Contents of this edition:
Tattoo Ink: A Closer Look, Efficient Doping Control, Monitoring of disinfection byproducts, Indoor Air Care, On the Wings of the Condor.
Company News
GERSTEL celebrates its 50th anniversary
From one-man show to internationally acclaimed solutions provider: The company will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in October 2017. A fitting occasion to reflect on our roots and our direction.
Automated Sample Preparation
Efficient Doping Control
In the race to keep up with new and suspected doping agents, the Centre for Preventive Doping Research at the German Sport University Cologne, Germany is upgrading their laboratory with performance enhancing technologies and automation: The institute is betting on a fully automated Dried Blood Spot (DBS)-LC-MS/MS analysis system.
Consumer Protection
Tattoo ink: A Closer Look
Tattoo removal using laser radiation can carry health risks depending on the breakdown products formed. Scientists have now shown that pyrolysis GC/MS can be used to simulate the breakdown process and determine the compounds formed from a given ink during laser treatment.
Drinking Water Analysis
Monitoring of disinfection byproducts
Water is chlorinated to eliminate potentially harmful bacteria. In the process, unwanted disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed such as halogenated acetic acids (HAAs), which could themselves be harmful, albeit probably to a much lesser degree.
Material Analysis
Indoor Air Care
A fully automated analysis system based on Dynamic Headspace/Thermal Desorption-GC/MS enables fast and efficient characterization of VOC emissions, from Polyurethane (PU) foams, widely used indoors and in vehicles.
Laboratory on-site:
Visiting LAVES in Oldenburg, Germany
On the Wings of the Condor
The State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) in Lower Saxony, Germany, came out on top with the best results in a Europe-wide round robin test of pesticide laboratories for the determination of pesticides residues in cereals. GERSTEL Solutions Worldwide magazine visited the LAVES pesticide laboratories where we joined the staff at work to gain some insight.