POLYMER ANALYSIS | TESTING
Right: The Nicolet Summit iS50 FTIR from Thermo Fisher, shown with optional touchscreen, offers enhanced software tools and improved connectivity
Manager at Spectro Analytical Instruments, which is part of Ametek’s Materials Analysis Division.
XRF can also be used to test materials for compliance with regulatory requirements—it can be used to identify and quantify heavy metals, such as lead, chromium, and cadmium, for example. Wissmann says the technique can also be used to identify and analyse particles on a polymer surface for troubleshooting investigations.
Below: Thermo Fisher’s latest generation DXR3xi Raman Imaging Microscope in a lab setting
Material identification Identifying materials and components in materials is important for quality control, product development, and troubleshooting or failure analysis. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is commonly used for material identification and analysing materials in blends. “FTIR is useful partly because it is fast—no sample preparation is needed, just put a piece of material on an ATR crystal of the analyser and you can have an analysis in less than a minute,” says Michael Bradley, Thermo Fisher Product Manager for Nicolet iS50 and FT-IR Microscopes. He says that for polymer compounds and blends, FTIR can provide both qualitative results (identifying polymers and additives) and, once calibrated, quantitative results. The latest Fisher Scientific Nicolet Summit iS50 FTIR spectrometer provides tools not available on the previous iS5 version, the company claims. The new instrument includes an integrated computer
with Thermo Scientific OMNIC
Paradigm software that provides connectivity to lab data management systems via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. It also includes access to the Thermo Scientific OMNIC Anywhere application for Cloud-based spectroscopy. This allows data to be accessed and analysed securely on any
device. “Users are looking for the ability to analyse
data in the Cloud and even, in some cases, operate the instrument from the Cloud,” says Bradley. As an example, he says a central lab may perform method development for global sites and use Cloud access to allow them to manage instruments more efficiently. In addition, service providers can access instruments remotely to undertake troubleshooting or software updates. The OMNIC software allows users to build workflows easily by dragging and dropping workflow tiles, while an optional touchscreen simplifies the execution of workflows. A dashboard on the interface allows users to create libraries, automate background collection and perform multi-component searching. “Because labs are running increasingly lean, instruments need to be able to be quickly embedded into a workflow and be operated by scientists who are not spectroscopists. There is still a need for expertise in spectroscopy, but the trend is to move to automated pattern recognition for common analyses,” says Bradley. Pre-programmed workflows can be designed, for example, to run a method to identify and quantify plasticiser concentration. Another new feature is a built-in, multi-coloured LED LightBar that gives users immediate visual feedback on instrument status and sample pass/fail results. Having multiple signals, such as this visual indicator in addition to the data on the screen, is a best practice in graphical user interfaces, says Bradley. Raman spectroscopy offers a complementary technique to FTIR for polymer compound analysis, according to Bradley. Because it is more complex, it is more typically used for qualitative analysis for research and development purposes, rather than quality control. Thermo Fisher has introduced a next-generation family of Raman analysis instruments that includes the Thermo Scientific DXR3xi Raman Imaging Microscope, the Thermo Scientific DXR3 Raman Microscope and the Thermo Scientific DXR3 SmartRaman Spectrometer. While FTIR looks only at the surface, Raman can
44 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2020
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: THERMO FISHER
IMAGE: THERMO FISHER
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