Interview with Daniel Armstrong, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the Robert A. Welch Chair of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Arlington.
LCGC recently interviewed Daniel Armstrong, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the Robert A. Welch Chair of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Arlington on his research and upcoming presentations at Pittcon.
Please tell us about your recent work with ionic liquid (IL)–based capillary gas chromatography (GC) methods coupled with thermal conductivity detection (TCD) to determine the water content in liquid samples.
Armstrong: Ionic liquids are the first new class of GC stationary phases in many decades. They are mostly orthogonal to conventional molecular stationary phases. We have synthesized ILs to accentuate a variety of desirable properties — from unique selectivity to high stabilities. Recently, we synthesized three IL stationary phases that are completely stable to water and oxygen even at high temperatures. In addition, they were engineered to produce efficient, symmetrical water peaks. This allowed us to quickly and effectively measure water concentrations in all manner of samples and solvents. Conversely, we can easily separate low levels of organics from water and quantify them. This is a modern, more broadly applicable and effective manifestation of a packed column method I used back in the 1970s. Then we used a molecular sieve as the stationary phase. This only worked well for a few specific sample types. Today with ILs, we analyze more diverse samples at any concentration and do it more quickly and accurately. The same columns can be used to analyze the water vapor content of gases.
Inside the Laboratory: The Gionfriddo Group at the University at Buffalo
March 28th 2024In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” Emanuela Gionfriddo, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry at the University at Buffalo, discusses her group’s current research endeavors, including using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) to further understand the chemical relationship between environmental exposure and disease and elucidate micropollutants fate in the environment and biological systems.
Transferring Methods to Compact and Portable HPLC
February 14th 2024The current trend in laboratory equipment design is the miniaturization of laboratory instruments. Smaller-scale HPLC instruments offer benefits that cannot be matched by analytical-scale equipment, especially in the areas of portability, reduced fluid volumes, and reduced operating costs. Yet, the miniaturization of laboratory equipment has brought with it a unique set of challenges, including transferring methods to compact LC. Capillary LC expands the use of LC to applications not currently done using conventional LC in a wide array of application areas, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, petrochemical, environmental, and oil and gas. Greg Ward, Axcend’s CEO wrote, “Customers want an HPLC system with a small footprint, low flow rates and green chemistry.” Join his podcast where he shares method transfer in these application areas.