December 2015 Issue of The Analytical Scientist

Three years on, and our mission to record, celebrate and scrutinize analytical science is as strong as ever.

Could NASA’s “chemical laptop” breathe new life into the search for extraterrestrials?

A new LC-MS/MS screening method simultaneously detects a wide range of non-banned potentially performance enhancing drugs and masking agents in urine

Criminals “sweating it out” beware: a new amino acid test can tell male from female fingerprints

GSK and the RSC embark on a five-year partnership to bring GC-MS skills to Africa

Could carbon nanotubes hold the key to real-time, portable testing for meat freshness?

Two important innovations in analytical science have reached their 25th anniversaries: solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC). Here’s why I think they are worth applauding.

The analytical performance of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can be improved dramatically by using an artificial neural network approach, opening up new opportunities for its application.

Can multi-angle light scattering aid in the characterization of proteins and antibody drug conjugates?

This short and seemingly simple question belies the complexity of measuring – and interpreting – pH.

In water analysis, direct injection of samples into your LC-MS/MS system (without sample preparation beyond filtration) is possible because of advances in instrumentation. However, matrix effects must be monitored carefully – and sometimes may even prove useful.

The Analytical Scientist Innovation Awards (TASIAs) return for a third consecutive year to recognize 12 months of innovation from companies big and small.

What is the origin of stereochemical bias – terrestrial autocatalytic processes, extraterrestrial contamination or otherworldly intervention? Here, I review the gas chromatographic tools being used in the search for homochirality in space – the final frontier.

Getting your work published in a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal isn’t easy. But if you follow these 40 tips, you could at least avoid common errors that frustrate reviewers.

Sitting Down With… Deirdre Cabooter, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium, and HTC-14 committee member.

Two companies present their contributions to the analytical science community.

Every year sees new chemicals added to the list of analytes that may need to be measured in a given sample. At the same time, environmental levels of many older pollutants may be in decline – but still must be measured.

New analytical capability can have a significant impact on research direction.

The Pesticide Explorer Collection comprises four complete workflows that meet the challenges of modern pesticide residue analysis.

Continual advances in liquid chromatography have raised the bar from high performance to ultra-high performance, resulting in increased analytical, instrument, and laboratory efficiency. What’s holding you back from investments in UHPLC technology?

In this report, we illustrate the utility of calorimetry in making better laboratory decisions. Examples will include improved protein construct selection for scale-up; direct measurement of the effects of mutations and post-translational modifications on protein stability; rapid optimization of solvent formulation; direct measurement of substrate and inhibitor binding affinity; determination of the mode of inhibitor binding; characterization of protein-protein interactions; and improved structural biology efficiency, when used in conjunction of other biophysical methods.

Polyol-induced increases in thermal stability of antibodies. See how Differential scanning calorimetry can be used to assess the effects of polyol excipients on antibodies. DSC was used to monitor polyol-induced increases in thermal stability across seven monoclonal antibodies. The increases in thermal stability were measured as a function of polyol concentration and orientation of hydroxyl groups. It was found that increases in thermal stability were linear with respect to alcohol concentration.

To formulate successfully with HA it is essential to understand the impact of factors such as molecular weight, molecular structure, concentration and degree of cross-linking on rheological characteristics such as viscoelasticity which are directly linked to aspects of product performance. Linking structural characteristics to product performance, via rheological properties, supports smart, fast, and effective formulation. The following study shows how rheology and particle size measurements can be used to characterize the physical properties of HA dermal fillers.