Whether you drink a beer from a major manufacturer, the local brewer down the street, or even brew the beer yourself, knowing the ethanol content of that beer is an important piece of information. Up until 1995 the alcohol content wasn’t allowed to be on beer labels at all until the Coors Brewing Company successfully…
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Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, is a term given to organic compounds that become a gas at ambient temperatures and pressures. These VOCs are monitored because many are hazardous to human health, with several being a carcinogen. The source of these VOCs are industrial processes, vehicle emissions, and even natural sources such as forest fires.…
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Continuing on from last week with the gummy bear sample preparations, I decided to take a look at the different things in that gummy bear. The gummy bear in question is a multivitamin that contains a multitude of different vitamins, so I decided to first focus on Vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid. Preparing the sample…
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With gummy candies becoming more common as a matrix for things like cannabinoids and multivitamins, it’s important to have a simple, fast, and repeatable sample preparation in order to obtain reliable values for analytes of interest in these gummies. I started with a multivitamin fiber gummy, and I thought to myself, how do I get…
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Last week I set out to test the myth that there was cocaine on US currency, specifically dollar bills. After testing several dollar bills, I came up empty handed on any of the bills testing positive for cocaine, other than the bill that I purposely spiked with cocaine. Speaking with colleagues, I learned that I…
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I decided to put a long standing rumor to rest that I heard when I was in middle school, and everyone I know believes. That rumor is that all US dollars have trace amounts of cocaine on them. To test this I went around and collected dollar bills from various stores in the area. These…
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Like most people, when the new year comes around I always make a resolution to eat healthy and lose some weight. This year I decided to cut back on the amount of sugar I eat on a daily basis. Sugar is a major additive in foods and beverages. The American Heart Association recommends that…
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Nicotine in vaping e-liquid sample in methanol System Parameters Lucidity GC-FID Conditions Carrier Hydrogen Control Pressure Flow 2.0 mL/min Split ratio 10:1 Column MXT-5 30 m x 0.25 mm, 0.25 um Injector 250 ℃ FID 250 ℃ Oven Program Rate Temperature Hold Time 35 ℃ 0 min 11 ℃/min 250 ℃ 4.0 min For…
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The Analysis of Nicotine in Vape Refilling Solutions By: Lucidity The electronic cigarette industry has really taken off within the past two decades. The first commercially successful e-cigarette was created in 2003 by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, as an alternative to conventional smoking. These devices come in nicotine or nicotine free options.…
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It was a wonderful day at my friend’s house. After several years, they were finally going to welcome a baby into the world. They were excited but also nervous about the new responsibilities they had. They asked me about something they had read in a book about not giving spinach to their child and why…
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