- Microbac Laboratories - Marietta, OH
Microbac Laboratories, a life-science and environmental testing lab located in Marietta, OH, has been utilizing Organomation's nitrogen evaporators to dry down their PFAS extracts ahead of LC-MS/MS for years. Like many environmental labs involved with PFAS, they started with our N-EVAP design as the sample concentrator cited in the major PFAS analysis methods - EPA 537.1 and 533.
Due to an increase in sample throughput needs and a lack of benchtop space, they began looking for a larger batch evaporator to replace their two 24 position N-EVAPs. Offering over double the sample capacity for almost the same footprint, the lab decided to go with the 64 position MULTIVAP - a compact evaporator that offers the same nitrogen blowdown and heated water bath capabilities that they were used to.
After using the MULTIVAP for a couple months, the Microbac team noticed a significant increase in efficiency and productivity to their workflow. Anthony Canter, Microbac's Operations Manager stated,
"Overall, the experience has been very positive. The MULTIVAP has provided a substantial increase in productivity, turning what was a bottleneck in our process to a highly efficient workflow. The MULTIVAP immediately requires less bench top space and can handle at least 100% more samples per unit area. The design of the sample rack and water bath seems to transfer thermal energy more efficiently. This coupled with the consistent flow across all samples blowing down at the same rate provides a finished sample in approximately half the time of the N-EVAP.
The timer functionality for the water bath and nitrogen flow also allows the progress of sample blow down to occur after normal working hours, utilizing more of the day without requiring staff overnight....
In summary, the MULTIVAP has provided at least a 400% increase in efficiency on the blow down step of our PFAS analysis, and Microbac intends to continue its use for the foreseeable future."
- So when should the MULTIVAP be used instead of the N-EVAP?
vs. 
This ultimately comes down to two things: desired sample capacity and tube sizes being used.
For labs that need minimal sample capacity, the small 6, 12, or 24 position N-EVAPs are the perfect size, so you aren't wasting bench top space on unused sample positions. For commercial testing labs like Microbac that require lots of capacity, the MULTIVAPs provide a compact array format that's designed to maximize the number of samples within a small space.
The N-EVAP was designed with versatility in mind. It's spring-style sample holder allows a wide variety of tube sizes to be held at once, and the separate needle valves provide the individualized sample control that academic and core laboratories require. The MULTIVAP, on the other hand, was designed with uniformity in mind. For environmental or commercial labs that work with large batches of identical samples, the uniform heat and gas flow that the MULTIVAP offers is ideal. The manifold allows the user to start or stop evaporation to all samples at once with just one switch, saving a considerable amount of time, as proven by Microbac Labs.
Thinking about switching from an N-EVAP to a MULTIVAP? Talk with one of Organomation's experts today at sales@organomation.com. You may also be eligible for our instrument trade-in program.
You can also try our free sample evaporator product finder to determine which model is best for your needs.