Ronald E. Majors

Ron Majors, editor of "Column Watch" and "Sample Prep Perspectives," has been with LCGC North America for over 26 years. Currently a senior scientist with Agilent Technologies, Wilmington, Delaware, Ron is known industry-wide as one of the premier chromatography experts in the field. He is also a member of LCGC's editorial advisory board.

This month's installment of "Column Watch" comprises Part II of our yearly report on new products introduced at Pittcon. Gas chromatography columns, sample preparation products, and hardware, accessories, and small tabletop instruments mainly for sample preparation are covered.

Part I of Ron Major's report on new products introduced at Pittson. This month, columns are highlighted, covering all modes of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC), and liquid-phase separations.

Part I of our yearly report, covering columns for all modes of HPLC, UHPLC, and liquid-phase separations.

This article discusses the details of how the newer techniques of sample prepaation are simplified by the use of LC–MS–MS and GC–MS–MS technology.

The results from a reader survey on sample preparation techniques

This short review covers the use of ionic liquids (ILs) and polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and dispersive microextraction (DLLME)

This instalment focuses on approaches and techniques for extracting and concentrating small molecules of interest present in polymeric materials.

A discussion of new column packing materials– including sub-2-?m particles, superficially porous particles and second-generation monoliths– and their impact on instrumentation and laboratory productivity.

Professor Mary Wirth and graduate students Bingchuan Wei and Benjamin Rogers from Purdue University demonstrate a quantum leap in protein column efficiency. Using colloidal silica particles of submicrometer diameters (470 nm), they obtained plate heights that were as much as 15-fold lower than the theoretical limit for Hagen-Poiseuille flow.