62 CHROMATOGRAPHY
polar volatile compounds, giving it a broad applicability – a great advantage when trying to limit the amount of instrumentation on the lander, while still ensuring all needed measurements could be carried out. Q type porous polymer columns with repeatable retention times for long term stability are especially important for ensuring efficiency and reliability throughout the mission.
Tis focus on efficiency is mirrored in the other GC columns installed in the Philae robotic lander. Te Agilent J&W CP-Molsieve 5Å was selected for separation of permanent gasses such as helium, hydrogen, xenon, and argon. With its high efficiency and symmetrical peakshape performance, this PLOT column plays an important role to accurately monitor the composition of these noble gases on the comet surface and in the atmosphere.
Te third GC column – an Agilent J&W CP-Sil 8 CB – has a general purpose ‘5% phenyl-‘ stationary phase which provides selectivity and temperature limit that has been classically used for a broad range gas phase separations including environmental semivolatile compounds.
Te fourth GC column, the Agilent J&W Carbobond which was specially designed for this
shortly be providing researchers with valuable information that will assist our understanding of the early stages of the Earths, and our own, development. Tis would not be possible without accurate, efficient equipment which the ESA could confidently send to meet the comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Fig. 3. Three types of Agilent J&W GC columns were provided for use within the Philae lander.
mission is Agilent’s unique Ultimetal treated stainless steel column design which is able to separate the typical permanent gases we find in our atmosphere with the addition of some light hydrocarbons as well as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Te fifth and final GC column, the Agilent J&W CP-Chirasil- DEX CB, is a uniquely bonded chiral phase to separate and identify compounds in racemic mixtures (like mirrored images or the left hand to the right hand) – which often occur in nature. All the columns provided to the Rosetta mission are
produced with the sole aim of delivering accurate data quickly while requiring little to no maintenance. Tis range of column chemistries and selectivites combined with the level of quality and reliability is an essential element mirrored throughout the design of Rosetta and Philae programmes. Tey are capable of undertaking delicate, sensitive readings in foreign environments, and deliver precisely the data required to draw some real conclusions.
Summary Te Rosetta mission is a milestone project, and could
Norbert Reuter is Channels Support Organisation manager and Gary Lee is GC Columns product manager, with Agilent Technologies.
www.agilent.com/chem/gccolumns
Triple quadrupole GC-MS
Laboratories analysing food, the environment, and biological samples for compounds like dioxins, pesticides, steroids and other challenging analytes now have access to a new generation of GC-MS/MS from Thermo Fisher Scientific, designed to deliver more sensitivity at faster speeds than its predecessor. The new Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 Evo triple quadrupole GC-MS system improves on the features of its predecessor, the TSQ 8000, with new EvoCell technology, demonstrated in company-run experiments to triple selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transition rates without compromising sensitivity. Contributing to
www.scientistlive.com
this productivity is the included Timed-SRM software for optimising selected reaction monitoring schedules. Company-run experiments also showed that the
EvoCell can enable triple the sensitivity at the same scan speed – allowing users to screen and quantitate more than 1,000 compounds in a single run at low limits of detection. “Many laboratories can always use more capacity,
more performance and more productivity from their GC triple quadrupole systems,” said Paul Silcock, GC-MS marketing manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific. “This was our motivation for advancing this popular triple
quadrupole GC-MS platform to the next level. It’s a major evolutionary step in GC-MS/MS productivity.” The company has automated method development and management with enhanced AutoSRM software. Now, development of selected reaction monitoring experiments on the platform is simplified even further. The instrument’s ExtractaBrite ion source is designed for high matrix tolerance to minimise sample preparation and cleaning.
For more information, visit
www.thermofisher.com
Agilent J&W GC columns have long set a standard for the highest level of performance and reliability, thanks to constant improvement, years of experience and industry-leading testing to ensure column to column consistency. It is these standards which make them suited for this unique project and, come November 2014 (at the time of going to press), will play a role in generating the first set of highly anticipated data.
REFERENCES: 1
ESA Rosetta Mission. Accessed online 01 July 2014. http://sci.
esa.int/rosetta; 2
Rosetta (spacecraft).
Accessed online 01 July 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Rosetta_%28spacecraft%29; 3
COSAC, THE COMETARY SAMPLING AND COMPOSITION EXPERIMENT ON PHILAE. FRED GOESMANN et al. 2006. http://
ipag-3.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr/
homepages/IMG/pdf/cosac.pdf; 4
PTOLEMY – AN INSTRUMENT
TO MEASURE STABLE ISOTOPIC RATIOS OF KEY VOLATILES ON A COMETARY NUCLEUS. I.P. WRIGHT et al. 2006. http://ipag-3.obs.
ujf-grenoble.fr/homepages/IMG/ pdf/ptolemy.pdf
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120