Jordi Labs, LLC

The QTOF‐GCMS instrument combines well established gas phase chromatography techniques with the excellent mass accuracy of the quadrupole time‐of‐flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer. This technique excels in the identification of semi-volatile species through the application of a temperature ramp, chromatographic separation, mass selective detection and fragmentation in electron impact (EI) or chemical ionization (CI) modes. Typical mass resolution of a quadrupole mass spectrometer is 1 Da (mass accuracy in the 0.2‐3% range), while the QTOF mass spectrometer typically exhibits mass accuracy in the 1‐5 ppm range. An increase in sample sensitivity and decrease in background signal can be achieved through the application of ion specific Extracted Ion Chromatograms. Combine QTOF-GCMS and QTOF-LCMS to turn UNKNOWNS into KNOWNS and most definitively identify organic sample composition.

• Highly accurate mass assignments
• Structural elucidation
• Quantitation at Low ppb levels
• High quality MS/MS spectra
• Trace component detection

Determine the composition of a wide variety of materials with excellent sensitivity

This technique combines a highly sensitive mass spectrometric detector (percent level to parts per trillion (ppt) range) with an inductively coupled plasma source. ICP-MS can analyze elements from Li to U excepting C, N, O, Cl, Br, I and S, with optimal detection range from 0.1 ppm to 1% wt, and sample size as small as 0.01 g. Sample can be introduced into the ICP-MS as a liquid or as a vaporized solid. Small amounts of sample material can be dissolved in solution or larger samples can be digested for bulk characterization. ICP-MS serves as an excellent semi-quantitative and quantitative instrument; it can also be used to determine the ration of two or more isotopes. A range of interference removal techniques are available to meet your analyses needs. Isotope dilution experiments can also be performed by ICP-MS too, which is often used to certify standard reference materials.

ICP-MS determines trace and ultra-trace amounts of deleterious elements

• Broad applications including inorganic leachable studies
• Capable of analyzing a wide range of samples, including polymer, rock, food, sea water, biological and pharmaceutical samples
• Measure samples containing up to 25% total dissolved solids (TDS)
• Delivers up to 11 orders of magnitude dynamic range from sub-ppt to percent-level concentrations
• Capable of providing >109cps/ppm sensitivity at <2% CeO
• 10,000 separate measurements per second
• Increased sensitivity and improved matrix tolerance
• Polyatomic ion interference removal using hydrogen and helium mode
• Inert sample introduction system for low level Si and precious metal analysis

Quite possibly the best way to identify polar unknowns is Quadrupole Time of Flight Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (QTOF-LCMS). QTOF-LCMS excels in the identification of ionizable species with high mass accuracy. This technique can identify exact masses to 4 decimal places, along with elemental compositions and atom connectivity with the addition of MS Fragmentation. Turn UNKNOWNS into KNOWNS with this groundbreaking technique!

• Superior unknown identification
• Structural elucidation
• Quantitation at Low ppb levels
• Identify polar polymer additives
• Trace component detection

High Temperature Triple Detection Gel Permeation Chromatography

Absolute molecular weight of your polyolefin!

GPC-HT allows for absolute molecular weight determination of polyolefins (polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.). Analysis of Ultra-High Weight (UHP) polymers is achievable. In GPC-HT, polymers are separated by size on a GPC column. This is followed by light-scattering (LS) detection for absolute molecular weight determination and viscometery detection for determination of intrinsic viscometry, polymer shape and radius of hydration (Rh). The use of an LS detector renders calibration standards unnecessary as the measurement is based on the way the sample scatters light and not the retention time at which the molecule elutes as compared to standards.

With standardized High Temperature GPC (GPC-H), linear polystyrene calibration standards are typically used. While GPC-H allows for comparisons of samples in terms of their molecular weights, the hydrodynamic volume of the standards must be the same as that of the samples or the molecular weight obtained is a relative and not an absolute molecular weight. Additionally, with GPC-H, if a polyolefin is branched its molecular size will be reduced compared with a linear analog and therefore its molecular weight value will be underestimated. GPC-HT does not have these limitations – the molecular weight distribution of the polymer of interest is directly measured with the light scattering detectors and is therefore an absolute measure of molecular weight. Branching can be examined through comparison of the calculated molecular weight and the viscosity signal.

As with GPC-H, in GPC-HT, the polymer of interest is fully dissolved in a solvent with subsequent size-based chromatographic separation on a GPC column. Mn, Mw, Mz, PDI, intrinsic viscosity (IV) and radius of hydration (Rh) are calculated. The three detectors in GPC-T are Refractive Index (RI), Intrinsic Viscosity (IV), and light scattering (Low Angle Light Scattering (LALS) and Right Angle Light Scattering (RALS)). Using the Mark–Houwink equation and IV data, branching characteristics of a polymer can be obtained.

Trust your GPC-HT analysis to the industry's most dependable and experienced GPC-HT laboratory!

• Absolute Molecular Weight information for polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene)
• Determination of Mn, Mw, Mz and PDI
• Degree of branching information with Mark–Houwink plot

Gel Permeation Chromatography Standardized

GPC, also known as Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC), is the most direct method for determining the molecular weight distribution of a sample. This technique is fundamental in analytical testing as the molecular weight of a material is directly related to its physical properties and industrial grade. During Standardized GPC, sample components are dissolved in a suitable solvent, chromatographically separated based on molecular size, detected using a Refractive Index detector and compared to standards of known molecular weight. The most important aspect of a successful GPC analysis is the achievement of a purely size-based separation. The correct mobile phase and column stationary phase must be chosen to decrease the potential for column-sample interaction and retention. Jordi Labs' 100% divinylbenzene (DVB) resin is functionalized to reduce the aforementioned chemical interactions through mechanisms such as charge-charge repulsion. Thirty years ago, Jordi Labs was founded on the characterization technique of GPC and we have continued to expand our capabilities ever since. Jordi Labs now offers GPC analysis in practically all solvents at room temperature due to our extremely rugged and long-lasting DVB columns.

Trust your GPC analysis to the industry's most dependable and experienced GPC laboratory!

• Determination of Mn, Mw, Mz and PDI
• Degradation/Failure Analysis
• Quality Control Analysis
• Regulatory Polymer Exemption (determination of Weight Fraction below 500 and 1000 Daltons)
• Development of a material-specific method followed by formal validation
• Quantitation of Polymeric and Oligomeric components

For precision quantitation of polar compounds!

Looking for a versatile technique for quantitation of non-volatile compounds? Look no further than HPLC. With the vast array of commercially available columns, derivatization reagents and mobile phases, HPLC can be employed for the separation and quantitative analysis of a wide range of analytes. Reproducibility of results is also unparalleled compared to other methods, providing you with the highest precision in quantitation. Detection methods available include ultraviolet (UV), diode array (DAD), evaporative light scattering (ELSD), refractive index (RI) and fluorescence. Jordi Labs also specializes in method development of especially complex sample matrices and systems. Let us help you quantify your components of interest.

• Separation and purification of a wide range of analytes
• Precision quantitation of non-volatile compounds
• Versatile methodology to allow for specialized method development

2d Chromatography

How can 2-Dimensional (2D) chromatography help solve challenging HPLC separations and quantitation?

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has been an indispensible tool for analytical chemists for more than 40 years. It has helped with the separation and quantitation of trace level organic compounds in countless complex matrices due to various separation mechanisms (reverse phase and normal phase for example), numerous detector options (ELSD, RI, UV, Corona CAD) and others.

We’ve known HPLC to be used with a single column in most applications. But what about using two columns – with very different stationary phases?

Enter 2D HPLC: A way to dramatically increase separating power by injecting the effluent (or a part of the effluent) from one column onto a second column. In most cases, the second column will have complementary separation behavior.

There are two basic ways to perform 2D HPLC: Comprehensive 2D HPLC (or LCxLC) and Heart-cutting 2D HPLC (or LC-LC)

With LCxLC, the complete eluent of the first column is injected onto the second column. The peaks are reconstructed in a 2D manner as the following:

LC1 = separation of first HPLC column

LC2 = separation of second HPLC column

Baseline resolution of the broad, third LC1 peak is achieved with the LC2 column.

With LC-LC, a specific peak (or retention time range) from the first HPLC column is selected for a secondary separation on LC2. Compared with LCxLC, it is possible to achieve greater separation for a specific peak as the LC2 column can be selected to maximize separation efficiency for a specific peak in LC1 (e.g., a longer column).

Okay…what’s so great about 2D HPLC?

Firstly, 2D HPLC can be a “go to” method to eliminate time-consuming and costly sample preparation steps. This can be extremely valuable for a chemist when faced with the extremely difficult task of quantitation of trace level organic compounds in a complex matrix.

2D HPLC can also be used to monitor small changes in complex mixtures. This is accomplished by evaluating 2D maps of samples.

Overall, 2D HPLC can be a fully automated process and method development is greatly expedited with powerful software.

Using diffraction grating, ICP-OES separates the light emitted from the plasma into its discrete component wavelength. This system is an optical system with a range of 165-800 nm which can be viewed and measured. Each element is detected by their own distinct set of emission wavelengths.

Boasting a similar elemental range to ICP-MS, ICP-OES is ideally suited for single element analysis, and provides greater accuracy at high concentrations than ICP-MS for single elemental detection, while still detecting ppm levels of single elements.

• High accuracy elemental concentration
• Cost-effective
• Excellent Quality control method

Elucidate Surface Topography and Composition of Very Small Features Down to 10 nm
SEM is a type of electron microscopy that generates an image of a solid specimen by scanning it with a focused beam of high-energy electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing signals that contain information about the sample's morphology, chemical composition and crystalline structure. The number of backscattered electrons (BSE) reaching a BSE detector is proportional to the mean atomic number of the sample. Thus, a "brighter" BSE intensity correlates with greater atomic number in the sample. BSE images provide high-resolution compositional maps of a sample and quickly allow the distinguishing of different phases. Elemental composition can be determined with the addition of an Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS).

Using SEM techniques, areas ranging from millimeters to nanometers in width can be imaged in a scanning mode, with high lateral resolution, broad magnification range, and large depth of field. Depending on the nature of the sample analyzed, SEM can analyze a sample non-destructively allowing for the analysis of a single material by multiple techniques.

SEM is widely used in characterizations of solid materials:

• Generate high-resolution images of objects
• Show chemical composition
• Identify phases in multiphase samples
• Secondary electron and backscattered electron images

Bringing Material and Life Science to the Atomic Scale

TEM is a type of electron microscopy that uses a beam of high energy electrons transmitted through a very thin sample.

TEM is a powerful tool for exploring the micro- and nano-scale world. It can provide information on materials from the micron scale down to the atomic scale. The possibility for high magnifications has made TEM a valuable tool in physical, biological, and materials research. It can provide information not only about size, morphology and crystallographic information, but also about elemental and chemical composition of particles, by applying various added techniques and accessories, such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). TEM is especially useful for characterization of the morphology of nanoparticles as light microscopy does not have sufficient magnification to image at the nanometer size scale.

TEM is an impressive instrument with a number of advantages such as:

• Offers the most powerful magnification and resolution among microscopy techniques
• Provides information on surface features, shape, size, element, and compound structure
• Wide applications in biological, physical, and material science
• Morphology of Nanoparticles
• High quality, detailed images

Easy and quick approach to observe thermal transitions!

DSC is the most common thermal analysis technique. Jordi offers the latest in DSC technology including both standard and modulated DSC analysis. With regular DSC testing, the differences in the amount of energy required to increase the sample temperature provide insight into the material structure. Parameters which are accessible by DSC include the melt point, glass transition, crystallinity and extent of curing.

• Shows both chemistry and molecular order of material’s structure
• Determine the thermal transitions of polymeric materials
• Study the stability to oxidation of materials, and the degree of purity in materials

Thermal Gravimetric Analysis

Analyze Thermal Decomposition and Determine Inorganic Filler Content!

Thermal transitions in a substance are often accompanied by a change in mass. Thermogravimetric Analysis or TGA is an effective way of measuring these mass changes. During TGA, the sample is heated in a furnace purged with an inert atmosphere while being simultaneously weighed on a scale. This allows the determination of the temperatures at which a material undergoes thermal decomposition as well as the weight percent of the decomposed material. Thermal stability can also be determined by measuring weight loss as a function of time at a constant temperature. Inorganic and carbon black content can be measured by switching the purge gas to air. Evolved gas analysis can be performed in conjunction with TGA using a mass spectrometer. This provides a means of identifying the decomposition products associated with each weight loss in the TGA trace.

Thermogravimetric Analysis is Ideal for the Characterization of Materials by Thermal Decomposition!

• Characterize materials by comparing decomposition patterns
• Measure carbon black and inorganic content
• Evaluate the thermal stability of materials
• Study the resistance of metal alloys to oxidation

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), also known as Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Anaylsis (DMTA) is a technique that is widely used to characterize a material’s properties as a function of temperature, time, frequency, stress, atmosphere or a combination of these parameters. When performing DMA analysis, an oscillatory force at a set frequency is applied to the sample and the changes in stiffness and damping of the material is reported, these are reported as modulus and tan delta. DMA is most useful for studying the viscoelastic behavior of polymers. There are two major kinds of test modes which can be used to probe this behavior: temperature sweep and frequency sweep tests.

DMA is a versatile technique that complements the information provided by the more traditional thermal analysis techniques!

• DMA ties molecular structure, product properties and processing conditions together
• Probe the viscoelastic properties of polymers by temperature sweep and frequency sweep tests
• Polymer composition
• Measuring glass transition temperature
• Presence of Crosslinks
• Branching

Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) or Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS) or Quasi-eleastic Light Scattering (QELS)
Determining the Full Particle Size Distribution!
DLS is used to characterize the size of various particles including proteins, polymers, micelles, carbohydrates, and nanoparticles. This method utilizes the effect of Brownian motion to calculate the hydrodynamic radius of a molecule in solution where its hydrodynamic size depends on the mass of the material and its conformation. This method determines particle size based on the scattering of light for particles in the sub-micron to low nanometer range. DLS which measures at a fixed angle can determine the mean particle size in a limited size range, while multi-angle DLS can determine the full particle size distribution. This method is preferred as compared to Laser Light Scattering when analyzing materials in the nanometer size range.
DLS is ideal for directly measuring the full particle size distribution!

• Simple or no sample preparation, measures the material in the native state including high concentration and turbid samples
• Measures particle sizes down to 1 nm diameter
• Identifies small amounts of aggregation in protein or polymer samples (<0.01% by weight)
• Quick particle size analysis

Mercury Porosimetry is capable of measuring pores from 900 µm to 3 nm!
Mercury intrusion/extrusion is based on forcing mercury (a non-wetting liquid) into a porous structure under tightly controlled pressures. Since mercury does not wet most substances and will not spontaneously penetrate pores by capillary action, it must be forced into the voids of the sample by applying external pressure. The pressure required to fill the voids is inversely proportional to the size of the pores. Only a small amount of force or pressure is required to fill large voids, whereas much greater pressure is required to fill voids of very small pores.

Mercury porosimetry can be performed on a wide variety of materials including rocks, refractory materials, resins, pigments, carbons, catalysts, textiles, leather, adsorbents, pharmaceuticals, membranes, filters, ceramics, papers, fuel cell components, and many other porous materials.
This technique can provide calculated results including total pore volume, total pore area, median pore diameter, bulk density, skeletal density, and percent porosity.

• Mercury intrusion analysis- pore size range 360 µm to 3 nm
• Mercury intrusion and extrusion analysis (pore size range 360 µm to 3 nm)
• High-resolution macropore analysis (pore size range 900 µm to 4 µm)

The sample is dissolved in a suitable solvent. The volume of water is then determined by titration using Karl Fischer reagent.

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