Twenty-five years of Southern African laboratory experience.
Guides intended to help laboratory professionals make better decisions about technique selection, method development, product specification and compliance.
Short, standalone explanations.
What is microwave digestion and how does it work?
Batch vs sequential microwave digestion: how to choose
Choosing the right acid for your matrix
What is an ultrasonic nebulizer and when do you need one?
Why do ICP torches fail — and how to make them last longer?
One-piece vs demountable ICP torches: the economic argument
Microwave ashing vs conventional muffle furnace: a comparison
What is laser ablation ICP-MS?
Why nitrogen is not the same as protein
ICH Q3D and elemental impurities: what it means for your laboratory
SANS 241 metals testing: the South African framework
PFAS regulation: what South African laboratories need to know
Regulation 588 of 2018: metals in foodstuffs under South African law
ISO/IEC 17025 and SANAS: how automated sample prep supports compliance
Choosing a microwave digestion system: batch vs sequential vs single-mode
Which digestion vessel do I need? A guide to CEM vessel types
Choosing an ICP torch: one-piece vs demountable, quartz vs alumina
When is an ultrasonic nebulizer worth it? An ROI guide
Autosampler selection: matching the system to the application
Linking to CEM's published application note library, supplemented with locally-generated content as it becomes available.
- · Digestion of PGM-bearing materials
- · EPA 3051A/3052 soil and sediment digestion
- · PFAS extraction to EPA 1633A
- · ICH Q3D elemental impurities preparation
- · Fat analysis to ISO 16756 / IDF 259
- · Wear metals in lubricating oil
Real questions, answered from what we know.
This list grows as our applications team fields more questions from South African laboratories. We'd rather leave a question off this page than guess at an answer.
It depends on the matrix. Silicate materials — rock, soil, glass, ceramic — require hydrofluoric acid to attack the silicon-oxygen framework; most organics, metals and general soils are digested with nitric acid alone or combined with hydrogen peroxide; precious metals require aqua regia (nitric plus hydrochloric acid). HF requires specific vessel materials and handling precautions.
Substantially. A hotplate digestion typically runs 2–8 hours at around 120 °C; a hot block runs 1–4 hours at around 150 °C. A closed-vessel microwave system reaches 200–260 °C and completes a batch digestion in 20–45 minutes, or around 5 minutes per sample sequentially. Volatile element retention and contamination control are also better in a sealed vessel.
Batch systems (MARS 6, MARSXpress 2.0) process all samples simultaneously under one method — the highest throughput when your samples share a similar matrix. Sequential systems (BLADE) process each sample individually under its own method at around 5 minutes per sample — the better fit for mixed-matrix, varied daily intake.
The SMART Trac II combined microwave moisture and NMR fat analysis in one instrument and has been superseded. In the current range, ORACLE covers fat analysis and SMART 6 covers moisture and solids analysis as two dedicated instruments.
Product brochures, specification sheets, Safety Data Sheets and method validation notes — available on request from our applications team as manufacturer permissions are confirmed.