When we first found out about GMP’s we initially decided that we were going to embrace the change in every way possible. Our first act was to design an in-house lab to test every raw material and every finished product to ensure that what we put on our labels was indeed what was going into our products. We have spared no expense to make sure that our lab could carry out what it is intended to do. The following are descriptions of the equipment we use and how they benefit you as a consumer:
FTIR is a powerful tool for the identification of specific chemical bonds or functional groups within a compound. The method uses infrared radiation to detect specific wavelengths that are characteristic of each type of chemical bond. In this way, FTIR produces a molecular “fingerprint” that is unique to a specific compound.
At Pure Essence Labs, we use FTIR primarily as a method of identifying and analyzing the raw materials that are used in our products to ensure that they of the highest purity and free of contamination. The main target ingredients are amino acids, vitamins and other chemicals that are essential in the effectiveness of our products.
Advanced FTIR with Pure Essence Labs has a comprehensive library of over 10,000 spectra of organic compounds containing such data as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, alkaloids, alkanes, amines, carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, and organometallics. We also continuously create our own FTIR library of relevant compounds for quality control purposes.
ICP is a method that we use to ensure that our raw materials are free from harmful amounts of heavy metals. ICP also detects elements, minerals and heavy metals both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Argon gas is used to create super-heated plasma. The sample is then passed through the spectroscope for analysis. Plasma temperatures can reach up to 9700°C, that’s more than 1 ½ times the temperature of the surface of the sun! At such extremes, even in tiny microscopic amounts, individual chemical constituents will emit characteristic light wavelengths that are specific to their individual identity. These light emissions are collected and quantified to determine what the individual constituents are and how much of each is present in the sample.
We focus our analysis on hazardous heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury to ensure that our products are completely free of these harmful ingredients.
GC is a method of chemical analysis for separating individual components and volatile chemicals within a complex ingredient sample. The chemical composition of an ingredient will determine the amount of time it takes for the gas produced by individual constituents to move up a gas column at identifiably characteristic rates. Verified and consistent data based on characteristic times allow us to determine the individual ingredients that make up the compound.
The main application for GC is the analysis of essential omega-3 fatty acids and the detection of potentially harmful compounds like residual pesticides and extraction solvents.
HPLC is a column chromatographic instrument used frequently in biochemistry and analytical chemistry to separate, identify and quantify compounds. The mechanism of operation is very similar to gas chromatography with the only difference being a liquid form as opposed to a gaseous state.
The primary target compounds we analyze when using HPLC are water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B complex, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, active compounds in botanical extracts and other individual chemical components that identify an herb’s purity and potency.
Most botanical extracts are composed of numerous compounds, many of which can contribute to our health and wellness. When combined, these extracts often have a synergetic effect—improving their health benefits even more.
TLC is a quick and simple analytical screening procedure that gives the chemist a rapid answer as to how many of these compounds are in a specific extract. It is also used to confirm the identity of certain therapeutically active constituents within the extracts. This helps us to determine the therapeutic potency. Once these unknown compounds are characterized, their identity will undergo further confirmation using an ultraviolet spectrophotometer, GC and HPLC.
Educating our customers is the cornerstone of all that we do at Pure Essence Labs. It is our hope that each time we educate a customer that we increase the level of accountability to our competitors. Please stop by our website frequently to check for new updates as they become available. |
