John Chasse

Researchers at the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) and the University of Auckland (Auckland, New Zealand) out to show that applying audible sound via a linear actuator, which impacted primarily on particle motion rather than the pressure component of audible sound, would significantly decrease beer fermentation time compared to control fermentations by keeping more viable yeast in suspension. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to measure the abundance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the beer samples.

Researchers at the University of Porto (Porto, Portugal) aiming to uncover novel therapeutic targets for bone loss of functionality and enhancing the understanding of its underlying bioenergetic mechanisms used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to characterize proteomes.

Treated wastewater from three expedition North Atlantic Ocean cruise ships was collected and analyzed with a focus on pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial chemicals. Samples were screened using data-dependent acquisition using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS).

A joint study conducted by the Henan University of Technology (Zhengzhou, China) and the Food Laboratory of Zhongyuan (Henan Province, China) developed and evaluated what the researchers deemed a novel zwitterionic stationary phase, Sil-DBO-PS, for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC).LCGC International spoke to Ashraf Ali of the Henan University of Technology about this research and their findings.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to detect the chemical components of natural musk, harvested from forest musk deer at multiple stages of maturity. This research combines metabolomic profiling with biosynthetic pathway analysis to identify potential precursors and enzymes involved in musk biosynthesis.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine’s Children's Nutrition Research Center (Houston, Texas) developed and validated a high-throughput extraction and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method to separate and quantify 39 spinach flavonoid species in 11.5 min.

Cell membrane chromatography (CMC) technology was used by researchers in screening efficacy and antibacterial ability of articaine (AT) derivatives in the pre-emptive treatment of oral infections.

Two proof-of-concept hydrophilic interaction chromatography HILIC) methods were developed in a joint study conducted by the University of Geneva (Switzerland), Sanofi, and the Waters Corporation—one for disrupting LNPs and retaining the mRNA, and another for detecting only unencapsulated mRNA to assess encapsulation efficiency. LCGC International spoke to Jonathan Maurer, first author of the paper that resulted from this study, about the methods and the efforts that led up to their development.

Researchers at Andes Ag, Inc. (Alameda, California) established a high-throughput framework for the robust and precise quantification of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) from agricultural soils using gas chromatography (GC).

A joint study between the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) compared directly measured vitamin K1 (vitK1) concentrations in healthy dogs and dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS); they also investigated whether supplementation of vitK1 in dogs with CE would significantly increase vitK1 concentrations.

A study conducted by the Agriculture Research Centre of Giza, Egypt, and Jilin Agricultural University in China, evaluated the efficacy of stinging nettle extract, nettle smoke, and formic acid in the controlling of Varroa mites, a major threat to honeybee colonies, with a focus on mite infestation reduction, honeybee mortality, and biochemical responses. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to identify key bioactive compounds in the stinging nettle extract.

An Australian study used pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC–MS) to analyze the presence of plastic polymers in commercial and homemade composts. LCGC International spoke to Simran Kaur—a PhD candidate at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland in Woolloongabba, Australia—to find out more about her team’s findings.

Based on their hypothesis that smelling anxiety chemosignals can, like visual anxiety induction, lead to an increase in odor sensitivity, a joint study between the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Erlangen, Germany) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (Freising, Germany) combined behavioral experiments, odor profile analysis by a trained panel, and instrumental analysis of odorants (gas chromatography-olfactometry) and volatiles (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry).

A pilot study investigating whether nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide kinase (NADK) expression is selectively diminished in alcohol-associated liver cirrhosis (AC), as well as evaluating its potential as a biomarker for this condition, measured AC and non-AC (NAC). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+) levels in human liver samples were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

A joint study between the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) and the UC Davis West Coast Metabolomics Center (Davis, California) identified differentially regulated lipids in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity through the application of reversed-phase liquid chromatography-accurate mass tandem mass spectrometry (RP-LC-accurate MS/MS).

Saba Aslani from the University of Texas at Arlington spoke to LCGC International about a collaborative project with Northwestern University, the University of Hong Kong, and BioTools, Inc., investigating mirror-image cyclodextrins using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD).

A novel method called quantitative marinating (QM) was developed to reduce industrial waste during the processing of crayfish meat, with the taste, flavor, and aroma of crayfish meat processed by various techniques investigated. Headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) was used to determine volatile compounds of meat examined.

Researchers developing a plant microbial consortium that can repair in-situ high concentration TNT (1434 mg/kg) contaminated soil, as well as overcome the limitations of previous studies that only focused on simulated pollution, used untargeted metabolone gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to measure their success.

Researchers developing a plant microbial consortium that can repair in-situ high concentration TNT (1434 mg/kg) contaminated soil, as well as overcome the limitations of previous studies that only focused on simulated pollution, used untargeted metabolone gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to measure their success.

LCGC International's April series for National Cannabis Awareness Month concludes with a discussion with Walter B. Wilson from the National Institute of Standard and Technology’s (NIST’s) Chemical Sciences Division regarding recent research his team conducted investigating chromatographic interferences that can potentially inflate the levels of Δ9-THC in Cannabis sativa plant samples, and possible solutions to avoid this problem.

The United Kingdom banned menthol as a characteristic flavor in cigarettes in May 2020. Researchers tested cigarettes sold in 2021–2022 for menthol and other characterizing flavors through sensory and chemical testing, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in their research.

Researchers leveraged the advantages of thermodesorption, followed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC/TOF-MS), to compare and assess a variety of sampling phases for body odor.

Duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR), a new-style endoscopic procedure using hydrothermal energy to ablate this thickened layer, shows promise for enhancing glucose and lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetes patients. However, the mechanisms driving these improvements remain largely unexplored. Researchers investigated the mechanisms by which DMR improves metabolic disorders using a rat model. Gut microbiota and metabolomics profiles were analyzed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS).

A recent study conducted at the University of Georgia, (Athens, Georgia) presented a validated method for quantifying 18 terpenes in Cannabis sativa essential oil, extracted via hydrodistillation. The method, utilizing gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with selected ion monitoring (SIM), includes using internal standards (n-tridecane and octadecane) for accurate analysis, with key validation parameters—such as specificity, accuracy, precision, and detection limits—thoroughly assessed. LCGC International spoke to Noelle Joy of the University of Georgia, corresponding author of this paper discussing the method, about its creation and benefits it offers the analytical community.

Researchers used liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) in their proteomic analysis to compare the serum proteome of migraine patients with healthy controls and to identify differentially expressed proteins as potential migraine biomarkers.

Researchers investigating the relationship between cannabis use during pregnancy and depressive symptoms—and whether continued use beyond the first trimester or higher levels of use were linked to increased symptoms—used liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to confirm the presence of 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) in urine samples.

A combination of liquid chromatography ion mobility spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–IMS-HRMS) for non-targeted analysis (NTA) was used to detect and identify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in alligator plasma.

A joint study conducted by the University of Ferrara (Italy) and the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (Rome, Italy) focused on the analysis of terpenes and terpenoids—key bioactive compounds responsible for the distinctive flavor and potential therapeutic effects of cannabis. For this study, the research team used comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS) coupled with dynamic headspace extraction (DHS) to profile these compounds in cannabis inflorescences. LCGC International spoke to Flavio A. Franchina of the University of Ferrara, corresponding author of the paper which resulted from this study, about their research.

Researchers evaluated the associations between serum lipidomic profile and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) in type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes, as well as in non-diabetic controls. Lipidomic analysis was conducted using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) to identify specific lipid species linked to the presence and severity of SCA across the three groups.

Research conducted by the Universitas Padjadjaran (Sumedang, Indonesia) focused on the measurement of vitamin K1 in various vegetables (specifically lettuce, cabbage, napa cabbage, and spinach) that were ingested by patients using warfarin. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with an ultraviolet detector set at 245 nm was used as the analytical technique.