Reliable PFAS analysis involves more than choosing an LC-MS/MS system. For Craig Butt, PhD, of SCIEX, controlling sample preparation is also essential, and his assessment of Organomation’s nitrogen evaporators highlights the importance of getting solvent evaporation right.
Butt brings more than 20 years of mass spectrometry experience to this perspective, including developing methods for PFAS in water, soil, and serum. His PhD research in environmental chemistry investigated the fate of PFAS in biological systems, giving him a background that spans both the compounds being measured and the instrumentation used to measure them.
“PFAS sample preparation demands careful control to optimize analyte recovery and minimize contamination. While solvent evaporation is only one step in the process, it can significantly impact reproducibility and blank levels. The Organomation nitrogen evaporator delivers a precisely controlled, gentle nitrogen stream that helps ensure consistent recovery, reproducible results, and low background contamination.”
Craig Butt, PhD, SCIEX
Nitrogen evaporation also appears in a published SCIEX PFAS workflow coauthored by Butt. In that serum and plasma procedure, the cleaned extract is evaporated under nitrogen before reconstitution and analysis on a SCIEX X500 series QTOF system.
For laboratories using SCIEX instruments, Butt’s comments offer a useful reminder: give the concentration step the same careful consideration as the analysis that follows. Evaluate the evaporator not just for solvent removal, but for how readily its controls fit your method and sample-handling requirements.
Organomation’s Teflon-free N-EVAP nitrogen evaporators provide an individual needle valve at each sample position, allowing nitrogen flow to be adjusted independently. This lets analysts process samples with different evaporation endpoints in the same instrument.
The 12- and 24-position PFAS models are constructed without PTFE or other fluoropolymers. Material selection is one part of contamination control: EPA Method 537.1 identifies laboratory supplies, solvents, reagents, and processing hardware as potential sources of interference, and requires laboratory reagent blanks to check the preparation process.
Butt also points to the practical value of an efficient concentration step. His emphasis is on supporting the work researchers ultimately need to do:
“In PFAS analysis, sample preparation can be a significant bottleneck. The Organomation evaporator speeds up this step while minimizing analyte loss, freeing researchers to focus on data quality and results.”
Craig Butt, PhD, SCIEX
His perspective complements Organomation’s existing stories about PFAS sample concentration at Waters and sample preparation at Agilent’s UK laboratory. Together, these accounts put the spotlight on sample preparation through the perspectives of the people behind analytical instrumentation.
If your laboratory relies on SCIEX for PFAS analysis, consider what Butt’s priorities mean for your own concentration step. Explore Organomation’s PFAS-focused nitrogen evaporators and discuss your method, sample vessels, and batch size with our sample preparation team.
Butt’s emphasis on controlled evaporation and efficient sample preparation will carry into Separation Science’s upcoming expert forum, “Optimizing PFAS Sample Preparation: Best Practices for Solvent Evaporation, Throughput, and Reproducibility.” Taking place on December 3, 2026, at 11 a.m. EST, the Organomation-sponsored webinar will feature Craig Butt of SCIEX and Lillyanna House, a PhD student in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland.
The discussion will connect these priorities to practical laboratory decisions, exploring how temperature, nitrogen flow, and material selection can affect contamination risk, analyte recovery, and reproducibility. Drawing on real-world laboratory experiences, the panel will also examine strategies for processing larger sample batches while maintaining consistent concentration endpoints ahead of LC–MS analysis. The session will build on a central theme of Butt’s perspective: solvent evaporation deserves careful attention—not simply as a step to complete, but as an opportunity to strengthen the PFAS workflow.