Reference Standards App Notes

Storing and Handling Volatile Residual Solvent Gases in Secondary Containers

The presence of highly flammable hydrocarbons, such as propane and butane, within cannabis concentrates pose a significant safety concern to the end consumer. Laboratory testing of highly volatile gases is complicated by many factors, with the stability and storage of analytical reference standards posing a significant issue. Improper storage of these highly volatile compounds can lead to significant loss of analyte and difficulty in acquiring accuratequantification.The general guidelines in this application note can help extend the shelf life of volatile standards. The exact shelf life of the standards will vary based on usage and should be verified by a lab prior to use.

Evaluating Shikimic Acid as an Analyte Protectant for Pesticides in Food

While using matrix-matched calibration standards can mitigate matrix effects and increase reporting accuracy, this approach is time-consuming, labor intensive, and sometimes limited by the availability of suitable blank matrix. The use of analyte protectants (AP) in gas chromatography is an intriguing alternative because it is much simpler in practice and can allow good results to be achieved with solvent-based calibration standards [1]. Analyte protectants, such as the sugar derivative shikimic acid, work by binding strongly to active sites in the inlet, which effectively blocks these sites from interacting with target compounds. This prevents analyte loss, improves transfer to the column, minimizes degradation in peak shape and response, and can potentially improve accuracy and reliability for low-level analysis.Since using matrix-matched calibration standards is not feasible in all...