LCGC Europe-12-01-2004

In this article, the authors examine the concentration-dependent influence of Na+- and K+ ions on mass spectra of peptides, with human gastrin as a model peptide using LC/ESI–MS as the selected ionization technique.

The authors provide suggestions for the sample pretreatment and analysis of aerosol particles including the use of on-line SFE–LC–GC–MS, GCXGC and LC–MS. Although each technique has its merits, the novel multidimensional systems and those integrating sample pretreatment with the final analysis proved to be valuable tools in aerosol analysis.

This column focuses on some of the latest developments in preparative-scale columns, bulk packing materials and column hardware designs. Silica, polymeric and other packings are discussed together with the newest monolithic columns.

In this month's column, John Dolan reveals a number of simple and useful shortcuts or rules of thumb that he has acquired over the years that allow quick estimates to guide method development or help solve a problem.

This article discusses the development of gel permeation chromatography or size exclusion chromatography as a technique for analysing the molecular weight distributions of polymers. It further highlights the development of columns and hardware for high-resolution characterization of polymers.