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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.

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Researchers from The First Institute of Oceanography in Qingdao, China, have developed an exact mass suspect screening approach for identifying multiple lipophilic marine toxins in seawater, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and marine sediment using LC–TOF-MS.