One million tubes, one unwavering commitment to sample integrity
16 June 2026
Markes reaches manufacturing milestone after nearly three decades of supporting dependable analytical data worldwide
For nearly three decades, Markes thermal desorption tubes have helped laboratories around the world generate dependable analytical data. The manufacture of the company's millionth tube marks an important milestone in that journey, reflecting the growth of thermal desorption as an analytical technique and the trust placed in Markes by analytical scientists worldwide.
Supporting applications ranging from ambient and industrial air monitoring, occupational hygiene and materials testing to flavour and fragrance profiling, PFAS research and breathomics, Markes thermal desorption tubes have become an integral part of analytical workflows across a diverse range of industries and research fields.
Since the company's foundation in 1997, sampling technology has gone hand in hand with the development of the Markes thermal desorption platform for GC–MS. Manufactured in industry-standard dimensions, Markes sorbent tubes are designed for compatibility with Markes thermal desorption systems and other thermal desorption platforms that use industry-standard-size tubes, helping laboratories integrate application-specific sampling technology into established workflows.
Every Markes sorbent tube is designed with the application in mind. The portfolio includes multi-bed sorbent tubes capable of collecting a wide range of targeted and untargeted compounds on a single tube, alongside application-specific configurations optimised for particular analytical challenges. This gives analytical scientists the flexibility to support both routine monitoring and discovery-based investigations, helping maximise sampling efficiency and ultimately the quality and reliability of analytical data.
Quality and consistency have been central to the success of the Markes tube range. By controlling tube packing and preparation in-house, Markes can maintain consistent sorbent bed geometry and quality standards, helping deliver the repeatable performance that analytical laboratories depend upon. Sorbent tubes are packed and prepared under carefully controlled manufacturing conditions, helping ensure consistent performance from tube to tube and batch to batch. Tubes are available conditioned or unconditioned, each carrying a unique identification number and barcode to support sample integrity and full traceability throughout the analytical workflow, and are available in stainless steel, inert-coated stainless steel and glass to suit different analytical requirements.
Innovation has also played a significant role in the evolution of the Markes sampling portfolio. Alongside specialist tube technologies such as SafeLok, DiffLok and TubeTAG, the recent introduction of the TC-30 tube conditioner further strengthens the workflow by providing laboratories with higher throughput and greater confidence that sorbent tubes are clean and ready for sampling. Together, these developments reflect Markes' continued investment in improving sample integrity from tube preparation through to analytical results.
The milestone also reflects the close relationship between Markes and the wider analytical community.
"Reaching one million manufactured tubes is an important milestone for Markes, but what we're most proud of is the confidence those tubes have helped analytical scientists build in their data," said Nigel Fry, Chief Executive Officer of Markes.
"For nearly 30 years, analytical scientists around the world have trusted Markes sampling technologies to help generate dependable analytical data across an increasingly diverse range of applications. Every tube we manufacture is designed with that same goal in mind – helping laboratories achieve consistent, reliable and repeatable results.
"This milestone would not have been possible without the continued support of our analytical community, including our customers, distributors and suppliers around the world. Their feedback, collaboration and trust have helped shape the products we manufacture today, and we look forward to continuing to support the analytical challenges of tomorrow."
As thermal desorption has evolved into a widely adopted analytical technique, Markes has continued to invest in both instrumentation and sampling technologies, recognising that high-quality analytical data begins long before the sample reaches the GC–MS. The production of the millionth tube reflects that long-term commitment to supporting the complete analytical workflow.
One million tubes later, the Markes philosophy remains unchanged: dependable analytical data starts with dependable sample collection.
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