7 March 2014 Issue

Look inside for practical advice on separation science and thought-provoking commentary.

Interview: Nicholas Snow on SPME in food analysis

Nicholas H. Snow from Seton Hall University, New Jersey, USA, spoke to Kate Mosford of The Column about the importance of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in food analysis.

Classifying columns for SFC

A column classiﬁcation system for SFC to help with method development has been developed. This article demonstrates how the system can be used to select a column when developing a new SFC method.

Flow Path Considerations for SFC

Certain considerations must be made with regards to the overall ﬂow path used in a SFC analysis to ensure additional obstacles are not introduced inadvertently. This article provides more information.

News: Beating "poppy seed defense" with LC–MS

Scientists at King's College London in London, UK, have discovered a new metabolite in urine that is an indicator of heroin (3,6-diacetylmorphine) intake. They suggest that the marker can be used to rule out poppy seed ingestion and confirm illicit drug intake.

News: Principal component analysis in natural drug discovery

Scientists in Malaysia have collaborated to develop a useful metabolomics approach that could help analysts to overcome the bottleneck in natural product drug discovery.

News: Speeding up biopharmaceutical analysis using IEX

The efficiency of protein separation by ion‑exchange chromatography could be increased by up to a factor of 5 according to a new study, potentially speeding up biopharmaceutical production.