With these fundamentals you will learn all the ins and outs on the LC–GC coupling, GC×GC and Time-of-Flight MS to able to determine MOSH and MOAH in food products. Please register for our presentations.
The Multidimensional Chromatography Workshop draws experts in this exciting field to share and discuss their research. The informal workshop also provides an excellent opportunity for those interested in multidimensional chromatography to learn more about this unique analytical technique. Research topics include advancements in multidimensional chromatography technology and applications of this highly selective chromatographic approach.
The volume of GCxGC data can quickly become overwhelming. Multiple tables of thousands of analytes can require months of data mining at a pixel level to find the minute differences between data sets, and even those results are plagued with false positives from normal chromatographic variation.
ChromaTOF Tile revolutionizes how GCxGC data is analyzed. This software compares GCxGC data files quickly and easily. Statistically significant differences rise to the top so you can spend less time finding the differences and more time finding out what they mean.
"ChromaTOF Tile is an enabling technology that has reduced our peak picking time from 10 days to 10 minutes. We are now comparing groups of peak-rich samples from complex studies that would have previously required complicated, custom-built solutions."
Designed for Sample Group Differentiation
Optional heatmap tables are incorporated throughout the interface to give instant feedback on relative intensities. ChromaTOF Tile finds differences between two or more classes of samples, such as: biomarkers distinguishing healthy from not; off-odor detection in food samples that passed or failed quality control; water samples up- and down-stream from an outflow source; petroleum samples from various geographical origins; and anything else you can imagine.
The Problem: Comparing sets of chromatograms can be a tedious and lengthy process. With the need to compensate for chromatographic misalignment and count thousands of analytes, even automatic sample identification could take days, weeks, or even months. Our customers asked us to help provide a way to expedite data analysis.
The Solution: Utilizing customer data – real samples – we set out to find a solution. In consultation with Dr. Robert Synovec, we found that if we utilized Fisher Ratios, we could partition the data into a set of regions (‘tiles’) and compare the regionalized (‘tiled’) data, rather than each individual pixel.
After essentially averaging the values in a region, our ChromaTOF Tile software compares two corresponding regions to assess the value of difference between these regions. Presented in a graphical means, the software provides users with indicators of low-to-high variance among regions.
These graphic heatmaps quickly and easily draw users’ eyes to areas of high variance, or high interest, reducing the time you spend looking for data outliers. Visually, you can see where the differences are and know what data you should be looking at for your comparisons.
ChromaTOF Tile does not change the data that is supplied. By comparing tiles instead of pixels, the system can reduce alignment shift flags to better show only the significant differences between the data sets.
Enhanced GCxGC-TOFMS Biomarker Discovery
Fisher Ratio Analysis GCxGC–TOFMS using Null Distribution Approach
Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Optimization within GCxGC-TOFMS
Improved Feature Selection Analysis in GCxGC-TOFMS
Chemical Characterization of Acid Alteration of Diesel Fuel
Tile-based Fisher Ratio Analysis using Yeast Metabolome Dataset
"My research group and I at the University of Washington in Seattle are delighted to see our research come to fruition in the release of ChromaTOF Tile. We anticipate that the GCxGC users community will benefit greatly from this discovery-based data analysis tool to address the many challenges stemming from the supervised analysis of complex data sets."
“With state-of-the-art analytical methods like comprehensive 2D GC-TOF MS it is simple to generate lots of data, but it is only with the ChromaTOF Tile software that we can translate these into meaningful information and knowledge.
“In aerosol science we are commonly interested in the differences between several sets of samples to e.g. compare different sources or atmospheric aging regimes. For this, ChromaTOF Tile has quickly proven to be a very convenient and straight-forward tool for the evaluation of complex GCxGC data.”
“When conducting biomarker discovery studies, biases in your data (e.g., batch effects) can send you down the wrong path. The PCA capabilities of ChromaTOF Tile are a quick and powerful way to see the structure of your data, including inherent biases that they possess. This gives users the opportunity to correct for those biases before or after statistical analyses, making putative biomarkers more robust.”
Total sulfur value is an important characterisation measurement for coal, coke, fuel materials, and a wide variety of other organic materials. It is considered to be part of the ultimate analysis parameters (determination of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and ash with oxygen calculation by difference). The total sulfur value is a primary parameter used for assessing the quality of a fuel, calculating coal and coke preparation and cleaning processes, and the emissions potential of the fuel. The SC832 Series will bring productivity, precision, and progress to your lab when determining the sulfur and carbon content of your samples.
Visit our LECO VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW to learn more about our expertise in the fields of energy and fuels.
LECO's QuadJet™ SD is the ideal solution for samples which arrive in your lab. By combining the sensitivity of Flame Ionization Detection (FID) with the increased chromatographic resolution of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC), the QuadJet SD delivers a better measure of the actual components of your sample than a straight GC analysis. No other system available on the market can deliver the same reduction in noise and error as the QuadJet SD.
When performing GC-FID analysis, most laboratories quantify compounds using the area of the FID signal. Real world samples are rarely clean and straightforward. For example, a diesel sample can have thousands of different compounds in a single injection. The more compounds in a sample, the higher the chance of coelution; this coelution will increase the FID signal, thus creating a high bias error in the measurement. With GCxGC performing two separate chromatographic separations in one experiment, the accuracy of the FID measurement is maintained.
Due to the orthogonal nature of the separation mechanism in GCxGC, coeluting compounds are easily pulled apart in a single run. True GCxGC instruments, such as the LECO QuadJet SD, improve upon simply running the same sample through two different columns by incorporating a modulation device. Peaks eluting from the primary column are quantitatively segmented into smaller sections prior to release onto the second column. This segmenting, along with the cryo-focusing of the modulator, can deliver peak widths as narrow as 50 ms to the second column.
Thermal Modulation
There is no better-performing modulator for GCxGC than thermal modulation, and not even other thermal modulators can match up to the ruggedness, reliability, and performance of LECO's GCxGC modulator. With LECO's QuadJet SD, modulation is accomplished via a dual-stage, quad-jet thermal modulator positioned between the two columns. LECO's thermal modulator allows for on-column cryo-focusing within the GCxGC system, providing increased peak detectability and increased separation of coeluting compounds for an order-of-magnitude increase in signal-to-noise.
LECO's Consumable-Free Modulator (which does not utilize Liquid Nitrogen) is an available option, saving time and money without sacrificing performance when modulating moderately volatile compounds.
LECO's QuadJet SD is designed to give you the upper hand in laboratory productivity. Its ease-of-use and industry's best secondary oven for the secondary column allows for improved analytical results. When you take the step to the next dimension in gas chromatography, make sure you're taking the step that will let you see what you've been missing.
QuadJet™ SD with LN2 Cooled Thermal Modulator
QuadJet™ SD with Consumable-Free Modulator
Optional inlets available (including S/SL, PTV, and MMI)
"At Livelab we have always used LECO instruments for their accuracy and reliability, but also for their reputation. If a customer knows that we have tested their samples on the LECO, then they have an increased level of confidence in the results that is important to us. I have a bit of a reputation amongst our employees for having a soft spot for LECO instruments, precisely because of their reliability and also their ease to maintain. For us, they are the number one name in CNS determination, and to that end we have two SC144 instruments, two FP528 instruments and one FP628 Nitrogen determinators. Easy to use, rarely goes wrong, easy to fix if it does, and the top name in the industry – why use anyone else?"
The past year with the rise of Covid-19 around the Earth has been a challenge to all of us. See how our European subsidiaries dealt with the pandemic around Europe and how our customer support and other services adapted to these new situations in the different countries. Click on the countries to see our personal experiences!
If you need any further information about how LECO operates during the Corona pandemic or to schedule your personal appointment with us, click on the contact button.
The start of the years begins with the usual enthusiasm, targets set, goals to achieve and strategy to achieve them. I remember being in Dusseldorf for a managers meeting on March the 3rd. Life was still normal, and the word ’lockdown’ was only ever heard on a Friday when my children were watching Wrestling. We were able to travel, visit restaurants and have a beer without the constraints of the facemasks, social distancing and track and trace apps. Life was normal. Within a month the world changed – lockdowns, stay-at-home, work from home, stay safe.
As the LECO customers adapted to this new way of life due to COVID, so did we. Our sales force worked from home and like never before used this relatively unheard-of platform called Microsoft TEAMS to interact with customers.
Our service team continued to work throughout the pandemic with the new additions to their LECO uniform. LECO face masks and gloves. And of course, let’s not forget the bottles of hand sanitiser. As well as remote selling was used, remote service support came to the forefront. Both sales and service teams adapted to continue the high level of support that has become a custom with LECO.
LECO UK has been able to adapt and continued to support our customers while keeping ourselves and customers safe. Let hope moving into 2021 we can get back to some sort of previous normality. The vaccines are coming and there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel but for the moment we continue with the slogan of Hands – Face – Space.
Michael Reaney, UK Sales Director, LECO Instruments UK Ltd.
The first picture shows our engineer Yuri Laptev during a Pegasus 4D service visit to Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.
The second one was taken at the Analytika exhibition in Moscow last year.
Gulnara Shaidullina, Ph.D., Separation Science Sales Engineer, LECO Russia and CIS
It has for sure been a challenge even though Sweden have had less restrictions. When crossing borders to Norway, Denmark and Finland our service technicians have sometimes had to take Covid-19 tests before. We have been fortunate, no one in our team have been infected as we know of. We haven’t even been to Iceland since the start of the pandemic. Our service technicians try to go by their own cars to customers, which have meant drives up to 14 hours single way.
On the sales side it has of course been a challenge in other ways. But with ‘Teams’, online demos and Virtual Trade show our sales team have connected with our customers in the best way possible. We only attended one real trade show since the start of the pandemic – LabDays in Copenhagen – but the attendance was of course quite thin…
Lennart Schwartz, Ph.D, Sales Director Nordic Region, LECO Nordic AB
Since 14th of March of 2020, and the declaration of State of alarm in Spain, Leco Instrumentos started to work in a new different way, adapting to the new scenario of pandemic. All the employees completed a training course regarding the new risk at work and the personal protective equipment for COVID-19:
So far, everything was normal… But LECO Spain had to face a new challenge – to move to a new office. It was a hard task cleaning the old facilities and open boxes – a lot of boxes. And in times of COVID we had to consider to organise small groups at the office working together. Minimising risks was a priority despite of the fact that we needed to be operative in the new facility in a short time. The collaboration of the Tres Cantos-based employees was essential.
But the result made the effort worthwhile! And the Spanish LECO team is ready for 2021!
Leticia García, Commercial Director, Spain & Portugal
From the perspective of the German Service Centre, a Corona routine has emerged throughout the past months. Customer demands increased - ever so often our service engineers are only allowed to enter labs after presenting a negative Corona test result. Of course, this requires special logistics in scheduling. In addition, there are different Corona rules the federal states of Germany and abroad, which makes planning much more difficult. But our colleagues adapt, as the pictures show, and as our colleague Manuel Lindemann describes below.
"When the pandemic really took off from March / April 2020, I first noticed a lot of uncertainty among both myself and the customers. There were many questions: What is Corona? What happens if I fall ill? How will this affect my work? Will the customers still let me enter their lab? How will LECO react? Now, almost a year later, there are still some questions left to be answered, but as humans we adapt and get used to the new circumstances – positive and negative.
in the beginning of the pandemic, I remember waiting for hours in 100m-long queues between lorry drivers and other visitors at a company and having to wait for the gatekeeper to let me pass. And there were customers who had their "special" views. From "Corona doesn't exist” to “You don't need the mask here" and "We have an internal lockdown, you can't get in" – it was all there.
After one year many questions remain unanswered, but some questions have already become obsolete. What remained as well, unfortunately, are the waiting times at customers‘ sites. Simply walking in and working on a unit is no longer possible. "Where are you from? Have you had contact with infected people? What does your Corona Warn app say? Do you have any symptoms?” ...And so on. What I've also noticed is that social interaction often gets left behind these days unfortunately – be it a casual conversation or just a gesture that disappears behind the mask. But, hopefully that is to come back soon.
But LECO protect their employees very well and always has an open ear for questions – a solution will be found together. All in all, I think we have organised ourselves very well and will probably make it through the rest of the pandemic."
Manuel Lindemann & Thomas Post, LECO Instrumente GmbH Deutschland
After a beginning of year full of prospects and projects, the arrival of Covid-19 took us by surprise. Italy was the first European nation to be massively attacked by the virus, the first cases recorded were in the north of the country, particularly in Lombardy, the region where the headquarters of the LECO branch in Italy are located.
To counter the spread of the virus, the entire country was placed in the "red zone" and operations were greatly reduced to adapt to the new situation.
The pandemic has led us to cover our faces with masks, but it has not managed to extinguish our enthusiasm and we hope that 2021, together with the vaccine, gives us the opportunity to resume showing our smiles.
Rita M. Monfredini, LECO Italy S.R.L.
We’re dealing with the pandemic problem in a similar way, like the rest of the world:
Tomasz Stójkowski, Sales Director LECO Poland & Baltics
Since February 2020 we provide an Online Demo Service at our European Application & Technology Center in Berlin, giving customers an insight into our LECO products and laboratory processes conveniently from their desks and without the need to travel. For our Online Demo Service, a good preparation is required to meet our's and our customers’ high standards.
Preparation
Demo Day
Get in touch with us to arrange an individual online appointment for you!
Due to the Corona pandemic, numerous trade shows and events are being cancelled or postponed where we would have liked to welcome or customers as a guest. To give you the opportunity to stay in touch with LECO, we have organised our LECO Virtual Trade Show. Our specialists invite you to get to know our solutions for various application fields and markets in a personal meeting.
Visit our registration website and book your free ticket today. Your local sales partner will schedule a meeting and guide you through our exhibition and introduce you to our solutions for your lab.
GET YOUR FREE TICKET
It's that time of year again, when holiday songs play 24/7 on the radio and people start wondering what, exactly, frankincense and myrrh are and why they make good gifts. LECO placed these two oils in a Pegasus BT 4D to see the difference.
Frankincense (from the boswellia tree) and myrrh (from the commiphora tree) are both resins which are commonly used as perfumes and incense and have been for thousands of years. Essential oils extracted from these resins can be analyzed using gas chromatography, which is precisely what the scientists at LECO did.
By extending the analysis to a second dimension using the GC×GC analysis of the Pegasus BT 4D, even more information can be gleaned from the samples extracted from these substances. GC×GC analysis also inherently produces structured chromatograms where chemically similar analytes tend to elute in ordered bands through the GC×GC separation space. This provides context for identification and allows for rapid visual characterization of the compound classes.
For a more detailed breakdown of the analysis of these oils and how the GC×GC separation provides a huge advantage in the characterisation and comparison of these samples, fill in the form and check out our application note.