The Column-02-18-2013

Incognito found a 2D LC solution to a tricky separation problem but this technique did not meet the client's requirements. The magnanimous columnist admits to a rare defeat on this occasion but praises the thrill of seeking a solution to a perplexing method development problem. Could any readers suggest a more straightforward solution?

Tablets found aboard an ancient shipwreck could identify the early beginnings of medicine. A team of scientists led by Erika Ribechini of the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy) determined the composition of tablets found aboard a ship-wrecked off the coast of Tuscany (Italy) around 2,000 years ago.1

When discussing optimization and improvements to costly and time-consuming purification processes "trapping" columns can be an alternative to fractionation.

A team of scientists in Germany1 has identified a new protein from the venom of the snake, Vipera palaestinae, that could be used in the development of anti-cancer drugs.

This article describes the extraction of drug residues by QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) and analysis by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization?tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI?MS?MS), using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (DMRM), for the improved quantification of veterinary drugs.

In clinical and pharmaceutical testing, analkyses of drug compounds and their metabolites are often performed in complex biological matrices, such as plasma and whole blood.