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Safe and effective gas cylinder setup and use requires the right pressure regulators, fittings, tubing, and filters as well as careful attention to procedure. This month's instalment reviews how to get the best results from laboratory gas cylinders, how pressure regulators work, and what filters should be installed in gas lines.

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ACCESSORY EQUIPMENT Accurate Chemical & Scientific Corp Bel-Art Products

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HARDWARE ANALYTICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROLLERS FOR GC ABB Analytical Measurements Agilent Technologies

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ANALYSES, CE, CE-MS Alliance Technologies CE Technologies Eurofins Lancaster Labs

Recently, there has been considerable interest in gas well drilling into the Marcellus shale in the Eastern United States using hydraulic fracturing techniques, but this is not without controversy. The gas-drilling companies claim to self-disclose their fracking fluid formulations, but the exact compositions are not revealed. As a result, if hydraulic fracturing caused some environmental contamination, it would not be easy to determine the source of the contamination. This results in potentially complex environmental forensics analytical method development and sample analysis to determine if a contamination event has occurred, and who the principal polluter may be. This presentation will address the sampling, sample preparation, and analysis of hydraulic fracturing materials in an effort to develop an understanding of the chemical composition of post-fracking fluids so that source identification and source apportionment may be successful in the event of a release. Additionally, a better understanding of the chemical composition of these fluids may facilitate on-site or near-site bioremediation. Various sample preparation strategies will be discussed, and GC?TOF-MS and GCxGC?TOF-MS will be used as determinative techniques. Finally, data will be presented that may allow for the development of protocols to determine the composition of these fluids and, possibly, the source of any pollution events.

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Researchers from the University of Western Australia's Centre for Forensic Science have collaborated with the University of Turin's Department of Chemistry in Italy to develop a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method to analyze levels of methamphetamine (MA) in blowflies (Calliphora vomitoria L.).

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The combination of a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) with mass spectrometry (MS) to analyze evolved gases is a well-known technique. However, it does not allow differentiation between gases that evolve simultaneously; TG combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TG–GC–MS) can allow for a more complete characterization. This article explains more

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Space: The final frontier. Although, this is a frontier that is becoming ever more accessible, but what does it take to survive in space and how can chromatography help to keep astronauts safe?

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Incognito advises on the benefits of outsourcing in the analytical laboratory. What could an external partnership mean for your laboratory?

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis has been performed on urine and cord blood samples from expectant mothers to explore the exposure to the antimicrobial agents triclosan (TCS) and tricarban (TCC). The agents have received increasing attention over recent years, with concerns being raised over lack of efficacy and potential toxicity to the environment, as well as human health.

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Great advances have been made in the field of miniaturization of mass spectrometers, opening up the potential to save time by performing analysis in the field; however, sample preparation has yet to catch up. A new study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry demonstrates the application of microfluidics integrated with a miniature mass spectrometer for the detection of illicit drugs in dried urine samples, which can simultaneously analyze four samples in under 15 min.