Thermo Unveils Novel Environmental Solutions Package to Enable Reliable and Accurate Drinking Water Analyses

Thermo Electron Corporation, world leader in analytical instrumentation, announces the launch of its new environmental water monitoring package, EQuan™.

Designed for reliable and accurate analysis of water samples, this comprehensive package has been specifically developed to monitor trace levels of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and veterinary products in drinking water. EQuan significantly reduces sample analysis time as it allows samples to be directly injected and enriched followed by immediate LC-MS/MS analysis. Limits of Detection (LODs) are considerably improved compared to conventional injection techniques (up to 100 times) with detection limits of 10ppt (parts per trillion) easily achieved. This novel solution will be showcased on Thermo’s Booth H-14, at the 11th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry, August 6-11, 2006, at the International Conference Center Kobe and Kobe Portopia Hotel in Kobe, Japan.

Achieving low LODs of pesticides, antibiotics and veterinary residues in drinking water is of paramount importance in order to monitor the regulatory levels as stated by US, Japanese, and European Environmental and Water directives. These substances pose a significant health threat and therefore, need to be accurately detected. Traditionally, LC-MS/MS has been used by the environmental industry for the identification and quantification of these residues. However, this methodology typically requires extensive offline sample preparation, which can be particularly time consuming and expensive.

The unique capabilities of EQuan for online sample preparation and clean up of environmental samples result in improved sensitivity and precision as well as unmatched throughput. The new environmental solutions package also features Quantitation-Enhanced Data-Dependent™ MS/MS (QED-MS/MS) functionality to achieve precise quantification with simultaneous structural confirmation using an in-built MS/MS library. In addition, the unique enhanced resolution (H-SRM) capabilities of the TSQ Quantum™ add to the specificity of samples and can help to significantly improve Limits of Quantification (LOQs).

EQuan consists of a TSQ Quantum series mass spectrometer, two Surveyor™ HPLC pumps with a pre-concentration column, an analytical column, a CTC autosampler and an EQuan kit consisting of columns and HPLC accessories. EQuan can use any of Thermo’s TSQ Quantum series instruments depending on the specific application, including the TSQ Quantum Access™, TSQ Quantum Discovery MAX™, and TSQ Quantum Ultra™.

For more information about Thermo’s new EQuan complete environmental solutions package, please visit Booth H-14 at the 11th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry, August 6-11, 2006, in Kobe, Japan. Alternatively, please call +1 800-532-4752, click 'request more info' or visit the article webpage.