The Inter-Institutional Analytical Unit

The services offered by the analytical unit include the development of analytical methods, as well as the analysis and interpretation of results. These services will satisfy a wide spectrum of research needs, such as:”

• Identification and quantification of a wide variety of biologically-significant compounds, such as natural products, including toxins, metabolites and pharmaceutical raw materials.
• Identification and quantification of micro-pollutants (pesticides, organic solvents, PPCPs, etc.), from different media such as: water, soil, wastes, foodstuffs and plant materials.
• Separation and concentration of target substances using preparative chromatography.
• Quantitative determination of ions in aqueous samples.
• Spectroscopic analysis (FTIR, UV/Vis, Fluorescence) for identifying and characterizing the structure of raw materials, products, and contaminants.
• Measurement of nanoparticle size in various solvents, as well as zeta potential and average molecular weight of polymers and proteins.
• Three-dimensional x-ray imaging (micro-CT scanning) of the fine structure of objects such as seeds, insects, roots and the soil aggregates.
• Elemental analysis of liquid and solid samples using ICP and N/C analyzers
• Sample preparation for specific analyses, including digestion and extraction.

The Inter-Institutional Analytical Unit is furnished with a diverse array of analytical instruments that facilitate the completion of its tasks. Provided below is a list of the equipment accessible within the unit:

Chromatography

LC-MS/MS – ABSciex QTRAP 4500 LC-MS/MS is a hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap system uniquely allowing both qualitative and quantitative analyses to be carried out in a single experiment. The system is combined with Shimadzu prominence high-speed HPLC.

GC-MS – Agilent 7890A gas chromatograph with Agilent 5977A quadrupole mass spectrum detector. The system is supported by the MassHunter Workstation software for instrument control and data analysis and the NIST 14 Library for compounds identification. The GCMS is equipped with Agilent Injector 80 that enables automated sample preparation and injection of liquid, headspace and SPME.

UHPLC-PDA/FLD/ELSD – Agilent 1290 Infinity UHPLC is a quaternary LC system that combines ultra-high pressure up to 1200 bar and high analytical flow rates up to 5 mL/min for maximum chromatographic performance. The system is equipped with three detectors: Diode Array Detector with fast spectral acquisition at data rates up to 160 Hz, Fluorescence Detector and Evaporative Light Scattering (ELS) for the detection of compounds that do not have a UV chromophore.

Preparative-HPLC – Agilent 1260 preparative HPLC includes: two preparative pumps with gradient, manual prep Injector, multi-wavelength detector, fraction collector prep scale and OpenLAB CDS ChemStation Workstation. The system offers high flow rates up to 100 mL/min and suitable for columns with internal diameters from 9.4 to 50 mm. It is used to fraction and purify milligrams to grams of compounds required for subsequent evaluation, analysis, and processes.

Ion chromatograph – Dionex ICS-1600 ion chromatograph combined with auto sampler (Dionex AS-DV) provides isocratic ion chromatography (IC) separations and quantification of ions using conductivity detection. The system and the data collection are controlled by the Chromeleon® software. This system is set up for quantification of: fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate.

Elemental Analysis

ICP – OES – The SPECTROGREEN inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer utilizes a twin-interface approach, automatically combining both axial and radial plasma views. It provides highly reliable and accurate analyses of elements, ranging from trace to higher concentrations, even in challenging matrices like certain wastewaters, soils, sludges, organic samples, high-salts, and metals. This spectrometer is ideal for routine elemental analyses in environmental and agronomy, consumer product safety, pharmaceutical, chemical/petrochemical, and food applications.

TOC/TN – The Shimadzu TOC-L and TNM-L analyzer offers five distinct measurements for liquid samples: Total Carbon (TC), Inorganic Carbon (IC), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon (NPOC) and Total Nitrogen (TN).

N, C-Soil Analyzer – The Elementar Soli TOC Cube provides authentic temperature ramping in an oxygenated atmosphere up to 900 °C for the analysis of Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Residual Organic carbon (ROC), Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) and Total Carbon (TC) in solids (e.g., soils, plants), meeting DIN 19539 standards. Furthermore, it enables simultaneous Total Nitrogen (TN) determination with ECD.

Spectroscopy

FTIR-ATR – Nicolet iS5 FTIR with monolithic diamond ATR crystal that covers the spectral range 7500-400 cm^-1. The system is operated by the Omnic software with a library of 8000 spectra (in high resolution) and it provides high-quality spectral data in seconds without requiring sample preparation.

Fluorometer – PerkinElmer FL 8500 Fluorescence Spectrometer” supports Fluorescence, Phosphorescence, Chemiluminescence, Bioluminescence, and Time-Resolved Phosphorescence measurements.

Spectrometer – Persee T8DCS a high-performance double-beam scanning UV-Vis spectrophotometer that covers a wavelength range from 190 to 900 nm.

Particle Size Analyzer

Malvern, Zetasizer Nano ZS DLS is a high performance two angle particle and molecular size analyzer for the enhanced detection of aggregates and measurement of small or dilute samples using dynamic light scattering (DLS). It is used for the measurement of: nanoparticles size (4×10^-3 – 10 µm), zeta potential of colloids and nanoparticles over a wide range of pH and molecular weight (1×10³ – 2×10⁷ Da).

Micro-CT Scanner

Bruker Skyscan 1172 (high resolution desktop micro-CT) systems for 3-dimensional non-destructive X-ray imaging of an object’s internal microstructure. The system is equipped with a fully distortion corrected 11 Mp X-ray camera that enables down to 0.5 µm isotropic detail detectability and up to 8000×8000 pixels in every slice. The maximum object size that the system can handle is 50 mm in diameter (offset scan). This scanner is typically used in imaging: small animals, insects, seeds, roots, soil aggregates, minerals, foods, microfossils, and in other studies for which minute detail is desired.

Dr. Ahmed Nasser (Head of the unit)

Email: nasser@volcani.agri.gov.il

Office: 03-9683306

Mobile: 050-6220306

Samara Mohamed

Email: mohamed@volcani.agri.gov.il

Office: 03-9683043

Mobile: 054-3475016

Sheer Menarbi

Email: sheer@volcani.agri.gov.il

Office: 03-9683043

Mobile: 054-7571845