LCGC Europe-01-01-2018

Characterization of protein modifications is an essential aspect of biopharmaceutical development. Traditionally, the characterization process of chromatographic peaks involves manual, larger-scale fractionation to obtain a sufficient amount of material for further analytical studies. This article presents a fully automated process for online peak fractionation and reduction of therapeutic antibodies with subsequent quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS) characterization. This innovative technique significantly accelerates MS peak characterization compared to traditional approaches and avoids the risk of unintended modifications of the variants as a result of the isolation process, for example, deamidation during storage of isoforms. This approach considerably reduces the required sample amount and can be used for the characterization of product-related impurities during early stage development.

Paying attention to the details of mobile-phase preparation can have a big impact on the reproducibility of hydrophilic-interaction chromatography (HILIC) separations.

Three main points summarize the best ways to be successful in gas chromatography (GC): Capillary GC is clean GC; practice, practice, practice; and be a student of GC.

The United States Pharmacopeia general chapter on Analytical Instrument Qualification has been updated and became effective 1 August 2017. So, what has changed?

During the developmental stages of chromatography, the use of sample derivatization was prevalent either to render difficult-to-separate analytes ready for chromatography or to improve analyte detectability. As chromatography techniques advanced, including detection, the need for derivatization was less pronounced. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in derivatization schemes; however, the new generation of separation scientists is not as well-versed in these reactions. Some of this resurgence is for newer purposes, such as combining two or more derivatizations for the analysis of multiple compound classes, or to develop greener approaches. In this month’s instalment, we explain the use of chemical derivatization in the separation sciences, generally, and in sample preparation specifically.

A look at what’s in store for chromatographers at Pittcon 2018, which takes place in Orlando, Florida, USA, from 26 February to 1 March 2018.

The 34th International Symposium on Microscale Separations and Bioanalysis (MSB 2018) will be held at the conference centre of the Windsor Barra Hotel (Barra da Tijuca) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 18–21 February 2018.

Click the title above to open the LCGC Europe January 2018 regular issue, Vol 31, No 1, in an interactive PDF format.