new absorbance monitor
Editors' Column
Analysis from Mars to Antarctica While analysis of moon rocks and studies of the moon in general continue on Earth, future research projects will cover scientific investigations over a much longer distance — from the surface of the planet Mars to the subsurface of the continent Antarctica. Two unmanned Viking landers ' (each lander is half of the total craft) will be launched late in 1975 and are expected to land on the surface of Mars 45 days apart in the summer of 1976. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who are members of national teams that have worked for years to design four of the craft's experiments, will help analyze data to be collected about physical and chemical properties of Mars, its seismic activity, and the existence of life on the planet. Soil samples from the planet's surface will be scooped up by an arm of the Viking craft for organic molecular analysis. The samples will be heated twice—first, to 200°C to drive out the smaller molecules and then to 500°C to break down larger molecules to simpler compounds. These products will be analyzed by a miniature combination GC-MS, and the raw data transmitted to a computer on Earth by the orbiting section of the Mars craft. Complete analysis of the data should reveal the smaller molecules detected, as well as the original molecules from which the fragments were derived. Klaus Biemann of MIT's Department of Chemistry, head of the ninemember molecular analysis team, would like to know which compounds and how much of each is present, and hopefully how each was produced. "In particular, could the compounds eventually evolve into living organisms? Or were they produced by living organisms, and now merely fossil remains?" In the search for living organisms, soil samples will be exposed to radioactively labeled carbon gases and substances which could be used as food. Analysis of the sample should
reveal whether labeled carbon had been incorporated into any living system small enough to be scooped into the lander. In another chamber, the soil samples will be moistened with water. By the continuous monitoring for the changing composition of six gases, the presence or absence of metabolism can be determined. According to Alexander Rich of MIT's Department of Biology, "The first concern of the biology team is to determine if chemical evolution on Mars has evolved to the point where chemical systems are complex enough to be called living. If such systems are found, then it will be just as important to determine their biochemical and structural characteristics." Much closer, both in time and distance, 65 projects ranging from the study of the ionosphere to analysis of cores drilled from the rock beneath ponds that defy freezing will be conducted during the 1973-74 U.S. Antarctic Research Program of the National Science Foundation. In spite of its remoteness, scientific investigations in the Antarctic have global implications in terms of climate variations and pollution studies. Since the continent is far from the sources of pollution, it plays an important role in monitoring global contamination and atmospheric composition. A new South Pole Station is being established as one of the six "clean-air" Geophysical Monitoring Observatories where long-term measurements are made of atmospheric particles and other factors that influence climate. Studies to be done include monitoring carbon dioxide to determine the annual rate of increase of this gas because of fossil fuels combustion and ozone measurements to study short-term variations in climate. While these esoteric (and necessary) experiments are being conducted in remote places, everyday mundane (and necessary) experimentation, as well as short reports such as this one, continues. A. A. Husovsky
The ISCO Model UA-5 absorbance monitor gives you the high sensitivity, stability, and response speed required for high speed, high pressure chromatography —plus the wide absorbance ranges and specialized flow cells required for conventional chromatography, density gradient fractionation, electrofocusing, and gel scanning. Stationary cuvettes allow recording of enzyme and other reactions. High sensitivity. 8 full scale absorbance ranges from .01 to 2.0A, plus %T. 13 wavelengths include 254 and 280nm supplied in the basic instrument; 310nm, 340nm, and 9 other wavelengths to 660nm are available at low cost. Options include a built-in 10cm recorder, a Peak Separator to automatically deposit different absorbance peaks into different tubes, and a multiplexerexpander which allows monitoring of two separate columns or one column at any two wavelengths. Automatic 4X scale expansion prevents oversized peaks from going off scale. The current ISCO catalog describes the Model UA-5 as well as ISCO fraction collectors, metering and gradient pumps, and additional instruments for chromatography and other scientific research. Your copy is waiting.
ISCO
ISCO
BOX 5347 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68505 PHONE (402) 434-0231 TELEX 48-6453 CIRCLE 9 7 O N READER SERVICE CARD
A N A L Y T I C A L CHEMISTRY, VOL. 45, NO. 13, NOVEMBER
1973
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