Special Issues-05-01-2010

Those fond of puns point out that mass spectrometry (MS) has become ever more focused in the last two decades, while at the same time offering ever more information. The dynamic market for biotherapeutics has driven a number of developments, particularly following the paradigm of well-characterized biopharmaceutical products (WCBP) (1,2). Partly as a result of automation and interfacing, those trained in biological or biochemical disciplines now use mass spectrometers routinely. This also means that the sorts of questions asked of MS have changed. Coping with biomolecule heterogeneity is a key challenge, not generally an issue for small molecule drugs. The data complexity means that mass information alone is insufficient. And at the submission stage, regulators are increasingly concerned about tertiary structure and conformation, something that was not previously an analytical requirement (2). Adding polyethylene glycol (PEG) to already heterogeneous molecules to prolong their half-lives in the body raises..

Crude oil is a generic term for the unrefined flammable liquid that is mined from the ground. It is an extremely varied and very complex medium that can contain many thousands of organic compounds, whose contents and concentrations vary enormously from one sample to another. This article discusses how recent advances in time-of-flight-mass spectrometry coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography is helping the petrochemical industry to characterize crude oils more fully and so provide solutions to common problems experienced during drilling, extraction, and refining.

A new approach to enhancing the performance of formula identification of true unknowns beyond high mass and spectral accuracy was evaluated. Three heuristic rules on upper limits and ratios of elements were tested for their effectiveness in filtering out false positive formulas with both high- and low-resolution mass spectrometry data. The rule on elements' upper limits was found to be the most effective one in eliminating incorrect formulas.

Associate Editor Meg Evans previews the upcoming ASMS conference, taking place May 23–27, 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The misuse of androgenic anabolic steroids in sports was banned in 1976 by the International Olympic Committee and global sports community. The illegal use of anabolic steroids has reached disturbing levels worldwide. This worldwide problem is fueled partially by an ever-increasing demand for better athletic performance. The World Anti-Doping Agency has formulated strict guidelines for minimum allowable concentrations of exogenous anabolic steroids and their metabolites. The standard test methods for doping control are analyzed in urine samples with trimethyl-silyl derivatization. Urine is a complex and difficult biological matrix. This research shows the advantages of using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (GCÃ-GC–TOF-MS) and illustrates the capability of GCÃ-GC-TOF-MS to be an effective instrumental option for antidoping control screening.

Adapting the use of "ultrahigh" performance chromatography for liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) applications requires specific considerations in integrating the instrument platforms. Mobile phase options are limited to volatile buffers, and slow MS sampling rates can limit throughput advantages that such next-generation media offer. High-throughput LC–MS methods of different relevant pharmaceutical and environmental mixtures were developed using ultrahigh performance core-shell media. Such methods were developed using standard HPLC systems and back pressures, showing the ease and utility of using core-shell media for increasing throughput of LC–MS methods.

For anyone who makes his or her living in the field of analytical chemistry, and more specifically, in the fields of chromatography or spectroscopy, the debate concerning the state of the conference industry is well known to say the least.

A number of clinical situations now call for high-sensitivity measurement of estrogens, including monitoring during female hormone replacement therapy, antiestrogen treatment, and estrogen deficiency in men. Traditional immunoassay methods and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS) do not provide the sensitivity and selectivity required for these applications. In contrast, a gas chromatography–negative chemical ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–NCI-MS-MS) platform can provide detection limits below 1 pg/mL when used in conjunction with the appropriate derivatization protocol, with very short cycle times.