The Column-06-11-2018

The Column

The Art of Museum Conservation Using Solid-Phase Microextraction–Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

June 11, 2018

Cover Story

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The Column spoke to Katherine Curran, a lecturer in Sustainable Heritage at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage in London, UK, about her work classifying museum artefacts using volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis and solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME–GC–MS).

Vol 14 No 6 The Column June 2018 North American PDF

June 11, 2018

Issue PDF

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Click the title above to open The Column June 2018 North American issue, Volume 14, Number 6, in an interactive PDF format.

Vol 14 No 6 The Column June 2018 Europe and Asia PDF

June 11, 2018

Issue PDF

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Click the title above to open The Column June 2018 Europe & Asia issue, Volume 14, Number 6, in an interactive PDF format.

Tips & Tricks: Aqueous GPC/SEC: Influence of Salt and pH

June 01, 2018

Features

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While gel permeation chromatography/size-exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) of uncharged molecules in organic eluents in most cases is a straightforward task, aqueous GPC/SEC of polyelectrolytes usually requires more parameters to be considered and optimized. This instalment of Tips & Tricks explains more.

Resources for Careers in Metabolomics for Early Career Researchers

June 01, 2018

Features

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Metabolomics, a word coined in 1998, is the study of small molecules (that is, organic chemicals with a molecular weight of 50–2000 Daltons) present in a given biological fluid, tissue, organ, organism, and environment at a given time. Using the power and high throughput of analytical platforms, such as mass spectrometry (MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, metabolomics promises to be a cornerstone in innovations and discoveries in the areas of medicine, agriculture, biomedical, space, and environment. Thus, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates and doctorates who interface with analytical chemistry need to prepare for the challenges of academia or industry as metabolomics research takes a centre stage in this big data era.

Injecting Water onto a GC Column: Solving the Mystery of Poor Chromatography

June 01, 2018

Features

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Ethylene glycol is a particularly difficult compound to analyze because it is not easily extracted from water. Many environmental samples originate from water runoff at airports, where ethylene glycol is used as a de‑icing agent for airplanes during winter months. Hydraulic fracturing is a technique where pressurized fluid and sand or other solids (proppant) are used in gas drilling to allow gas extraction. Glycols are a common ingredient in most hydraulic fracturing fluid and play a key role in preventing emulsifications and stabilizing the solutions. The direct aqueous injection of ethylene glycol is challenging because it can be difficult to attain reproducibility and good peak shape. The large expansion volume of water can cause backflash, carryover can cause inconsistent results, and excess water can extinguish the flame ionization detection (FID) flame. This article describes a robust approach to analyze glycols in aqueous samples, which reduces downtime and maintains sensitivity.

Enhancing the Sensitivity of Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using Flow Modulated Gas Chromatography

June 01, 2018

Features

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Peak intensity enhancement is one highly desirable outcome of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC). When coupled to mass spectrometry (MS), such enhancement is usually achieved with a thermal modulator using a technique called cryogenic zone compression (CZC). Differential flow modulation is a simple and cost-effective alternative to thermal modulation, but the requisite high flow rates are generally perceived as being incompatible with most (electron ionization [EI] and chemical ionization [CI]) mass spectrometers. The past decade has witnessed resurgent interest in coupling GC to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), which requires high gas flows to assist ionization. This article reports on the modification of a GC–APCI system with a flow modulator and evaluates its potential to enhance the sensitivity towards selected trace organics.

Josef Heiland Receives Eberhard Gerstel Award

June 01, 2018

News

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Josef Heiland has been awarded the 2018 Eberhard Gerstel Prize for his publication “Temperature Gradient Elution and Superheated Eluents in Chip-HPLC” (1), which was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

A Fast, Robust, and Reliable Method for Sensitively Screening Drugs of Abuse in Human Urine for Forensic Toxicology

June 01, 2018

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Analyzing drugs of abuse (DoA) in human bodily fluids is crucial for clinical research and forensic toxicology. In these routine analyses, a large number of samples must be investigated, with a potentially high laboratory cost for each sample. As such, a reliable and affordable method is required for analysis. In this article, a fast, robust, and reliable method is presented for routine, high-throughput drug screening of urine samples.

Agilent Announces Genohm Acquisition

June 01, 2018

News

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Agilent Technologies has announced an agreement to acquire Genohm, a developer of highly differentiated, on-premise, and cloud-based software solutions for laboratory management.

LabConnect Expands

June 01, 2018

News

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LabConnect LLC, a global provider of central laboratory and support services for biopharmaceutical, medical device, and contract research organization, has completed phase one of a 11,000 square foot facility expansion in Johnson City, Tennessee, USA.