A guard column assembly for chromatography, comprising: a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet; and a guard column configured to be enclosed in the housing, wherein the guard column comprises: a tubular body having an axial bore; and a first filter and a second filter disposed at a first end and a second end of the tubular body to define a chamber for holding a packing material, said guard column assembly being characterized in that the first filter comprises a disk-shaped filter element having a peripheral region coated or covered with a polymeric material and a center filter region for fluid passage, wherein the disk-shaped filter element has an outside diameter equal to or larger than an outside diameter of the first end of the tubular body and the center filter region of the disk-shaped filter element has a diameter smaller than an inside diameter of the first end of the tubular body, and wherein the housing encloses the guard column in a manner that presses the first filter and the second filter, respectively, against the first end and the second end of the tubular body such that the packing material in the chamber is compressed. a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet; and a guard column configured to be enclosed in the housing, wherein the guard column comprises: a tubular body having an axial bore; and a first filter and a second filter disposed at a first end and a second end of the tubular body to define a chamber for holding a packing material, said guard column assembly being characterized in that the first filter comprises a disk-shaped filter element having a peripheral region coated or covered with a polymeric material and a center filter region for fluid passage, wherein the disk-shaped filter element has an outside diameter equal to or larger than an outside diameter of the first end of the tubular body and the center filter region of the disk-shaped filter element has a diameter smaller than an inside diameter of the first end of the tubular body, and wherein the housing encloses the guard column in a manner that presses the first filter and the second filter, respectively, against the first end and the second end of the tubular body such that the packing material in the chamber is compressed. a tubular body having an axial bore; and a first filter and a second filter disposed at a first end and a second end of the tubular body to define a chamber for holding a packing material, said guard column assembly being characterized in that the first filter comprises a disk-shaped filter element having a peripheral region coated or covered with a polymeric material and a center filter region for fluid passage, wherein the disk-shaped filter element has an outside diameter equal to or larger than an outside diameter of the first end of the tubular body and the center filter region of the disk-shaped filter element has a diameter smaller than an inside diameter of the first end of the tubular body, and wherein the housing encloses the guard column in a manner that presses the first filter and the second filter, respectively, against the first end and the second end of the tubular body such that the packing material in the chamber is compressed.