It's that time of year again, when holiday songs play 24/7 on the radio and people start wondering what, exactly, frankincense and myrrh are and why they make good gifts. LECO placed these two oils in a Pegasus BT 4D to see the difference.

Frankincense (from the boswellia tree) and myrrh (from the commiphora tree) are both resins which are commonly used as perfumes and incense and have been for thousands of years. Essential oils extracted from these resins can be analyzed using gas chromatography, which is precisely what the scientists at LECO did.

By extending the analysis to a second dimension using the GC×GC analysis of the Pegasus BT 4D, even more information can be gleaned from the samples extracted from these substances. GC×GC analysis also inherently produces structured chromatograms where chemically similar analytes tend to elute in ordered bands through the GC×GC separation space. This provides context for identification and allows for rapid visual characterization of the compound classes.

For a more detailed breakdown of the analysis of these oils and how the GC×GC separation provides a huge advantage in the characterisation and comparison of these samples, fill in the form and check out our application note.

Watch the LECO’s webinar in cooperation with The Analytical Scientist now available for on-demand viewing. The webinar features "GC×GC-HR-TOFMS for untargeted screening of Breathomics" by Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto, Lead Scientist at University of Liège

Your Pegasus^® BT is a powerful instrument, but if you're unsure how to use some of its features, you aren't able to get the full benefit from your investment. LECO is rolling out LECOLearn, an online, on-demand training site to help you maximise your laboratory.

Metabolomics presents challenges for both the analytical methods used and the data reduction required to interpret the results. No single analytical technique can be used for complete characterisation of the metabolome, and no metabolome has been completely characterised. However, GC-MS provides an established method to analyse the primary metabolome, whereas LC investigates the secondary and tertiary metabolites.

The rise of omics has been a hot topic in our group for the past few years – in part because our own expertise aligns somewhat with the needs of these fields. Metabolomics is then particularly challenging for the separation science community, demanding the application of high-end iterations of various techniques, including LC, GC, MS, and NMR. In fact, when it comes to metabolomics, most analytical tools have a “seat at the technique table” – after all, multimodality is the only way to make sense of such high sample complexity.

An Article by Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto, Delphine Zanella, and Jean-François Focant

From cancer to diabetes to the recent rise of COVID-19, we will all likely come face-to-face with a threat to our health. Contemporary medicine has ever-improving tools to identify and combat diseases, but there are gaps – in speed, in invasiveness, in coverage, in access, and in accuracy. Can we do better? And how can we ensure that new approaches provide the same level of diagnostic potential as those currently in service?

Jane Hill, Associate Professor of Engineering, and Billy Boyle, CEO of Owlstone Medical, explain how their research in the area of breath analysis is opening new diagnostic doors.

Find out how the use of Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography (GC×GC) with Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOF-MS) demonstrates excellent matrix-analyte and analyte-analyte separation quality of a high number of target pesticides, at high sensitivity.

The LECO Pegasus BT 4D was used to develop a robust and straightforward quantification workflow adhering to SANTE requirements.

A free virtual seminar sponsored by LECO Corporation
14 – 18 September 2020

Who will benefit? Any supervisor or chemist working in the analytical lab looking to get more information from GC-MS technology, struggling with complex samples, or seeking advantages beyond the same old GC-MS performance. If you have a GC-MS analytical challenge, you’ll want to see what you’ve been missing! You will learn from key opinion leaders in the field of GC and GC×GC technology as to how these solutions can seamlessly fit into your workflow and benefit your laboratory.

Pegasus 4D | Detection of Sulfur-Containing Metabolites of Asparagus in Urine

Pegasus BT 4D | Quantitation and Non-Target Detection of Pesticides in Spinach Extract

At LECO’S GC×GC Workshop & Symposium (filmed at the LECO European Application and Training Centre, Berlin, Germany) Paul Harvath gave a talk entitled "Evaluation of Oxidized Base Oils by Flow Modulated Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography – Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry". In his talk he gave an insight about the history and future of engine oils for cars, and how the lubricants changed over the times.

Department of Civil Engineering University of Strathclyde

"In 2013, I became responsible for overseeing the department’s analytical suite which included a LECO PEGASUS^® 4D GC×GC TOF MS as our flagshipinstrument. I had no experience in gas chromatography and found even a standard GCMS daunting. Over the past years, I received extensive support from LECO. Especially withsupport from LECO UK the instrument is still running strong a decade after purchase. I anticipate it will go for another decade and then some."

SGS Institut Fresenius GmbH Berlin, Germany

"We at SGS MOSH/MOAH group are using the GC × GC-TOFMS from LECO to separate the highly complex fractions of MOSH/MOAH contaminates in food. When you want to identify special patterns of contamination species amongst other analytics (e. g carotenoids) you need a high separation power in combination with a fast screening MS. This is provided by the LECO TOF. Actually we have a new project together with LECO and another company to quantify MOSH/MOAH fractions. The complexity of the instrumentation is high, but with the support of the application team from LECO we reach our goals."

Centre for Molecular and Cell Technologies, Saint Petersburg State University Research Park

• Analytical Phytochemistry Laboratory // Komarov Botanical Institute
• Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry // Saint Petersburg State University
• Department of Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology // Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry

"Our virtual metabolomics research center has six GC-MS instruments, and the LECO PEGASUS^® 4D is the crown jewel of our science park. The results of GC-MS profiling performed using GC×GC technologies has madea strong impression on users and has seriously improved the quality of ourpublications. The fast-scanning capabilities of the TOF-analyzer effectively augment the dataobtained on the ordinary quadrupole, especially when working with the most complexmatrices which are most often the subject of metabolomics analysis. The reliability of the device is especially deserving of praise. The equipment can withstand a very demanding load with constant, round-the-clock operation."

Our new eBook summarises a large part of LECO’s application work in the field of food testing. In addition to the Application Compendium, the eBook includes an introduction to GC×GC- and TOFMS-technology, followed by an overview of the different hardware and software solutions that were used for the food testing applications. A bibliography with additional references can be found in the appendix.

The eBook is downloadable at SeparationScience now.
Download the eBook here… 

As laws and regulations change, cannabis and all it’s related chemical compounds of interest are showing up in a wide variety of consumer products. LECO instruments, that combine powerful Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOF-MS) and Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography (GC×GC) technologies, can make your analyses more efficient. Find out here, how to save time and money by quantifying and identifying both the terpene and cannabinoids in just one injection. The same injection can even reveal the presence of pesticides and more!

How can we do this? Using GC×GC drastically increases analyte separation, which together with high quality full mass range spectra obtained by TOF-MS, enables powerful deconvolution analyte finding using ChromaTOF.

Do you want to learn more about "Determining Terpene Profiles of Cannabis Strains", then watch the presentation of Joe Binkley, Director - Separation Science Applications.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE…

Pegasus 4D | GC-TOFMS and GC×GC-TOFMS of Organophosphate Pesticides in Ash Leaves

Pegasus 4D | Analysis of Pesticides by GC×GC-TOFMS Using a Consumable-Free Modulator

Pegasus 4D | Analysis of Pesticides in Brewed Green Tea by SBSE-GC×GC-TOFMS Showing Baseline Resolution of Three Pesticides in the 2 Dimension Separation

Pegasus 4D | Analysis of Pesticides in Edible Oils by GC×GC–TOFMS

Pegasus 4D | Determination of 287 Pesticides at Trace Levels by GC×GC–TOFMS

Pegasus 4D | Analysis of Multiple Classes of Cigarette Smoke Constituents by GC×GC-TOFMS

Pegasus 4D | Analysis of Sagebrush Aromas by Headspace SPME-GC×GC-TOFMS and Utilization of Variable Modulation in the Second Dimension Separation

Pegasus HT | Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Citrus Oils by GC×GC-TOFMS with Minimal Sample Preparation

Pegasus HT | Screening and Quantitation of Pesticides in Jonagold Apples by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography – Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS)

Pegasus HT | GC×GC Separation of the Pesticides Beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane and Trifluralin

Pegasus HT | Analysis of PAHs in Infant Formula and Blueberries Using QuEChERS and GC×GC-TOFMS

Pegasus HT | SBSE-GC×GC-TOFMS Trace Level Organochlorine and Organophosphorous Pesticides Analysis in Brewed Green Tea

Pegasus HT | Analysis of 3-MCPD Esters in Edible Oils Using Large Volume Injection Coupled to Comprehensive Gas Chromatography – Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Pegasus HT | Aroma Profile of Pet Food by GC-TOFMS and GCxGC-TOFMS

Pegasus HT | Aroma Profile of Hops, Humulus Iupulus, as a Function of Boil Time by GC-TOFMS and GC×GC-TOFMS

GC×GC-ECD | GC×GC-ECD of Organochlorine Pesticides in Cucumber and Tomato

GC×GC-ECD | Analysis of Chlorinated Pesticides by GC×GC-μECD

At LECO’S GC×GC Workshop & Symposium, Dr. Diane Turner gave a talk about "Selectivity: Wann, wo und wie man sie nutzt“ The talk covers techniques for sample analysis, selectivity in choosing the right technical setup (column choice, inlet parameters etc.), and also data analysis optimisation.

Pegasus BT 4D | Improved Characterisation and Differentiation of Perfume Samples with GC×GC

At our ASMS breakfast seminars, Jean-François (Jef) Focant, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Director of the Organic and Biological Analytical Chemistry group at the University of Liège, Belgium, spoke about using our Pegasus^® BT 4D and Pegasus^® GC-HRT 4D for GC×GC-TOFMS on the breath of asthma patients to improve asthma treatment*. Before diving into the blood and sputum, Jef first educated us on the importance of optimizing your data.

Meeting of the London Metabolomics Network and South East Region Analytical Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry at Burlington House, London

Alan Griffiths speaks about the top of the range technique for GC×GC Separation provided by LECO. The video has been recorded at the meeting of the London Metabolomics Network and South East Region Analytical Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry at Burlington House, London. The video will be uploaded to SepScience.com for our recent PEGASUS^® campaign.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE…

Fireworks are a staple of America’s Independence Day celebrations. It is estimated that 16,000 fireworks displays are held in the United States each year and American consumers will spend more than $1 billion in firework sales to mark the holiday! Beyond a big bang and bright lights, how do these fireworks affect the environmental world around them? LECO’s world headquarters are located in Saint Joseph, Michigan, a beach town on Lake Michigan where fireworks are a prominent backdrop to the 4^th of July celebration. Last summer, our applications lab thought it would be a worthwhile and interesting experiment to test the water surrounding the firework launch spot to explore if there were any short-term environmental impacts. The influx of tourists to the Lake Michigan beaches during the holiday is sure to contribute chemicals from personal care products (sunscreen and insect repellent) to the water as well. Evaluating these potential contaminants surrounding the July 4^th holiday was the objective of this study.

The analysis was conducted by taking water samples from three different places along the shoreline; the fireworks launch location off the pier, as well as two local beaches close to the launch site. This was done on July 2^nd as well as on July 4^th (an hour after the fireworks show) to provide an accurate measurement. LECO’s Pegasus HRT⁺ 4D system was used to analyse the water samples, which offers comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-HRTOFMS). GC×GC-HRTOFMS proved a powerful tool for exploration as it provided a full non-targeted analysis of the water samples before and after the fireworks show, clearly demonstrating the chemical differences between the two. GC×GC-HRTOFMS was also able to pinpoint contributions to the environmental pollution that occurred as a result of these pyrotechnic displays and the increased human traffic near the water sampling sites.

So what happened to the water quality of Lake Michigan from the increased tourism and fireworks? The results may surprise you…

Read the poster here to find out.

Pegasus HT / Pegasus 4D | Differentiation of Fresh and Oxidized Wine Samples with HS-SPME, GC-TOFMS, and GC×GC-TOFMS