Author


Bryan E. Bell

Latest:

Improving Injection Consistency Using N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone as a GC Syringe Wash

Optimizing peak shape in capillary gas chromatography (GC) is essential for the consistent, accurate analysis of residual solvents in pharmaceutical compounds.


Don Kuehl

Latest:

Improving the Confidence of Unknown Compound Identification by First Responder Mobile GC–MS Laboratories...

A novel method that significantly improves the accuracy and reliability of "unknown" compound identification for volatile organic compounds by GC-MS is described.


Pieter Dehouck

Latest:

Facilitated Column Selection in Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography for Pharmaceutical Separations

This article gives an overview of the performance of a previously developed system for the ranking of C18 reversed-phase columns applied to different pharmaceutical analyses. The separation of eight different drug substances from their respective impurities was studied. The chromatographic procedure for acetylsalicylic acid, clindamycin hydrochloride, buflomedil hydrochloride, chloramphenicol sodium succinate, phenoxymethylpenicillin and nimesulide was performed according to the corresponding European Pharmacopoeia monograph. The separations of dihydrostreptomycin sulphate and vancomycin were performed according to literature. It was found that that the column ranking system is a helpful tool in the selection of suitable columns in these analyses.


Jennifer Huang

Latest:

Analysis of Biodiesels Using LC–MS

Preliminary studies of biodiesel samples by a high speed LC–MS system using electrospray ionization and a patented cone-wash feature demonstrate that LC–MS reduces the analysis time to 20 minutes and reveals information about higher molecular weight compounds in biodiesel while still detecting many low molecular weight chemicals, including FAMEs, at high sensitivity.


Kristóf Kóczián

Latest:

Facilitated Column Selection in Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography for Pharmaceutical Separations

This article gives an overview of the performance of a previously developed system for the ranking of C18 reversed-phase columns applied to different pharmaceutical analyses. The separation of eight different drug substances from their respective impurities was studied. The chromatographic procedure for acetylsalicylic acid, clindamycin hydrochloride, buflomedil hydrochloride, chloramphenicol sodium succinate, phenoxymethylpenicillin and nimesulide was performed according to the corresponding European Pharmacopoeia monograph. The separations of dihydrostreptomycin sulphate and vancomycin were performed according to literature. It was found that that the column ranking system is a helpful tool in the selection of suitable columns in these analyses.


Yuichiro Hashimoto

Latest:

Electron-Capture Dissociation in a Radio-Frequency Linear Ion Trap

Here we describe a new compact device for electron-capture dissociation (ECD) analysis of large peptides and posttranslational modifications of proteins, which can be difficult to analyze via conventional dissociation techniques such as collision-induced dissociation (CID). The new compact device realizes ECD in a radio frequency (RF) linear ion trap equipped with a small permanent magnet, which is significantly different than the large and maintenance-intensive superconducting magnet required for conventional ECD in Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers. In addition to its compactness and ease of operation, an additional merit of an RF linear ion trap ECD is that its reaction speed is fast, comparable to CID, enabling data acquisition on the liquid-chromatography (LC) time scale. We interfaced the linear-trap ECD device to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to obtain ECD spectra of phosphorylated peptides injected into a liquid chromatograph, infused glycopeptides, and intact small..


Margit Geißler

Latest:

On-line SEC–Py-GC–MS for the Automated Comprehensive Characterization of Copolymers

The pyrolysis fragments are first refocused on the top of the GC column, then separated and finally detected by the MS. At the end of the GC run the SEC flow is resumed again and the entire process is repeated.


Philip J. Marriott

Latest:

Whither Gas Chromatography? New Tools ~ New Solutions

We might well ask “Where is gas chromatography (GC) heading?” For many analysts, the answer may be just “more of the same,” reflecting that GC is mature and that most analysis tasks and sample types have been tried and tested. In this scenario, any changes to the basic method may be marginal—sample introduction, and maybe a new detector? But beneath this status quo is an undercurrent of passion, excitement, and power.


Grace E. Kim

Latest:

High-Throughput Quantitative LC-MS-MS Assays by On-Line Extraction Using Monolithic Support

LC-MS-MS has become a widely used technique for the fast and sensitive quantitation of small molecules. In this article, this approach has been extended to high-throughput quantitative LC-MS-MS analysis under GLP applications for a drug candidate in development from preclinical animal studies through clinical development.


Elke Brouwers

Latest:

ICP-MS: When Sensitivity Does Matter

It makes intuitive sense - the higher the sensitivity of an inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system, the lower the detection limit. But there are many factors that affect the detection limit for a given isotope in a given sample. These factors include sensitivity, background noise, and interferences.


Naomi Manri

Latest:

Electron-Capture Dissociation in a Radio-Frequency Linear Ion Trap

Here we describe a new compact device for electron-capture dissociation (ECD) analysis of large peptides and posttranslational modifications of proteins, which can be difficult to analyze via conventional dissociation techniques such as collision-induced dissociation (CID). The new compact device realizes ECD in a radio frequency (RF) linear ion trap equipped with a small permanent magnet, which is significantly different than the large and maintenance-intensive superconducting magnet required for conventional ECD in Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers. In addition to its compactness and ease of operation, an additional merit of an RF linear ion trap ECD is that its reaction speed is fast, comparable to CID, enabling data acquisition on the liquid-chromatography (LC) time scale. We interfaced the linear-trap ECD device to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to obtain ECD spectra of phosphorylated peptides injected into a liquid chromatograph, infused glycopeptides, and intact small..


Daniel Krug

Latest:

Analysis of Secondary Metabolites from Myxobacteria using ESI-TOF–MS and PCA

The exploration of myxobacterial metabolite profiles by LC–MS screening for the presence of new natural products is described. Extracts from fermentations of Myxococcus strains are analysed by UPLC-coupled ESI-TOF mass spectrometry and the obtained data are processed using principal component analysis (PCA). The generation of molecular formulae from accurate mass measurements facilitates rapid compound identification.


John Helfrich

Latest:

PAT Initiatives for QC/QA Operations: Enabling Paperless Processes for Manufacturing Batch Records and QC Laboratories

This paper outlines the current situation in manufacturing and quality operations relative to industry compliance initiatives and manufacturing challenges. It profiles an innovative ?method-centric? software platform, designed for the analyst or operator, to electronically execute and man-age quality control testing protocols and production batch records, yielding significant reductions in overall product release cycle time.


Alan D. Hendricker

Latest:

Identifying Packaging-Related Drug Product Impurities

This month's instalment of "MS in Practice" provides a slightly different view of how practitioners employ the skills of interpretation that have been the focus in recent columns.


Richard Whitney

Latest:

Determination of Phthalate Esters in Child Care Products and Children's Toys by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires testing of child care products and toys for selected phthalate esters by GC–MS.


Carsten Bässmann

Latest:

BioPharma Compass: A Fully Automated Solution for Characterization and QC of Intact and Digested Proteins

BioPharma Compass? is a fully automated solution for the rapid characterization of biopharmaceutical products such as proteins, peptides, RNA, and DNA. This push button solution assists nonspecialist operators to generate high quality, accurate data for automatic comparison with laboratory reference standards. Automated, visual reports are then generated for each sample and important information regarding a products purity and identity can be observed at a glance. In this application note, we will apply the BioPharma Compass workflow to the QC characterization of two proteins including intact IgG1 and digested transferrin.


Franziska Lange

Latest:

Membrane-Assisted Liquid–Liquid Extraction Trace Analysis of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Aquatic Environments

The concept of membrane-controlled processes is widespread in nature. Nearly all biological mechanisms concerning mass transport and exchange are regulated by membrane barriers and a variety of technical and biotechnological applications have been devised based on this mechanism. Membrane applications in analytical chemistry are geared towards the enrichment of target substances from an aqueous solution or the separation of compounds from a complex matrix. This article describes membrane-assisted extraction processes to separate traces of polar pharmaceutical substances the so called emerging micropollutants from aqueous samples. Basic prospects and examples of membrane-supported extractions are presented.


Christoph H. Borchers

Latest:

Key LC–MS Techniques Benefit Life Sciences Researchers

State-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) techniques of growing importance to life sciences research now include not just liquid chromatography (LC)–MSn (n = 2–11), but also LC–matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF), LC-MALDI-TOF-TOF, electrospray ionization (ESI)-TOF, and LC-Fourier transform (FT) MS.


Uddhav Kelavkar

Latest:

FAIMS Removes Chemical Background and Interference from the Analysis of Linoleic Acid in Cancer Cell Extracts

Assay sensitivity is the lowest concentration at which a targeted analyte can be measured and is often limited by chemical background or co-eluting interferences. FAIMS in combination with liquid chromatography (LC) and zero neutral loss tandem MS was used to remove chemical background and co-eluting interferences from the analysis of linoleic acid in cancer cell extracts. Concentration of endogenous linoleic acid was determined from back-calculation of standard calibration samples fortified with deuterium-labeled linoleic acid. No internal standard was used. LC–MS-MS analysis of the cancer cell extracts resulted in an increase in signal-to-noise ratio of 10-fold. The assay sensitivity was increased 10 times over the traditional LC–MS-MS experiment exclusively due to the new FAIMS technology.


Devasish Bose

Latest:

Screening Acid-Base Constants by Capillary Electrophoresis

The acid-base constants of the most frequently used antianginals (diltiazem, nadolol, propranolol and verapamil) were determined using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). This method is based on measuring the electrophoretic mobility of the solute as a function of pH. The buffer employed was composed of borate-phosphate buffered across the pH range of 3.0–11.2. The acid-base constants were determined by performing linear and non-linear regression on the data obtained. The results were compared with those reported in literature and with those obtained by a spectrophotometric method. After comparison of the values, no significant differences were observed between the three acid-base constants.


Nico C. van de Merbel

Latest:

Advances in Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)-Based Quantitation of Biopharmaceuticals in Biological Samples

The technical requirements for a successful LC–MS/MS method for the quantitation of biopharmaceuticals are presented and the advantages and disadvantages compared to ligand-binding assays are evaluated.


Robert Kincaid

Latest:

New Sample Fractionation Strategies for Proteomic Analyses by LC–MS

Mass spectrometry has long been a preferred tool for protein identification and biomarker discovery, but preparation of biological samples remains a challenge. Hindrances include the wide range of protein concentrations, sample complexity, and loss or alteration of important proteins due to sample handling. This article describes recent developments in sample fractionation technologies that are overcoming these challenges in interesting ways and are enabling in-depth proteomic studies that were not possible in the past.


Hanz Engelhardt

Latest:

The Effect of Modifier on Selectivity in Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography

The retention behaviour of several compounds has been compared for their selectivity using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with binary water mobile phases composed of methanol, acetonitrile or tetrahydrofuran as modifiers.


Jonathan McNally

Latest:

FAIMS Removes Chemical Background and Interference from the Analysis of Linoleic Acid in Cancer Cell Extracts

Assay sensitivity is the lowest concentration at which a targeted analyte can be measured and is often limited by chemical background or co-eluting interferences. FAIMS in combination with liquid chromatography (LC) and zero neutral loss tandem MS was used to remove chemical background and co-eluting interferences from the analysis of linoleic acid in cancer cell extracts. Concentration of endogenous linoleic acid was determined from back-calculation of standard calibration samples fortified with deuterium-labeled linoleic acid. No internal standard was used. LC–MS-MS analysis of the cancer cell extracts resulted in an increase in signal-to-noise ratio of 10-fold. The assay sensitivity was increased 10 times over the traditional LC–MS-MS experiment exclusively due to the new FAIMS technology.


Kenneth L. Busch

Latest:

Acronyms in Mass Spectrometry

Spectroscopy columnist Ken Busch once again brings readers his comprehensive list of common acronyms used in the field of mass spectrometry.


Pamela Iraneta

Latest:

Advances in Sample Preparation: Removing Phospholipids from Biological Samples

Advances in Sample Preparation: Removing Phospholipids from Biological Samples


Timothy Ruppel

Latest:

A Novel Method for the High-Speed Determination of Fuel Diluents in Lubricating Oils

The performance of lubricating oil is significantly degraded by the presence of fuel contaminants such as gasoline and diesel. Recycled oil is particularly susceptible to this form of contamination. Consequently, producers and distributors of lubricating oil must go to great lengths to ensure the levels of fuel contamination are kept to a safe limit (typically 4–5%) in these products.


Holly M. Shackman

Latest:

Application of Mass Spectrometry to Support Verification and Characterization of Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals

The production and sale of counterfeit drugs has risen sharply in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that counterfeit medicines account for approximately 1% of sales in developed countries and well over 10% in developing countries.


Michael MacRae

Latest:

Environmental Method Development: Key Challenges and Unmet Needs

The environmental analysis community sorely needs a system by which new and up-to-date methods are more easily developed, shared, and adopted.


Sky Countryman

Latest:

Optimizing Gel Permeation Chromatography for Analyzing Polymers used as Drug Excipients

Although gel permeation chromatography (GPC) is not as widely used as other chromatography methods, it continues to be a useful technique for analyzing the size and solution characteristics of organic polymers. In this study, GPC was applied to analyze different polar polymers that are commonly used in drug excipients. As a result of their polarity, some specialized operating conditions were required. Optimizing the separation brought to light many of the common parameters involved in optimizing GPC separations, and those are discussed in detail here.