Tekmar Talk Blog

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis is a process used by environmental, pharmaceutical, university and petrochemical labs to determine water cleanliness and purity. It is required analysis by international pharmacopoeia for water, wastewater and soils applications. It is also starting to find traction in other industries such as cosmetics, even though there is not a regulatory requirement to use the technique.

An article written by Ben Dingwall, a business manager at TRB Chemedica, cites the focus on quality and safety within the cosmetics industry as the reason why TOC is being used more frequently. Adoption of this purification technique is driven by a number of cosmetics companies that are “aligning the process with Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).” These best practices help companies meet established guidelines recommended by agencies that authorize and license them to manufacture and sell cosmetics.

Roughly 30 percent of the world’s helium supplies comes from Qatar. Earlier this year, a blockade of Qatar by surround countries cut Qatar’s main route out of the country when Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the Middle East cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over concerns about Iran and extremists.

As a result of the blockade, experts were estimating another round of shortages and dramatic price increases for scientific instrument users. To offset the potential challenges of reduced supply coming from the region, U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which accounts for about 20% of global helium supply, ramped up production during the summer at its Cliffside facility in Texas. For the past several decades, the U.S. reserves in Texas have been the main source of helium worldwide. By 2021, commercial supplies of the gas at that location will end.

“Research shows that the presence of effective mentoring relationships in the lives of early-career scientists is a strong indicator for career success.[i]”

Many people can point to individuals that have helped them along their career path and life journey. For some, mentors have not only provided them personal and professional guidance, they have also given them a big break. They credit their mentors for their current positions and continue to lean on them for ongoing support.

EPA Method 8260C is used to determine volatile organic compounds in a variety of solid waste matrices. It is applicable for nearly all types of samples, including air sampling trapping media, ground and surface water, aqueous sludges, caustic liquors, acid liquors, waste solvents, oily wastes, mousses, tars, soil, sediments and more. The compounds can be introduced into gas chromatography-mass spectrometry systems with purge and trap being the most common technique.

A major component of any purge and trap system is the analytical trap, which is responsible for retaining the VOCs during the purge cycle and releasing them upon heating. The VOCs are then transferred to the GC/MS for separation and detection. Teledyne Tekmar completed a study that compares four traps commonly used for purge and trap analysis using an automated VOC sample prep system and USEPA Method 8260C.

Purge & Trap (P&T) concentration is a common technique used for the analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds. An analytical trap is the major component of any P&T system and is responsible for trapping the analytes purged from a sample, and then after heating, releasing them for further analysis.

An analytical trap choice for Purge and Trap concentration offers specific challenges for end users. Most standard methods define the dimensions of the trap, as well as recommend packing materials. There are several packing choices that can be substituted, however, provided they meet the analytical requirements of the method.

Pesticides are undergoing an increased level of scrutiny with technical standards tightening and consumer knowledge of food safety on the rise. They are the most widely used chemicals by fruit and vegetable farmers, and cover everything from herbicides that kill weeds and insecticides that kill insects to fungicides that kill fungus. The increased knowledge about pesticides and the demand for organic produce has many companies looking for ways to reduce pesticide residue and deliver to consumers fruits and vegetables that are safer and chemical-free. A company in Malaga, Spain is one of a “growing number of companies,” going the extra step by opening its own residue-testing laboratory. Frutas Montosa lab will use the latest technologies, including QuEChERS, gas and liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, to ensure its food is safe and secure.

An analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture data found that “nearly 70% of samples of 48 types of conventionally grown produce were contaminated with pesticide residues.”[i] On the more than 35,000 produce samples tested by the USDA were found 178 different pesticides and residues, which remained on the fruits and vegetables even after washing, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Lost time is never found again.” We all wear so many hats these days that it can be impossible to effectively manage our time. But if there is one thing that we’ve all been dealt equally, it is time.  Saint Leo University (SLU), a liberal arts university located outside Tampa, Fla., recently shared 14 strategies[i] to help its online students better manage their time.  A slightly modified list was subsequently shared on LabManager.com.

In June 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the law that governs chemicals in household and industrial products, was updated for the first time in nearly 40 years. In the past, before the agency could request safety data from the industry for new chemicals, the agency had to first show that a chemical may pose a risk. The passing of the revised TSCA allows the Environmental Protection Agency to request safety data and assess the safety of chemicals that are currently being used in a variety of products. In November, the agency selected the first 10 chemicals to evaluate under the new guidelines. The chemicals included:

• 1,4-Dioxane (solvent, stabilizer)
• 1-Bromopropane (solvent)
• Asbestos (wide variety of uses, e.g. building materials)

Meet the Teledyne Tekmar Team

During the next several months, we will be introducing members of the Teledyne team through Q&A sessions in our blog. The posts will provide an opportunity to put a face to a name, as well as background details about our internal subject matter experts, and their perspective on lab technology and industry issues.

Spotlight: Joy Osborne, TOC Product Line Manager / Applications Chemist, Teledyne Tekmar