April 2013 Issue of The Analytical Scientist

Considered for so long to be the poor relation to academia, industry researchers may well represent the best of science.

Can deoxyribonucleic acid solve our spiralling digital data archive conundrum? Hard disc drive space is now ... measured in terabytes not megabytes. And yet still we run out of space – or money.

Thoughtful yet simple product development proves that faster, higher, better aren’t the only keywords for ... innovation.

A new “sniff” test for explosives uses direct, real-time vapor detection in a bid to put our canine colleagues ... out of work in the screening of people, baggage and cargo.

This year’s Symposium on MicroScale Bioseparations introduced a new format aimed at optimizing the ... scientific experience. How did it go?

Günther Laukien, founder of Bruker Physik AG, posthumously receives 2013 Pittcon Heritage Award ...

Recording the impact of chemistry on society, the Chemical Heritage Foundation's participation in Pittcon adds valuable, historical depth.

Why lab SOPs are cumbersome and often ignored, and what can be done to improve them ...

An illustration of how working with customers throughout development increases the effectiveness of ... new products.

Microrheology is in its early stages, but it has the potential to expand the range and enhance the application of rheological characterization.

What short- and long-term impact will sequestration have on the US scientific community?

Scientific innovation combined with manufacturing excellence continues to drive improvements in GC.

Dried Blood Spot (DBS) sampling is being adopted in drug development, paediatric healthcare, and, more recently, patient compliance.

Introduced by Robert Guthrie in the 1960s, dried blood spot (DBS) sampling involves taking small drops ... of blood from either a finger prick (or heel prick in neonates) and depositing them on specially manufactured absorbent card where they are allowed to dry. Once dry, DBS cards can be readily transported by post for analysis since the components of the blood remain unchanged for several days, even at room temperature. For analysis, a portion of the blood spot is removed from the card and placed in a solvent to extract the analyte(s) of interest.

It is now recognised that regarding a child as a scaled down adult to calculate a medicine dose may not be appropriate.

With many potential benefits, it is easy to understand the drive to develop systems and methods acceptable to the regulatory authorities.

The proteome, which is the set of proteins expressed by a genome, cell, tissue or organism at a given time ... presents immense analytical challenges – but offers substantial rewards. Here, current approaches to proteomics, their strengths and their shortcomings, are explored.

In response to the over-dependence and misuse of antimicrobials in food producing animals, ... analytical testing and surveillance is being stepped up. Here, current best practice and likely directions for monitoring antimicrobials is described.

The use of antimicrobials as growth promoters in livestock has sparked serious concern about the development of drug-resistant strains of pathogens.

There is little advice available on the pitfalls that await the unwary scientist filing a first patent ... application ... or general advice to those put in charge of managing the intellectual property for his or her start up. Here, we identify some of the most common mistakes made when patent applications are prepared and filed – and how to avoid them.

Research papers are the bread and butter of an academic’s career, but a different mindset prevails in industry. Should it?

Sitting Down With Frantisek Svec, Facility Director, Organic and Macromolecular Synthesis Facility, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Hyaluronic acid is a polymer of disaccharides and can have up to 25,000 disaccharide repeat units.