The HiSorb product range includes probes and accessories that sorptively extract volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) for analysis by thermal desorption (TD)–GC–MS. They can be used for immersive extraction from liquids or headspace sampling from solids.
The firm said re-usable probes and tubes minimise the cost per sample.
HiSorb was developed with Welsh Government ‘SMART Cymru’ funding.
Dr Lara Kelly, HiSorb product manager, said it will appeal to existing TD users looking to extend capabilities.
“There are many applications of this technology, but a key focus for us at the moment is profiling of beverages, foods, and fragranced products,” she said.
“To this end, we’ve already conducted a number of challenging real-world applications including analysis of flavour compounds in coffee, whisky and milk.”
Dr Kelly said the volume of PDMS sorbent on the HiSorb probes is greater than on solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fibres, which are currently widely used in aroma and fragrance profiling.
She added using the probes is easier than manipulations typically needed with traditional liquid–liquid solvent extraction methods.
“The design of the HiSorb probes makes them easy to manipulate, and in combination with Markes’ instruments for automated TD, they offer the potential for considerably improving laboratory throughput.”
Markes is a company of the Schauenburg International Group and has technical support centres in the UK, US and Germany.