Syringe Pump Application Note AN30The a<strong>for</strong>ementioned study indicates that using a mixture<strong>of</strong> supercritical carbon dioxide and methanol iseffective in <strong>the</strong> removal <strong>of</strong> selected organic matter fromvarious archaeological artifacts, <strong>the</strong>reby suggesting thatsupercritical carbon dioxide, modified with an alcoholicsolvent such as methanol, is a viable non-destructivepretreatment prior to plasma oxidation and radiocarbondating <strong>for</strong> an accurate estimation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> age <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> artifacts.Excellent agreement has been recorded between<strong>the</strong> current pretreatment method (boxes) and those pretreatedusing strong acid or base (circles) applied tovarious archeological artifacts as shown in Figure 3.Figure 3: Radiocarbon dates by pre-treatment with strong acid or base (circles) vs. supercritical pretreatment(boxes)
Syringe Pump Application Note AN30References1. Steelman, K. L. and Rowe, M. W. 2001. Chapter 2 in ArchaeologicalChemistry – Materials, Methods, and Meaning,K.A. Jakes (ed.), American Chemical Society, Washington,DC.2. Steelman, K. L. 2004, Ph.D. Thesis, Department <strong>of</strong> Chemistry,Texas A&M University.3. Proefke, M. L., Reinhart, K. L., Raheel, M., Ambrose, S. H.and Wisseman, S. U. 1992. Probing <strong>the</strong> Mysteries <strong>of</strong>Ancient Egypt. Chemical Analysis <strong>of</strong> Roman Period EgyptianMummy. Anal. Chem., 664, 105-111A.4. King, J. W., France, J. E. and Snyder, J. M. 1992. On-line<strong>Supercritical</strong> <strong>Fluid</strong> <strong>Extraction</strong>-<strong>Supercritical</strong> <strong>Fluid</strong> Reaction-CapillaryGas Chromatography Analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> FattyAcid Composition <strong>of</strong> Oilseeds. Fresenius J. Anal. Chem.,344, 474-478.5. Jackson, M. A. and King, J. W. 1996. Methanolysis <strong>of</strong> SeedOils in Flowing <strong>Supercritical</strong> Carbon Dioxide. J. Am. Oil.Chem. Soc., 73, 353-356.6. McDaniel, L. H., Asharf-Khorassani, M. and Taylor, L. T.2001. <strong>Supercritical</strong> <strong>Fluid</strong> <strong>Extraction</strong> <strong>of</strong> Wood Pulp withAnalysis by Capillary Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.J. Supercrit. <strong>Fluid</strong>s, 19, 275-286.7. Wyatt, V. T. and Haas, M. J. 2009. Production <strong>of</strong> Fatty AcidMethyl Esters via <strong>the</strong> In Situ Transesterification <strong>of</strong> SoybeanOil in Carbon Dioxide-Expanded Methanol. J. Am. Oil Chem.Soc., 86, 1009-1016.8. West, K. N., Wheeler, C., McCarney, J. P., Griffith, K. N.,Bush, D., Liotta, C. L. and Eckert, C. A. 2001. In Situ Formation<strong>of</strong> Alkylcarbonic Acids with CO2. J. Phys. Chem. A, 105,3947-3948.9. Nicholson, P. T. and Shaw, I. (eds.), 2000. Ancient EgyptianMaterials and Technology, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, England.10. Colombini, M. R. and Modugno, F. 2009 Organic MassSpectrometry in Art and Archaeology, John Wiley, N.Y.Last modified September 26, 2012Teledyne <strong>Isco</strong>P.O. Box 82531, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501 USAToll-free: (800) 228-4373 • Phone: (402) 464-0231 • Fax: (402) 465-3091E-mail: <strong>Isco</strong>Info@teledyne.comTeledyne <strong>Isco</strong> is continually improving its products and reserves <strong>the</strong> right to change productspecifications, replacement parts, schematics, and instructions without notice.