Centri
A breakthrough in sample automation and concentration for GC–MS.
Centri is the first platform to offer high-sensitivity unattended sampling and pre‑concentration of VOCs and SVOCs in liquid, solid and gaseous samples.
Centri combines market-leading robotics and analyte-trapping technologies to offer enhanced throughput and performance for HiSorb™ high-capacity sorptive extraction, headspace, SPME and thermal desorption.
Centri is ideal for environmental, food, fragrance and clinical laboratories who:
• Struggle with time-consuming manual sample preparation such as liquid–liquid extraction and SPE, and want to replace these with automated high-capacity sorptive extraction, thermal desorption, headspace or SPME techniques.
• Need improved sensitivity for the analysis of organic species in solids or liquids.
• Want to run many different GC–MS analyses on one platform, using various injection techniques and workflows.
Product benefits
Improve performance – Achieve ppt-level sensitivity for VOCs and SVOCs by cryogen-free analyte trapping, delivering a sharp, concentrated band of vapour to the GC and optimising sensitivity for trace-level analytes
Improve versatility – Analyse VOCs and SVOCs over a wide concentration range in liquid, solid and gaseous samples.
Improve sample throughput – Benefit from Centri’s ability to run integrated sequences of multiple sampling techniques and run in ‘overlap’ mode, for unattended operation all weekend. Optimisation of focusing conditions allows interferences such as water and ethanol to be purged to vent before analysis, thus dramatically improving both analytical performance and long-term system stability.
Peace of mind – Future-proof your lab with a wide range of sampling options. A sophisticated combination of dual, mass-flow-controlled split points and adjustable sampling volumes allows Centri to handle samples ranging in concentration from ppt to percent level.
A key characteristic of Centri is the use of multi-bed, sorbent-packed focusing traps and re-collection tubes. The type of sorbent materials used and the backflush desorption of tubes and traps allow a wide analyte range – from VOCs to SVOCs – to be analysed in a single run.
Features
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Sample modes:
-HiSorb™ high-capacity sorptive extraction – Robust, fully automated probe-based immersive or headspace sampling from liquids and solids.
-Headspace and Headspace–trap – Versatile sampling from solids and liquids contained in regular headspace vials.
-SPME and SPME–trap – Fast and sensitive sample extraction, with a range of fibre types offering analyte selectivity.
-Thermal desorption – Using industry-standard tubes to analyse VOCs and SVOCs in air, or released from materials.
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Cryogen-free analyte trapping increases sensitivity and allows water and solvents to selectively be purged. Detecting minor compounds in foods and drinks can be difficult due to the presence of high-abundance interferents such as ethanol or other solvents. Centri tackles this through the ability to selectively be purged such components from the focusing trap prior to injection into the GC–MS, without affecting other analytes of interest. Elimination of water vapour from environmental samples can performed in a similar way, resulting in higher sensitivity and repeatability, improved peak shape, and extended column and detector lifetime.
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Re-collection of split flows, available with every injection mode, avoids having to repeat lengthy sample extraction procedures, and enables storage and re-analysis at a future date. Repeat analysis of re-collected samples provides enhanced data confidence, without having to repeat lengthy sample preparation steps. Re-analysing a previously acquired sample under different split conditions can also used to be greatly extend the dynamic range, allowing automated, quantitative analysis of both trace and high-level components in the same sample.
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Market-leading robotics and 50-tube TD autosampler reliably automate all operations. From sample preparation to GC injection, Centri uses leading robotics technology to automate every aspect of sample preparation, extraction and pre-concentration. The 50-tube TD module of Centri allows the split portion of any pre‑concentrated sample (acquired using TD, HiSorb, HS–trap or SPME–trap) to be archived automatically in stable sorbent-packed tubes for further tests.
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Barcode readers and RFID TubeTAGs allow samples to easily tracked, for a complete chain of custody from the original sample to the re-collected aliquot. For laboratories working under strict data-quality procedures, Centri also offers two options to keep track of your samples at every point in the analytical process:
1.Compatibility with Markes’ TubeTAG™ technology for error‑free tracking of sorbent tubes. A key advantage of TubeTAG is that it allows samples re-collected from HiSorb, HS–trap, SPME–trap or TD to fully traced in subsequent repeat runs, without the need to scan each tube.
2.Barcode readers for headspace vials and tubes allow all samples to be tracked through the system.
3.Centri’s software retains full control of all these operations, and guarantees full traceability for sample preparation, injection, reporting, and sample storage for subsequent re-analysis.
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Cryogen-free and solvent-free operation reduces cost per sample and is more environmentally friendly than conventional tedious manual sample preparation techniques.
