ability to provide quality service to the rapidly growing client base.

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1 Lab Weighing Analytical and solutions Analysis in the Laboratory laboratory 9 News Edition 02/2011 Preserving the Quality of Table Olives GLOBAL OLIVE, based in Seville, Spain, is an advanced services company within the table olive sector. Maintaining top service quality, while simultaneously keeping up with customer demands, is their primary goal. The solution to this challenge is sample automation. Meeting higher demands Since its creation, GLOBAL OLIVE has implemented new processes in the table olive preparation industry in order to improve competitiveness and product quality. As a result of its quality and innovation policy, the GLOBAL OLIVE customer portfolio has experienced continual growth in both Spain and other core production countries. The increasing number of samples to be analyzed has been a limiting factor for both the incorporation of new customers and for meeting the demands of higher production customers. Challenges and solutions Chemical analyses are traditionally carried out manually or semi-automated, which is only suitable for smaller numbers of samples and has limited the company s ability to provide quality service to the rapidly growing client base. The table olive preparation industry also struggles to provide services at the competitive rates necessary to confront the constant pressure of labour and environmental costs and to cope with increasing global market demands. The analysis of four typical variables in each brine sample (ph, free acidity, combined- acidity and chloride concentration), the corresponding report drafting, sample coding and cleaning of all equipment used takes an experienced professional around 80 minutes. Therefore, adjusting times for 60 samples takes a process time of 22 hours (in other

2 Titration words; two full days plus six hours for a total of 54 hours real time). This, in addition to growth prospects, led GLOBAL OLIVE to study ways of optimizing its processes with the aim of increasing analysis capacity without affecting customer service quality. After evaluating the various market options, the company decided to incorporate an instrument designed to automate analysis tasks. METTLER TOLEDO s T90 Titrator was chosen as the best match to the variables studied for providing great accuracy while dealing simply with a higher number of samples analyzed per cycle. The T90 Titrator can analyze up to 440 samples per cycle without technical analyst intervention and automatically generate reports that analyze and store all results. The system uses an automatic volumetric method for the analyses of samples over the four specific variables (ph, free acidity, combined acidity and chloride concentration). Additionally, the acquisition of the T90 Titrator has generated technological analyses innovation within the table olive sector by providing the company with a significant technological leap positioning them as a market sector leader. The future is automated The incorporation of the METTLER TOLEDO T90 Titrator has achieved a substantial reduction in process time, sample coding and reporting results. This has resulted in a total analysis time reduction of 75% - 90% in some process phases. This improved technology has automated almost the entire analysis, therefore minimizing result tabulation, data analysis and data issue phases. This, in turn, has improved sample traceability and process standardization. As a result of these implemented improvements and simplified processes, GLOBAL OLIVE is now certified according to the ISO 9001 standard. For GLOBAL OLIVE customers, the incorporation of this new equipment has increased process speed and efficiency with the issue of results, raising service quality and maintaining competitive costs. Text: Lilia Lorente, Sales Representative, Spain Publisher Mettler-Toledo AG Laboratory Division Im Langacher CH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland Production Segment Marketing LAB Global MarCom Switzerland Subject to technical changes. Mettler-Toledo AG 08/11 Printed in Switzerland. 2

3 Detecting Micro Changes in the Weight of Seed Samples Precise weight determination is often used in order to determine the impact of a treatment on a biological or chemical system. Weight change, due to the treatment, may be just a few micrograms meaning that the gravimetrical system used must be highly accurate and reliable if such small variations are to be significantly detected. This example shows how an XP6 Micro Balance from METTLER TOLEDO can be crucial to the detection of such small weight changes. XP6 Micro Balance Beyond weighing To minimize the effects of surrounding conditions, weighing is carried out in a temperature and humidity stable environment. After acclimatizing the different samples, an Excellence Plus XP6 Micro Balance determines the weight variation of each sample. Typical results indicate a difference of 6 to 7 µg in the average weight of individual seeds, with a measurement uncertainty of 0.8 µg. This detection of the difference in weight quantifies the difference in individual plant treatments. The XP6 Micro Balance provides the weighing performance required to detect such small sample changes. Furthermore, its stability and ease-of-use allow less experienced microbalance users to quickly achieve impressive and reliable results. Minute sample weighing Dr. Célia Baroux, from the Institute of Plant Biology, based in Zurich, investigates the change in seed weights from differently treated plants. The challenge is that the seeds weigh between 15 and 50 µg and the change in weight is typically only a few micrograms. Analytical balances are unsuitable as the measurement uncertainty of around 7 to 10 µg is too great in comparison to the seed weight. The tiny size of the seeds makes them very difficult to handle and, as a natural sample, they can also react in an unpredictable manner to external factors, such as temperature or humidity changes. Text: Walter Krebs, Senior Product Manager Excellence Balances 3

4 Density Determination Measure Sticky Samples Precisely With Heated Automation Units The density, is commonly used to characterize petroleum products. Many petroleum products are highly viscous or solid at room temperature and therefore difficult to measure. The heated SC1H and SC30H automation units, in combination with the LiquiPhysics Excellence density meters, not only allow such determinations to be automated but also ensure measurement result reproducibility. Challenges in measurement More density determinations are probably performed in the petroleum oil industry than in any other industry. Hydrometers, along with digital density meters, are still used in many petrochemical laboratories in order to determine density. The reason for this is almost always the same: many samples are highly viscous or even solid at room temperature. Such samples are usually heated first to liquefy them and keep them warm enough to measure. The measured density values are converted to a reference temperature of 15 C or 60 F using official API temperature compensation tables. Hot samples can usually only be injected into the measuring cell of a digital density meter using protective gloves. As a rule, the sample is heated together with a glass syringe and the hot syringe is filled with the sample. The measuring cell is then filled using the syringe. One must be extremely careful not to inject too much sample as it will otherwise solidify at the cell outlet. For these reasons, it often seems easier to heat a larger amount of sample in an oil bath and to then determine the density manually using a hydrometer. However, density determinations of dark and viscous samples using hydrometers often yield poorly reproducible results. The reason for this are: Accurate thermo stating of the samples is not possible. Evaporation of volatile components cannot be avoided (open vessel). It is difficult to read the result because the hydrometer scale is often smeared with dark samples. The results (density at the reference temperature) must be determined from tables using linear interpolation. 4

5 LiquiPhysics Excellence Density and Refractometry System Improved accuracy With the LiquiPhysics Excellence density meters and the heated SC1H and SC30H automations units, METTLER TOLEDO offers ideal systems for petrochemical laboratories needing to perform accurate density determinations of highly viscous samples or even samples that are solid at room temperature. These systems allow the determinations to be performed automatically. The main advantages are: Hot samples are directly filled into vials. Hot syringes do not have to be handled. During measurement, samples are always in a heated environment and the measuring cell is filled automatically. Sample solidification at the cell outlet can safely be ruled out. The measurement cell is cleaned automatically after each measurement. Cleaning requires only small amounts of solvents and operators are not exposed to toxic solvents. Measured values are automatically converted to the desired reference temperatures according to ASTM D Even measurements of sample series can be completely automated with the SC30H sample changer. The systems are electrically heated. An external thermostat is not required. The new LiquiPhysics Excellence DM40 and DM45 density meters offer all the features necessary for hassle free density determinations at different temperatures. Text: Christian Iserland, Manager Business Area Density and Refractometry 5

6 Balance Routine Testing Gain Accuracy and Save Money in Balance Testing METTLER TOLEDO has launched a new service offering designed to improve manufacturing quality while lowering quality control. GWP Verification guarantees better weighing results, lowers equipment-testing expenses and enhances final product consistency through a systematic, expert assessment and benchmarking of balance performance. Accurate balance testing is key GWP Verification helps to ensure peace of mind. Many companies do not know whether their weighing instruments meet day-to-day accuracy requirements and either test balances and scales too often or not often enough. Quality suffers and balances repeatedly fail appraisals. Testing costs skyrocket as operators struggle to make improvements in the absence of reliable data and guidance. With GWP Verification, however, weighing results become more accurate. Using a fit gap analysis, METTLER TOLEDO experts measure a manufacturer s balance performance and compare it with the accuracy requirements. Experts then review current quality management efforts and balance testing regimens. By assessing current performance versus ideal operating standards, GWP Verification helps to discover whether a customer's current tests and testing schedule can ensure accuracy. If accuracy cannot be achieved consistently, METTLER TOLEDO metrology experts make recommendations that establish helpful weight classes, saferange nominal values and effective testing frequencies. With the right test weights and test types, testing of a manufacturer s balances is optimized to deliver the highest quality results consistently. CarePacs to lower costs METTLER TOLEDO CarePacs are one strategy used to lower ongoing maintenance costs. With CarePacs, companies only need to purchase the actual weights required for routine testing instead of more expensive sets with CarePacs. Cost savings become apparent as soon as weights come up for recalibration, and proven METTLER TOLEDO testing SOPs enhance employee productivity. Text: Dimitri Burkhard, Product Manager Service For more on how benchmarking quality management systems improves performance using GWP Verification, visit: Audit-proof documentation of weighing performance is neatly presented in a comprehensive binder. For information on reducing balance maintenance costs using CarePacs, visit: 6

7 Fast and Reliable Sample Preparation With Automated Dosing The pressure is on to achieve more with less. With the reduction of Out-of-Specification (OoS) results being one more issue to deal with, how can today s chemical companies make ends meet? Bringing automation into the laboratory The answer is to automate the tedious, repetitive laboratory processes in order to generate better results and, therefore, free up precious time for chemists and analysts so that they can concentrate on higher value tasks. Weighing remains a manual activity in many laboratories leaving the improvement of safety, speed and saving unresolved. The trend of recent years has shown that automated analysis systems are getting faster, safer and more precise. With the advent of faster analytical methods, such as UHPLC, plus rapid data processing software developments, attention is once again focusing on sample preparation as the bottleneck in the process. Reducing Out of Specification Results (OoS) Groups from method development, stability testing, formulation and quality control all identify the manual preparation of samples and standards as the most time consuming and error prone part of their process. The preparation of a solution is very time consuming and challenging. Imprecise sample preparations lead to OoS results, which can literally bring lab production to a halt, as any ongoing work must stop until the error source is discovered. The impact upon production environments is catastrophic but what if we could remove the main error contributor, i.e. sample preparation, from this expensive equation? The three main error sources leading to OoS are imprecise powder weighing, incorrect volumetric flask use and incorrect documentation. Thanks to the introduction of Gravimetric Liquid Weighing, Quantos now solves all three problems. A new way to weigh The new QLB liquid dispensing module now makes it possible to prepare each final concentration for calibration/analysis directly into HPLC injectable vials. The QLB doses the correct amount of liquid gravimetrically and is, therefore, more precise and safer than volumetric dosing. Errors that can occur during manual solid dispenses can even be corrected with the instrument using only the minimum amount of solvent and powder substances necessary. Gravimetric dosing eliminates the larger and more error prone steps, including the tedious volume solution preparation and dilution. Implementing automated powder and liquid dosing into the sample preparation workflow introduces massive gains in speed, safety and savings. The amount of time and money spent on Out-of-Specification investigations and inconclusive results can be significantly reduced by eliminating weighing and sample preparation errors. Text: Jérôme Salichon, Product & Market Manager 7

8 One Click Operation Simplify Your Daily Routines With One Click Many lab instruments require multiple steps to get an analysis or other processes started. This can be a true hassle especially for routine operations, but also makes it hard to use instruments for infrequent users. Therefore METTLER TOLEDO has worked with its broad user base to develop One Click operation: All your routine tasks are executed at the press of One Click! See how it works Karl Fischer Titrator The home screen of the instrument shows all the key tasks of a certain user If a key is pressed, the complete routine is started. No further confirmations and configurations are needed: Just One Click. All the common routines of a user can be a One Click operation e.g. measurement, calibration routines, data evaluation, cleaning procedures etc. The home button on the instrument brings the user always to the home screen, nobody can get lost in the user interface Refractometer 8

9 Analytical Balance Excellence Titrator Density Meter Melting Point One common operation interface across all key Lab instruments Most of the METTLER TOLEDO instruments share the same One Click user interface. This means e.g. that once you know using a titrator it s very easy to use a density meter or melting point instrument as well. Key benefits of One Click operation: Easier and faster execution of tasks Each user sees only the functions/actions he needs Routine users e.g. in production only see what they need and are not confused by unneeded functionality Operation mistakes are avoided SOP are automatically followed Less training is needed See One Click in action in this short video: 9

10 Product News Semi-Micro Sensors for Life Science Applications Semi-micro sensors are easy to use when measuring small samples. They are ideal for test tubes and small containers. Only a low sample volume is required, which is particularly practical when the sample is precious and rare. InLab Micro Pro Temperature corrected ph This sensor has a shaft diameter of 5 mm and an integrated temperature sensor which supports automatic temperature compensation. Ideal for measurements in PCR tubes and microwell plates. InLab Redox Micro Easy oxidation-reduction potential The time-tested Ingold sensor determines oxidation reduction potential reliably and easily. InLab 752-6mm Versatile semi-micro conductivity With a measuring range of 1 μs/cm to 200 ms/cm, this sensor is ideal for direct measurement in test tubes or micro titrations. 10

11 New Electronic Pipette Extends Application Range For pharma/biotech labs, Rainin s new E4 XLS sets the standard for comfort and productivity. Its ultraergonomic grip, extraordinary balance and large full-color screen take pipette performance to new heights. And with its precision joystick and carousellike menu structure, switching between the E4 s rich array of features and applications is fast and easy. All Rainin XLS pipettes are RFID enabled for advanced calibration and asset management. Joystick control Large color screen Expandable and upgradable Logical, linear menus and state-of-theart joystick make setting and operating the E4 XLS a breeze. The full color screen the largest of any pipette is information rich, easy to read and use. A multi-language function is available. The E4 is the world s first electronic pipette to offer upgrades and future program enhancements that you can download right to your lab. 11

12 Hints Spotlight & Tips on Promotion Comprehensive Guide for Day-to-Day Titration Practice What is the most effective way to get the best titration results? METTLER TOLEDO's Hints & Tips brochure, which forms part of the 'Good Titration Practice ', provides information on the parameters that influence the accuracy and repeatability of titration results. It also recommends correct titration practices for secure operation and to maintain quality results. Content highlights: Important aspects of general, coulometric and volumetric titration systems. Hints and Tips for daily use. Theoretical description of GTP influencing factors, e.g. types of errors, reagent handling, how to get the best titration results. To estimate titration result reliability go to: Simply sign up to receive a free hard copy of the brochure! Mettler-Toledo AG Laboratory Division Im Langacher CH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland For more information