Analytical Capabilities

Home / Analytical Capabilities

Macromineral and Trace Mineral Analysis

It is important to understand the macro and trace mineral content of various food and nutraceutical products for:

  • Nutrition label verification
  • Regulatory requirements
  • Product quality
  • Microbiological stability
  • Processing effects

Heavy Metals Analysis

SGS tests for heavy metals and other toxic elements per most domestic and international regulations, including California’s Proposition 65. Testing for lead and other heavy metals is increasingly important for ensuring the safety of:

  • Baby food
  • Infant formula
  • Dietary supplements
  • Functional ingredients
  • Cereal grains
  • Chocolate
  • Fish and vegetable oils
  • Seafood
  • Spices

We test these product categories and more for compliance to California Prop 65 requirements.

Total Quant II Elemental Scan

The Total Quant II Scan, a semi-quantitative analysis, scans approximately 65 elements. A 21-element standard is used for calibration. The values for the remaining elements are estimated based upon internal response factors. Detection limits may vary depending upon sample matrix and dilution required.

Isotope Dilution

Isotope Dilution is used for highly accurate and precise measurements of elemental concentrations. The method is based upon the addition of a known amount of an enriched isotope of the quantifiable element to a sample, thus altering the naturally occurring isotopic ratio for the element.

Nutritional Analysis

Nutritional analysis quantifies the nutritional value of foods and nutraceuticals. It determines the amount of macro and micronutrients in finished products and ingredients, as well as the presence of toxic elements and substances.

  • Macro and micronutrients
  • Toxic metals
  • Vitamin analysis
  • Amino acid analysis
  • Full nutritional analysis performed in both the US and Canada within SGS network

Sulfite Analysis

Sulfites are added as a preservative or processing aid to a variety of foods, ingredients, and supplements, and they can also be naturally occurring. The presence of sulfites in these products can cause adverse reactions for those who are sensitive to sulfites.

Preservative Analysis

LIST OF QUANTIFIABLE ELEMENTS
Aluminum Cesium Gold Lutetium Phosphorus Selenium Thulium
Antimony Chromium Hafnium Magnesium Platinum Silver Tin
Arsenic Cobalt Holmium Manganese Potassium Sodium Titanium
Barium Copper Indium Mercury Praseodymium Strontium Tungsten
Beryllium Dysprosium Iodine Molybdenum Rhenium Sulfur Uranium
Bismuth Erbium Iridium Neodymium Rhodium Tantalum Vanadium
Boron Europium Iron Nickel Rubidium Tellurium Ytterbium
Cadmium Gadolinium Lanthanum Niobium Ruthenium Terbium Yttrium
Calcium Gallium Lead Osmium Samarium Thallium Zinc
Cerium Germanium Lithium Palladium Scandium Thorium Zirconium

Instrumentation

  • PerkinElmer NexION 300D ICP- MS – has 3 operating modes and 2 interference removing techniques: Standard Mode, DRC (Dynamic Reaction Cell) Mode, KED (Kinetic Energy Dispersion). It can analyze samples faster and at lower detection levels.
  • PerkinElmer 8300 ICP- OES – has a high- performance solid state detector and segmented-array charge couple to allow for exceptional resolution and superior detection and line selection
  • PerkinElmer NexION 350X ICP- MS – allows KED or Reaction Mode with multiple sample introduction systems to accommodate a wider variety of sample types and applications
  • Metrohm 940 Pro IC – Ion Chromatography instrument used for determination of ZnO concentrations and small mono- and polyatomic ion speciation
  • Two Agilent 7900 ICP-MS – used to assay trace and ultra-trace elements at part per billion (ppb) and lower levels
  • PerkinElmer Avio 500 ICP-OES – used to assay higher concentration (% and ppm level) elements
  • PerkinElmer NexION 2000 – used to assay trace and ultra-trace elements at part per billion (ppb) and lower levels
  • Agilent 1260 HPLC with DAD and FLD – used for water soluble vitamins and client specific LC methods
  • Agilent 1290 UHPLC with DAD/FLD – used for fat soluble vitamins and client specific higher pressure LC methods
  • Agilent 1290 UHPLC with DAD and Ultivo Triple Quad MS – used for Amino Acids, Biotin, and client specific LC/MS methods
  • Two Agilent 1290 UHPLC with DAD and SciEx 5500+ QTrap MS – used for pesticide analyses and client specific LC/MS methods requiring ultra-low levels of detection
  • Agilent 7890 GC with Triple Quad MS – used for pesticide analyses of residual solvents and other volatiles for client specific methods

Sample Preparation

  • Questron Vulcan 84S Automated Digestions and Work-up Station – used for performing automated open-vessel acid digestions
  • Environmental Express HotBlock – used for performing manual open-vessel acid digestions
  • Milestone Microwave UltraWAVE – used in putting difficult matrices into solution
  • Milestone Microwave UltraWAVE II – used for complete digestion of extremely difficult samples with no pressure venting, assuring no loss of volatile elements
  • Milestone Microwave UltraWAVE III
  • Milestone Microwave UltraWAVE IV
  • Milestone Microwave Ethos UP – used to accommodate large sample sizes and reagent volumes
  • Milestone Microwave Ethos UP II – a high pressure microwave, this unit is used to accommodate high capacities with a 16 position carousel and a high capacity rotor that increases throughput
  • Milestone traceCLEAN – an acid steam cleaning system that helps assure that our lab experiences zero downtime
  • Milestone traceCLEAN II – an acid steam cleaning system that helps assure that our lab experiences zero downtime

Why Use These Methods?

SGS provides macro and trace element analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). These technologies generally have less interference and faster throughput than both Atomic Absorption (AA) and Graphite Furnace AA (GFAA) when analyzing for multiple elements in a single sample. Also, detection limits are usually lower than GFAA. Productivity, accuracy, and precision at low levels make ICP-MS and ICP-OES methods the predominant choices for research, regulatory, and quality assurance applications.

Vitamins, amino acids, sulfites, and other small molecules are analyzed with Liquid or Gas Chromatography methods coupled with a variety of detectors. Because of these capabilities, SGS can analyze an abundance of matrices for most of the naturally occurring elements and a wide variety of nutritionally important compounds.