Event News

Event News

January 1, 2009

Article

LCGC Europe

LCGC EuropeLCGC Europe-01-01-2009

Volume 22

Issue 1

Pages: 50

SCM-4 - The 4th International Symposium on the Separation and Characterization of Natural and Synthetic Macromolecules

SCM-4 — The 4th International Symposium on the Separation and Characterization of Natural and Synthetic Macromolecules

SCM-4 will take place in the Rhone Congress Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 28–30 January (2009).

The meeting will focus on the characterization of high-molecular-weight materials from natural and synthetic origin. The emphasis is on molecular analysis and, most importantly, separation methods. The previous meetings in 2003, 2005 and 2007 have established the SCM-4 series as a premiere platform for discussing the latest developments in polymer separations.

Many of the leading experts in this field feature among the invited speakers of the conference. All the important separation methods will be addressed, including size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) (or gel permeation chromatography (GPC), liquid chromatography (LC), including gradient-elution separations and chromatography at the critical conditions, and electrophoretic techniques. Much attention will be paid to a wide variety of hyphenated systems. Molecular-weight selective detectors, such as viscometry and light scattering feature prominently in the meeting, as well as combinations of separation methods and mass spectrometry (MS) or molecular spectroscopy.

Two-dimensional (2D) separations have proven to be a hot issue, especially in polymers science, where such techniques yield highly useful information on copolymers, functional polymers, etc. More attention with be paid to field-flow fractionation (FFF) methods at this year's event.

Thanks to a strong scientific committee, which consists largely of scientists from industry, SCM-4 is an excellent podium for academic–industrial contacts and cooperation. Many novel developments and concepts derive from academia, but many of the key applications and much of the technical expertise reside in industry.

The meeting will be preceded by two one-day short courses. One of these focuses on the characterization of polymers by NMR techniques and is taught by Wolf Hiller, from Dortmund, Germany. The second short course is taught by Andre Striegel, from Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida, USA) who has recently finished a complete re-write of the classic book on Modern Size-Exclusion Chromatography, by W.W. Yau, J.J. Kirkland and D.D. Bly. The short course will be based on this book and it promises to be immensely valuable for anyone involved in the separation of large molecules. During the meeting a series of tutorials will be presented, which will allow scientists to become familiar with different aspects of the field.

The SCM meetings have their traditional strength in the separation and characterization of synthetic polymers. Some topics of great current interest, such as the characterization of branched and hyperbranched polymers, will be addressed in special sessions. The meeting series has also developed into one of the leading meetings on the analysis of biopolymers. Polysaccharides feature strongly in the programme, with special attention for food analysis and pharmaceutical applications of polymers (e.g., as drug excipients).

The Rhone Conference has a large exhibition hall and key suppliers will present their latest instruments and consumables. Highlights will be presented in the form of vendor seminars. A large number of scientific posters will also be presented and discussed. Poster presentations can be submitted until 1 December 2008.

E-mail: scm@ordibo.be

Website: www.ordibo.be/scm