The Pittcon Editors' Bronze Award has been awarded to Bruker AXS' novel benchtop S2 PICOFOX TXRF (total reflection XRF) system for easy-to-use and robust ultra-trace elemental with straight-forward and cost-effective sample preparation. The transportable S2 PICOFOX is expected to complement or replace AA and ICP in many pharma, geological, mining environmental and food testing applications.

S2 PICOFOX is the world's first and only portable benchtop instrument for fast quantitative and semi-quantitative multi-element microanalysis of liquids, solids, and contaminations using the principle of total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Reaching detection limits in the ppb and ppm range the S2 PICOFOX is optimally suited for trace element analysis. The advantages are evident in case of small sample amounts, liquid samples with high matrix content and frequently changing sample types. Due to its complete independence of any cooling medium, the analyzer can be used not only in the laboratory but also for on-site analyses in the field. For many applications the S2 PICOFOX will be an important enhancement to an existing AAS or ICP-OES system.
The key advantages of TXRF compared to AAS and ICP-OES are: Simultaneous multi-element trace analysis incl. halogenides; analysis of smallest sample amounts in the nanogram or microgram range; simple quantification using an internal standard; suitable for various sample types and applications; portable system for fast in-field analyses; no matrix or memory effects; and low operating cost.