Dr Ehrenstorfer: what’s new this month – December 2021
As 2021 draws to a close, both Dr Ehrenstorfer staff and our customers in the analytical laboratories sector can reflect proudly on the contribution we’ve made to tackling coronavirus and returning the world to something resembling ‘normal’. We also know that the 1,908 new products that we’ve created during 2021 are helping to make the world a safer place, all year round. And we hope that – whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Hannukah, and the western, Julian, or Chinese New Year – having pride in the valuable science that you do every day will be a powerful source of comfort and joy.
1. Standards for environmental regulatory methods
One way we can chart the planet’s progress is to remember the crisis in US ecology before the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. A year previously, a fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland - where “Yellowish–black rings of oil circled on its surface like grease in soup” - had focused attention on the polluted state of American waterways. Since then, however, the EPA’s 500 series of methods to identify and quantify organic compounds in drinking water has done much to improve the health of both the environment and the public. So this month Dr Ehrenstorfer is proud to release a range of reference materials that address entire EPA methods, featuring six based on the 500 series. These streamline your workflow and enable your detection of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and herbicides.
View our range of environmental regulatory methods reference standards here
2. Nutritional composition compounds
We’re releasing reference standards for two exciting phenolic compounds this month. One product relates to Piceatannol – a naturally occurring polyphenolic stilbene found in fruits, nuts, berries and some teas that has demonstrated anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, plus the potential to inhibit aortic thickening and Alzheimer’s. While it is available already as a dietary supplement, one study recently claimed that Piceatannol may “exhibit toxic effects not only in cancer cells but in non-cancer cell lines”, and called for more studies to guarantee its safety. We’re also releasing a reference material for Olivetol - a natural occurring substance found in lichen, and a precursor of THC that is attracting attention because of its ability to inhibit the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. This has already prompted ‘real life’ experiments with volunteers and a patent application for an orally administered treatment aimed at reducing the psychotropic effects of cannabis use.
View our range of nutritional composition compounds reference standards here.
3. Cannabis-related compounds
Concentrated forms of cannabis, such as shutter, wax and crumble, are proving particularly popular with US consumers. But the removal of potentially harmful solvents used during the separation process has become an area of concern for both regulators and analytical laboratories. Because cannabis testing statutes vary widely from state to state in the US, Dr Ehrenstorfer has developed a range of reference materials that dovetail with the different testing requirements in each territory. This month, we are releasing five new solvents mixture kits based on mandatory tests in both Ohio – featuring nine common analytes, such as ethanol, butane, and propane – and Arizona (comprising two dozen potential solvents, including acetonitrile, chloroform and diethylether).
View our range of cannabis-related reference standards here.