Columns | Rising Stars of Separation Science

Here, we provide a compilation of some of the rising stars of separation science, detailing their ongoing contributions to the industry.

This month we interview David Steiner, head of product development at LVA GmbH–Lebensmittelversuchsanstalt in Klosterneuburg, Austria about his work developing liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) multiclass methods for classification of feedstuff, including replication of model complex feedstuffs in the analytical laboratory.

This month we interview Shijia Tang, principal scientist at Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA, about her innovative research focusing on the analysis of polymers and nanomaterials used in pharmaceutical analysis. Shijia decribes the benefits of an innovative in-line mixing modulation method for 2D-LC she developed for polymer and oligonucleotide analysis. The advantages of SEC–MALS to explore aggregation mechanisms for therapeutic constrained peptides and mRNA-lipid nanoparticles and their aggregates are also discussed.

This month we interview Zhuoheng Zhou from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, about his focus on advancing instrumental and column technologies for modern chromatography and its applications in novel biopharmaceutical modalities and proteomics. We also spoke to him about his work developing a protocol to help with the design of polymer monolithic capillary columns.

This month we interview Selina Tisler from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, about her work using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) to detect very polar compounds and compounds of unknown toxicity in wastewater effluents, and her recent investigation into the migration of compounds from reusable plastic bottles into drinking water using a nontargeted screening approach.

This month we interview Leo Wang Hantao from the University of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil, about his work investigating the influence of ion management parameters on the data produced by comprehensive gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC×GC–HRMS) equipped with a fourier transform-orbital ion trap mass analyzer, and his investigation into employing channel occlusion for sample prep in untargeted analysis in petroleomics.

This month we interview Juan L. Benedé from the University of Valencia in Spain, about his work developing microextraction approaches, based on the use of sorbent materials, for application to complex matrices, and his focus on the determination of disease biomarkers in biofluids.

This month we interview Petr Vozka from the California State University in Los Angeles, USA, about his work developing methods for analyzing products from plastic waste conversion processes and organic compounds adsorbed on microplastics using two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC).

This month we interview Anele Mpupa from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, about his work in sample preparation using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (MS), and his particular focus on water quality monitoring.

The Column interviewed Varoon Singh from the National Dope Testing Laboratory in India, about his work in sample preparation using chromatography with mass spectrometry (MS), and the development of novel materials for analytical applications.

This month we interview Martina Catani from the University of Ferrara, Italy, about her work on the separation of enantiomers by high performance liquid chromatography/ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC/UHPLC) and the study of the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of chiral stationary phases, and the separation and purification using LC analysis (single-column and continuous multi-column) of biomolecules of high therapeutic interest.

This month we interview Raviraj Chandrakant Shinde from India, about his work on the analysis of various food contaminants using chromatography and mass spectrometry, and the challenges involved in analyzing polar and ionic pesticides.

This month we interview Jessica Pandohee about her work in foodomics in prebiotics research for gut health, and the role of GC–O in aroma analysis for coffee-flavoured milk.

This month we interview Simona Felletti, a postdoctoral researcher in analytical chemistry in the Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Ferrara, Italy, about her work in the mass transfer phenomena and thermodynamic properties of packed columns under both LC and SFC conditions, and the hazardous potential that uncharacterized minor cannabinoids pose.

This month we interview Natalia Manousi, from the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Thessaloniki, Greece, about her work in the development and application of novel sample preparation techniques.

This month we interview Sara Carillo, Bioanalytical Research Lead at NIBRT, about her work developing new analytical approaches in biopharma, what attracted her to this research, and the benefits of a multi-attribute method (MAM) workflow in her work.

This month we interview Alexandre Goyon, Senior Scientist in the Small Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences Organization of Genentech, about his work focused on the online digestion and analysis of RNA molecules using immobilized RNase cartridges attached to a mDLC–MS system, and why the accurate sequencing of sgRNA is important.

The Column interviewed Valentina D’Atri about her work to couple CEC to MS, and the challenges of analyzing complex biopharmaceuticals.

The Column spoke to Andrea Hochegger, a postdoctoral researcher at the Graz University of Technology in Austria, about her work analyzing MOHs, and the importance of packaging to reduce the migration of MOH into foods.

This month we interview Victor U. Weiss, Assistant Professor at TU Wien, about his focus on the analysis and electrophoretic separation of nanoparticles from organic, inorganic, and biological sources, and the concept behind nES GEMMA.

This month we interview Hedvika Raabová, a graduate student at the Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, about her work using novel micro- and nanofibres during sample preparation, and the concept behind composite micro/nanofibre extractions.

This month we interview Jelle De Vos, Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, about his recent work to develop a chromatographic method to characterize nucleocapsid proteins from SARS-CoV-2, and the development of spatial three‑dimensional liquid chromatography (3D-LC) as a separation concept.

This month we interview Emanuela Gionfriddo, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the University of Toledo in Ohio, USA, about her work quantifying per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) in water using SPME–LC–MS/MS and the evolving field of sample preparation.

This month we interview Katelynn Perrault, Associate Professor of Forensic Sciences and Chemistry at Chaminade University of Honolulu in Honolulu, Hawaii, about her work translating 1D GC methods to effective comprehensive 2D GC (GC×GC) methods for forensic applications and the benefits that GC×GC offers the analyst.

In the first of the series, Mariosimone Zoccali, discusses the development of a powerful analytical method to analyze important bioactive molecules using online SFE–SFC–QqQ-MS.