Hi, I am trying to estimate the operational costs of a GC/MS, including all consumables. I understand that this depends on the frequency of use, types and nature of samples being analysed, etc. However, I simply need a rough estimate so that I can make few decisions and provide rough estimates to company director. Please consider that I will be analysing ~200 samples per month.
Thank you for your help.
As people have mentioned above, costs are very much dependent on what it is you are actually planning to include in your GC/MS costings. 200 samples a month is not a lot of samples and there will be a lot of instrument idle time. Is it possible to out-source the GC/MS analysis to another lab? Will you be able to cross-subsidise the costs of operating your lab by running samples for external customers?
Some cost considerations might include:
1. Staff salaries?
2. Sample preparation and derivatisation - will that be done in-house or by the customer? This also begs the question of what samples will be analysed both now and in the future. In which case you need to budget for chemicals and appropriate equipment.
3. Will you be running a limited range of methods? Or will you need to spend time developing new methods - costs of different standards etc need to be considered
4. Consumables - autosampler vials, ultra high purity gases (Helium and if you are doing CI then maybe methane, isobutane or ammonia), gas purifiers, vacuum pump oil, EI filaments, GC inlet liners, septa, syringes, a range of GC columns, and ferrules. The instrument supplier will have a recommended maintenance schedule with associated required parts.
5. Will routine maintenance like source cleaning be done in-house? If so then you will need an array of cleaning materials, solvents, tools and an ultrasonicator.
6. Analytical software on top of what is provided by the instrument manufacturer
Finally, talk to other local labs and to the GC/MS instrument suppliers.
Very hard to "estimate", but perhaps $1,000 to $10,000 USD/ month??? Depends on exactly which expenses you are adding up AND the complexity and steps needed to analyze each sample. I suggest you add up the cost of the consumables (that should include carrier gas and columns too), sample prep items, the cost of routine maintenance and service (available from your vendor) plus the cost of trained people to run it and the space and utilities consumed by the system, if applicable.
I do have two GC-MS in my lab. It is not easy to estimate because if you include the cost of standard the prices are very different. Especially all standard are not same price. Thus if you say what types of samples you want to analyze, the estimate may more close. Your constant consumable is gas (nitrogen, He etc) which is not two much. One cylinder may go up to 3 month costing of gases approximately 150 to 250 USD.
In our labs (PCSIR Labs Peshawar Pakistan) GC/MS analysis charges are Rs.5000-6000/-(US Dollars,50-60) per sample. Each sample contains a run of 40-70 minutes.
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