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The first high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column for enantioselective chromatography was introduced commercially in 1981. This chromatographic mode has now become the method of choice for the analysis of chiral pharmaceutical compounds, making previous approaches, such as optical rotation, almost completely obsolete. However, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has been gaining increasing recognition as a complementary technique to HPLC for pharmaceutical enantioselective analysis. Gas chromatography (GC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) remain very useful for particular applications.

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The proportion of counterfeit medicines has increased dramatically. Combatting this issue is complex, and various levels of action are necessary. The quality control (QC) of imported batches using simple, reliable, and cost-efficient analytical approaches is vital. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is becoming important because the analysis is achieved in a capillary with small dimensions, and is usually filled with an aqueous buffer. No organic solvent is required and injection volumes are in the nanolitre range, which is convenient because of the low availability of reference substances and reduces the environmental impact. CE is now recognized by numerous Pharmacopeia and can be used for counterfeit and substandard characterization as a validated analytical procedure that adheres to international guidelines.

The quantitative extraction and subsequent purification of trace contaminants from (semi-)solid environmental and food matrices of regular size (that is, a few grams) is still recognized as a challenging task, typically accomplished through relatively complex off-line multistep treatment procedures. When these conventional sample preparation procedures are applied to the treatment of size-limited samples (of less than 1 g), the difficulties increase. This review discusses the different analytical strategies that can be adopted to overcome (or at least reduce) these difficulties when chromatographic techniques are involved for final instrumental determination.

The ban on organotins has not led to a significant reduction in marine pollution according to research published by the Polish Academy of Sciences. Researchers found unacceptable levels of harmful organotins in the muscle and liver tissues of fish species collected in the Southern Baltic Sea coastal zone exceeding the good environmental status boundaries.

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Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a potent greenhouse gas in the troposphere, while in the stratosphere it contributes to ozone destruction. Global atmospheric models treat anthropogenic industrial processes as the sole source of atmospheric CCl4. However, some evidence suggests that biogenic sources may also contribute. This article describes grab-sampling with analysis by thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD–GC–MS) to assess levels of CCl4 in a Central Amazonian rainforest. We find that ambient air mixing ratios within and above the forest, while agreeing with current equatorial estimates (120 ppt), show diurnal and canopy-height variations that suggest a biogenic source of CCl4, and therefore may be important for closing the gaps in the global atmospheric CCl4 budget.

Biotage AB has announced the purchase of shares in the Danish biomolecule company Chreto Aps, representing a significant investment into the area of drug development.

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What are the motivations and events that drive a successful separation scientist? This is the question that CASSS seeks to answer by documenting the lives and careers of the analytical chemists who have won their “Outstanding Achievements in Separation Science” Award.

When purchasing analytical equipment, it is important to know that you are not just buying an instrument but investing in your lab’s future. Shimadzu not only provides the instrumentation but also the technical knowledge and support to help your lab be successful. We can assist with method development, instrument training, and many other areas of support like maintenance to ensure your systems are constantly operating at an exceptional level. From seed to sale, from accurate cannabis potency profiles to reliable, highly sensitive pesticide screening, let us deliver scalable, turnkey solutions to meet your testing needs for today and tomorrow.

SCIEX instruments have been designed with the production laboratory in mind. Our cannabis method was developed to allow the analysis for potency, pesticides and mycotoxins in one in injection. SCIEX also has a terpene method. All of your method requests for potency, pesticides and terpenes may be accomplished on one instrument.

I’ve often written about the “lazy” chromatography which has swept through our industry, whereby 0.1% (w/w or w/v!) TFA or Formic acid is used to “buffer” the eluent system well away from the pKa of analyte molecules, leaving most acidic analytes in the ion suppressed form and most basic analytes in the ionized form. This approach avoids having issues with retention time drift and effectively eliminates pH as a variable used to control retention or selectivity for separations involving ionogenic analytes.

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Waters Corporation has welcomed Dr. Sunghwan Kim of Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea, into the Waters Centers of Innovation (COI) programme. Kim’s research focuses on polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment, developing and applying analytical techniques to assess their impact.