Latest News from Markes.com

Markes technical presentations at PittCon 2010

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:29:55 GMT

Markes International will be presenting five (5) formal technical posters at PittCon 2010 in Orlando in March (copies available on request following the show):

Latest advances in thermal desorption technology - tube and sample data trackingv (M. Bates) (2775-11P)
Testing chemical emissions from products and materials in a routine QC environment (E. Woolfenden) (2400-7P)
Online, cryogen-free monitoring of trace-level, ultra-volatile fluorinated compounds with high global warming potential (N. Watson) (2400-1P)
Analysis of residual solvents in drugs using Headspace-Thermal Desorption (HS-TD) technology (N. Watson) (650-19P)
Complementary techniques used for enhancing GC/MS analysis of flavour and fragrance components in consumer beverages (N. Watson) (980-5P)

Markes International thermal desorption systems and accessories also will feature in several posters by ALMSCO International (a division of Markes). These will be displayed in the "Application Gallery" on the ALMSCO booth (1806/1807):

Air toxics: Analysis of urban air by TD-GC/TOF MS (UNITY 2-Air Server)
Chemical emissions from construction products: Target compound location using TargetView™ (Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor & UNITY 2)
Beer: Flavour profiling with BenchTOF-dx™ (SPE-td sorptive extraction cartidges™ & UNITY 2)
Food analysis using TargetView software for trace compound identification (Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor & UNITY 2)
Airborne explosives: Rapid & sensitive identification with the BenchTOF-dx time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TT24-7)
Consumer beverages: Sample preparation and analysis (HS5-TD™ headspace-thermal desorption, SPE-td sorptive extraction cartridges and UNITY 2)

Markes to Showcase Leading Thermal Desorption Technology at PITTCON 2010

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:52:20 GMT

Specialist analytical thermal desorption instrumentation manufacturer Markes International Ltd announces that it will demonstrate its market-leading systems for thermal desorption (TD) at PITTCON 2010. The new TD-100™ is the latest in a line of innovative and technologically advanced thermal desorption systems from the company. It will be showcased alongside the latest higher temperature and larger capacity Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor™. PITTCON 2010 is, being held in Orlando, Feb 29th to March 5th and Markes’ booth is #1806/1807.

Markes new TD-100 system is a universal analytical thermal desorption platform for up to 100 RFID-tagged or untagged tubes. Harnessing the field-proven and leading edge TD technology for which the company is renowned, TD-100 incorporates sample re-collection for repeat analysis, cryogen-free operation for reduced running costs, tag read/write capability for enhanced tube/sample tracking and compatibility with the widest possible range of TD applications.

The TD-100 will appeal to high-throughput laboratories involved in air monitoring (ambient, indoor or workplace), testing chemical emission levels from products (e.g. for compliance with construction products regulations or REACH), flavor & fragrance profiling, fugitive emissions testing, quality control of residual solvents, CW agent detection and forensic analysis. Both vapor-phase and material samples (solids, liquids, resins, emulsions) can be accommodated and compatible target analytes include ultra-lights, semi-volatiles and reactive species; at trace or high level concentrations.

The latest Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor (μ-CTE) technology is also expected to attract a lot of attention. Recent regulatory developments, primarily impacting construction product sectors, require chemical emissions from products to be screened as part of routine quality control. Markes’ Micro-Chamber technology provides service labs and manufacturing industry with a fast and cost-effective tool for screening chemical emissions in compliance with new regulations. The latest unit complements Markes’ range of chemical emissions monitoring technology and allows four samples (each up to 100 ml volume) to be evaluated simultaneously at temperatures up to 250°C. Bulk or surface-only emissions of VOC and SVOC, including key phthalate plasticisers, can be sampled from a whole variety of materials including construction products, semiconductor/PC components, car trim, carpets, paints, textiles and children’s toys. The μ-CTE is usually used in combination with sorbent tubes and offline TD-GC/MS. Additionally, Markes’ Micro-Chamber units are compatible with DNPH cartridges for formaldehyde emissions screening by HPLC.

“Markes International is the world leader in TD technology and innovation, manufacturing and supplying cryogen-free TD instrumentation, sampling accessories and consumables for VOC and SVOC monitoring,” comments Elizabeth Woolfenden, director at Markes International. “Our global customer base includes major industry, government agencies, academia and the service laboratory sector and we look forward to highlighting the power of modern analytical thermal desorption technology at PITTCON 2010.”

The Markes International booth #1806/1807 will also feature an innovative applications gallery, showcasing the breadth of areas that benefit from the company’s unique technology portfolio. The gallery will highlight Markes’ solutions for a wide range of fields including materials emissions, environmental analysis, defence and food, flavour and fragrance.

Markes presents at HTC-11, Belgium

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:42:44 GMT

11th International Symposium on Hyphenated Techniques in Chromatography and Hyphenated Chromatographic Analyzers (HTC-11).

Bruges, Belgium (January 27-29, 2010)

Four posters will be presented at the HTC-11 conference in Belgium which utilize Markes technology for the analysis of consumer beverages, residual solvents in drugs and explosives. A fifth poster will be presented detailing the advances in RFID tagging technology applied to thermal desorption.

Poster titles are:

Thermal desorption-GC/TOF MS analysis of airborne explosives using molecular imprinted polymers (MIPS) for selective adsorption
TargetView™: An advanced, automated software package for the efficient detection of trace target analytes within complex GC/MS data
Analysis of residual solvents in drugs using Headspace- Thermal Desorption (HS-TD) technology
Complementary techniques used for enhancing GC/MS analysis of flavour and fragrance components in consumer beverages
Latest advances in thermal desorption technology
tube and sample data tracking

Please contact Markes for poster reprints

Product launch | New Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor™

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:03:53 GMT

Specialist analytical thermal desorption instrumentation manufacturer Markes International Ltd. has announced the launch of a new higher temperature and larger capacity version of its popular Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor™ (μ-CTE™) for the measurement of (semi-) volatile organic compounds (SVOC) such as formaldehyde from materials.

The innovative new Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor will enable the manufacturing industry to achieve in-house product testing to assist compliance with new legislation such as REACH, CARB and EC Construction Products Directive/Regulation.

“The Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractors are effective small scale devices for the quality control of formaldehyde and (S)VOC emissions from a whole host of products and materials” said Elizabeth Woolfenden, Director, Markes International. “They allow companies to screen products for chemical emission levels in-house and with fast turn around in a way that complements more lengthy reference tests by third party laboratories. This has proved to be a very popular approach with users of the existing Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor.”

The new instrument complements the Markes range of chemical emissions monitoring technology and allows four samples (each up to 114 ml volume) to be evaluated simultaneously at temperatures up to 250°C. Bulk or surface-only emissions of (S)VOC, including key phthalate plasticisers, can be sampled from a whole variety of materials including construction products, semi-conductor/PC components, car trim, carpets, paints, textiles and children’s toys. The μ-CTE is usually used in combination with sorbent tubes and offline thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS. Additionally, Markes μ-CTE units are compatible with DNPH cartridges for formaldehyde emissions screening by HPLC.

New legislation such as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), Californian green chemistry initiatives (AB 1879 & the CARB formaldehyde rule) and the EC Construction Products Directive/Regulation is driving industry to monitor the release of (S)VOC from its products. These new regulations require products and materials to be sent to independent test laboratories for certification of chemical release and additional quality control of chemical emissions. However, QC of chemical release from materials requires much faster and lower cost tests than the three- and 28-day reference methods used for product certification; the Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractors are particularly useful for in-house QC/screening of chemical emissions levels.

Further information on the Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extractor

Product launch | New thermal desorption unit | TD-100™

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:07:16 GMT

Specialist analytical thermal desorption instrumentation manufacturer Markes International Ltd has announced the launch of its new thermal desorption (TD) instrument for gas chromatography (GC).

The new TD-100 thermal desorption system is the latest in a line of innovative and technologically advanced thermal desorption systems from the company. The system is based on the established and reliable thermal desorption technology for which Markes is renowned. The TD-100 incorporates sample re-collection for repeat analysis, electrical cooling to lower running costs and maintain instrument "up time" and is compatible with all TD-compatible compound types (VOC, SVOC and reactive species; high concentration right down to trace level samples).

A low-cost, fully automated instrument, the TD-100 couples to any make of GC or GC/MS and complies with standard methods. It is a high capacity instrument capable of the sequential analysis of up to 100 sorbent tubes, which is perfect for high-throughput laboratories and offers reliable and unattended operation for extended periods of time. To make sample and tube tracking hassle-free and to eliminate the chance of errors, the TD-100 includes RFID sample sorbent tube tracking technology (TubeTAG) as standard.

The TD-100 has been designed for the sampling and analysis of trace toxic and odorous chemicals (VOC and SVOC) in air/gas and materials. Relevant application areas include materials emissions testing (for example, compliance with construction products regulations or REACH), environmental/indoor air monitoring, workplace air monitoring, food, flavour and fragrance profiling, civil defence and forensics .

Markes International is pleased to announce its participation in The Second Generation Locator for Urban Search and Rescue Operations (SGL for USaR).

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:55:47 GMT

Markes International is pleased to announce its participation in The Second Generation Locator for Urban Search and Rescue Operations (SGL for USaR).

This EU funded project involves contribution from 21 partners across Europe to advance effective and reliable locations of casualties following disasters. Markes will contribute expertise in the identification of VOCs, which can act as markers for the presence of trapped casualties in and under ruins, and the location and differentiation of deceased casualties.

Futher details can be found on the SGL website, here

TDTS87: A cryogen-free method for monitoring trace greenhouse gases in air

Fri, 01 May 2009 15:54:31 GMT

In response to the Kyoto Protocol, ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ (CDM) regulations are being enacted in a number of countries to facilitate and control greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trading. Many of the new regulations require the monitoring of bulk greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane and some require additional consideration of other lower level and more analytically challenging compounds. Examples of this include proposed amendments to the European Emission Trading Scheme Directive 2003/87/EC1 and Australia’s recent government white paper on a low pollution future.

The full technical/application note available for download here.

Chemical Warfare Agents and use of Thermal Desorption-GC-MS to achieve improved trace-level detection (T. Murphy, G. Roberts & G. Davies)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:49:19 GMT

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) (1993) outlawed chemical warfare agent (CWA) use and specified that destruction of agent stockpiles should advance within set deadlines. Ongoing CWA-related research projects (for example, civil defense, agent destruction, and protection) require monitoring of airborne CWA concentrations at the lowest possible level and with accurate identification. The use of handheld devices in these situations is compromised by their lack of sensitivity and their tendency to give false positives. Thermal desorption (TD), combined with GC–MS, is the only technique offering sufficient sensitivity and specificity for identifying and measuring trace CWAs. This article discusses the analysis of a wide range of CWAs at current exposure limits and describes a number of recent beneficial developments in TD and associated analytical technologies for the identification and quantification of CWAs at these levels.

This article has been published in LC-GC's Spectroscopy supplement on Homeland Security. The article can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/d36377

Markes International picks up two prestigious business awards

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:48:49 GMT

For the second year in succession Markes International Ltd. (Llantrisant, UK) has been awarded two highly prestigious awards: 'International Business of the Year', and 'Company of the Year' by the Rhondda Cynon Taf Business Club.

Markes beat strong competition to win the coveted awards. The 'International Business of the Year' award is given to the company showing outstanding performance in building a commercially successful and sustainable international business. The 'Company of the Year' award recognises outstanding performance made by a company in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area.

Markes director, Alun Cole, received the awards from TV actress and celebrity, Ruth Jones (BBC TV’s Gavin & Stacey), and BBC TV news anchorman, Jamie Owen.

Press release can be downloaded here

Markes at Global Security Asia, Singapore (Booth #822)

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:47:28 GMT

Markes International will be exhibiting at GSA 2009, International Exhibition and Conference on Homeland Security, 17-19 March, 200 9