FT-IR comes of age at Thermo

One of the new offerings is the Nicolet FT-IR spectrometer, which is available in two versions. There is the iS10, which has the conventional FT-IR interface and also the iN10 which is the microscope version for investigative analysis. The iS10 has introduced a range of new features for FTIR to make spectral analysis and sample handling easier and also to provide improved system verification. These include OMNIC spectra software, QCheck spectral correlation, System Performance Verification (SPV) software and the new Smart iTR universal sampling accessory. OMNIC software and QCheck spectral correlation simplifies spectral interpretation allowing users to pick out individual components from the IR spectrum of a mixture of components with a simple software interface (spectral identification tools, deconvolution protocols and interpretation algorithms). This helps the non expert spectroscopist in the interpretation of component mixtures. Dr Ian Jardine, vice president of global research and development for Thermo Fisher Scientific, told LabTechnologist.com: "Spectral interpretation has remained the most significant hurdle in FT-IR... the technique can rapidly get the user from 'sample to spectrum.' " "However, getting from the spectrum to actionable information, such as identification, was often a highly subjective, iterative and laborious process requiring high levels of skill and time... OMNIC software allows users to identify individual components in a mixture from a single spectrum in one simple step. Materials can be identified rapidly, and with complete confidence, in a fraction of the time by anyone with basic chemical knowledge". ​​The System Performance Verification (SPV) software uses NIST-traceable standards and also ASTM methods to ensure successful audits making the instrument suitable for GLP validated laboratories. The Smart iTR ATR (attenuated total reflection) sampling accessory is able to handle soft solids, powders, corrosive chemicals, coatings, liquids, gels and also carbon-black materials. The other instrument interface is the Nicolet iZ10 FT-IR sampling module, which gives two sampling stations and includes Smart Accessory recognition and validation and can also use a TGA/IR interface (for a combination of thermogravimetric analysis and Infra Red). The microscope iN10 also has several advantages over previous FT-IR microscopes. The optics are fully integrated with the interferometer and also the detector operates at room temperature and does not require liquid nitrogen cooling (samples as small as 50 microns) as is the case with other instruments of this type. The system uses OMNIC Picta software and allows the ability to provide an in depth analysis of surfaces of materials on a microscale. The instrument can use ATR or MCT (mercury cadmium telluride) detection. Jardine commented: "From solid drug delivery systems to flat-screen displays, the structures of materials are becoming ever more sophisticated on the micro scale... This drives the need for instruments capable of characterising these structures. "Infrared microscopy combines the identification power of FT-IR with the magnification of microscopy to enable such characterisation. The technique requires a high degree of skill, as it adds several steps over and above those required for a simple FT-IR measurement." "The new Thermo Scientific Nicolet iN10 FT-IR microscope, in combination with our OMNIC Picta software, closes the gap between the simplicity of FT-IR spectroscopy and the complexity of infrared microscopy,"​ he said.