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Ephedra alkaloids are phenethylamines that occur naturally in plants, including the herb Ma Huang used in traditional Chinese medicine. Ephedra alkaloids are potent CNS stimulants and also have a sympathomimetic effect on the peripheral nervous system. The aim of this study was to develop a multi-analyte procedure for the extraction, cleanup, and quantification of the ephedra alkaloids in functional foods and natural products. High capacity strong cation-exchange SPE cartridges were used for the isolation of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpsuedoephedrine, methylephedrine, and synephrine from dietary supplements.

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LCGC, the leading resource for separation scientists, is proud to announce that Ronald E. Majors and Zachary S. Breitbach are the winners of the 11th annual LCGC Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader in Chromatography Awards, respectively. Majors and Breitbach will be honored in a symposium as part of the technical program at the Pittcon 2018 conference in Orlando, Florida, on February 26, 2018.

The LCGC Europe/HTC-15 Innovation Award was launched to celebrate the work of scientists who are innovatively evolving the field of hyphenated techniques. The winner of the award will present their research at the HTC-15 conference, which will be held in Cardiff at the Cardiff City Hall from 24–26 January 2018. The winner will receive a plaque and a 1000 Euro travel grant award and free registration to the conference and social programme.

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Gerstel GmbH & Co. KG celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion hosted a gala event open to its staff and partners from across the globe.

I hear the words “struggling for sensitivity” so often when speaking to folks using LC–MS for bioanalysis, environmental analysis, metabolomics, proteomics, and a host of other applications where target analytes are present at low concentrations in complex matrices. We spend fortunes on MS/MS instruments to increase specificity of detection in order to improve sensitivity. Some of us go to great lengths to optimize sample extraction and HPLC conditions in order to minimize matrix suppression effects and improve specificity and hence sensitivity.

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Fast gas chromatography (GC) has received new attention recently in the form of available enhanced instrument capabilities. This instalment reviews important characteristics and requirements of fast GC: What can fast GC do for separations, and how can laboratories take advantage of enhanced separation speeds?

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Looking back, there are a great many names immortalized across all fields of science and technology, which we first hear about in the undergraduate lecture halls, and perhaps only later learn to truly appreciate as the innovators and inventors of an impactful technology that has lasted the test of time. A couple of names that at present are probably not yet commonplace in the undergraduate science class are those of Hideo Kodama and Chuck Hull.

Fast gas chromatography (GC) has received new attention recently in the form of available enhanced instrument capabilities. What can fast GC do for separations, and how can laboratories take advantage of enhanced separation speeds?

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Perhaps the largest source of error with sampling and sample preparation, especially with solid and semisolid samples, is the sample heterogeneity. Generally, sample heterogeneity is managed by sample homogenization, such as grinding and mixing, as well as use of an appropriately large sample size. Incremental sampling methodology (ISM) involves structured composite sampling and a processing method to create an unbiased estimate of the mean concentration of soil contaminants. Hence, ISM is emerging as a preferred methodology for conducting field environmental sampling. In this month’s instalment of “Sample Preparation Perspectives”, we describe the application of ISM to laboratory subsampling protocols.

Vendor Viewpoints

Leading chromatography vendors offer their view of the most important developments in separation science in the past 30 years.