374 Labs depends on Milestone’s ultraWAVE to ensure cannabis product safety

Founded in 2014, 374 Labs is one of the first cannabis-testing labs to be awarded a testing license in the state of Nevada and is also the first Nevada-based cannabis-testing lab to achieve ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certification. Their customers comprise hundreds of cannabis/hemp/CBD producers, farmers and cultivators of all sizes not only around the country but also around the world.
Over the years, 374 Labs has developed a high degree of expertise in helping their customers understand and resolve their challenges, especially with complex issues such as nutrient blend issues or pesticide problems.

In early 2019, 374 Labs’ management team made the decision to replace both their GFAA system and rotor-based microwave digestion system to improve sample analysis turnaround time. Their prior rotor-based microwave digestion system had become a significant bottleneck in the overall process and was a constant source of frustration for the team. The system frequently ran into issues where it was unable to accommodate the pressure generated by their samples, resulting in incomplete digestion runs, excessive downtime, and increased cost per sample.

After evaluating rotor-based digestion systems, the 374 Labs team turned their attention to the ultraWAVE and its unique Single Reaction Chamber (SRC) digestion technology. Unlike rotor-based systems, Milestone’s ultraWAVE allows mixed sample types to be digested in the same run, while ensuring all samples reach the same high temperature and pressure needed for complete digestion. This mixed-batch capability dramatically speeds up processing and eliminates the need to re-digest samples. In addition, the ultraWAVE’s unique design allows it to use inexpensive disposable glass vessels. 374 Labs quickly realized the many benefits that the ultraWAVE provided would immediately address the unacceptable bottleneck, incomplete digestion runs, and pressure limitations that had existed in their process. This improvement also allowed them to replace their GFAA with the much faster Agilent 7800 ICP-MS to take full advantage of their improved throughput.