No living organism on Earth can survive without water. Analysis methods to detect traces of organic contaminants in water samples usually include extraction and enrichment stages in order to adhere the limits of detection (LODs) stipulated in the regulations.
Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is a widely used technique in this. However, it requires a lot of work as well as a great deal of organic solvent and is therefore not very environmentally friendly.
An alternative extraction method is solid phase extraction (SPE) which consumes significantly less solvent. However, this method also entails steps requiring a great deal of work and these can be disadvantageous in terms of recovery and repeatability.
Solid phase extraction performed automatically with the GERSTEL MultipurposeSampler (MPS) largely eliminates these disadvantages. The MPS is versatile and can be adapted to individual requirements and automates the necessary sample preparation steps. In addition, other sample preparation steps such as standard additions, derivatization, solvent evaporation and even online injection can be integrated in the process.
All steps, including the overlapping of preparation and analysis, are controlled by the GERSTEL MAESTRO software.
Miniaturized extraction techniques are used to achieve higher levels of proof sensitivity or if only a small sample quantity is available. These can be, e.g. sorptive extraction with the GERSTEL Twister (Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE)) or a carbon net impregnated with a sorptive phase (Thin Film TF-SPME).
These more environmentally friendly, solvent-free techniques enable the extraction and concentration of the analytes in one step. The analytes collected with the extraction medium is analyzed by means of its complete desoprtion.
Air is vital to all living organisms. However, the air that we breathe is contaminated with pollutants such as particulate matter, CO2 and nitrogen oxide. Air pollution is a health risk of global significance. According to the WHO, it causes around 7 million deaths per year. The monitoring and control of harmful substances in the air is therefore an important analytical field.
We supply versatile systems and technologies that have been proven in practice to support you with your analytical tasks.
According to the definition in the Federal Emissions Control Act, air pollution is any change to the natural composition of the air. A harmful substance is “any substance present in the air that can damage human health or the environment”. As part of environment protection measures there are statutory requirements to assess and evaluate air quality, in particular with regard to health and safety concerns.
GERSTEL thermal desorption systems transfer the analytes from air samples collected on sorbent tubes to the gas chromatograph (GC) for analysis and evaluation. These air samples can be taken from different sources such as the outside air (in urban or countryside areas), indoor air, air at workplaces or commercial and industrial sources. In addition the thermal desorption systems can also be used to examine particles collected on filters for potential emissions through thermal extraction of the filter material.
