Power of ultrasound

Dissolving samples is an essential step in the sample preparation process. However, some samples do not dissolve easily, in which case extra treatment in the form of ultrasound (sonication) is often useful. Zinsser Analytic offers software-controlled sonication on its instruments for liquids handling, screening and combinatorial chemistry. The sonication probe is picked up by a robotic arm and lowered into the sample container or a sonication bath 90 mm in diameter—in the latter case the robot also places the samples into the sonication bath, and dries them afterwards to avoid dripping on the workbench. The sonication step can be implemented as a standard routine for all samples, or it can be used as an extra step whenever the operator spots a sample that would benefit from sonication.