Lab Instrumentation

The Agilent 7890A GC-7000 quadrupole MS/MS permits for the analysis of volatile and semivolatile compounds at the part-per-trillion level even when these analytes are extracted from complex matrices such as wastewaters, sediments or leachates. Because of the selectivity and sensitivity of this instrument, complex sample matrices can be run at much lower concentration with better detection when compared with a GC/MS single quadrupole analysis.  Applications include organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and polyaromatic hydrocabons.

The Agilent 1290 LC-6540 Q-TOF achieves accurate mass and high sensitivity (femtogram-level) without compromising data acquisition speed, mass range, or mass resolution.  It has excellent sensitivity while maintaining 40k mass resolution for separating compounds of interest from interferences.  Due to its high sensitivity, impurities, metabolites and biomarkers can be identified at extremely low concentrations.  Automatic tuning also ensures sub ppm mass accuracy from m/z 20-10,000.  

Agilent 1200 LC-6410 triple quadruple equipped with an electrospray ionization source has led to marked improvements in the detection of polar compounds in water samples at the nanogram per liter concentration range without the need for derivatization.  This novel technique provides an alternative to time consuming classical approaches.  This instrument is well suited for the quantification of trace organic compounds and it has been extensively used to detect EDCs, pharmaceuticals, and personal care product ingredients. 

The Agilent 7700x ICP-MS presents a 3rd generation octopole reaction system (ORS3) that improves ion focusing and increases collision efficiency. ORS3 enhances the performance in the He mode for multi-element analysis of complex sample matrices. This system can be connected to GC or LC systems, so compounds can be separated into their constituent chemical forms or oxidation states before elemental analysis is performed. This technique can be used to identify elemental ions of various oxidation states, mixtures of pesticides, or biomolecules.

The vario MACRO cube is an elemental analyzer capable of simultaneous CHNS determination from one sample. Its large sample capacity (200 mg) ensures homogeneity of sample analysis. The vario Macro cube is also capable of measuring O and Cl.  It can be used to analyze fossil fuels, soil, plants, and environmental samples (e.g., biomass).

The Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) sequencer combines Ion Torrent semiconductor chip technology with natural biochemistry. In this fashion, DNA is sequenced rapidly with high accuracy. The PGM translates chemical sequencing information directly into a digital form.  Direct detection also means the incorporation of each nucleotide is recorded in seconds. Thus, sequencing results can be achieved in about two hours.