Robert S. Plumb

A new method to deal with the interaction of transition metals with analytes has been developed and is described.

Ian Wilson was a principal speaker at The Chromatographic Society’s Diamond Jubilee meeting on “Advances in Microcolumn and Related Separation Technologies”, which took place in London on 22 March this year. In this article Ian and co-author Rob Plumb elaborate on the theme of the meeting.

The method development process required for the accurate quantification of both clopidogrel and its acid metabolite with a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 1 pg/mL in human plasma is discussed.

A discussion on the analytical challenges that both liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry face as well as some potential solutions to these issues.

Two decades ago, MS was the preserve of experts and skilled technicians as the instrumentation required constant attention and adjustment. At that time, liquid chromatography (LC)–MS was in its infancy and atmospheric pressure ionization (API) source interfacing was just beginning. Samples requiring analysis were passed from the requesting scientist to these "experts for analysis." The samples would be analyzed, processed, and interpreted, and the results returned via a written report. Two decades later, the users and capabilities of LC–MS have changed significantly. Now mass spectrometers and LC–MS systems are ubiquitous in the analytical laboratory, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. These instruments are used by a wide variety of scientists for a diverse range of tasks, from purity screening in medicinal chemistry, to the quantification of drugs in blood and the identification of proteins for biomarker discovery. The usability of the current MS platforms has improved..