Michelle Doherty Jun 21, 2016:

Anca could be right, sometimes acronyms are taken from the English, especially in materials/chemistry. If this is the case here, TPS in English stands for toughened polystyrene: http://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/abbreviations/Default.aspx .
I think that makes the most sense, within the limited context.

There is a possibility it could instead refer to "total protein solubilization buffer (TPS buffer)" used as part of the sampling process:
http://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/102359...

Anca Florescu-Mitchell Jun 20, 2016:

@Asker TPS is mentioned in the wikipedia link sent to you, and nsimms just posted another link defining TPS.

Nicholas Simms Jun 20, 2016:

http://www.hexpoltpe.com/en/what-is-tps.htm

Rimas Balsys (asker) Jun 20, 2016:

@Anca I see what you mean, but if you're correct, I still need to know how you get from "Élastomère thermoplastique" to the acronym "TPS"?
(And yes I have asked but it's one of those clients who can't be bothered to reply.)

Anca Florescu-Mitchell Jun 19, 2016:

@Asker TPS is, according to your question, an item of an equipment list. I do not see how a method would be blue, with handles. Did you ask the client?

Rimas Balsys (asker) Jun 18, 2016:

@nsimms Dear nsimms -- If you would like to submit your discussion note formally as an answer I'd be more than happy to give you the 4 points (worth some kudos if not a drink:-)

Rimas Balsys (asker) Jun 18, 2016:

@All With grateful thanks to everyone, after much trawling on the web I think I may have found the answer (please comment if you disagree):
TPS here stands for Transient Plane Source [Technique] which is a method used to check the fat content of milk. See, eg,
https://www.thermtest.com/liquids-quality-control "Determining the Fat Content of Milk through Thermal Conductivity Measurements. One factor that has made the Hot Disk Transient Plane Source a top of the line ...".-- Also
http://www.hotdiskinstruments.com/technology/in-depth.html "S E Gustafsson: Transient plane source techniques for thermal conductivity and ... Thermal Conductivity as an indicator of fat content in milk" and "Monitoring the Fat Content of Milk with Modified Transient Plane Source Technique Results. The thermal conductivity measurement in the food industry provides..."

Anca Florescu-Mitchell Jun 18, 2016:

@Rimas TPS is, I believe, the material the sampling container is made of : TPE à base de copolymères blocs styréniques (TPS) (cF. Wikipedia : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élastomère_thermoplastique). TPS is used in your French reference as a noun, "TPS 60 ml", "TPS bleu avec anse". The references in my answer show, through images, what they mean by it.

Rimas Balsys (asker) Jun 18, 2016:

@ Anca Could you please support your view, ie, how to do you arrive at 'sampling container'? -- What does TPS stand for in French, to make it 'sampling container' in English?

Nicholas Simms Jun 15, 2016:

It looks as though TPS stands for Transient Plane Source or Hot Disk Transient Plane Source, a method for detecting the amount of fat in milk. See https://www.thermtest.com/liquids-quality-control. So the translation would be 'TPS'

David Sirett Jun 15, 2016:

Here are some: page 7 of this catalogue (page 21/132 of the document:
http://docplayer.fr/13523593-Catalogue-2014-2015-tome-2-indu...
I assume the S = stérile.

Rimas Balsys (asker) Jun 14, 2016:

Could it be... Tetrapropylenebenzenesulfonate ?