LCGC Europe-10-01-2007

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Screening designs are used to screen for important factors during method optimization or in robustness testing. Usually, two-level screening designs, such as fractional factorial and Plackett–Burman designs, are applied. This column discusses the properties of these designs.

The determination of the carcinogenic food processing contaminant furan by headspace sampling of foods is challenging because it can easily escape from the sample during preparation. Furan can also be easily formed as a by-product when the sample is heated in the headspace apparatus. This article describes a number of approaches to overcome these difficulties and alternative methods to quantify furan in a variety of matrices.

Isranalytica 2008 - The 11th Annual Conference of the Israel Analytical Chemistry Society, Tel Aviv, Israel

This article describes the factors that affect the selection of columns for two-dimensional (2D) LCÃ-LC separations. The maximum increase in peak capacity compared with single-dimension (1D) separations is obtained by using "orthogonal" systems employing various combinations of separation mechanisms to provide as different separation selectivities as possible for the sample compounds in the first and in the second dimension systems. To obtain best results, matching the chemistry of the stationary phase, column dimensions and mobile phases in the first and in the second dimensions is essential for successful separations, especiall for comprehensive LCÃ-LC.

Getting started on the right foot is important for efficient method development.