Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is experiencing a boom in demand that it never came close to reaching when it was first released. Thanks to technological advancements and general development of the technique, the potential of SFC is now being unlocked. While its initial popularity is associated with chiral separations, considerable potential remains for its use […]

Total reflectance X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF) is a variation on the standard X-ray fluorescence technique. In both methods, the sample is irradiated with X-rays. The high energy of the X-ray photons is sufficient to knock out electrons from the inner electron shells of the atoms in the sample. As outer electrons make quantum transitions into […]

Reducing reagent consumption and laborious lab protocols are attributes that labs look for in analytical instrumentation in order to improve their efficiency and productivity. Lab-on-a-chip, or microfluidics, technology is one of the many avenues instrument manufacturers are exploring to provide turnkey solutions that require only microliters of reagents. One of the most successful commercial applications […]

Once exclusively large, cumbersome instruments, both gas chromatographs (GC) and mass spectrometers (MS) have shrunk dramatically in size and power requirements. This has led to the development of GC/MS systems that can be operated outside of the laboratory. However, most of these instruments have been mobile, but not truly “man-portable” until more recently. . The […]

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is an important surface science technique that provides very high sensitivity for the detection of trace elements in solid samples, while also providing good spatial detail. The physical process involved in SIMS is similar to that of other surface analyzer techniques: the sample’s surface is probed with a highly collimated […]

Automated liquid handling (ALH) is instrumental in drug discovery initiatives and has helped speed the workflow in life science research laboratories. Although growth in the ALH market is not what it used to be, the market continues to provide innovative advancements such as low-volume dispensing systems for key applications in drug discovery. There are several […]

Simulated moving bed chromatography (SMB) is a variation of conventional liquid chromatography, which provides continuous chromatographic separations, as opposed to batch separations, which account for the majority of chromatography systems. For the most part, the use of SMB in the laboratory is tied to a narrow scope of industrial applications, for which it offers a […]

Arc/spark is a specialized optical emission spectroscopy (OES) technique that is strongly associated with the analysis of metals. In principle, these instruments can be used with nonconductive materials if they are prepared by grinding and forming a mixture with powdered graphite. There are also dedicated systems with specialized electrodes for the analysis of liquids, generally […]

The mass spectrometry (MS) market is continuing to develop at a rapid pace as vendors try to improve the performance and capabilities of MS systems. In their zeal to find the newest and best performing design, as well as to negotiate the increasingly dense field of technological patents, these vendors are exploring many possible tandem […]

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is an atomic spectroscopy technique that uses plasma to energize a sample into emitting light that can be analyzed for atomic composition. An important alternative is the use of mass spectrometry to analyze the ionized sample from the plasma. ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is an extremely sensitive technique for atomic spectroscopy. […]