Scientific Consulting Services

A typical synthesis design cycle consists of the following steps:

1. Initial consultation
2. Preparation of a detailed written proposal outlining targeted strategies
3. Literature search to support and guide synthetic schemes
4. Report summarizing literature search findings and relevance to target product
5. Report summarizing potential synthesis schemes and justification of each
6. Delivery of results in a reasonable time frame
7. Closing consultation

Designing a synthetic scheme can be a complex process in which the results are only as good as the sources used and chemists involved. Jordi Labs strives to provide real and concise solutions to some of the most complex synthesis requests. If your raw material is no longer available on the market, or if you are looking to change contract manufacturing organizations (CMO), Jordi Labs can be a powerful partner, backed by over 30 years of experience in organic synthesis and a team of qualified chemists, we are confident that we have the resources available to help you succeed. Our goal is to serve as a rich technical resource you can trust, while providing complete solutions, from synthetic design to analytical QC.

Related Resources

Analytical Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry

With Ph.D. polymer chemists and a team of well trained scientists, Jordi Labs is able to provide clients with expert solutions specialized to nearly all synthetic polymers and plastic products.  Our staff strives to understand your problem and to ask the right questions to understand your goals for the project.

Example

The following is an example of how Jordi marries polymer expertise with a thorough knowledge of analytical testing to investigate and solve a material failure:

Goal

To investigate the potential cause of failure in polycarbonate (PC) parts.

Nature of Failure

Described as cracking observed at the surface of the PC parts.

Chemical Factors to Consider

Several chemical factors could affect the final physical properties of PC materials and polymers:

1. Polymer chemistry
2. Additives type and quantity
3. Molecular weight
4. Presence of unknown contaminants

Proposed Strategy

To examine the chemical and physical properties above, seeking to identify differences between good and bad products.
Phase 1 – Identification – Qualitative Analysis

• Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry (PYMS) and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) to identify polymers, polymer additives (antioxidants, slip agents, stabilizers, etc) and unexpected organics.
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to aid in the interpretation of the PYMS results and to confirm the general class of the polymer.
• Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) to compare the molecular weight of the samples to look for evidence of polymer degradation and to help explain the observed physical properties.
• Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) to determine the elemental composition of the material and to help characterize potential inorganic fillers.
• Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) to determine the percentage residuals, and to obtain a decomposition profile for the material.
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) to examine the thermal properties of the material, including melting temperature (Tm), glass transition temperature (Tg) and possibly crystallinity.
• Karl Fischer Titration to determine moisture content.

Phase 2 – Quantitative Analysis

• High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) or Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) to quantify the additives and other organic compounds identified in Phase I, if they are organic in nature.  The technique(s) we choose for quantitation depends on the chemistry of the compounds detected during Phase I.

Deliverables

• Comprehensive final report providing a thorough interpretation of all analytical data obtained.
• A list of chemical ingredients, their levels and a comparison of the two materials to provide a conclusion as to what the root cause of the failure could be.
• All clients can benefit from a closing consultation call to discuss final results and their implications.

Whether you are interested in understanding the structure and chemistry of your plastic, investigating a product failure or looking to understand how to achieve the final properties you need to successfully market your product, Jordi Labs can help.  We look forward to speaking with you soon and to helping you achieve your analytical goals.

Related Resources

Analytical Chemistry
Synthetic Chemistry

Whether you want to determine the chemistry of a material, support claims of novelty, or protect existing intellectual property, Jordi Labs works with your team to provide the direct support that you need. We not only have the experience and resources to provide the research necessary, we also have the technical expertise and analysis capabilities to test the claims of the patent.

Related Resources

Expert Witness Services
Litigation