Kore PTR 3c used for analysis of toxic seaweed emissions
In order to meet scientists who may not know about the analytical techniques we offer at Kore, Kore recently exhibited at a Microbiology conference. Among those we met was Dr. Michael Steinke at the University of Essex who has been studying seaweed. This is not some esoteric interest, either. Large seaweed masses can accumulate on beaches, and as they decay, they can give off noxious and dangerous levels of sulfur-containing molecules. Michael and his students have been using gas chromatography (GC) techniques to measure the intensity of various compounds of interest as various seaweeds decay, but the measurements are long and laborious. We invited Michael and colleagues to visit our lab and to ‘bring a few samples’ for us to demonstrate the possible utility of PTR-TOF-MS.
Michael arrived at our lab with a suitcase full of samples! Two different seaweeds: Ulva intestinalis and Sargassum muticum, in both sea and fresh water, and which had been harvested and put into water for different lengths of time. For each condition there were three replicates. Owing to the speed of analysis, we were able to measure 72 samples during that day, and Michael confessed he didn’t think we would be able to measure everything he brought — but we did.
The results from that one day of PTR-TOF-MS measurements have been used to corroborate and augment an impressive program of GC work at the university. The PTR measurements were also able to detect very low levels of certain small molecules that are extremely challenging for GC. A scientific paper1 on the combined measurements has recently been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment 2026.
The Kore team thanks Michael and colleagues for this opportunity to showcase our instruments’ capabilities in such diverse ways.
As always, we look forward to our next analytical challenge!
- Michael Steinke, Leslie Galstaun, Struan Tait, Georgia Longhurst, Millie M. Corbould, Fraser Reich and Robert M.W. Ferguson (2026) Health risks associated with seaweed strandings: sulfur gases and antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria from decaying Ulva intestinalis and Sargassum muticum. Science of The Total Environment (1049) 182057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.182057.
2026 steinke reich seaweed publication link
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1nZL4B8cd7vUz