#MASS FINDER CHEMISTRY INTRUMENT HOW TO#

At our science center, researchers use these instruments to learn about microplastics in marine environments, sea birds, sea turtles, fish, and dolphins. There’s a reason for that: It is a very useful instrument for identifying different compounds in a substance. If you have ever watched any movies or television shows about police investigations, you have probably heard the words mass spectrometer. The two images show two generations of gas chromatography mass spectrometers used to identify microplastics found in the marine environment.

#MASS FINDER CHEMISTRY INTRUMENT HOW TO#

Top right, one of our chemists showing how to change a gas chromatographic column. Whether relying on proven century old techniques or using modern computerized technology, these extractors are definitely two Cool Science Instruments. A more modern instrument, seen on the right side of the panel, uses heat and pressure to extract organic contaminants in fish tissues and gets the job done in less time. Unfortunately, this process can take many hours. Rather than a single Soxhlet extractor, they now use multiple extractors to process more samples at once. Scientists still use the same technique, albeit with a more complex apparatus. They are used to extract compounds from a solid sample. They are named for Franz von Soxhlet, the German agricultural chemist who invented the first one. The instruments that our scientists use to separate contaminants from fish tissues are becoming more advanced as time goes on, but some of them still have roots in the past.

Soxhlet extraction device and an accelerated solvent extraction system used to extract chemical contaminants in fish tissues. This instrument is a faster, newer generation of liquid chromatography and is used for removing lipids (fats) and other interfering compounds from the extracts of fish tissues containing organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, called PCBs for short. The chromatography can separate a substance into its various chemical components by forcing the sample through an absorbent material under pressure. These values tell the scientists what elements are present. The spectrometer can measure the chemical makeup of a substance by comparing these wavelengths to a known library of values. Different atoms absorb and give off different wavelengths of light when they are excited. On the right, a chemist is injecting fish extract into the instrument to remove lipids and other interfering substances from organic contaminants like PCBs.Įver wonder how scientists can identify what chemical components are present in a substance? Well, our scientists investigate the presence and quantities of harmful chemicals in samples of fish and other marine organisms using Cool Science Instruments such as the atomic absorption spectrometer and the high performance liquid chromatograph.

Atomic absorption spectrometry instrument and a high performance liquid chromatograph instrument from the 2000s.

Mass finder chemistry intrument