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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and MayLab Analytical Instruments, manufacturer of LC and LC-MS multi column selection and column switching system solutions, announce the release of new software control for MayLab's MistraSwitch multi column selector for the Mistral oven with the Thermo Scientific Surveyor Plus HPLC.

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News All the news from April 2007 Improved Isolation and Analysis of Mycotoxins from Cereals, Wines and Beers Elisabeth Korte, Max Erwine and Jason S. Wood Zosimus This month Zosimus asks if the time has come for conferences to go virtual Pittcon 2007 Review Beth Kirol, Pittcon 2007 President, looks back on the success of this year's event. Trace-Level Determination of Bromate in Water by Ion Chromatography Achim Rumi and Alfred Steinbach Q&A Steve Fischer, a senior applications chemist with Agilent Technologies, talks about the role of chromatography in metabolomic research.

Accurate preparation and correct selection of buffers is essential to obtain reproducible and consistent results in capillary electrophoresis (CE). A number of factors should be considered in buffer optimization, including the pKa of the buffering ion and the analyte as well as the molarity of the acid or base used in the adjusting procedure. Accurate recording of the precise reagents used and the procedures performed is necessary to prepare buffers consistently. "Poor reproducibility of results and poor quantitative precision will be attainable in CE assays without significant attention being paid to the preparation of buffers used."

Agilent Technologies Inc. (Santa Clara, California) recently announced the intent to establish an R&D center in Bengaluru, India. The center will host a multidisciplinary team for chemical analysis, molecular biology, and software for creating novel and complex scientific applications on its instrument.

The Gold Editor's Choice Awards was presented to Waters Corporation (Waltham, Massachusetts) for the Synapt HD-MS system at Pittcon 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.

With a frequency response of 90 Hz–20 kHz, these LaCie FireWire speakers deliver powerful, vibrant sound for your music, movies and games. The speakers connect easily to computers, either laptops or desktops, as well as MP3 players, using the built-in FireWire cable. FireWire provides superior digital audio as well as line power - no need for batteries or an AC adapter.

Three LC workshops will take place between 30 April and 4 May at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, London, UK. The courses offer practical training aimed at improving chromatography skills to enhance laboratory performance. They are hosted by LCGC Europe in association with LC Resources and sponsored by Hichrom.

Waters Corporation (Waltham, Massachusetts) recently has announced two significant collaborations.

The 30-year history of advances in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technology continues today. Recent improvements in hardware, electronics, and data analysis software have resulted in new levels of productivity and sensitivity that have broadened the potential applications for this laboratory mainstay.

Mass spectrometers are effective for identifying and quantifying unknown molecules, such as disease-related proteins and small molecules in pharmaceutical research and medical diagnosis. In addition, mass spectrometry (MS) can be particularly powerful when analyzing molecules with complex structures, such as posttranslationally modified proteins. Among various MS approaches, high-resolution multistep tandem MS (MS-MS) is an emerging methodology for accurate identification of complex molecules. In this article, we describe a new approach for mass analysis with enhanced quantitative capability combined with high-resolution multistep MS-MS, where the dynamic range of quantitation covers four orders of magnitude.

The ability to perform accurate mass measurements in mass spectrometry (MS) for elemental composition determination (ECD, also known as formula identification) provides a powerful tool for assisting in the identification of unknown compounds. Recent advances in data processing methods have demonstrated the ability to obtain mass accuracy in the 5–10 ppm range on routine single- and tandem-quadrupole systems (1,2), sufficient to assist in the formula identification. However, even on more expensive high-resolution systems such as quadrupole time-of-flight (qTOF) or Fourier transform (FT)–MS instruments that are capable of routinely measuring mass accuracy in the 1–3 ppm range, the formula identification is not unique, particularly for higher molecular weight compounds. By calibrating instruments to obtain high spectral accuracy as well as mass accuracy, the ability to unambiguously identify the formula is improved substantially, particularly on low-resolution systems.

It makes intuitive sense - the higher the sensitivity of an inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system, the lower the detection limit. But there are many factors that affect the detection limit for a given isotope in a given sample. These factors include sensitivity, background noise, and interferences.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography (LC)–MS are widespread successful approaches, based on single-quadrupole MS, for the routine detection, identification, and quantitation of compounds. There has, however, been increasing interest in the use of tandem MS in more challenging, complex matrices such as those commonly found in food, environmental, and biological analyses. The combination of GC with tandem-quadrupole MS (MS-MS) is discussed, where the inherent increase in selectivity and sensitivity of the approach has enabled rapid, confident compound detection and quantitation for such demanding applications.

The Gold Editors' Choice Awards was presented to Waters Corporation (Waltham, Massachusetts) for the Synapt HD–MS system at Pittcon 2007 in Chicago, Illinois. Silver Awards were presented to Paraytec (York, United Kingdom) for the ActiPix and Thermo Fisher Scientific (San Jose, California) for the LTQ ETD system. Bronze Awards were presented to Bruker Optics (Billerica, Massachusetts) for the ALPHA FT-IR system and Horiba Jobin Yvon (Edison, New Jersey) for the Activa system.

Each month in our Technology Forum we will feature a discussion between industry experts on various trends and issues in the chromatography field. This month's Technology Forum looks at the topic of gas chromatography and the trends and issues surrounding it. Joining us for this discussion are Mark Collins, Gas Chromatography Product Manager at Perkin Elmer, and Jaap de Zeeuw, International Specialist GC consumables at Restek.

LCGC 25th Anniversary

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News All the news from March 2007 Zosimus In this issue Zosimus wonders whether separation science could be more progressive if chromatography companies used designers from the consumer goods sector. Market Trends & Analysis Glenn Cudiamat reports on the latest trends in laboratory information management systems. Radioactive Chromatography: What is the Smallest Detectable Peak? Gunter Dietzel and Reinhard Grugel Automated Analysis and Data Evaluation of Explosives' Residues Fraser McLeod Q&A DeltaDOT co-founder Dr Stuart Hassard tells us why he believes the future of protein analysis is on the verge of a new era.