Application Notes


Click the application note titles below to read more, download PDF copies or purchase application specific tubes.

Tenax TA Tube

Tenax® TA is the most popular sorbent for thermal desorption. The registered trademark "Tenax" is held by its manufacturer Buchem B.V., and "TA" means "Trapping Agent". This sorbent was originally named Tenax GC as a sorbent for packed GC columns, and some old literature still has it that way.

Air Toxics Tube

The Tube Style 2 mentioned in EPA Method TO-17 is the default configuration of the Air Toxics Tube. From a historical point of view, its functionality combines that of EPA TO- 1 and TO-2. The tube can be used independent of canisters, or in conjunction with.

TO-17 Tube Style 1

US EPA Method TO-17: “Determination of volatile organic compounds in ambient air using active sampling onto sorbent tubes” describes a TD-GC/MS based monitoring method for VOC in ambient air at 0.5 to 25 parts per billion (ppbv) concentration levels. The method is based on multi-sorbent tubes carefully selected for the suitable target compounds, and allows some flexibility in tube design to fit individual needs.

Cold Traps

Cold trap performance is critical for modern TD-GC/MS instruments. Either working in conjunction with sorbent tubes to form a two-stage thermal desorption system, or by itself similar to the way implemented in PAMS (Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations), a cold trap needs to be replaced periodically to ensure repeatability.

NIOSH 2549 Tube

This method has been used for the characterization of environments containing mixtures of volatile organic compounds. NIOSH methods are more popular in workplace air quality monitoring, occupational safety and health, and indoor/building air evaluations.

Soil Gas Tube

Soil gas/vapor intrusion happens when VOC/SVOC in the air matrix space of soil find their pathway into a buildings, whether residential or commercial. And the measurement of soil gas exposure is an evaluation of potential impact to human health.

Soil Vapor Intrusion SVI Tube

The target compounds of SVI study often include, but are not limited to: Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH), Diesel Range Organics (DRO), Pesticides, Phthalates, and some Halogenated non-aromatics.

TO-17 Tube Style 2

The user can choose Carbosieve™ SIII or Carboxen™ 1000 for their specific analytes or sampling environment. Generally speaking, Carbosieve™ SIII is mostly hydrophobic while Carboxen™ 1000 is significantly hydrophilic.

TO-17 Tube Style 3

This tube extends the volatility range of TO-17 Tube Style 2. Choosing Carbosieve™ SIII or Carboxen™ 1000 gives the user some flexibility. This tubes has very low background suitable for trace analysis.

Universal Tube

The “Universal” Tube is named this way because it handles the widest range of volatility, and serves as a start point when people don’t know what to expect from unknown air sample.

CDS App note TO-17 

This Application Note demonstrates the analytical performance of a CDS 7550S thermal desorber coupled to a GCMS for the analysis of TO-17 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) ranging in volatility from Dichlorodifluoromethane to Naphthalene.