SPME has become one of the most widely used extraction technologies for environmental, food and clinical analyses. It is well suited for automated sample preparation resulting in reduced time per sample, less sample manipulation and solvent consumption.

However, the technology remained almost unchanged with some significant drawbacks, such as the limited mechanical stability and small phase volumes of the fibres.

The PAL SPME Arrow

The PAL SPME Arrow (patent pending) is a new technology for micro-ex-traction, combining trace level sensitivity with high mechanical robustness. The PAL SPME Arrow has an outer diameter of 1.1 or 1.5mm, resulting in large sorption phase surfaces and volumes. The arrow-shaped tip allows smooth penetration of vial and injector septa. In contrast to traditional SPME fibers, the Arrow design fully protects the sorptive material, minimizing ad-verse influences and loss of analytes during transfer processes. With the PAL RTC and RSI the SPME Arrow sampling is fully automated leading to high productivity.

The figure below shows the dimension of a PAL SPME Arrow 1.5mm (a), a PAL SPME Arrow 1.1mm (b) and a SPME Fibre (c) in comparison.

Better SPME

• Adaptation of existing SPME methods is straightforward
• PAL SPME Arrow works well for headspace and immersion extraction
• With the wide selection of sorption materials a wide variety of compounds are now amenable to SPME
• The PAL SPME Arrow is an ideal field sampling device

Bigger surface, faster extraction: 2 x higher sample throughput.

More sorption phase, superior sensitivity: Up to 10 x more sensitivity – wider linear range.

Optimised geometry, greater robustness: PAL SPME Arrows last at least 2 x longer. Injector septa last at least 2 x longer. Lower running costs.