In this study, the GERSTEL PYRO was used for the pyrolysis of various materials that are relevant to forensic analysis applications, including paints, adhesives, and cosmetics. A GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) was used in combination with GERSTEL PYRO and GERSTEL Cooled Injection System (CIS 4), enabling effi cient automation of the thermal extraction and pyrolysis of complex forensic materials. Fractionated and smart-ramped pyrolysis modes followed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis were used to determine important volatile additives and pyrolysates (from polymers) present in a diverse set of samples.

Synthetic cathinones (also known as Bath Salts) are a group of drug compounds designated as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS). They are unregulated, mind-altering substances with no actual approved medicinal use. Since they are cheap substitutes for other stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine, users will unfortunately turn to these addictive and in some cases even more dangerous alternatives to achieve the desired euphoric effects.

There is a critical need for forensic, health care, and law enforcement scientists to be able to quickly assess and monitor which synthetic cathinone is involved, in order to effectively respond to cases involving these compounds.

A novel stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) procedure termed sequential SBSE was developed. Compared to conventional SBSE, sequential SBSE provides more uniform enrichment over the entire polarity/volatility range for organic pollutants at ultra-trace levels in water. Sequential SBSE consists of a SBSE performed sequentially on a 5-mL sample first without modifier using one stir bar, then on the same sample after addition of 30 % NaCl using a second stir bar.

Plastics, micro- and nanoplastics pollution in oceans, lakes and other water sources is a well-documented issue. Uptake of these particles by shellfish and fish is one avenue for the pollutants to enter the food chain and cause possible adverse effects. Microand nanoplastics are commonly used in commercially available products as abrasives. They end up in the environment through drain disposal since they are not always efficiently removed in the waste water treatment process.

Raman and infrared spectroscopy are often used for identification, but dyes used in the plastic material can sometimes hamper identification using these techniques.

A method for characterization of airborne particles including the nanoparticles fraction with a diameter of 29-58 nm in roadside atmosphere has been described. The method consists of thermal extraction (TE) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) with novel detection capabilities, including high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRTOF-MS), and simultaneous selective and mass spectrometric detection with a nitrogen phosphorous detector (NPD) and a quadrupole mass spectrometer (qMS). Increased selectivity with the GC x GC - HRTOF-MS allows a group type separation of a selected chemical class, e.g.

enLiquid-liquid extractions are used to extract and concentrate analytes from aqueous matrices. This extraction technique is widely accepted as shown by its inclusion ...

3-MCPD and Glycidol and especially their fatty acid esters are process contaminants that are formed, for example, when edible oils and fats are refined. At least ...

The number of cannabis containing products, such as extracts, tinctures, edibles, waxes and oils, available in the United States has increased significantly due to ...

In this document we describe a method developed to quantify persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ...

The manual transfer of liquid samples is part of daily activities throughout the analytical laboratory. The accurate and precise transfer of liquid samples ...