Reliable Sample Preparation for Neonatal Screening

Genevac reports on how its hydrochloric acid (HCl) resistant EZ-2 evaporator offers significant benefits to clinical labs tasked with analysing plasma, blood or urine samples for neonatal disorders.

In new born infants, tandem Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) is a widely used analytical technique to identify metabolic neonatal disorders which include aminoacidemia’s, urea cycle disorders, organic acidurias, and fatty acid oxidation disease.

Sample preparation techniques widely used in neonatal screening include solvent extraction, acid derivatisation and evaporation prior to reconstitution in a suitable medium for injection into the LC/MS/MS system. Evaporation of the butanol / HCl solvent mixture, commonly used for derivatisation, using blowdown techniques creates acid vapours which often results in corrosion of the system especially the pins/needles/jets which can lead to contamination of samples and erroneous results. Additionally, acid vapours evolved may damage other nearby equipment and fume extraction systems.

Extensive testing demonstrates that using a HCl resistant EZ-2 evaporator for these sample preparation stages not only eliminates the corrosion problem that can lead to sample contamination / erroneous results but also can significantly increase productivity.

The HCl resistant EZ-2 evaporator has been designed specifically for solvent removal in life science and clinical research, be that concentration of samples, or complete drying. Key elements of the system are engineered in Hastelloy® glass or PTFE, to provide full protection against strong acids including HCl and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Genevac's long experience in vacuum engineering has resulted in the creation of a compact sample concentrator combining great performance, ease of use and compatibility with all commonly used solvents and many acids. At the heart of the evaporator are a robust, solvent resistant, oil free pump and the high efficiency, defrost-free SpeedTrap, which traps all solvents as liquids. To enable users to achieve excellent results every time there is no need for special training - just load, set and walk away. Once the samples are dry, or the concentration end point is reached, the run stops automatically. The high capacity rotor design of the HCl resistant EZ-2 evaporator accommodates flasks, tubes, vials, reaction blocks, microplates and SampleGenie.