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Aflatoxins are poisonous and carcinogenic chemicals that occur in nature in soil, hay, and grains. When contaminated food is processed, aflatoxins can enter the general food supply chain and can be dangerous for humans and animals. Time- and cost-efficient analytical methods can ensure food safety. Compared to conventional manual methods the use of “supercritical” CO2 for supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) as well as chromatographic separation (supercritical fluid chromatography [SFC]) of aflatoxins offers a more efficient process while reducing solvent consumption.

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The 9th International Symposium on Packed Column SFC (SFC 2015) was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, on 22–24 July 2015. Selected highlights of both the oral and poster SFC 2015 programmes are reviewed in this synopsis.

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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health conducted a study into the drug use habits of nightclubbers and arrested criminals in Oslo, Norway. The study used UHPLC–MS–MS to analyze the drug-use profiles of nightclubbers and criminals arrested while under the influence of drugs to develop an understanding of drug use patterns in these groups.

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Research into honeybee venom is being performed to identify active proteins acting as allergens and toxins. Researchers combined LC–MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS–MS, LC–ESI-QTOF-MS–MS, and a combinatorial peptide ligand library enrichment method to detect 269 proteins.

A team of researchers from China and the USA has developed a liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) method for quantifying methylergonovine (ME), a semi-synthetic ergot alkaloid used for the treatment and prevention of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), in human plasma.

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Gel permeation/size-exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC) is the standard method for separating samples by molecular size and determining molar mass distributions. However, GPC/SEC instruments can also be used to investigate porous materials and to learn more about pore size distributions, as a powerful alternative to nitrogen gas (N2) adsorption or mercury (Hg) intrusion porosimetry.

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Contaminants in surface water and drinking water supplies arising from pharmaceutical and personal care product use as well as other compound sources pose a difficult challenge for analytical chemists. Thomas Letzel from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, spoke to The Column to discuss collaborative research taking place in Europe to address contaminants of emerging concern in water analysis.

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Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Aberdeen have identified disease markers for Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as “sleeping sickness”. Using reversed-phase ultrahigh‑performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy researchers found 53 discriminatory metabolite markers.