It is of great benefit to concentrate samples prior to analysis to help accurately determine levels of sample or analyte in a given sample.  The use of SampleGenie technology also helps eliminate handling of samples by concentrating the sample directly into a small vial.  This, and the automation offered by every Genevac system helps users to deliver uniform results every time – increasing productivity in environmental analysis and other analytical laboratories.  Clearly this is better than watching paint (or solvent) dry!

The challenge was put to Genevac by several users to develop a method which enables samples to be concentrated to less than 2ml without loosing any volatile analytes.  Working with several laboratories, Genevac has developed a concentration method which will successfully concentrate samples, even volatile ones.  This method was pioneered at ARPAT:

1. Samples are collected in a volatile solvent
2. A drop of up to 1ml of a less volatile solvent is added
3. By using appropriate software on Genevac EZ-2 the more volatile solvent only is removed, leaving the sample in the drop of less volatile solvent

When evaluated, the results were very good, and highly uniform.  Full details can be found in the following technical papers:

• Analysis for pesticides: Method development to increase the recovery of volatile compounds by using EZ-2, a new generation of centrifugal evaporator
  Environmental Protection Agency of Tuscany (ARPAT), Florence,  Italy       
• Evaluation of the EZ-2 for Pesticide Analysis
  Laboratoire départemental d'analyses de la Drôme, Valence, France 
• Evaluation of SampleGenie™ for Environmental Analysis
  Leochimica Laboratories, Zoppola, Italy
• Evaluation of the Rocket & SampleGenie for Pesticide Analysis
  Laboratoire départemental d'analyses de la Drôme, Valence, France 
• Improving Analysis of Airborne PAHs
  ITGA, St-Etienne, France

Further work has been done on the application of a miVac to analytical testing by the Australian Sports Drug Testing Laboratory, although in this case they needed to dry the samples completely  - please click here to see their paper.  Another paper of interest covers the development of a novel method to detect diclofenac residues in wildlife species, this was done by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK and transferred to laboratories in Africa to help with conservation.  Please click here to review their paper.