized cancer medicines, sample availability is limited and analyte recovery is critical. Today, we are proud to introduce our new microflow LC columns with MaxPeak Premier Technology that protect these precious assets, while raising the bar on sensitivity, data quality, and reproducibility."
Researchers evaluating the technology reported measurable performance gains. Oliver Fiehn, Ph.D., Professor at the University of California, Davis, described the impact on metabolomics operations. "We saw a strong benefit matching, or even exceeding, our analytical sensitivity requirements when switching from 2.1 mm I.D. stainless steel columns to Waters' MaxPeak Premier Technology columns. It's great to have MaxPeak Technology now available in 1 mm I.D. microflow columns. They'll give our metabolomics team the opportunity to save solvent while delivering reproducible, fast, and highly accurate results in high-throughput operations."
For laboratories migrating from 2.1 mm I.D. analytical-scale LC columns, the 1 mm I.D. microflow LC columns provide equivalent or improved sensitivity while requiring only one-quarter of the solvent and sample. Waters began global availability on February 17, 2026, with immediate shipment.
This article is a rework of a press release issued by Waters.
