Cool(ant) as a Cucumber

July 13

---

It is important for companies to know exactly what is in the products they manufacture, including substances that can only be found through lab analysis. That is where we come in! We regularly get samples of coolants, which we test for an array of anions. If you've ever dealt with the coolant in your car, you know that it is similar to a slightly watered down soapy consistency, which is far from ideal for running through the IC. So, in order to not kill the instrument, we have to dilute the samples 1000 fold. It is a bit tedious to work with measurements that small, but practice helps, and after a few batches, it becomes much easier. I've processed quite a few coolants, so today I was tasked with teaching TW how to do it. These samples were extra cool to work with because they were bright blue!