John Chasse

“Strange blobs” that started washing up on Newfoundland’s shores months ago may have been identified through a Canadian chemist’s investigation using mass spectrometry (MS).

After collecting dried blood spots from preterm infants with gestational age (GA) of less than 32 weeks within 24 hours after birth, researchers used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to perform targeted measurements of metabolites to identify differential metabolites in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and uncovering circulating biomarkers for the early prediction of this chronic lung disease.

Aiming to develop a comprehensive strategy for evaluating the chemical migration from various reusable plastic bottles, researchers from the University of Copenhagen utilized vacuum evaporation concentration (VEC) enrichment combined with liquid chromatography (LC) high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis to investigate a wide range of materials from different manufacturers to identify those with higher and lower chemical migration rates.

A recent study evaluated the potential of fruit by-products from acerola, guava, and tamarind’s potential in producing fermented beverages, with their acid profiles determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

A recent study set out to assess the significance of geographical and varietal factors in the content of alkaloids, phenolic compounds, and the antioxidant capacity of chocolate samples. Filtered extracts were analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) and spectrophotometric methods to determine individual phenolics and overall indexes of antioxidant and flavonoid content.

Liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was used to show that repeated stress can cause delayed but sustained changes in blood plasma proteins associated with water conservation, immune responses, fat metabolism, insulin sensitivity, iron recycling, and hormone transport in elephant seals. Some of these changes may be novel markers of recent and chronic stress exposure in marine mammals.

LCGC International spoke to Heather Barkholtz and Maia Bates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison about their recent evaluation of a broad screening technique for high-priority drugs of abuse in whole blood.

A recent study investigated the protein composition and baking quality of 14 German common wheat landraces, with 6 modern varieties serving as a control group. The protein composition was determined using modified Osborne fractionation and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).

A recent study examined the impurity profile of thirteen different lots of synthetic nicotine and compared them to fourteen lots of nicotine extracted from plants using in-house analytical methods, with samples tested for alkaloids and phenols with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).

The aroma properties of spontaneously fermented Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced from seven sub-regions of Shangri-La, China were comprehensively analyzed using the headspace micro-extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), odor activity values, and olfactory evaluation.

On the suggestion that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) affect both lactation and the human metabolome, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were measured in the milk of 425 participants from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

A recent study compared different workflows for extracting, purifying, and analyzing bone proteins using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), including an in-StageTip protocol previously optimized for forensic applications, and two protocols using novel suspension-trap technology (S-Trap) and different lysis solutions. LCGC International discussed this work with Noemi Procopio of the School of Law and Policing and the Research Centre for Field Archaeology and Forensic Taphonomy at the University of Central Lancashire (UK), corresponding author of the paper that resulted from this study.

In this “Equipment Roundup,” the editors of LCGC International present SCIEX’s ZenoTOF 7600+ System and Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits’ nanoSPECTRAL chip.

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography, coupled with a fluorescence detector, was used in a recent study to profile 23 amino acids and glutathione in juices of four internationally relevant grape varieties grown under different soil and climatic conditions.

A recent study analyzed the variability in plasma quinidine (QND) concentrations using population pharmacokinetics to determine an effective and safe dosage regimen for Thoroughbred horses suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF).

An investigation of the accumulation of primary and secondary metabolites, including bioactive compounds, to characterize the qualitative traits of blood oranges at the time of harvest was conducted, with liquid chromatography identifying and quantifying simple sugars, and spectrophotometric analysis identifying and quantifying organic acids, polyphenols, and flavonoids.

LCGC International recently spoke to Tomáš Rozsypal of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Institute of the University of Defence (Vyskov, Czech Republic) about his work utilizing gas chromatography in researching the persistence of A-234 nerve agent on indoor surfaces, and the paper that resulted from it.

In a recently published study, liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze 100 Turkish apple samples for the presence of 225 different pesticide residues during the 2022-2023 harvest season.

Gas chromatography (GC) was used to investigate the genetic basis of olive oil quality by comparing the transcriptome of two Iranian cultivars with contrasting oil profiles.

For the first time, the effectiveness of select fluorinated sorbents in the isolation of 15 PFAS compounds of different classes, compared to non-fluorinated sorbents, on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber geometry was investigated.

In this “Equipment Roundup,” the editors of LCGC International present MOBILion’s novel high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) functionality and Agilent’s InfinityLab LC Series portfolio.

In this Equipment Roundup, the editors of LCGC International feature Refeyn Ltd.’s upgraded MassFluidix HC system, optimizing efficiency and quality of mass photometry experiments.

A recent study aimed to characterize the fine-flavor cocoa in parent-hybrid combinations using widely targeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and bean phenotype analysis.

A recent joint study between the Department of Forensic Science of the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, Texas) and the Department of Criminal Justice of the School of Social Sciences at Ming Chuan University, (Taipei, Taiwan) developed artificial intelligence (AI) by transfer learning in a convolutional neural network (CNN), GoogLeNet, with the image classification AI fine-tuned to create intelligent classification systems to discriminate samples containing gasoline residues from burned substrates.

A joint study by the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading and Synergy Flavours aimed to identify volatiles that contribute to the aroma of cooked cheese, including the role of fat content in development during cooking.

Although automated peak detection functionalities are available in commercially accessible software, utilizing visual inspection and manual adjustments to achieve optimal true positive rates is often necessary. A recent study conducted by the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi, India) used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS) to distinguish hetero-variants (glycoforms) resulting in a monoclonal antibody (mAb) able to be characterized, revealing discernible peaks at the intact level. LCGC International spoke to Anurag Rathore, corresponding author for the article, about his department’s findings.

Researchers from the Department of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment at the University of Teramo (Italy) used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) investigated the contribution of Kluyveromyces marxianus to the gross composition and aroma profile of cow cheeses.

A pilot study conducted by the University of Split School of Medicine (Split, Croatia) used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to measure the urine levels of nicotine and its metabolites in research participants exposed to second-hand smoke in nightclubs.

A recent study ascertained metabolic biomarkers and investigated the metabolic alterations associated with aqueous humor (AH) in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Analysis was performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify and quantify metabolites.

A new, fast, and accurate method to measure the levels of ivermectin in blood and plasma samples was developed using a new technique to prepare the samples and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to analyze them.