Thermal Desorption Systems - Count on our expertise!

Thermal desorption has become a well established sample introduction technique for gas chromatography in order to determine volatile or semi-volatile organic compounds in air or gaseous samples and in solids.



In case of gaseous samples the organic compounds to be analyzed will be collected on suitable adsorbent materials prior to analysis, whereas solid samples can be analysed directly by means of thermal desorption.



Principle of Operation
The organic compounds are set free by rapidly heating the sample tube and are focussed subsequently in a cryo trap. After sample is introduced the analysis run will start automatically. Additional efforts for sample preparation, such as eluting the analytes using carbon bisulfide or other solvents, will no longer be required. Thus thermal desorption simplifies and speeds up a wide range of gas chromatography applications.



Maintaining sample integrity
Sample tubes used on AMA Thermal Desorbers are locked absolutely gastight using a septum in each sealing cap. Both septa will be punctured just before sample introduction. Thus any sample loss or contamination will be avoided. For this reason AMA Thermal Desorption Systems are ideally suited for trace level analysis or examination of critical samples.



Efficient peak separation
For high-resolution chromatography rapid release of the analytes during thermal desorption becomes essential. For this reason AMA Thermal Desorbers utilize metallic sample tube sleeves and focussing capillaries, which will be contacted directly and rapidly heated up using extremely high currents. Thus the sample tube sleeves and focussing capillaries serve as the heating element.
This results in unsurpassed heat transfer and heating-up rates during sample introduction, providing uncompromised peak separation efficiency.



Versatility for a wide range of applications
On AMA Thermal Desorbers all temperatures for flushing, desorption and focussing are freely programmable. This allows selective sample introduction.
In addition various focussing traps for retention of organic compounds with different boiling ranges are available and can be exchanged easily. Thus AMA Thermal Desorption Systems are unmatched in versatility and can be used for a wide range of steadily changing applications.



Challenging demanding applications
Both humidity and oxygen are automatically removed by a flushing cycle prior to thermal desorption of the sample. This preserves the analytical column, avoids any freezing of the focussing capillary and above all prevents the decomposition of sensitive compounds while heating up the sample. Additionally the short, heated narrow-bore line without any valve installed in the flow-path allows even easily decomposable or sticky and high boiling organic compounds to be transferred and avoids any sample loss or carryover. Especially for highly demanding applications therefore AMA Thermal Desorbers are always the first choice.