The Versatility of ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN Microwave Labstations

For many laboratories, sample preparation challenges extend far beyond a single application. Environmental testing, food analysis, inorganic materials characterization, academic research, and method development often require different techniques, different instruments, and specialized operator training.

What if one platform could support all of them?

That is the philosophy behind the ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN microwave labstations: a flexible microwave platform designed to adapt to evolving laboratory needs while maximizing productivity, simplifying operations, and protecting long-term investment.

Beyond Microwave Digestion

Microwave technology has long been recognized as the gold standard for closed-vessel digestion and elemental analysis. Over the years, however, laboratories have discovered that the benefits of microwave heating extend well beyond digestion.

Today, ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN support a broad range of sample preparation workflows, including:

Instead of purchasing multiple dedicated instruments, laboratories can perform a wide variety of workflows on a single microwave platform.

Environmental Analysis: From Metals to Emerging Contaminants

Environmental laboratories face increasing pressure to deliver accurate results on a growing list of contaminants while maintaining high throughput.

With dedicated digestion and extraction accessories, ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN can be used for:

• Heavy metal analysis
• Chromium (VI) determination
• PAHs, TPH, phenols, PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides
• PFAS analysis
• Microplastics investigations

The systems can process challenging matrices such as water, soil, sediment, and waste, helping laboratories achieve reliable and reproducible sample preparation for both inorganic and organic analyses.

Food Testing: Nutrients and Contaminants on the Same Platform

Food and feed laboratories often need to perform completely different workflows depending on the analytical target.

ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN provide the flexibility to handle both nutrient determination and contaminant analysis, supporting applications such as:

• Total fat determination
• FAME preparation
• Amino acid analysis
• Sterols and DAKs
• Residual ash determination
• Heavy metals
• PFAS
• MOAH and MOSH
• Dioxins, PCBs, and PAHs
• Microplastics

By replacing traditional, labor-intensive extraction and digestion methods with microwave technology, laboratories can achieve faster, safer, and more reproducible results.

Inorganics: Digestion and Fusion in One System

Inorganic materials such as ores, geological samples, alloys, ceramics, and oxides frequently require different decomposition strategies before analysis.

ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN offer a unique advantage: the ability to perform both microwave digestion and microwave alkaline fusion on the same platform.

This dual capability allows laboratories to tackle virtually any inorganic matrix while maintaining high safety standards and ensuring complete sample decomposition for ICP analysis.

The Ideal Platform for Research and Academia

Research laboratories rarely remain focused on a single application. New projects, new funding opportunities, and new analytical challenges require equipment that can evolve over time.

Thanks to their modular architecture and extensive range of accessories, ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN can support activities across:

• Environmental science
• Food science
• Pharmaceutical science
• Materials science
• Geoscience and geochemistry
• Chemistry and chemical engineering

Whether supporting teaching activities or advanced research projects, the platform provides the flexibility needed to bridge the gap between theory and practical laboratory work.

A Smarter Investment for the Future

The true strength of ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN is not simply their performance in a single application, but their ability to grow with laboratory requirements.

By combining digestion, extraction, synthesis, and fusion capabilities within one modular platform, laboratories can:

• Maximize instrument utilization
• Reduce equipment footprint
• Simplify operator training
• Lower maintenance requirements
• Adapt to future analytical needs without replacing existing systems

In a world where laboratory requirements are constantly evolving, ETHOS and ETHOS LEAN provide a future-ready approach to microwave sample preparation: one platform, countless possibilities.