26 Environmental Analysis PANalytical and XRF Scientific Partner an XRF Fusion Technology


PANalytical (The Netherlands) is pleased to announce a strategic alliance with XRF Scientific (Perth, Australia) in the field of XRF fusion technology. The first result of this cooperation is the launch of a new fused bead preparation system - the Eagon 2.


This new agreement supports the PANalytical EXPERTISE programs, which are designed to ensure that the capability and potential of each user's analytical X-ray systems is fully realised. EXPERTISE programs provide priority access to the company's unrivalled application knowledge and experience in X-ray methodologies.


Pieter de Groot, Director - New Business Development, PANalytical, said: "PANalytical has long recognised the importance of sample preparation for XRF analysis. We can now leverage the fusion technology of XRF Scientific with our XRF expertise and bring it to our users. Of course, the new combination is supported by PANalytical's extensive worldwide customer support and application network."


Steve Prossor, XRF Scientific, added: "Being based in Australia, where fusion is a very dominant sample preparation technology in the mining industry, our customers understand the importance of fused bead sample preparation for accurate and precise XRF analysis. This demanding customer environment has forged the quality of our systems and drives continuous innovation." Simon Milner, product marketing manager XRF, PANalytical, summed up the new approach by saying "After a review of all fusion technologies it was clear that, with XRF Scientific, we could bring the safest, most versatile, practical and robust automated fusion machine to the market: the Eagon 2 is a high performance, cost-effective solution."


Reader Reply Card no 88 New Era in ICP Mass Spectrometry


SPECTRO (Germany) presents the first fully simultaneous measuring mass spectrometer with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS; see "Background" section) in the world. The SPECTRO MS records the entire elemental spectrum between lithium and uranium for every analysis. Users achieve a greatly increased sample throughput rate and much better precision and accuracy compared to using a sequential mass spectrometer.


"The SPECTRO MS will change mass spectrometry forever. The option of being able to measure simultaneously will create a revolution on the market similar to the one created by the optical emission spectrometers several years ago," reports Manfred Bergsch, SPECTRO's Managing Director. "The SPECTRO MS delivers not only much more precise and reproducible results than a conventional mass spectrometer, but also measures a great deal faster; opening new perspectives and applications for laboratories."


The range of applications for the new SPECTRO MS is diverse. Bergsch:


"We see many application areas especially for public and commercial research and development laboratories. The number of samples and the requirements for these institutions are extremely high. The SPECTRO MS can


truly demonstrate its strengths here - precision, reproducibility, detection limits, sample throughput. We will quickly establish the SPECTRO MS as the standard system in this area."


In addition to research laboratories, simultaneous mass spectrometry is attractive for many branches of industry: Environmental, chemical and pharmaceutical laboratories profit greatly from the instrument's detection limits and sample throughput rates. Precious metal processors and refineries will appreciate the high precision of the instrument. New applications can be developed with the option to examine isotope ratios together with the ability to transfer the precision of the isotope ratio analysis to the quantitative determination of element contents using isotope dilution: In this way, geology laboratories can more accurately characterise samples.


For almost 30 years, mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) has belonged to the established procedures for elemental analysis: The element contents are analysed based on the different masses of the elements. The liquid sample is sprayed with a nebuliser into an ionised, 10,000 degree Celsius argon plasma. The plasma ionises all of the elements contained in the sample. The ions are transferred into the ion optic by a vacuum interface, bundled into a beam and focused into the actual mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer separates the ion beam according to the mass/charge ratio. The detector records the ions, enabling an analysis of the elemental contents. The unique combination of ion optic, mass spectrometer and detector makes it possible for the new SPECTRO MS - as the first ICP-MS instrument in the world - to separate and simultaneously detect the entire ion beam.


New Updated Mass Spectrometry Applications Guide


Dionex (USA) is pleased to announce the release of the updated mass spectrometry (MS) applications guide. The new applications presented in the MS Applications Guide offer excellent analytical choices for separation scientists in the fields of water testing, health and safety, chemicals, and food and beverages. The update provides 12 new environmental and industrial applications, including urea in ultrapure water, carbamates in water, alkylphenol ethoxy-lates, phenolic acids, FA and TFA, nicotine and metabolites, glyphosates, perchlorate in baby formula and milk, melamine and cyanuric acid, and ionic liquids by IC-MS and LC-MS. For instance, perchlorate contamination of milk and milk products has sparked concern given its adverse effects on infant health. The MS Applications Guide presents an IC-MS/MS method for the ultratrace-level perchlorate analysis in both liquid and powdered baby formula.


The methodology presented in the guide highlights the


interface of liquid chromatography techniques, such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC or LC) or ion chromatography (IC) and mass spectrometry as powerful analytical tools for the detection and characterisation of compounds. By the release of this update, Dionex continues to provide innovative solutions for the analysis of compounds that are of growing concern in the life sciences, environmen- tal, chemical, and food and beverage industries.


Reader Reply Card no 89


Reader Reply Card no 90


Improving Pesticide Analysis


An application report is available from Genevac (UK) that discusses a novel environmental sample preparation protocol and evaluates a centrifugal evaporation system that together increase recovery of volatile compounds enabling improved analysis of pesticides.


During preparation of environmental samples, containing semi-volatile pesticides, evaporation becomes a critical step because of the need to avoid compound loss during the concentration process. Analyte loss is detrimental to accurate analysis, and official directives must be satisfied with regard to minimum analyte recovery.


The report, compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency of Tuscany, Italy


(ARPAT), evaluates a new evaporator (the Genevac EZ2-ENVI) to determine the optimal concentration process and then describes tests carried out on real matrices spiked with pesticides to validate the new sample preparation protocol. The new processes and methods were then compared to the original method used by the ARPAT laboratories.


The report concludes that the new sample preparation protocol using the EZ2-ENVI evaporator delivers satisfactory recovery and reproducibility for the analysis of volatile pesticide compounds extracted from organic matrices. In addition reducing the number of sample transfers between different containers, and eliminating the filtration step by addition of anhydrous sodium sulphate directly to the samples significantly improve the sample preparation protocol. The evaporators' ability to provide hands-free automated concentration of a number of samples at the same time and to provide protection from cross contamination and bumping was noted to deliver significant productivity benefits compared to using a rotary evaporator.


Reader Reply Card no 91


Innovative Liquid Chromatography App Now Available for the iPhone and iPod Touch


Agilent Technologies (USA) announce its LC Calculator App is now available on the App Store. The LC Calculator is a first- of-its-kind liquid chromatography app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app was designed to quickly determine flow rate and back pressure under a variety of conditions and column dimensions.


"We are excited to provide our customers with this


powerful app," said Anne Jones, Worldwide Columns and Supplies marketing manager at Agilent. "Increasingly, laboratory scientists are using iPhone or iPod touch in their work and we are proud to be at the forefront of combining these revolutionary mobile devices with liquid chromato- graphy."


The LC Calculator App includes hundreds of Agilent column configurations and other method parameters to improve chromatography. Scenarios can be quickly formed and compared with a simple tap or swipe on the innovative Multi-Touch user interface to discover what combination of parameters work best to increase lab productivity.


Reader Reply Card no 92


AET


April/May 2010


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