Latest advances in GC/MS air analysis workflows: from PFAS to utilizing hydrogen carrier gas

In the first half of this webinar Hannah Calder will share how Markes’ thermal desorption (TD) equipment coupled to Agilent’s GC-MS systems can be used for PFAS analysis from air and materials.

The presentation will examine how labs can take existing methodologies for air monitoring and materials testing to expand them to enable the analysis of new environmental contaminants – in this case PFAS. Analysis of PFAS in air and from materials is rapidly gaining momentum with multiple standard methods for monitoring of gas phase species using GC-MS in development globally to complement LC methods already in place.

In the second half of this webinar Markes’ Aaron Davies will discuss how labs can benefit from changing their pool of instruments across to hydrogen carrier gas. The example of US EPA method TO-15 will be used to highlight how the change to hydrogen and using HydroInert — an optimized source for hydrogen carrier gas — enables equivalent performance, a quicker turnaround time for sample analysis, and a significant cost saving. Both Markes Multi-Gas enabled TD instruments and Agilent GC/MS systems are certified safe for use with hydrogen carrier gas. When coupled with the new HydroInert source, mass spectral fidelity is retained and users can continue using existing helium based mass spectral libraries and quantitative methods.

By attending this presentation you will learn about:

• Methods for monitoring volatile PFAS in air and from materials using thermal desorption-GC-MS

• How incorporating an optimized hydrogen source can help spectral quality and chromatographic performance, and how to save money by switching to hydrogen carrier gas

Who should attend:

• Researchers interested in monitoring of organic compounds

• Laboratory and project managers specialising in air samples

• GC/MS scientists, analysts, and lab technicians

• Environmental consultants

Presenter: Hannah Calder (Environmental Air Market Development Manager, Markes International)

Hannah Calder is Markes International’s Environmental Air Market Development Manager, specializing in the application of thermal desorption in environmental air monitoring. Hannah joined Markes International’s global team of technical experts in 2013 following her Masters degree in Chemistry obtained from Cardiff University. Hannah is active in the development of analytical standards for air monitoring internationally through ASTM and CEN. She has a comprehensive knowledge on the use of thermal desorption as an analytical tool for air analysis and has recently worked on projects for monitoring ozone depleting substances, ozone precursors, air toxics, and PFAS.

Presenter: Aaron Davies (Commercial Marketing Manager for Thermal Desorption, Markes International)

Aaron Davies is the Commercial Marketing Manager for thermal desorption at Markes International. After graduating from Cardiff and Monash Universities with a PhD in Chemistry, Aaron has worked in industry as a Process and Product Development Chemist, GC GC/MS Product Specialist before finally focusing on his passion for thermal desorption. In his role, Aaron assists customers and partners on the effective use of thermal desorption for simplifying sample preparation and the benefits of using alternative carrier gases (such as hydrogen and nitrogen) to helium.