The Column-07-22-2016
Researchers Use Chip CE to Investigate Rhinovirus Replication
July 22nd 2016Researchers from Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), Austria, have used chip capillary electrophoresis (CE) in combination with molecular beacons (MBs) to analyze the release of the RNA genome from a human rhinovirus.
The University of Manchester Opens Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre
July 22nd 2016The University of Manchester unveiled the £18-million Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre at the beginning of June 2016. The research centre will focus on biomedical research on major diseases, including cancer, psoriasis, and arthritis, using mass spectrometry (MS)‑based proteomics solutions from Sciex.
The Value of Chemometrics and Experimental Design to Analytical Chemists
July 22nd 2016Kevin A. Schug considers what the study of chemometrics and experimental design statistics can add to an analytical chemist’s work. Do analytical chemists lack an appreciation for the mathematical and statistical tools used to tease out important information?
Urine Analysis: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
July 6th 2016In clinical and forensic/toxicology laboratories, urine is a preferred matrix from which to quantify drug concentrations because it yields accurate results and allows for noninvasive collection methods. Prior to excretion, drug metabolites in the body undergo a glucuronidation reaction, resulting in a glucuronide bond that must be cleaved before mass spectrometry (MS) analysis by a β-glucuronidase enzyme hydrolysis. Many laboratories employ a “dilute-and-shoot” method after hydrolysis to decrease residual protein or enzyme concentration, but this method negatively affects column lifetime and reduces the sensitivity of analyte detection. By using a β-glucuronidase removal approach, analysts are able to see an increase in sensitivity and a reduction in MS instrument maintenance.
