Spectrometry.
UV/VIS
We determine the content of specific constituents in plant-based samples on the basis of the colours produced by the reactions of these constituents to certain reagents. We then use the new properties generated in this process for quantification by means of photometric measurements. The values measured in the range of visible light (VIS) and/or ultraviolet light (UV) provide information concerning the content of certain substances, such as the sennoside content in senna leaves or the hypericin content in St. John's wort.
AAS
As far as the quantitation of metal contamination is concerned, and particularly the burden of such toxic heavy metals as lead, cadmium or mercury, we are already entering the realm of trace analysis. PhytoLab achieves the very low detection and quantitation levels required for this by using another spectrometric analysis technique known as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). After a state-of-the-art microwave digestion process, we use an established method to measure minute amounts of aluminium, lithium, antimony, magnesium, arsenic, manganese, lead, sodium, cadmium, mercury, chrome, selenium, iron, thallium, potassium, zinc, copper or tin in plant-based food and drugs and are able to detect traces of heavy metals amounting to just a few thousandths of gram in a kilogram of sample material. We use a highly sensitive atomic absorption spectrometer for this, with graphite tube atomiser (GTA), cold vapour or flame technique.
MS
Mass spectrometry is another highly sensitive, selective method of analysis that offers a wide range of possibilities. PhytoLab offers this technique in conjunction with gas and liquid chromatography.
GC - MS
We primarily use gas chromatography - mass spectrometry for the analysis of pesticides and on essential oils to verify difficult sample matrices and for structural determination. This technique is also used for aroma analysis, where we work on two units with quadrupole MSD.
LC-MS
High-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS) has evolved into an efficient, selective and highly sensitive method of analysis in recent years. HPLC-MS-MS constitutes a valuable supplement to such conventional analytical techniques as HPLC-DAD or HPLC-fluorescence, particularly when analysing such complex compound samples as food, plant-based drugs or extracts.
PhytoLab offers this new method of analysis in conjunction with many years of experience in analysing natural substances by means of HPLC-MS-MS. It goes without saying that we will also help you to decide whether HPLC-MS-MS offers an expedient or feasible solution in your specific case.
To reliably prove the presence of mycotoxin residues in complex compound samples, for example, it is often necessary to validate the results. Ochratoxin or patulin can only be determined in certain products to a limited extent by means of HPLC- DAD/fluorescence and some mycotoxins are not detected using the conventional analytical techniques. We have developed and validated HPLC-MS-MS methods for the selective, sensitive detection of mycotoxins so that we will be able to offer you the support you need to deal with these problems in the future.
It is necessary to validate the reference substances used in the preparation of marketing authorisation dossiers. In the course of such validation work, we use mass spectrometry to verify the substances' identities according to molecular weight and, where applicable, according to characteristic fragmentation. In addition to this, we can also carry out quantitative analyses to determine the content of these reference substances according to the 100% method in parallel with HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS.
We conduct stability studies on finished drugs and their active constituents usually plant extracts on the basis of characteristic markers, which must be chemically defined. HPLC-MS-MS allows us to characterise unknown markers in mass-spectrometric terms according to molecular weight and product ion spectra without the need for a complicated, time-consuming isolation process. The resulting structural data, as well as the results of exhaustive bibliographic research in the databases accessible to us and in the Internet constitute the basis for determination of the chemical identities of the analytes.
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