Meet Francesca Rigano

Francesca develops liquid chromatography and ambient mass spectrometry methods for food and clinical analysis, particularly in lipidomics and metabolomics. Her work emphasizes green and white analytical chemistry, using miniaturized, rapid, and cost-effective approaches to reduce environmental impact and protect operators.

“The most exciting aspect of my research is developing analytical methods that are not only high-performing but also environmentally friendly and able to ensure operator safety,” she says. For Francesca, sustainability must be translated into practical and dependable methods “without compromising analytical performance, according to the fitness-for-purpose concept.”

Her work with quantitative structure-retention relationship models has explored how the retention behavior of unknown compounds can be predicted to improve identification in liquid chromatography. “Predictive approaches will increasingly support analytical method development, reduce experimental workload, and make analytical science faster, greener, and more reliable,” she says. Far from reducing the analytical chemist’s importance, Francesca believes these tools will make expert interpretation, model validation, and scientific judgment more critical.

“The biggest challenge facing analytical science today is no longer generating innovation, but transferring it into routine practice,” Francesca says. New methods are often developed faster than they can be validated, standardized, and accepted by regulators.

Her earlier experience in an R&D company, where she collaborated with multinational analytical science companies, helped shape this practical outlook. “It encouraged me to pursue solutions that are not only scientifically innovative, but also practical, robust, and readily transferable to routine applications.”