Deanna Bissonnette
Deanna is an Application Chemist at Biotage. She became a part of Biotage in October 2018. Her current role involves quality control testing the media that arrives for the production of Atlantic® Disks and Atlantic® ReadyDisks. Deanna tests the disks and other products that Biotage sells in order to ensure the quality of the products for customers. Deanna supports the marketing team as well as the application group with application notes. Deanna is a graduate from Saint Anselm College where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Forensic Science. She is very interested in the Analytical Chemistry side of her college education, so this position, as an application chemist, is a great place for her to start her career.
In the world of environmental testing, we all know that contamination happens. It can be frustrating trying to locate where it is coming from when you are also trying to keep up with the samples that continue to come through the door.
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I know we all like to eat food not only because we need it to survive, but also because it is supposed to taste good! Any pets or livestock we have, of course, also need food to survive.
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If you are working in the food and agriculture industry, then you are very familiar with the fact that if you need to process a solid sample, you need to make sure that the sample is homogenized. There are a couple of different techniques that you can consider, but which technique is best for the sample you are working with?
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We all know that we need to make sure that we have consistency and accuracy in our data. Determining and understanding the roots of user error is the easy part, but how to minimize or eliminate user error can be difficult. A critical point in the sample prep workflow comes when we move samples from processing to evaporation. This transfer step is where most accidents usually happen, be it mixing up of samples, mislabeling of collection vessels, or even dropping the sample, all of these scenarios are detrimental to analyses providing inaccurate results or no results at all.
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When you are extracting SVOCs from aqueous samples and analyzing via Gas Chromatography (GC), every step within a solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure is imperative, but one of the most important steps that must be done properly is the air-dry step post sample loading.
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When I first saw EPA Method 549.2 only had two compounds, I said to myself: “WOW! That’s a breeze! Only two compounds to worry about, so it can’t be that difficult to extract!” Seeing as I was used to the methods with 100+ compounds to worry about, naturally, I would believe this at first glance. However, I was severely mistaken…these two compounds are far from easy to recover from a water sample. To be successful with EPA Method 549.2, you need to make sure you have the right chemistries taking place in order to recover these compounds well or even at all.
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In the world of environmental testing, many labs encounter extremely dirty samples. For example, EPA Method 1664B is the protocol for extracting oil and grease from wastewater samples. More often than not, these types of samples are really dirty, requiring loads of pre-filters, glass wool, and filter aid in order to get the entire liter of water through the disk. Well, there is!
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I am willing to bet there have been a few people reading this that early in their careers have had a moment of “what does that mean” when learning new procedures and or methods. You are about to learn mine. When I was onboarding and learning new standard operating procedures and methods one really stood out and still does to this day. It was when I was first exposed to EPA method 1664B. It stated right in the introduction it is a performance-based method. I thought to myself what does a performance-based method consist of and how do all labs qualify to run it?
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Ever wonder if you need to perform quality control (QC) on solvents and solid phase extraction (SPE) consumables? Well, the answer is yes! You want to make sure that your disks and solvents are good to go before running real-life samples and risk losing that sample. Not only that, but QC samples also help to identify any background in your lab's extraction procedures.
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Happy World Water Day!! I know I love water, so as some take the time to cherish their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, why not take World Water Day to cherish and appreciate our freshwater?! I challenge you to use significantly less water on March 22, than you use on a regular basis. Some examples include: turning off the water while you brush your teeth or wash your face; taking a two minute shower; making sure the washing machine is full before doing a partial load; collecting the water in the sink to soak other dishes while washing dishes; and so much more!
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