22

BSH  Report  No.  56

Laboratory  Performance  RSD  (n=4)
(Based  on  Peak  Heights  of  Hopanes  and  Steranes)

29bbR
28bbS

28bbR

27bbS

27bbR

—BSH_BioM
Fig.  12;  RSD  of  the  biomarker  groups  hopanes  and  steranes,  based  on  the  peak  heights  (raw
counts).
The  RSD  values  In  the  radar  chart  are  based  on  raw  counts,  expecting  that
normalisation  compensates  for  variance  If  the  main  Impact  Is  of  a  systematic
nature.  Consider  discussion  point  DP-3  on  page  31.
Nevertheless,  looking  at  the  conclusion  matrix  (Tab.  4),  It  Is  surprising  that
matching  ratios  from  the  group  of  the  steranes  are  succeeding  those  of  the
hopanes  by  far.
On  the  other  hand,  positive  matches  are  suggested  for  samples  of  set  2  from
both,  RWS  and  BSH  analysis,  which  contradicts  the  results  from  FID  and
MS-85m/z  conclusions.  This  observation  continues  Into  the  duplicate  analyses,
where  hopanes  show  a  non-matching  tendency  and  steranes  suggest  a  100%
match.
These  results  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  blomarkers  are  of  very  limited  use
for  this  purpose,  without  further  preparation  or  concentration  of  the  samples
only  leads  to  Inconclusive  and  erratic  results.