What Are Users Saying About the New Thermo Scientific GC/GC-MS Solutions?

[Daniela-C]

It was springtime this year when the new Thermo Scientific GC and GC-MS product portfolio was announced during an exciting Innovation Summit virtual event. A series of interesting presentations touching applications in the environmental, food and pharma sectors were delivered by our early adopters. The powerful analytical performance along with new usability and productivity features were highlighted, and those products demonstrated great benefits to our new customers.

Following the launch, the positive feedback is growing, as well as the number of laboratories experiencing simplified operations, enhanced analytical performance and improved productivity.

The compact design of the GC and the GC-MS and their flexibility in configuration are immediately appreciated as soon as the system is on the bench. Creature Comforts Brewing Co., headquartered in Georgia, United States, has built an extensive in-house QC laboratory to handle the myriad tests required to maintain the ambitious standards of the brewery. According to research manager Spencer Britton, “One of the most crucial things in designing the lab was making every bit of space count, as we knew we would use all that space sooner than later.” The Thermo Scientific™ ISQ™ 7610 Single Quadrupole MS with the Thermo Scientific™ TRACE™ 1610 GC allowed samples to be analyzed by a mass spectrometer or other detectors on a single platform, saving valuable laboratory space.

 “We found that some of the methods could be consolidated easily while still allowing for precise quantification, and we were able to develop a single method out of several. By condensing the American Society of Brewing Chemists' (ASBC) Beer 29, Beer 44, and Beer 48 Methods into a single screening run, we can save time, brain power, consumables, and helium!”

TSQ 9610 Triple Quadrupole GC-MS.A very attractive option, especially for analytical testing laboratories,  is the new Thermo Scientific™ NeverVent™ AEI source available on the Thermo Scientific™ TSQ™ 9610 triple quadrupole GC-MS, combining very high sensitivity with maximum uptime of the instrument. Eurofins SOFIA GmbH in Germany analyzes complex environmental and food matrices. Rene Urbansky, research assistant and state-certified chemical technical assistant said “Due to the reduced downtime of the TSQ 9610, more samples can be evaluated, which generates a higher sample throughput per employee resulting in a higher analytical efficiency … The NeverVent AEI source on the TSQ 9610 gave us a time saving of around 50% due to the ability to exchange the source, filament and column without venting the system.”

Analytical testing laboratories that analyze environmental and food samples are under pressure to produce consistent data at low levels of detection for compounds in a variety of matrices. Pacific Rim Laboratories in Canada faces these challenges every day. With the TSQ 9610 GC-MS/MS, Pacific Rim analysts have been able to combine the quantitation of dioxins and PCBs into a single method thanks to the extended linearity of the XLXR™ detector, the new electron multiplier with extended dynamic range and lifetime.  Kjell Hope, a technical research chemist at Pacific Rim explained, “Due to the extended dynamic range of the TSQ 9610 GC-MS/MS, high-level PCBs and low-level dioxins can be quantified in a single method, which is impressive.”

The enhanced usability and robustness of the new GC and GC-MS systems are key features simplifying everyday activities in testing laboratories. Pacific Rim is experiencing increased productivity with a positive impact on their business “ … we saw increased throughput due to the robustness of the instrument and its ability to handle dirty matrices such as soil, industrial smokestack samples, and wastewater. This ensures we do not have to re-clean and re-run samples, which saves us time. This enabled us to increase our throughput for the analysis of alkylated PAHs, nonylphenols, chlorophenols, and certain PBDEs and marker PCBs, by between 50 and 100%.” And concluded “We love the robustness of the instrument and its ease of operation. It is very simple to train new analysts on the TSQ 9610 GC-MS/MS.”

Click photo to view the TRACE 1600 Series GC 3D Tour.The new TRACE 1610 GC, when used connected to a mass spectrometer as well as when used as stand-alone, is much appreciated for the unique modular design and the usability features making analyst life easier. Thomas Schott is expert for qualification, maintenance and troubleshooting of analytical equipment at Dr. Willmar Schwabe, Karlsruhe, Germany, a world market leader in the development and manufacturing of herbal medicines. Gas chromatography is used for different tests including residual solvents, fatty acids and essential oil analysis. A challenge in quality control laboratories is to ensure that methods can be carried out on several different analytical instruments and produce comparable results. Adopting a new instrument means to verify that validated methods can be transferred smoothly. Compliance with System Suitability Test (SST) criteria when running samples is a must and prevents re-validation procedures. The experience in implementing the TRACE 1610 GC in their QC lab was summarized by Thomas as followed: “It is important for us that method transfer from devices from other manufacturers works easily. Since all functions are available in the same way, this is quickly possible. Last but not least, the problem-free and continuing integration into the Chromatographic Data System Chromeleon is very important, as it is used throughout the Schwabe Group. … Finally, I can say that the GC system TRACE 1610 together with the AS1610 autosampler will prove itself as a reliable workhorse in the field of routine analysis of quality control.”

We asked Jorn Hofsteenge, analytical support specialist at Interscience BV, The Netherlands, what are the five things he likes most about the new TRACE 1600 GC system. Discover what they are in this video!

If you would like to learn more about customers’ experiences using the new Thermo Scientific GC/GC-MS product line, have a look at the web pages below:

www.thermofisher.com/gc-ms

Gas Chromatography Instruments | Thermo Fisher Scientific - IT