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Systematic toxicological analysis (STA) is an important step in medicolegal investigations of death, poisoning, and drug use. The primary goal is the detection and confirmation of potentially toxic compounds in evidence. This article describes a workflow using non-targeted liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for reliable compound identification. Tandem mass spectrometry was performed on a low-resolution quadrupole-quadrupole-linear ion trap instrument. Acquired spectra were submitted to automated library search, and positive matches were verified by expert reviewing. After validation, the non-targeted LC–MS/MS technique was integrated in the STA service provided by our laboratory.

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The past couple instalments of “Sample Preparation Perspectives” have looked at current trends in the field. Another recent trend is dried blood spot analysis and other analysis methods using minute sample amounts. This month we take a quick look at the role of sample homogeneity and the determination of sample size. Microsampling approaches, including dried blood spots, are discussed.

Company Profiles

A selection of profiles on leading separation science companies.

The future of biological and clinical research will depend on technological innovations and cross discipline cooperation as science seeks a deeper understanding of increasingly complex biological systems. The 2016 recipient of the AES Mid-Career Award, Amy Herr, and her team at the University of California Berkeley have explored these areas using a combination of chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering with strong foundations in biology, material science, and analytical chemistry to innovate new microfluidic analytical technology. She recently spoke to LCGC about this work.

Continuing MilliporeSigma’s series of podcasts on the impact of water quality on chromatography techniques, Joe Plurad discusses the practical effects of ultrapure water in a specific area of analysis: The importance of water quality on perchlorate analysis by ion chromatography (IC).

A group of researchers has studied the migration of monomers and plastic additives from plastic food packaging in microwave heated homemade food and packed liquid food using QuEChERS and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS).

André de Kok, a senior analytical chemist at the at the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), was presented with the Excellence Award at the annual North American Chemical Residue Workshop (NACRW) Conference on July 18, 2016.

While conventional calibration for gel permeation (GPC) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) are useful for polymer characterization, there are inherent disadvantages in these analyses. Adding multi-angle light scattering (MALS) detection can help overcome the challenges faced with single-detector chromatography. For more complex polymers, asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) offers additional capabilities. This e-book explains what you need to know about using MALS in polymer analysis.