Environmental Analysis

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that its global Food Safety Response Centre in Dreieich, Germany, has developed two new analytical screening methods in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Peas, beans and some other plant seeds contain proteins, called globulins, which have been shown to act as a defence against insects and other herbivores. Coffee beans contain large amounts of globulins, so scientists in Brazil studied the beans to assess their potential for warding off insects.

Selected modes of operations are presented and a few recent environmental applications of modular PLE are reviewed.

Selected modes of operations are presented and a few recent environmental applications of modular PLE are reviewed.

Pat Sandra and his team will discuss how green chromatography works in practice

This article will discuss current European environmental quality standards and review traditional methods for analysing organotins and their limitations.

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC–MS) using electrospray ionization (ESI) is a powerful analytical tool for the analysis of a wide molecular weight range of polar, semivolatile, and thermally labile compounds.

Determining pesticide residues by GC-MS

A fast clean and simple method to determine three organotin compounds in environmental samples is described

How to determine PFCs in water by SPE-LC–MS.

Envirolab, UK soil and chemical testing company, will be expanding its analytical remit with the addition of a £1 million inorganics laboratory. The company will now be capable of analysis on all common inorganic contaminants, virtually eliminating subcontracted services and saving around £500,000 per year.

This article describes the use of combined ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (IC–MS) and ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (IC-ICP–MS) to analyse potentially harmful compounds.

The authors evaluate a new approach to sample preparation for the analysis of pesticides in raw agricultural commodities.

An overview of contemporary techniques in environmental analysis.

An overview of contemporary techniques in environmental analysis.

A review of the role of Solid-phase Microextraction (SPME) in quality control (QC) in the fish oil industry.

A selective and highly sensitive capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectromic approach has been developed for the detection of PBDEs and PBBs that utilizes dissociative resonance electron capture and selected ion monitoring.

How are HPLC solvents affected by exposure to light, heat, and humidity? What are the best procedures for short-term storage of HPLC solvents and buffers to avoid degradation?

Over the last 10 years, several solvent-free microextraction techniques for gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) have been developed. Two of these techniques, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), are available commercially for the analysis of volatile compounds, such as flavors in foods and beverages, and toxic organic compounds in environmental applications. Other techniques, such as open tubular trapping, inside needle capillary adsorption trap (1), in-tube SPME, capillary microextraction, needle trap, and headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction (2), were also developed for different applications. The basic principle for all of these techniques is essentially the same. Volatile and semivolatile compounds are adsorbed on a sorbent coating, often packed on the interior surface of a capillary column or stainless steel needle. After the sample is concentrated on the coating, the compounds are desorbed thermally in the heated injection port of a gas..

Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS) led to a revolution in environmental testing. The coupling of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry created a powerful analytical tool for the analysis of emerging environmental contaminants. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products, perfluorinated compounds, brominated flame retardants, and disinfection byproducts were chosen as examples to illustrate the use of this new technique in environmental analysis.

Hian Kee Lee speaks with Alasdair Matheson about "environmentally friendly" sample preparation techniques.

Contamination of public buildings with PCBs used as softeners in the 1970's in sealants and wall and ceiling paints can still be detected. If certain threshold values in indoor air are exceeded the source has to be decontaminated. This requires an effective and fast determination of the PCB concentration in indoor air. Thermodesorption GC–MS is a method especially suitable for this purpose. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical substances. Although first prepared in 1864, they have been industrially manufactured since 1929. The highest production amounts worldwide were recorded in the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. In the 1970s their use as additives for building materials was widespread because of their flame inhibiting and noise reduction properties.

Pesticides are widely used by farmers to control pests, weeds and molds that would otherwise decrease crop production. While this has significantly increased worldwide food productions, these same pesticides pose health risks to humans. The restrictions for specific pesticides differ from one country to the next and as world trade increases, the potential threat to other countries' populations increases. For this reason, pesticides and other food related allergens are currently the subjects of increasing scrutiny and regulation.

This application note describes an LC–MS–MS method for on-line sample preparation and concentration of drinking water samples prior to analysis using a triple quadrupole with full scan Q3 confirmation.

AC Analytical Controls developed a new chromatographic solution that complies with all ASTM & EN chromatographic test methods listed in biodiesel specifications: the AC all-in-one Biodiesel analyser. Analysis results demonstrate that the AC analyser complies with EN 14103, EN 14105, EN 14106, EN 14110 & ASTM D6584 methods.

In addition to the universal detectors used in gas chromatography (GC), selective detectors have also played an important role in the rapid spreading of the utilization of the technique. Probably the most important selective GC detector is the electron-capture detector, with a very high sensitivity to organic compounds containing chlorine and fluorine atoms in their molecules. The electron-capture detector had a vital role in environmental protection and control - its use helped to prove the ubiquitous presence of chlorinated pesticides in nature and halocarbons in our atmosphere, and made us aware of the global extent of pollution. It was the electron-capture detector that made concentration ranges of parts-per-billion (ppb: 1:109) or even parts-per-trillion (ppt: 1:1012) detectable. Today, these terms are used routinely without realising how formidable such a sensitivity really is: 1 ppb means that a spaceship (or a UFO, depending upon one's inclination) could pick up a particular family of six from..

Triclosan is an ubiquitous antibacterial, antimicrobial chemical found in numerous consumer health care products today. This article demonstrates that triclosan can be quantitatively determined in commercial hand soaps using reversed-phase solid-phase disk extraction coupled to quantification using capillary gas chromatography-atomic emission detection while avoiding emulsions.

The exact method used depends upon the type of hydrocarbon contamination in the soil.

Suppressed conductivity detection is a well-developed method for detecting charged species. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is a well developed method of separating substances on the basis of hydrophobicity. There are some situations where it is advantageous to use these two methods together. Perfluoro-acids (PFOAs) are one class of compounds that are ionic, hydrophobic and have low UV absorbance and are, therefore, suited to this combination.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly found throughout the environment in soil, water and adsorbed to fine particulate matter in air. Of the 16 common PAHs, 7 have been classified as animal carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Resulting from this classification, PAHs are monitored and regulated in the environment.