ES&T PRECIS
PITTCON '94: WHAT'S
D
espite one of the worst winters in Chicago's history, more than 30,000 exhibitors a n d conferees t r u d g e d into t h e windy city in February for PITTCON (the Pittsburgh Conference), the giant exhibition of new scientific instrumentation and software. This year's new instruments for the environmental market continue the trend toward devices that operate with minimal training, are optimized for specific applications, simplify sample preparation, and generate analyses faster. Many of these advances rely on new, easier-to-use software (most operating through Microsoft's Window's) that also handles quality assurance, information management, and client-server networks. Back to the elements One example of this trend toward friendlier and faster operation is a fully automated atomic absorption spectrometer from Varian (San Fernado, CA). According to the manufacturer, the SpectrAA-600 series handles up to 999 samples, analyzes for up to 20 elements, and allows true random access sampling. With the addition of Varian's graphite furnace, the system can complete two replicate analyses by graphite furnace three times faster than conventional systems. A 486 PC handles the instrument's operation and data manipulation. Significantly, Varian has chosen OS/2, which handles multitasking better than DOS, as the PC operating system. This allows sophisticated users to perform other tasks while analyses are under way. Last year at PITTCON, induePrécis articles are reports of meetings of unusual significance, international or national developments of environmental importance, significant public policy developments, and related items. 234 A
tively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques for inorganic analysis took center stage in many b o o t h s . Hewlett-Packard (HP, Palo Alto, CA) waited a year and introduced in Chicago what it claims to be the world's first benchtop ICP-mass spectrometer (MS). According to the manufacturer, the HP 4500 can detect many elements in the partsper-trillion range or lower. Moreover, a newly designed interface eliminates many polyatomic interfaces, allowing parts-per-trillion determinations of K, Ca, and Fe. To achieve this size reduction, HP 4500 uses a unique optics system that places the MS quadrupole and detector off-axis, and a compact 3.0 MHz solid-state quadrupole radio-frequency (RF) generator. The system's software automatically sets parameters such as RF power and gas flow, as well as tunes the instrument. Perkin-Elmer (PE, Norwalk, CT) introduced an updated version of its Optima 3000 ICP system with an optical emission spectrometer. According to PE, the Optima 3000 XL can analyze 22 of the 23 elements in EPA's Contract Laboratory Program at much lower detection limits and increased sample throughput. Not to be outdone, Finnigan MAT (San Jose, CA) announced a highresolution ICP/Glow Discharge-MS. ELEMENT boasts a double-focusing magnetic sector mass analyzer that the manufacturer says is uniquely designed for ICP work. A host of accessories, from autosampler to ultrasonic nebulizer, allows this instrument to handle a variety of solid or liquid samples. Cleaner air Although EPA is still struggling to set rules for the 1990 Clean Air Act, the a n a l y t i c a l c o m m u n i t y has geared up for this market. PACE (Horsham, PA) showed off its 710 CEM System for continuous moni-
Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 28, No. 5, 1994
BY
ALAN
NEWMAN
toring at stationary sources for up to 10 volatile organic c o m p o u n d s (VOCs) at one time. The system relies on gas chromatographs (GC) to measure the organics (EPA Method 18) and a flame ionization detector for total hydrocarbon concentration (EPA Method 25A). Speed is the heart of three new Micro GCs from MTI Analytical Instrument (Fremont, CA). MTI says that these instruments can analyze CI to C13 in 160 s, screen ppb levels of VOCs in water or soil in < 100 s, and detect fixed gases in as little as 15 s. The systems are portable, small, and can be run from a notebook PC. For dedicated analysis, Tekran, Inc. (Toronto, Canada) displayed its transportable (25 kg) mercury vapor analyzer for continuous air monitoring. Tekran claims that the Model 2537 A detects mercury in ambient air to as little as 0.2 ng/m 3 . The unit relies on amalgamation of the mercury on a Au substrate, followed by thermal desorption every 5 min, and detection via cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry. The United States is not alone in trying to retool its military industries. The British company EnviroSystems Limited (Higher Hillgate Stockport, Chesire, UK) took advantage of R&D by the British Ministry of Defence and the University of Manchester to launch its first product at PITTCON. The UVIC 750 is a lightweight (3.5 kg), portable gas and vapor monitor that can trigger an alarm at contamination levels from less than 20 ppb to 2000 ppm. A "second generation" photoionization detector responds to many organic contaminants as well as H 2 S and NH3. Analyzing water For dedicated measurements of inorganic, organic, and total nitrogen in water, Dohrmann (Santa Clara, CA) introduced its DN-190. The unit uses high-temperature
0013-936X/94/0927-234A$04.50/0 © 1994 American Chemical Society
The manufacturer reports that the TRIUMpH 1100 series can keep tabs on up to four electrodes by RF, stores and prints out data, and pro vides an option that automatically calibrates the pH electrode.
combustion to convert all bound ni trogen to NO, and uses wet chemis try to convert N 0 2 and N0 3 ~ to NO. Detection is by chemiluminescence and organic nitrogen determined from the difference of two. Results fall in the range of zero to 300 ppm. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) con tinues to be a thriving market for 3M (St. Paul, MN), which bills the tech nique as a quicker and cheaper al ternative to liquid-liquid extrac tions for selectively t r a p p i n g analytes from water. This year 3M introduced two new SPE discs: Empore Anion Exchange-SR for polar compounds and EPA Method 625 analytes, and Empore Anion Ex change-SR, which is accepted for EPA Method 552.1 for haloacetic acids. PE's new Flow Injection Mercury System is dedicated to trace mer cury analysis in water. A highenergy mercury source and longpath absorption cell p r o v i d e detections limits to as little as 0.01 pg/L. Analysis time is 30 s per de termination.
Another dedicated instrument from Horiba Instruments (Kyoto, Ja pan and Irvine, CA) measures petro leum hydrocarbons in water or ex tracted from soil using EPA Method 418.1. The OMCA-220 uses nondispersive infrared set to wavelengths in the range of 3.4 to 3.5 μηι to de tect oil at ppm concentrations. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) in struments have been widely ac cepted in many pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories for sepa rating small samples of proteins and DNA fragments, but so far this tech nique has made few in-roads into the e n v i r o n m e n t a l community. Seeking to create a market for CE, Dionex (Sunnyvale, CA) demon strated its CES I system for separat ing inorganic and low molecular weight organic acid ions in water. At the other end of the spectrum, pH determinations are time-hon ored environmental measurements. ATI Orion (Boston, MA) has pushed this technology by developing the first wireless pH system for labora tories trying to free up bench space.
MS and then some For mass spectrometrists, one of the most exciting developments was Varian's Saturn 4D MS/MS op tion for its benchtop GC/MS sys tems. The heart of this option is a software advance incorporated into the "Wave-Board," which manipu lates fragment ions as function of time. As a result, Varian can pro duce an MS/MS spectrum using only a single ion trap chamber. This eliminates the multiple chambers required in tandem transmission quadrupole and sector MS/MS in struments and drives the cost down to less than $100,000. Traditionally, MS/MS instruments have provided higher sensitivities and better spec ificity for target analytes in complex mixtures. Keeping with the advantages of MS/MS, PE Sciex introduced a liq uid chromatograph (LC) MS/MS with a choice of an electrospray or heat nebulizer-atmospheric pres sure chemical ionization interface. The API IIIPlus contains a dynamic gas collision cell that, according to the manufacturer, dramatically in creases sensitivity and mass resolu tion. To handle the data, PE Nelson has updated its Turbochrom software, a Windows-based chromatography workstation. V4 Turbochrom works with both GC and HPLC and allows users to work simultaneously with up to eight instruments from differ ent vendors. Finnigan MAT also showed off its newest MS instruments; the TSQ 7000, a triple-stage quadrupole MS, and the SSQ 7000, a single-stage quadrupole MS upgradable to a tri ple stage. Both instruments have at mospheric pressure ionization in lets and boast research-grade performance. The single-stage in strument detects up to mass 2500, whereas the triple-stage reaches 4000. Both instruments can be at tached to either GC or LC systems. On March 5-10, 1995, PITTCON marches into New Orleans. The city is a favorite with PITTCON confer ees, and new records will likely be set for numbers of exhibitors. Alan Newman is associate editor on the Washington staff of ES&T. Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 28, No. 5, 1994 235 A
