November 20th 2024
In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” Susan Richardson of the University of South Carolina discusses her laboratory’s work with using electron ionization and chemical ionization with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to detect DBPs in complex environmental matrices, and how her work advances environmental analysis.
Modern Sample Preparation Methods for Food and Environmental Laboratories
February 6th 2019Traditional sample preparation method development can often be laborious and costly. Understanding the underlying concepts of the technique can help food and environmental laboratories develop methods in notoriously complex matrices, faster, more efficiently, and provide better chromatography. With the presence of many unique matrices and analytes, methods such as QuEChERS, supported liquid extraction (SLE), or solid-phase extraction (SPE) provide the necessary adaptability for many types of extractions. With customizable methods to work with unique matrices and with the addition of automation, extractions can be improved to save time and provide consistent recoveries.
Latest Advances in the Analysis of Complex Environmental Matrices
February 6th 2019The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Environmental Chemistry Group, Water Science Forum, and the Separation Science Group Joint Meeting will be held on Friday 22 February 2019 in the Science Suite of the Royal Society of Chemistry, in Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, UK.
Automated SPE to Improve the Recovery of Semivolatile Compounds in Compliance with EPA Method 8270
February 1st 2019This applicate note presents the use of an automated solid-phase extraction (SPE) system to improve the accuracy and precision of semivolatile extractions, in compliance with EPA Method 8270.
Best Practices for Analyzing Pesticides and Their Metabolites in Environmental Samples
September 21st 2018When a company wishes to commercialize a new pesticide, they must conduct environmental studies and develop analytical methods capable of detecting the pesticide, and its metabolites, in soil and water samples. The methods must be robust and rugged, for easy use in routine analysis. James Stry, a principal investigator at FMC Agricultural Solutions, recently talked to LCGC about best practices he and his team have established for developing such methods, including approaches to meeting a variety of requirements of regulatory bodies, simplifying sample preparation, dealing with matrix effects, choosing an ionization method, and streamlining method development.
Analyzing Artificial Sweeteners as Environmental Contaminants
June 21st 2018The Column spoke to Núria Fontanals, a senior researcher at the Department of Analytical and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain, about her work investigating the impact of artificial sweeteners as environmental pollutants using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and the broader role of HILIC in environmental analysis.
Evaluating Marine Algae for Therapeutic Effects
May 15th 2018Snezana Agatonovic-Kustrin, a professor in pharmaceutical chemistry at Monash University, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, spoke to The Column about the development of a method to evaluate antidiabetic and antioxidant activity in marine algae using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)-direct bioautography.
The LCGC Blog: Problems and Ionic Liquid Solutions for Soil BTEX Analysis
May 15th 2018I do not remember the application, but I remember very clearly Professor McNair telling us that soil is one of the most challenging sample matrices, if not the toughest, from which to perform analytical determinations. Sources indicate the composition of soil ideal for growing plants to be 25% air, 25% water, 45% minerals, and 5% organic matter. That does not seem like a daunting makeup, but the reality is that the relative proportion of the constituents can vary dramatically.
Modern PFAS Analysis: New Analytical Options for Testing PFAS in Various Matrices
May 15th 2018Per- and polyfuorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a rapidly growing environmental and human health concern. Owing to their broad commercial use, chemical stability, and bioaccumulation potential, these compounds are widely dispersed in the environment and can cause exposure through many potential pathways. To adequately estimate exposure risks, analytical methods are required that can measure low levels of PFAS compounds in many types of matrices. As will be described, recent advances in solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) have enabled the identification and quantification of a large number of PFAS compounds at low concentration (
Quantifying Aquatic Toxins Using UHPLC–MS/MS
May 1st 2018LCGC Europe spoke to Andrew Turner, Principal Chemist in the Food Safety Group at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Weymouth, UK, about developing a simple ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLCÐMS/MS) method for the quantitation of microcystins and nodularin in various sample matrices.
The chemical analysis of organic compounds in environmental samples is often targeted on predetermined analytes. A major shortcoming of this approach is that it invariably excludes a vast number of compounds of unknown relevance. Nontargeted chemical fingerprinting analysis addresses this problem by including all compounds that generate a relevant signal from a specific analytical platform and so more information about the samples can be obtained. A DHS−TD−GC−MS method for the fingerprinting analysis of mobile VOCs in soil is described and tested in this article. The analysis parameters, sorbent tube, purge volume, trapping temperature, drying of sorbent tube, and oven temperature were optimized through qualitative and semiquantitative analysis. The DHS−TD–GC−MS fingerprints of soil samples from three sites with spruce, oak, or beech were investigated by pixel-based analysis, a nontargeted data analysis method.
Rapid Trace Analysis of Multiresidue Contaminants
February 1st 2018Mira Petrovic from the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) in Girona, Spain, reveals the advantages and practical applications of a novel method she developed for the multiresidue trace analysis of pharmaceutical compounds and their corresponding metabolites and transformation products using dual-column liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).
Rapid Trace Analysis of Multiresidue Contaminants
January 9th 2018Mira Petrovic from the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) in Girona, Spain, reveals the advantages and practical applications of a novel method she developed for the multiresidue trace analysis of pharmaceutical compounds and their corresponding metabolites and transformation products using dual-column liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).
The LCGC Blog: 10 Things I Learned about Responsible Shale Energy Extraction
October 24th 2017As part of the Earth Day celebration in Dallas, Texas, USA, earlier this year, the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) at U.T. Arlington hosted the first annual Responsible Shale Energy Extraction (RSEE) symposium. Even though Kevin Schug and his group have been very involved in this conversation for the past several years, several points stood out.
LC–MS/MS Techniques for Environmental Concerns
October 24th 2017You don’t have to look far to find headlines such as “PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water Prompts Restrictions” (1) or “Toxic Algae Discovered in Waterways off Lake Tahoe” (2). These two examples highlight key environmental concerns, and laboratories are feeling the demands to perform more of these tests. The first headline relates to the pollution from per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) and the latter is attributed to the problems of microcystins and nodularins in water. This article will look into analytical workflows that can be applied to the testing of these “in demand” compounds.
What’s New in the Analysis of Complex Environmental Matrices?
August 8th 2017The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Environmental Chemistry Group, Water Science Forum, and the Separation Science Group Joint Meeting was held on Friday 3 March 2017 at the Science Suite of the Royal Society of Chemistry, in Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, UK.
Disinfection Byproducts in Natural Waters
April 3rd 2017The occurrence of disinfection byproducts in natural waters poses a health risk for humans as well as aquatic organisms. This article presents a method, which was recently developed at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona, USA, for the fast and simultaneous determination of 15 regulated and unregulated disinfection byproducts.