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Recently, there has been considerable interest in gas well drilling into the Marcellus shale in the Eastern United States using hydraulic fracturing techniques, but this is not without controversy. The gas-drilling companies claim to self-disclose their fracking fluid formulations, but the exact compositions are not revealed. As a result, if hydraulic fracturing caused some environmental contamination, it would not be easy to determine the source of the contamination. This results in potentially complex environmental forensics analytical method development and sample analysis to determine if a contamination event has occurred, and who the principal polluter may be. This presentation will address the sampling, sample preparation, and analysis of hydraulic fracturing materials in an effort to develop an understanding of the chemical composition of post-fracking fluids so that source identification and source apportionment may be successful in the event of a release. Additionally, a better understanding of the chemical composition of these fluids may facilitate on-site or near-site bioremediation. Various sample preparation strategies will be discussed, and GC?TOF-MS and GCxGC?TOF-MS will be used as determinative techniques. Finally, data will be presented that may allow for the development of protocols to determine the composition of these fluids and, possibly, the source of any pollution events.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia's Centre for Forensic Science have collaborated with the University of Turin's Department of Chemistry in Italy to develop a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method to analyze levels of methamphetamine (MA) in blowflies (Calliphora vomitoria L.).

Is 0.1% TFA (aq) / 0.1% TFA in acetonitrile the ultimate robust HPLC mobile phase? Maybe not...

The combination of a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) with mass spectrometry (MS) to analyze evolved gases is a well-known technique. However, it does not allow differentiation between gases that evolve simultaneously; TG combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TG–GC–MS) can allow for a more complete characterization. This article explains more

The 5th International IUPAC Conference on Green Chemistry (5th ICGC) will be held in Durban, South Africa, from 17–21 August 2014.

Space: The final frontier. Although, this is a frontier that is becoming ever more accessible, but what does it take to survive in space and how can chromatography help to keep astronauts safe?

Incognito advises on the benefits of outsourcing in the analytical laboratory. What could an external partnership mean for your laboratory?

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis has been performed on urine and cord blood samples from expectant mothers to explore the exposure to the antimicrobial agents triclosan (TCS) and tricarban (TCC). The agents have received increasing attention over recent years, with concerns being raised over lack of efficacy and potential toxicity to the environment, as well as human health.

This article looks at the role of specialty gases in the monitoring, detection, and analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial emissions.

Great advances have been made in the field of miniaturization of mass spectrometers, opening up the potential to save time by performing analysis in the field; however, sample preparation has yet to catch up. A new study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry demonstrates the application of microfluidics integrated with a miniature mass spectrometer for the detection of illicit drugs in dried urine samples, which can simultaneously analyze four samples in under 15 min.

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the application of PLOT-cryoadsorption (PLOT–cryo) coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for the analysis of ignitable liquid (IL) residues in fire debris.

Click the title above to open The Column July 24, 2014 North American issue, Volume 10, Number 13, in an interactive PDF format.

Click the title above to open The Column July 24, 2014 Europe & Asia issue, Volume 10, Number 13, in an interactive PDF format.

Deirdre Cabooter from KU Leuven (Belgium) describes how to use the variable length method development strategy to develop successful UHPLC methods and how this approach can save time for the analyst.

LCGC spoke to Gary Duncan and Wendy Russell of the Rowett Institute of Nutrition & Health in Aberdeen, Scotland, about the significance of phytochemical bioavailability to human health and the important role of liquid chromatography linked to tandem liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) in their research.

Phenomenex Inc. (Torrance, California, USA) has revealed it will be launching a spin-off company focusing on biological sampling called Neoteryx LLC.

We all have always been told that we need to listen, and to listen more carefully. Growing up, we were told to listen to our parents and our teachers. But have you considered listening to your analytical instruments?

Much has been written about column overload, however, I've seen many instances lately in which overload may not be instantly recognized, or causes problems that may not normally be attributed to overload. Therefore, I wanted to explain how to spot and deal with different types of overload situations.

Click here to view the complete E-Separation Solutions newsletter from July 17, 2014.

Waters Corporation (Milford, Massachusetts) entered into an agreement with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission (ChP) to establish a joint open laboratory.

Click here to view the complete E-Separation Solutions newsletter from July 10, 2014.

The LCGC Europe news update from July 10 2014.

If you ask scientists, it does not take long before you realize that there is quite a bit of variety in the different search engines that they prefer.

Leaks in GC–MS are particularly insidious. How do you know when you have a leak and where do you start to look for it. It is something that will happen to all chromatographers at some point. Here is our quick guide to how to identify the source of GC–MS leaks.

App of the month: GPC Glossary

Waters Corporation and PSS GmbH have announced the return of the International GPC/SEC Symposium to be held at The Westin Grand Frankfurt Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany, on 30 September–2 October 2014.

Thirty percent of approved drugs will be based on recombinant monoclonal antibody (rMab) drugs over the next 10 years. Glycosylation, the convalent addition of carbohydrates to proteins, can influence properties of rMab drugs and has to be closely monitored during drug development and production. Scientists from the University of California (California, USA) have developed a new liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) N-glycan library based on eight commercially available recombinant monoclonal antibodies, for the rapid identification of glycosylated structures.

Scientists from Emory University (Georgia, USA) have developed a new solid–phase extraction (SPE) method to isolate four insecticide degradates from baby food for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS–MS). The paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry describes how the method can be applied to differentiate between exposure to insecticides or preformed degradates.

The study of sewage using chromatographic techniques is a rapidly expanding area that can provide insights into the consumption of illicit drugs. Measuring illicit drug concentrations can provide authorities with a close to real time identification of consumption trends and rates in specific geographical areas.

This article presents a method that combines combustion digestion and ion chromatography into a single analysis (combustion ion chromatography [CIC]) making it possible to detect halogens and sulphur in complex matrices. The method is suitable for use in a wide range of application areas.