Please suggest the best available instruments for analysis of fish and fishery products, feed, water and soil samples analysis for QC and certification as per different Indian and international standards.
Considering a pure hardware analysis all instruments currently are pretty close, even though they have their pros and cons. In my few it is very important to assess also the support You really get in Your region. this holds both from the application labs as well as from the hardware/service support. In my region the difference is the good companies do a bit of telephone support and will usually be on site within 24 h when there is real trouble. - The bad ones will take typically take 30 days and sent out personnel that have never seen the instrument before and know less about it than the somewhat experienced user. - this does not keeping them for charging us for every hour the unknowledgable person is on site. - No names mentioned. this is a bit difficult to put in a tender but in reality very important.
it may boil down to the how much money you can have and the good is your vendor support in your area. If you choose the most sensitive instrument, but nobody can help your fix or maintain it in your area, it would be an expensive paper weight when it is not working. The criteria of which instrument is good for you is not simple depending upon the sensitivity, ease of use, software quality, and personal preference. It is like you ask which a 4-door sedan you should buy. I would choose the most sensitive instrument that you can afford with good service in your area.
Mr. Karmakar,
The soft and hard ionization MS methods can be carried out, simultaneously; for instance, LC/GC-ESI/MALDI/APCI-MS and LC-LA-ICP-MS. The quantitative analysis can be carried out by means of only one; furthermore, exact model equation, which appears universal scientific MS law applicable to both hard and soft ionization MS approaches. The equation is our own authored (to me and my co-author as the authorship shows, below) quantitative stochastic dynamic formula. Please, concentrate on works [1-5]. Therefore, the both type analyses and data-processing of the measurable variables can be carried out, simultaneously. For instance, analysis of inorganics, metal-organics, organics and organometallics can be performed within the framework of a single run examining complex sample of not only food, but also environmental or biological one; thus, producing higly reliable results from perspective of chemometrics showing /r/=1.
[1] Steroids, 181, 2022, 109001; Mass spectrometric stochastic dynamic 3D structural analysis of mixture of steroids in solution – Experimental and theoretical study, B. Ivanova, M. Spiteller
[2] B. Ivanova, M. Spiteller, Stochastic dynamic ultraviolet photofragmentation and high collision energy dissociation mass spectrometric kinetics of triadimenol and sucralose, Environmental Science and pollution Research (2022) [Article Stochastic dynamic ultraviolet photofragmentation and high c...
][3] B. Ivanova, M. Spiteller, Exact quantifying of mass spectrometric variable intensity of analyte peaks with respect to experimental conditions of measurements – a stochastic dynamic approach, Analytical Chemistry Letters 12 (2022) 542-561.
[4] Stochastic Dynamic Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometric Quantitative Analysis of Metronidazole in Human Urine; Bojidarka Ivanova, Michael Spiteller, Analytical Chemistry Letters, 12, 2022, 322-348.
[5] B. Ivanova. M. Spiteller, Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric quantification of isotope trace elements in human carcinoma tissue - stochastic dynamics and theoretical analysis, (2022) submitted.
The model formula has been tested and empirically proven, so far, only using soft ionization MS methods [1-4]. Work [5] is its first application to hard ionization MS method (see attachment - graphical abstract.)
Not a small question to answer.
What do you mean by best? I have answered this elsewhere previously, but for ICP (mostly) you will have to consider:
- Cheapest? Do more features justify the extra cost?
- Fastest? How many samples do you plan to run in a day? Autosamplers can rack up as many samples as you want, but will evaporation or queueing time affect the reproducibility (esp with some GC/HPLC samples).
- Similarly, sample throughput? how quickly will the instrument process a sample (less important for time based analyses like HPLC).
- Accuracy over a wide concentration range? Dilution solves the problem of high concentration much more cheaply than the premium instrument in any manufacturers' range.
- Sensitivity: Why go for the lowest detection limit if it is 1000x smaller than anything biologically relevant to your fish feed? The instrument needs to be fit for purpose, otherwise it's wasted money.
- Ease of use over a long period? Ergonomics may be critical.
- Software. How do the different brands compare? How will it link to your sample database (You do have one?)
- Smallest bench-top footprint? Few labs have room to install a whole new device without shuffling something around.
- What is the infrastructure like for your equipment? Does your lab have suitable exhaust fans, gas supplies and electricity? You might find some equipment has very sensitive power requirements and random power cuts will quickly burn out the hardware.
- Quality of after-sales service from vendor in your region?
If you have the opportunity, ask several vendors to bring in a test unit. Or visit other labs with similar (or alternative) models to the one you are considering. Try them out. What works for another lab may not be at all suitable for yours.