Scientific Technology


In a competitive material analysis and laboratory service provision market, TSW Analytical provides a unique high-end applied and interpretive science service which is not available from other commercial laboratories. This service is based on the analysis of samples and interpretation of results, which are obtained from a number of analytical instruments.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS)
ICP-MS technology is utilised for the determination of isotopic concentrations as low as parts per quadrillion. This multi-elemental technique facilitates the determination of most elements on the periodic table from a single sample; either in solution form (requires sample preparation) or as a solid (using laser ablation see below). More than two hundred samples may be analysed in a single overnight automated program or in manual mode, where analysis of as little as twenty microliters of solution is possible.

TSW Analytical has access to a state of the art quadrupole ICP-MS system supplied by Agilent Technologies. The 7500cs model is considered one of the best on the market and our experiences to date support this statement. The ICPMS is considered the most important instrument with the results generated providing our skilled personnel with powerful information for whatever the scientific requirement.

Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)
The laser ablation unit can be coupled to either of the ICP-MS or ICP-AES instruments. This facilitates the analysis of solid samples directly with often no sample preparation. This essentially makes a qualitative multi-elemental analysis possible from any solid sample in as little as 30 seconds. The new generation New Wave UP213 Laser Ablation unit has made possible the multi-elemental analysis samples as small as twenty micrometers across. In addition it has been demonstrated that precious samples such as artworks can be sampled almost non-destructively and a robust analysis achieved with as little as four laser ablation shots - which cannot be seen by the naked eye. LA-ICP-MS is considered another service which makes TSW Analytical unique to any other local analytical chemistry service providers. The skilled team have developed a number of unique methodologies which can applied to commercial samples. The LA-ICP-MS technology forms the backbone of the precious metal fingerprinting technology developed and used by our scientists. The team will soon welcome a new Agilent HPLC-ICPMS system which will enable us to;

  • Analyse for target organometallics that are important for environmental chemistry and
  • Undertake speciation of ions to facilitate determination of their toxic and non-toxic forms. This is important from both a food forensic and environmental chemistry point of view.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES)
The ICP-AES system provides elemental concentration information from samples in a similar way to the ICP-MS system. However, due to its design and the mechanism used to determine the amount of an element present, it is able to accommodate samples with much higher concentrations. The instrument is essentially designed for the more industrial type samples which are encountered in mineral exploration and geochemical analysis. In addition to the benefit of being able to analyse more concentrated samples ,the ICP-AES offers some of the elements which either difficult or not possible by ICP-MS. The emission system can be configured to either solution or solid sampling mode. Although the ICP-MS is better suited to the low detection limit work the new Thermo ICAP ICP-AES does make some low detection limit work possible on the more concentrated samples removing the need for additional sample preparation and analysis by ICP-MS.
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)

The Minipal enegy dispersive XRF, manufactured by Panalytical, is a new addition to the instrumental infrastructure available to the scientific team. This equipment is primarily used to determine the primary composition of samples to be without any sample preparation. In as little as 60 seconds the analyst can identify major metal components of unknown samples. This allows the next stage of the scientific tests to be targeted, essentially reducing the overall cost to the customer. In addition to an excellent screening tool the Minipal has proven that it can also be used to obtain preliminary fingerprints of materials which is useful for certain forensic applications. TSW Analytical will obtain a Wavelength Dispersive XRF in the near future, to compliment the analytical instrumentation currently available, further extending our capabilities.


Optical Microscopy
The optical microscope is used routinely throughout all facets of our scientific/analytical operations, forming an essential part of precious metals fingerprinting, geochemical exploration, mineralogical identification and forensic-based investigations.

Scanning Electron Microscopy
The team has access to the Centre for Microscopy, Characterization and Analysis (CMCA) which is a world-class microscopy facility located on the UWA campus. The staff of TSW Analytical’s Forensic Science Services team are trained to use the scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes available within the centre. The microscopes available offer imaging down to the nanometer scale as well as quantitative and qualitative X-Ray analysis. This makes identification of individual particles (e.g mineral grains) possible. The microscopy facilities are used in the areas of forensic science, geochemical characterisation and precious metals fingerprinting.