Acquisition of a Dionex ICS-6000 Dual Channel HPIC System

The Globe Institute is part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The Institute’s main purpose is to address basic scientific questions through interdisciplinary approaches. The institute operates at the intersection of natural and medical sciences and the humanities.

A project funded by the Carlsberg Foundation includes the procurement of a Dionex ICS-6000 Dual Channel HPIC System that will be used for single pass, low blank chromatographic separation of metals from small meteoritic samples for subsequent isotopic analysis.

A key component of the research is the development of an ion chromatography that can separate/collect elements from small irreplaceable extraterrestrial samples. The uniqueness of each sample requires both loss-free determination of the chemical composition of each sample and minimal blank levels from reagents.

This can be achieved with a Dionex ICS-6000 Dual Channel HPIC System, which is a high pressure ion chromatography system combined with conductivity detector and fraction collector can achieve this. Critically, this system is the only instrument that allows seamless integration via the QtegraTM software with our ICP-MS (ThermoFisher iCAP) and MC-ICP-MS (ThermoFisher Nepture and Neoma) instruments that are necessary to complete our research. As such, the Dionex ICS-6000 Dual Channel HPIC System is required to optimise the workflow of our research and compatibility with other instruments in our laboratory.

The setup will include an autosampler capable of doing small — ‘microliter pickup’ as well as large volume injections providing flexibility. The combination of dual gradient pumps capable of delivering two independent, simultaneous or sequential gradient flows are a key component in limiting the amount of reagent and blank. Using the dual system, the primary use of the instrument will allow for a fully automated two-dimensional (2D) preparative ion chromatography with multiple reagents. Specifically, samples will pass a first dimension — Chelation Chromatography Column for Transition Metal isolation directly followed by a second dimension — cation exchange chromatography Column for isolation of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals via a fully metal-free flow path, including pump heads. The elemental separates will then pass via an auto-ranging conductivity detection, which will allow for the accurate detection of elemental signals from largely variable sample sizes and matrixes and ongoing quality control of the efficacy of the elemental separations, to the fraction collector for subsequent isotopic analysis.

ThermoFisher Scientific is the only provider of a high pressure ion chromatographic dual gradient pumps that are critical to minimizing the eluent volume and, thus, introduced reagent blanks to the samples. ThermoFisher Scientific also provides the largest range and innovative ion chromatography columns that can be seamlessly integrated into the planned system to optimize the system offering superb flexibility for future individual research targets. We will also be able to seamless integrate the Dionex system via the QtegraTM software with our current ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS instruments.