*3.2.1 Sample chamber assembly*

The sample chamber is the module for the insertion of the sample. The chamber is connected to a gas injection system for capturing and transferring the generated

#### **Figure 2.**

*Hand-picking technique (a). Hand-picked Botryococcus braunii (b, c) and Tasmanites (d, e) algae separates to LmPy-GC/MSMS analyses. Photomicrographs were taken under transmitted white light (TWL) (b, d) and fluorescence light (FM) (c, e).*

**Figure 3.**

*Assembling the sample chamber: Sample in strewn slide (a), seal the chamber with copper gasket seal (b), close the chamber with a fused silica coating (c), and connecting the gas line (d).*

products during pyrolysis. Samples (e.g., hand-picked organic material or solid bitumen) are placed in a glass slide and transferred inside the sample chamber compartment which has an inner diameter of 6 mm. The chamber is sealed with a copper gasket seal then, closed with a fused silica coating (VAR coating reduces reflectance from around 10–1%), and finally, connects to the gas line. The steps to assemble the sample chamber are shown in **Figure 3**.
