LCGC North America-03-01-2008

Recent work suggests that the practical value of hyphenated techniques is limited by difficulties inherent in achieving definitive compositional answers in general MS. This article argues that it is not impossible in certain cases.

This month's installment of "Column Watch" is the first of a two-part series in which columnist Ron Majors examines the trends and highlights in columns and consumables at Pittcon 2008.

Researchers at Swansea University (Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom) are using GC-MS-TD technology to analyze the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, are designing a tiny sensor that can detect minute quantities of hazardous gases more efficiently and quickly than current devices on the market.

The techniques involved in successfully separating and quantifying amino acids vary from instrument to instrument. However, the processes for amino acid analysis are similar, involving hydrolysis, labeling, separation, and detection followed by data analysis.

In the last year, two new protein depletion products have been introduced, and these will be the focus of this month's installment of "Directions in Discovery."

This article explores the progress that atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) has made in its relatively short history for LC–MS analysis. Specifically, the authors examine the combination of APPI and electrospray ionization (ESI).

After teaching a training class in China, John Dolan was reminded of how chromatographers worldwide encounter the same types of problems, such as method transfer. This month's column is dedicated to method transfer problems.