This week's roundup from Chromatography Online shows how far separation science reaches, from food and beverages to cutting-edge biotherapeutics and the people who make the field work. Sustainability is a theme early on: supercritical fluid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combine to turn olive waste into a valuable source of antioxidants. Food analysis gets more attention too, with automated sampling and chemometrics expanding what gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) can reveal about product differences, and HPLC–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) uncovering pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxin risks in tea.

Biopharmaceutical applications are equally prominent. We look at how size exclusion chromatography improves the isolation of extracellular vesicles from plasma, how advances in DNA and RNA chromatography supported the rapid development of mRNA vaccines, and how perfusion chromatography is making a comeback for high-speed separations of oligonucleotide biotherapeutics.

Beyond the laboratory bench, we explore how mass spectrometry can be used to teach fundamental chemical concepts. “Our Women in Chromatography” series continues with candid advice on the unwritten rules of analytical science, including the reassurance that you don't need to feel ready to begin.

This is the Best of the Week.

SFE and HPLC Turn Olive Waste to Gold

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) team up to recover olive waste antioxidants. Marina Russo of the University of Messina (Italy) discusses the details.¹

Beyond Conventional GC–MS: Revealing Hidden Food Differences

Automated sequential tube sampling and chemometrics supplement GC–MS, adding time profiling and fast product-line comparison for real-world insight.²

Teaching Chemical Concepts Through the Lens of Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry can teach core chemistry concepts beyond technique training or product characterization, though adoption barriers remain.³

Chromatography Boosts EV Isolation from Plasma

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) plus precipitation improves extracellular vesicle (EV) purity from blood plasma.⁴

DNA and RNA Chromatography: Enabling mRNA Vaccine Validation

Advances in DNA/RNA chromatography columns led to stable, pure mRNA production, supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccines rapidly.⁵

The Return of Perfusion Chromatography

Agilent Technology’s Daniel Meston discusses how perfusion chromatography offers improved separation of oligonucleotide biotherapeutics at ultra-high velocities.⁶

Chromatography Detects Toxins in Tea Samples

High-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (HPLC–MS/MS) chromatography reveals pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA)/pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxides (PANO) toxin risks in 63 tea samples.⁷

Women in Chromatography: The Unwritten Rules of Analytical Science

Analytical science's real unwritten rule is that you don't need to feel ready, and good results simply take patience. Kinjal Bhatt and Ina Varfaj explain. ⁸

References

1. Russo, M.; Chasse, J. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/sfe-and-hplc-turn-olive-waste-to-gold (accessed 2026-09-30)
2. Szafnauer, R.; McGregor, L. Beyond Conventional GC–MS: Revealing Hidden Food Differences. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/beyond-conventional-gc-ms-revealing-hidden-food-differences (accessed 2026-09-30)
3. Clark, H.; Patrick, A. L. Teaching Chemical Concepts Through the Lens of Mass Spectrometry. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/teaching-chemical-concepts-through-the-lens-of-mass-spectrometry (accessed 2026-09-30)
4. Chasse, J.Chromatography Boosts EV Isolation from Plasma. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/chromatography-boosts-ev-isolation-plasma (accessed 2026-09-30)
5. Gjerde, D. T.; Bonn, G.; , Hornby, D. P. DNA and RNA Chromatography: Enabling mRNA Vaccine Validation. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/dna-and-rna-chromatography-enabling-mrna-vaccine-validation (accessed 2026-09-30)
6. Meston, D.; Matheson, A.The Return of Perfusion Chromatography. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/the-return-of-perfusion-chromatography (accessed 2026-09-30)
7. Chasse, J. Chromatography Detects Toxins in Tea Samples. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/chromatography-detects-toxins-in-tea-samples (accessed 2026-09-30)
8. Bhatt, K.; Varfaj, I.; Jones, K. Women in Chromatography: The Unwritten Rules of Analytical Science. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/women-in-chromatography-the-unwritten-rules-of-analytical-science (accessed 2026-09-30)