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ASE

Definition

Accelerated solvent extraction (Dionex ASE). Pressurised solvent at elevated temperature pushes the analyte off the tissue matrix in minutes, replacing overnight Soxhlet.

Full name
Accelerated solvent extraction
Instrument example
Dionex ASE
Mechanism
Pressurised solvent at elevated temperature
Typical extraction time
Minutes
Replaces
Overnight Soxhlet extraction

Common questions

What makes ASE faster than Soxhlet without sacrificing recovery?+

Elevated pressure keeps the solvent liquid above its normal boiling point, and elevated temperature increases analyte solubility and diffusion out of the tissue matrix, so extraction that took hours under reflux is achieved in minutes.

Does ASE work for every class of poison in viscera analysis?+

It works well for many organic analytes but the temperature and solvent choice must be matched to the target compound's thermal stability, since a heat-labile analyte can degrade under ASE conditions that a cold Soxhlet run would not affect.

Related terms

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SPE
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SPME
Solid-phase microextraction. A polymer-coated fused-silica fibre (typically PDMS or PDMS-DVB) is exposed to vial headspace, then thermally desorbed in the GC injector....
Stas-Otto Procedure
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Steam Distillation
Passing live steam through a sample so that volatile organic compounds co-distil with water at a temperature below their own boiling point....
Viscera
The standard set of organs and fluids collected at a suspected poisoning autopsy in India: stomach with contents, a length of upper...

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