Combining elemental analysis and molecular techniques to characterize Ancient Egyptian mummification balms

Microplastics have emerged as one of the most widely discussed environmental contaminants of our time. Regardless of where we live, daily exposure to microplastics has become virtually unavoidable—these tiny plastic particles are present in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the environments we inhabit. As researchers work to better understand the sources, transport pathways, and impacts of microplastics, the demand for reliable microplastic analysis methods continues to grow.While techniques such as FTIR and Raman spectroscopy have become standard tools for identifying microplastics, their utility is limited for smaller particles (i.e. nanoplastics) and in complex matrices. More advanced microplastic analysis methods can provide a deeper understanding of what these particles contain and how they may change over time in the environment.<div><h3>The Limits of Spectroscopic Microplastic Analysis Methods</h3>Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy are widely used microplastic analysis methods because they can identify polymer types by measuring how electromagnetic radiation interacts with a material. These techniques are valuable for determining whether a particle is polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or another common plastic. For many studies, this information is sufficient to confirm the presence of microplastics, especially in clean samples with sufficient microplastic density.However, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.leco.com/application/environmental/">environmental samples</a> are rarely clean and compositionally simple. Microplastic particles can become weathered and obscured by other materials in the environment, making their accurate identification with spectroscopy difficult. Additionally, if researchers want to understand what additives, degradation products, or pollutants are associated with the plastic, particle identification alone is not enough. Thus, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy methods alone struggle to thoroughly characterize these complex chemical components, particularly in challenging environmental matrices. As questions surrounding microplastic exposure become increasingly important, researchers require analytical techniques capable of examining the chemistry of a sample in greater detail, not simply confirming the presence of the physical particle itself.</div><div><h3>Thermal Desorption and Pyrolysis GCxGC-TOFMS For Deeper Microplastic Analysis</h3>Thermal Desorption (TD) and Pyrolysis (Py) coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.leco.com/core-analysis/gc-and-gc-ms/">GCxGC-TOFMS</a>) offer a powerful alternative for investigating nano- and microplastics in complex samples. These techniques provide complementary information about sample composition.&nbsp;Thermal desorption releases volatile and adsorbed compounds, including environmental contaminants, degradation products, and VOCs associated with microplastic particles. This can reveal important information about chemicals present within or on the plastic.Pyrolysis thermally deconstructs the polymeric material, breaking it into GC-amenable characteristic degradation compounds. These compounds act as chemical markers that can be used to identify the various polymers present. When analyzing complex or heavily weathered microplastics that may be difficult to characterize using traditional spectroscopic techniques, pyrolysis is particularly advantageous.The most significant benefit comes from pairing these techniques with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. Environmental samples often contain hundreds or even thousands of compounds that coelute in 1D GC-MS, making it difficult or impossible to identify each compound. GCxGC provides significantly greater separation capability, helping analysts distinguish important polymer markers from background matrix components. This enhanced separation improves the mass spectrometer’s ability to identify characteristic polymer pyrolysis products, even in highly complex environmental samples. As a result, researchers can detect and identify challenging microplastics without the extensive purification steps often required by other analytical workflows.Another unique advantage of this approach is that thermal desorption and pyrolysis can be used in series on the same sample. Together, they create a more complete chemical profile of the sample.</div><div><h3>A Powerful Microplastics Analysis Workflow for Deeper Insight into the Effects on Our Environment</h3>FTIR and Raman spectroscopy remain valuable tools for rapid screening and flagging samples containing microplastic particles. However, by combining thermal desorption, pyrolysis, and GCxGC-TOFMS, analysts can obtain a much more comprehensive view of plastics in their samples and their environmental implications. As environmental research continues to advance and concerns surrounding microplastic contamination grow, researchers will increasingly require information that extends beyond answering the question,&nbsp;“What plastic is present?”&nbsp;&nbsp;Ultimately, this deeper level of characterization can provide new insights into the environmental fate of microplastics and help scientists better understand their potential impacts on ecosystems and human exposure.</div>

Surpassing the Limits of Traditional Microplastic Analysis Methods with Thermal Desorption and Pyrolysis GCxGC-TOFMS

News from LabRulezGCMS Library - Week 39, 2026

Article

Application

Environment

Scientific article

Science and research

Poster

Everything from the world of analytical chemistry in one place. We connect people in solving their problems. At Labrulez you will find all the necessary information easily, quickly and clearly. Stop searching and start finding.

LabRulez

In 1936, the Laboratory Equipment Company introduced the first rapid carbon determinator for the American iron and steel industry.  Today, almost 80 years later, LECO is recognized globally as a leader in the development of high-quality analytical instrumentation, mass spectrometers, comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography, metallography & optical equipment as well as consumables.

LECO

DataApex

Metrohm

Agilent Technologies

GERSTEL

Quantum Analytics

Wiley

C&EN

Is it time to throw out my column? Is there anything I can do to make my columns last longer?
These are just some of the questions we receive frequently in technical support and will address in today’s webinar. We will show you some tips and tricks on how to bring your column back to life as well as when it is time to get a new one. We will also discuss some preventative measures you can take to keep your column healthy such as implementing sample preparation.
<blockquote>
Presenter: Ryan Birney (Application Engineer, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
In Ryan’s current role at Agilent, he provides application assistance and technical support for GC and Spectroscopy. He has been supporting Agilent in technical and sales roles for the past seven years. Ryan came to Agilent from industry, and has an BS degree in Biochemistry.
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<blockquote>
Presenter: Alex Ucci (Application Engineer, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
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<blockquote>
In his current position at Agilent, Alex provides application assistance and technical support for sample preparation products as well as GC and LC consumables. Before he joined Agilent in 2014, Alex was a graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University researching the morphology and surface properties of aerosol particles using a wide variety of analytical techniques. He has an MS degree in chemistry.
</blockquote>

Agilent Technologies: Keep your GC Column Alive: Tips and Tricks for Extending Column Lifetime

Keep your GC Column Alive: Tips and Tricks for Extending Column Lifetime

Is it time to throw out my column?  Is there anything I can do to make my columns last longer?

GC Column: Tips and Tricks for Extending Column Lifetime

Two of the biggest challenges analysts face in the analytical lab are verifying product quality and identifying unknown contaminants. It is also common to look to reverse engineer competitor products. Infrared and Raman spectroscopies are ideal tools for these analyses, as they are non-destructive and non-invasive methods. FTIR and Raman are also very highly specific, as each molecule has its own corresponding fingerprint in the region of the electromagnetic spectrum where the analyses are performed. These analyses can also be conducted most readily even in the most stringent regulatory environment. Tiered user access and a locked data pool are only a few of the features of a fully integrated and compliant platform meeting FDA and other regulatory requirements.
During this webinar, we’ll cover the theory of FTIR and Raman spectroscopies and why they work so well for even the most challenging samples. The management of regulatory requirements in the modern lab will also be discussed.
Key Webinar Take-Aways:
<ul>
<li>IR and Raman offer quick and reliable identification of unknown compounds.</li>
<li>Regulatory requirements are easy managed with Bruker hardware and software platform.</li>
<li>Quality assurance of product and raw materials is reliably performed with Raman and IR.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
Presenter: Dr. Tom Tague (Applications Manager, Bruker Corporation)
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<blockquote>
Dr. Tom Tague is the Applications Manager for Bruker Optics. He is also a member of the Visiting Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Strategic Advisory Board of Amplified Sciences. Dr. Tague received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in Physical Chemistry and his B.S. also in Chemistry from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He also conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of Virginia working with Professor Lester Andrews. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America. Dr. Tague is active in developing new methods and instrumentation with the goal of improving the sensitivity and detection limits of spectroscopy related applications. Tom has more than 90 publications and 5 Patents.
</blockquote>

Pixabay/Gerd Altmann: Maximizing the Power of Spectroscopy in Your Regulated Analytical Laboratory

Maximizing the Power of Spectroscopy in Your Regulated Analytical Laboratory

Infrared and Raman spectroscopy are ideal tools for verifying product quality, identifying unknown contaminants, and reverse engineering competitive products.

Power of Spectroscopy in Regulated Analytical Laboratory

Recurring helium shortages and increased prices boost the demand for performing GC/MS analysis with alternative carrier gasses. While helium is the best carrier gas for GC/MS, hydrogen is the second-best alternative. However, unlike helium, hydrogen is not an inert gas. Hence, it can cause peak tailing, distorted ion ratios in the mass spectrum, poor library matching, and sensitivity loss.
Pesticides analysis can be challenging even with helium carrier gas given their diverse and labile nature. This presentation discusses the key strategies for analyzing pesticides with hydrogen carrier gas while delivering high-quality uncompromised results. To achieve the required detection limits with hydrogen carrier gas, the injection conditions were optimized. Further, the EI source optimized for use with hydrogen carrier gas allowed for preventing undesirable in-source reactions. Finally, method translation, and retention time locking techniques allowed the use of the MRM transitions and retention times from the database created with helium carrier gas. 
<h5>Key Learning Objectives:</h5>
<ul>
<li>Optimization of GC conditions essential when using hydrogen carrier gas</li>
<li>Appropriate MS hardware selection, including the EI source optimized for use with hydrogen carrier gas</li>
<li>Method translation technique for maintaining the same retention times as the original method with helium carrier gas or to scale the analysis speed with accurate retention time prediction</li>
</ul>
<h5>Who Should Attend:</h5>
<ul>
<li>Laboratory Managers </li>
<li>Chromatographers </li>
<li>Product Developers</li>
</ul>
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Presenter: Anastasia Andrianova (GC/MS Applications Scientist, Agilent Technologies)
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Presenter: Melissa O&#39;Meara (Forensic Science Consultant, C&amp;EN Media Group)
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C&EN: Achieving the Pesticide MRLs with GC/MS/MS Using Hydrogen Carrier Gas

Achieving the Pesticide MRLs with GC/MS/MS Using Hydrogen Carrier Gas

This presentation discusses the key strategies for analyzing pesticides with hydrogen carrier gas while delivering high-quality uncompromised results.

Pesticide MRLs with GC/MS/MS Using Hydrogen Carrier Gas

Free webinar. We will show you how to work with sequences in Clarity Chromatography Software and answer your questions.
We all know the importance of getting work done quickly and efficiently, but sometimes we struggle.
If you&#39;re a user of Clarity Chromatography Software, we&#39;ve got some great news for you!
Our upcoming FREE WEBINAR will show you how to use sequences smartly. We&#39;ll cover everything from setting up sequences to optimizing them for maximum efficiency.
This is a great opportunity to learn about the software&#39;s advanced capabilities and gain valuable insights into how you can improve your workflows.
Don&#39;t miss this chance to improve your skills and knowledge of Clarity Chromatography Software.

DataApex: Ask the Expert: Effective work with sequences in Clarity

Ask the Expert: Effective work with sequences in Clarity

Free webinar. We will show you how to work with sequences in Clarity Chromatography Software and answer your questions.

No company can afford releasing out-of-spec products these days, so it is of utmost importance to prevent this from happening. Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) can be a fast and simple solution for manufacturers to make sure the quality of their products meets the defined specifications: Take a sample from any stage in your manufacturing process, and NIRS will give you an accurate, reproducible result for multiple physical and chemical parameters within 30 seconds. As NIRS does not require either sample preparation or any chemicals or solvents, it can be used even by non-chemists.
In our educational webinar, Dave van Staveren and Wim Guns from Metrohm International Headquarters explain how NIRS works. They present several application examples from the chemical, petrochemical, polymer, pharmaceutical, and food &amp; beverage industries illustrating the advantages of this technology for fast and reliable QC testing. 
In the second part of their webinar, they will demonstrate how this technology is implemented focusing on the potential of NIRS to help manufacturing companies save time and reduce the costs of their routine analytics.
<h5>Key learnings of this webinar:</h5>
<ul>
<li>Current trends in QA and QC in the manufacturing industries</li>
<li>The principles of NIRS - how does this technology work?</li>
<li>Where NIRS can help your quality control become more efficient</li>
<li>Applications from various industries exemplifying possible time and cost savings</li>
</ul>
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Presenter: Wim Guns (International Sales Support, Metrohm International Headquarters)
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Wim Guns is based in The Netherlands and has a degree in chemical engineering. After 20 years of involvement with NIRS for FOSS, Wim joined the Metrohm organization in 2013. Wim is responsible for NIRS sales support and second line support for all Metrohm affiliates and distributors.
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Presenter: Dr. Dave van Staveren (Head of Competence Center Spectroscopy, Metrohm International Headquarters)
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Dr. Dave van Staveren completed his university graduate work in the area of bio-inorganic chemistry with a strong focus on various spectroscopic methods. He has held several positions in Product Management and has been in charge of NIR Product Management and Application Development at Metrohm since 2016.
</blockquote>

Metrohm: How Near-Infrared Spectroscopy can make your QA/QC faster and reduce costs

How Near-Infrared Spectroscopy can make your QA/QC faster and reduce costs

We will explain how NIRS works, present several application examples and demonstrate how this technology is implemented to help manufacturing companies.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for faster QA/QC and reduce costs

There is a continued need across forensic science disciplines for the development of rapid screening methods that produce high-quality, specific results to address case backlogs and lengthy case analysis protocols. The need for new technologies, however, must be balanced with the time and manpower required to implement and validate such new techniques. One way to lower the barriers of time and manpower is to rethink existing methodologies or implement techniques that are similar to existing technologies, thereby reducing the time required for familiarization.
For forensic chemistry disciplines, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a major workhorse, but analyses require tens of minutes per sample. Using a GC-MS system capable of heating at much faster rates than conventional systems could provide a rapid screening approach with low barriers for implementation. 
This webinar will provide attendees with an overview into some of the technological advances that have enabled rapid (≈1 min) GC-MS analysis and discuss the development of rapid GC-MS methods for two forensic chemistry applications: seized drug analysis and ignitable liquid analysis. For both applications, information on method optimization, method validation, sampling, and data interpretation will be provided. Important lessons that were learned in the investigation of these two applications will also be conveyed.
This webinar will also demonstrate how rapid GC-MS can be incorporated into existing instrumentation and discuss ongoing research efforts into alternative sample introduction techniques, such as solid-phase microextraction (SPME).
<blockquote>
Presenter: Dr. Edward Sisco (Research Chemist, NIST)
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<blockquote>
Edward Sisco is a research chemist at NIST whose focus is on the development of tools and methodologies to address forensic chemistry measurement challenges. His research in the field of seized drugs includes development of new methods and tools, rethinking approaches to traditional drug analysis, visualizing and measuring drug background and particulate spread, and assisting practicing laboratories with implementation of new technology.
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Presenter: Briana Capistran (Research Chemist, NIST)
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Briana Capistran is a research chemist in the Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group at NIST. Her research focuses on the application of new and existing analytical techniques for forensic analysis. Her current work focuses on the development and implementation of screening methods for forensic applications, specifically in the areas of fire debris analysis and seized drug analysis.
</blockquote>
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Presenter: Lakshmi Krishnan (Product Manager, GC/MSD and QuickProbe, Agilent Technologies)
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<blockquote>
Lakshmi Krishnan is the GCMS Single Quadrupole Product Manager in the Mass Spectrometry division of Agilent Technologies, located in Santa Clara, California. Lakshmi obtained her M.S. in Biotechnology with a focus on Business Administration, from San Jose State University. At Agilent, she works on new product introductions, marketing and commercialization of GC/MSD platforms.
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Presenter: Dr. Birgit Foltas (Editor Wiley Analytical Science, Wiley)
</blockquote>
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Dr. Birgit Foltas is the editor-in-chief of Imaging &amp; Microscopy. She has worked at Wiley for more than 20 years as a scientific editor. She studied biology at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, and received her Ph.D. in cellular immunology from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany.
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Wiley Analytical Science: Forensic Applications of Rapid GC-MS: Seized Drug and Ignitable Liquid Screening

Forensic Applications of Rapid GC-MS: Seized Drug and Ignitable Liquid Screening

This webinar will provide attendees with an overview into some of the technological advances that have enabled rapid (≈1 min) GC-MS analysis.

Forensic Applications of Rapid GC-MS: Drug and Liquid

Thousands of polymeric compounds and materials have been developed over the years to optimize the properties and performance of products spanning nearly every industry. There are a few areas where characterizing these products can be important: first is performing a quick polymer identification for recycling purposes; second is quality control to identify product defects or failures; and third is reverse engineering to facilitate product development in a highly competitive marketplace.
Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy are especially useful for the analysis of polymers in an industrial setting because in most cases it does not require sample preparation or expensive consumables. Examples will be presented demonstrating the effectiveness of IR and Raman analysis in each of these categories.
Mass Spectrometry (MS) has become an indispensable tool for polymer analysis and has been widely used to study polymer structure and composition, end groups and additives, molecular weight distribution, and so on. MS analysis is extremely sensitive, allowing the detection and identification of minor polymer components and synthesis by-products, as well as low-level impurities and products of decomposition. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI) allows performing rapid MS analysis without lengthy pre-separation and with minimal sample preparation. MALDI MS can provide structural and copolymer composition information, as well as be used for imaging of polymer surfaces, characterization of complex polymer mixtures, and many other analytical tasks.
In this webinar, we will discuss several MS analytical techniques and their applications for polymer analysis using real-life examples from the industry and academia.
<blockquote>
Presenter: Sergey V. Shilov, Ph.D. (R&amp;D Product Manager for North America, Bruker Optics)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Dr. Sergey V. Shilov is the R&amp;D Product Manager for North America at Bruker Optics. Sergey joined Bruker in 2001. He is responsible for the support and development of new applications for the Bruker research FTIR systems. He received his Ph.D in 1992 from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Polymer Physics and his M.S. from St. Petersburg State University (Russia) in Physics in 1986. Alexander Von Humboldt foundation (Germany) awarded him research fellowship in 1996. Sergey published 37 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests include time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy, surface science, polymer and life-science applications. 
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Presenter: Kushal Modi (Business Development Manager, Polymers, and Industrial Chemicals, Bruker Applied Mass Spectrometry)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Kushal Modi has been serving the scientific community for over 10 years. He joined Bruker in 2022 under the Applied Mass Spectrometry division after a legacy with Waters Corporation. He is a leading expert as a Business Development Manager and is currently supporting the polymers and industrial chemical markets nationally. 
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Presenter: Dr. Rebecca Pool (Editor Microscopy and Analysis, Wiley, Moderator)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Rebecca is news editor of Microscopy&amp;Analysis and a freelance science journalist with a doctorate in Materials Science. She has published in Wiley Analytical Science, Nature Photonics, SPIE Photonics Focus, Physics World, Sci Fi Generation, Engineering and Technology magazine, WorldSteel and more.
</blockquote>

Wiley Analytical Science: Effective Analysis of Polymers Using IR, Raman Spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Effective Analysis of Polymers Using IR, Raman Spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Examples will be presented demonstrating the effectiveness of IR and Raman analysis and will discuss several MS techniques and apps for polymer analysis.

Polymers Using IR, Raman Spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF MS

The easy-to-use 8700 LDIR has undergone a performance enhancements with the addition of automated on-filter analysis. This improvement will be described in this webinar and the results of analyses will be presented.
<blockquote>
Presenter: Louis Tisinger, PhD (Application Engineer, Molecular Spectroscopy, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Louis (Lou) Tisinger has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Miami University in Oxford Ohio, where his graduate research involved the study of ATR imaging and microscope performance in vibrational spectroscopy. Most of his career has been related to pre- and post-sales support of FTIR spectrometers, microscopes, imaging systems, and thermal analytical instruments, focusing on analyzing customer samples, demonstrations, post-sales training, troubleshooting, and R&amp;D.
</blockquote>

Agilent Technologies: New LDIR Enhancements to Streamline Microplastics Analysis

New LDIR Enhancements to Streamline Microplastics Analysis

The easy-to-use 8700 LDIR has undergone a performance enhancements with the addition of automated on-filter analysis.

Contamination is one of the most common causes of deteriorated product quality and equipment performance in industrial environment. FTIR has been proven to be a valuable tool to characterize the contamination rapidly and economically.
Agilent’s compact and portable FTIR spectrometers provide a complete product portfolio with versatile sampling interfaces and spectral process capabilities, which can offer great convenience, stability and high-throughput solution to the contamination-related applications.
<blockquote>
Presenter: Yanqia Wang, PhD (Application Engineer, Molecular Spectroscopy, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Dr. Yanqia Wang started working for Agilent Technologies Inc. as a FTIR application Engineer in 2013, providing pre-&amp;post-sale application support. The products he covers from Bench-top FTIR microscopes to various Mobile FTIR spectrometers. Dr. Wang received his PhD of analytical chemistry from Duke University in 2004, doing dynamic IR spectroscopy research. Then he joined Fitzpatrick Center for Photonics at Duke University, doing Tissue Raman spectrometer instrumentation. Since 2007, Dr. Wang worked for Avery Dennison Corp. as a spectroscopist, providing molecular analytical support to the research &amp; development.
</blockquote>

Agilent Technologies: Concerned of Contamination and Poor Product Quality? Learn how Convenient and Friendly FTIR is for these common issues

Concerned of Contamination and Poor Product Quality? Learn how Convenient and Friendly FTIR is for these common issues

FTIR has been proven to be a valuable tool to characterize the contamination rapidly and economically.

Contamination and Poor Product Quality by FTIR

Learn how to automate your SPE procedures with the LCTech FREESTYLE™ system for various sample types.
Presenter: Fred Foster (Applications Scientist)

GERSTEL: Automation of Solid Phase Extraction Procedures using a Novel Robotic Automation Platform

Automation of Solid Phase Extraction Procedures using a Novel Robotic Automation Platform

Learn how to automate your SPE procedures with the LCTech FREESTYLE™ system for various sample types.