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Egyptian scorpions of the Androctonus genus produce neurotoxic venom that result in life-threatening stings. However, the composition and enzymatic activities of their venoms remain poorly understood. Researchers used electrophoresis to analyze the protein components of venom collected from three Androctonus species, with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS).

As a response to the growing interest in identifying novel, non-invasive biomarkers reflecting endogenous inflammatory processes in asthma, researchers evaluated the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath from patients with clinically controlled asthma to assess how tobacco exposure influences their expression. Breath samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Researchers optimized two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) using a Design of Experiments-guided optimization approach to overcome breakthrough effects, enabling high-resolution oligonucleotide impurity profiling beyond conventional 1D-LC. LCGC International spoke to Megane Aebischer of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, lead author of the paper that resulted from this work.

An illustration for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science | Image Credit: © Rama - stock.adobe.com.

In the final part of this roundtable discussion focused on the experiences, challenges, and contributions of women in chromatography, LCGC International spoke to Susanne Boye, Daniela Held, and Claudia Zielke about the future of chromatography and what excites them most about the field.

With the increasing interest in green chemistry and sustainability, analytical chemists are developing new methods and reexamining existing methods with a new emphasis on sustainability and environmental impact. Since the publication of the principles of green chemistry in the 1990s and the principles of green analytical chemistry in the 2000s, several scoring systems for evaluating the greenness or sustainability of analytical methods have been developed. In this column, we will examine three widely used scoring methods: Red, green blue (RGB), the analytical greenness metric (AGREE), and the analytical method greenness score (AMGS) with comments on how they all apply to gas chromatography (GC). We will see that classical GC, which has roots in the origins of the environmental movement, has been and remains among the greenest of analytical techniques.

A confident young female scientist in a lab coat and goggles stands with arms crossed in a modern laboratory, representing the bright future of women in STEM careers and research. | Image Credit: © ultramansk - stock.adobe.com.

In the sixth part of this roundtable discussion focused on the experiences, challenges, and contributions of women in chromatography, LCGC International spoke to Susanne Boye, Daniela Held, and Claudia Zielke about the practical skills needed to lead a lab.

Researchers developed a technique optimizing the extraction process of six cannabinoids in cannabis oil and marijuana samples, as well as an analytical validation of a quantitative and qualitative method for seven cannabinoids, using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with low-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-MS).

Responding to a lack of sensitive analytical methods for detecting associated medications in complex wastewater matrices, researchers at the University of Louisville developed and validated a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method using multiple reaction monitoring for 10 common respiratory pharmaceuticals.

A research team comprised of members of the University of Liège and the College of William & Mary developed a robust analytical workflow to profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during accelerated thermal aging of smokeless powders formulated with those green stabilizers. Headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HS-SPME–GC×GC–TOFMS) provided high peak capacity and sensitive VOC detection. LCGC International spoke to Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto of the University of Liège about this workflow and its potential implications for future research.

A confident young female scientist in a lab coat and goggles stands with arms crossed in a modern laboratory, representing the bright future of women in STEM careers and research. | Image Credit: © ultramansk - stock.adobe.com.

In the fourth part of this roundtable discussion focused on the experiences, challenges, and contributions of women in chromatography, LCGC International spoke to Susanne Boye, Daniela Held, and Claudia Zielke about how best to navigate challenges in chromatography.