Best of the Week: Low-Temperature HILIC, Oligonucleotide Insights, and AI-Driven MS

This week, Chromatography Online spoke with Yifan Liu (Northeastern University) about her ASMS 2026 talk on low-temperature HILIC, showing how dropping the operating temperature can sharpen separations and improve stability in LC-MS metabolomics. In addition, we presented two looks at oligonucleotide analysis: Sandy Al Bardawil and Ludivine Ferey walk through their review of chromatography-MS methods for characterizing therapeutic oligonucleotides, and, at HTC-19 in Leuven, Jonathan Maurer (University of Geneva) explains how HILIC works for oligo analysis — the retention chemistry behind the method. Georg Wallman, co-founder of biotech consultancy Aplusia, talks with LCGC at ASMS about AI-driven mass spectrometry in drug discovery. His take: the field is moving fast — a useful pulse-check for anyone wondering how close AI-assisted MS is to routine use.

Away from the pharma bench: a GC-MS study of NYC restaurant kitchens has flagged harmful cooking emissions, spotlighting occupational exposure risks for kitchen workers. A good reminder that GC-MS's reach extends well past drug development and into everyday air quality.

This is the Best of the Week.

ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and How Low-Temperature HILIC Provides Enhanced Separations and Stability for LC-MS-Based Metabolomics

In this four-part series,^1-4 Yifan Liu of Northeastern University (Boston, MA) discusses her ASMS 2026 presentation,“Low-Temperature HILIC Provides Enhanced Separations and Stability for LC–MS-Based Metabolomics.”

ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and How Low-Temperature HILIC Provides Enhanced Separations and Stability for LC-MS-Based Metabolomics

ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and Bottlenecks in Current Untargeted Metabolomics
ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and the Need for a Dedicated LT-ZIC-HILIC Retention Time Library

ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and Where Metabolomics Is Headed in the Next 10 Years

Chromatographic and LC–MS Strategies for Therapeutic Oligonucleotide Characterization

LCGC International spoke to Sandy Al Bardawil and Ludivine Ferey, authors of a review article summarizing recent advances in chromatographic methods coupled with MS for the characterization of therapeutic oligonucleotides.⁵

GC-MS Analysis of Pollutants in NYC Restaurant Air
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) reveals harmful cooking emissions in New York City restaurant kitchens, raising worker health concerns.

LCGC Talks to Aplusia’s Georg Wallman

Georg Wallman, co-founder and managing director of Aplusia, sat down with LCGC International at the ASMS conference to discuss the cutting edge of AI-driven mass spectrometry. Wallman's company operates as a biotech consultancy, specializing in challenging drug discovery problems for pharma and biotech clients, and his presentation at ASMS gave a vivid picture of just how rapidly the field is moving.^7.8

Beyond Lab-Specific Calibration
Proteomics in Drug Discovery: Where the Opportunity Lies

Discussing HILIC in Oligonuceleotide Analysis with Jonathan Maurer

At HTC-19 in Leuven, Belgium, LCGC International spoke to Jonathan Maurer from the University of Geneva, Switzerland about his presentation ‘How HILIC Works for Oligo Analysis.^9,10

HTC-19 Insights: How HILIC Works for Oligonucleotide Analysis: Challenges and Misconceptions

HTC-19 Insights: How HILIC Works: Resolving Closely-related Oligonucleotides and Other Applications for HILIC

References

1. Liu, Y.; Workman, J ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and How Low-Temperature HILIC Provides Enhanced Separations and Stability for LC-MS-Based Metabolomics. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/asms-2026-yifan-liu-low-temperature-hilic-provides-enhanced-separations-stability-lc-ms-based-metabolomics (accessed 2026-07-03)

2. Liu, Y.; Workman, J . ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and Bottlenecks in Current Untargeted Metabolomics. Chromatography Online website .https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/asms-2026-yifan-liu-bottlenecks-current-untargeted-metabolomics (accessed 2026-07-03)

3. Liu, Y.; Workman, J. ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and the Need for a Dedicated LT-ZIC-HILIC Retention Time Library.Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/asms-2026-yifan-liu-dedicated-lt-zic-hilic-retention-time-library (accessed 2026-07-03)

4. Liu, Y.; Workman, J. ASMS 2026: Yifan Liu and Where Metabolomics Is Headed in the Next 10 Years. Chromatography Online websitehttps://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/htc-19-insights-why-combine-rplc-hilic-cims-and-dia-hrms- (accessed 2026-07-03)

5. Al Bardawil, S.; Ferrey, L; Chasse, J. Chromatographic and LC–MS Strategies for Therapeutic Oligonucleotide Characterization. Chromatography Online website https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/chromatographic-lc-ms-strategies-therapeutic-oligonucleotide-characterization (accessed 2026-07-03)

6. Chasse, J. GC-MS Analysis of Pollutants in NYC Restaurant Air. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/gc-ms-analysis-pollutants-nyc-restaurant-air (accessed 2026-07-03)

7. Wallman, G.; Jones, K. Beyond Lab Specific Calibration. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/beyond-lab-specific-calibration (accessed 2026-07-03)

8. Wallman, G.; Jones, K. Proteomics in Drug Discovery: Where the Opportunity Lies. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/proteomics-in-drug-discovery-where-the-opportunity-lies(accessed 2026-07-03)

9. Maurer, J.; Matheson, A. HTC-19 Insights: How HILIC Works for Oligonucleotide Analysis: Challenges and Misconceptions. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/htc-19-insights-how-hilic-works-for-oligonucleotide-analysis-challenges-and-misconceptions (accessed 2026-07-03)

10. Maurer, J.; Matheson, A. HTC-19 Insights: How HILIC Works: Resolving Closely-related Oligonucleotides and Other Applications for HILIC. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/htc-19-insights-how-hilic-works-resolving-closely-related-oligonucleotides-and-other-applications-for-hilic (accessed 2026-07-03)