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.

Contamination of food by mineral oil hydrocarbons such as mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) has been a growing concern since 2012, when the European Food Safety Authority flagged them as a potential health concern. While the main concerns are bioaccumulation from MOSH and the carcinogenicity of MOAH, data on consumer exposure is incomplete. Prevailing wisdom suggests we make every effort to minimize MOSH/MOAH contamination, however, MOSH/MOAH analysis is not easy. Though there is a standard European GC-FID method, countries are still discussing GC-MS standard methods for MOSH/MOAH analysis. The existing methods struggle to deconvolute the various hydrocarbons.

Enter the LECO Pegasus® BT 4D with GCxGC-TOFMS.

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 GCxGC-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.

LECO understands that taking time away from your lab to visit our headquarters in Saint Joseph, Michigan, is not always a possibility. Travel alone is a hassle, much less the downtime of being away from your lab and the expense of all of the arrangements. Unfortunately, even our bench-top Pegasus® GC-TOFMS is a bit too large to slip into a carry-on for an in-person experience. Webinars and virtual demonstrations have come a long way in bringing new technology closer for your inspection, but there's nothing like getting to kick the tires and have a hands-on experience to really know what you could be adding to your lab. What’s a busy lab manager to do?

Frank Dorman, an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University, spoke at our ASMS breakfast seminar about his experience using our Pegasus BT 4D benchtop GCxGC-TOFMS to analyze environmental contamination in the Susquehanna river. Due to the increasing chemical complexity of the environment, GCxGC-TOFMS with its Non-Targeted compound analysis is the ideal technology for these intricate samples.

LECO is pleased to introduce a new FLUX™ flow modulator option for routine GCxGC analysis. While LECO’s traditional thermal modulation alternative is still available and provides for the highest sensitivity, the FLUX flow modulator is a cost-effective option that makes GCxGC more accessible and easy to use.

Another advantage of the FLUX flow modulator is that it does not require cryogens to carry out GCxGC, saving the user time and resources in their lab. Method development is also simplified, as there are only two parameters for the user to manage; the flows are handled by software so the user does not have to set these themselves. The FLUX flow modulator is available for purchase with our Pegasus^® BT 4D, and also for existing Pegasus BT owners who wish to upgrade their system to a GCxGC with FLUX.

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 characterization of the metabolome, and no metabolome has ever been completely characterized. This is where GC-MS comes in...

In your application work, you need the power to analyze even the most complex samples. MS/MS can restrict your analysis due to its targeted nature, giving you “tunnel vision” and causing you to potentially miss key analytes. Our Pegasus BT 4D is the solution to coelution. You won’t limit your analysis with GCxGC-TOFMS as it provides the complete picture while also transforming your lab’s productivity. You’ll save time, improve your sample throughput, and increase confidence in your analyte identification, without missing a thing.

Cannabis, and its use for medical or recreational purposes, has been a hot topic in both the political and social realms in recent years. From a medical standpoint, these chemicals may help treat a number of illness and symptoms, such as chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, anxiety, and cancer through ingestion, inhalation, or topical application. Cannabis is a complex mixture made up specifically of cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other chemicals related to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The relationship between terpenes and cannabinoids, and how they work together to create a therapeutic experience is termed the “Entourage Effect”.

Analyzing the total composition of cannabis is an important aspect of determining its potency and medical effectiveness. The terpenes in its chemical makeup are what give cannabis its aromatic and flavor profile, and as True Terpenes describes, “It is the terpenes in cannabis which modulate (modify or control) the effect that the cannabinoids in each sample will have on the user, this is why strains of cannabis effect each user uniquely. For example, if you have 2 different types of cannabis and both have 15% THC, but one gives you energetic effects and one gives you sedative effects, this is largely due to the different terpene profiles.” Therefore, better understanding the chemical framework of cannabis can aid in determining how certain strains may work.