Innovations in Chromatography Unveiled at Pittcon 2010

The warm Florida weather will surely be appreciated by thousands of scientists from more than 100 countries who attend this comprehensive annual conference and exposition on laboratory science. It is expected that Pittcon will play host to more than 1500 attendees from outside of North America..

In addition to the extensive laboratory product exposition, multi-discipline technical programme, short courses, workshops and peer-to-peer networking sessions, conferees will be treated to new programmes and events in 2010. New this year is Technology Park, an area on the exposition floor where conferees can browse and learn about many of the new products being introduced by the world's leading instrumentation companies and laboratory suppliers. Pittcon 2010 is also hosting an evening networking event called, Pittcon Night at Universal Studios, where all Pittcon 2010 attendees can enjoy the sights and sounds of one of the most popular entertainment parks in the US.

For the first time, contributions from the French scientific community will be recognized in their own Pavilion on the exposition floor. The French Pavilion is organized by UBIFRANCE, a French agency whose mission is to assist French companies with their US business endeavors, such as forging partnerships with US companies, establishing US factories/offices/headquarters and other business networking and development opportunities. The French Pavilion will showcase 10 companies from the French laboratory science sector.

Pittcon 2010 is extending its welcome to international visitors with a special help desk and lounge area. The area will be staffed with interpreters to help international attendees make the most of their Pittcon experience, both inside and outside of the convention centre. Also for international attendees, Pittcon will host the "Exhibitor–Distributor Facilitation" service which provides an efficient mechanism for exhibitors and distributors to connect during the conference and exposition.

The Latest Innovations in Separation Science

The extensive Technical Programme includes a diverse array of invited symposia, contributed oral presentations, poster sessions, workshops and award symposia recognizing the year's most significant scientific achievements. Typically, nearly half of the instruments and applications showcased at Pittcon 2010 in the exposition and presented in the technical programme are geared towards some form of separation science across a variety of application areas, including life science, pharmaceutical, environmental, food science, forensics and others. Virtually all forms of chromatography are represented. Some of the technical sessions involving chromatography include:

• Innovations in Separation Science

• Pushing the Envelope in Capillary Gas Chromatography

• Best Practice of Stability-Indicating HPLC Method Development

• Capillary HPLC — It's Not Just for Proteomics

• High Speed HPLC

• Polymeric Stationary Phases for HPLC Separations

• Push the Limits of Chemical Separations: Faster, Smaller, Better

• The Hydrophobic-subtraction Model for Characterizing Reversed-Phase Column Selectivity

• Emerging Materials in Separation Science

• High Throughput Sample Preparation: Techniques and Applications

• Characterization and Uses of Stationary Phase Selectivity — An Applied Perspective

• Latest Developments in Ion Chromatography for "Matrix-Challenged" Samples.

Advances in Hyphenated Mass Spec Techniques

The increasing use of mass spectrometry and hyphenated LC–MS techniques is making a great impact at Pittcon. Novel applications will be presented across all of the platforms in the technical programme. Sessions involving MS and hyphenated MS techniques include:

• Achievements and Challenges in Mass Spectrometry

• Frontiers in Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Proteins

• Advances in Hand-Portable Ion Mobility and Ion Trap Chemical Analysers

• Challenges and Opportunities in the Characterization of Protein Therapeutics Using Mass Spectrometry

• Mass Analysers and Microfabrication Techniques

• New Approaches to Analytical Mass Spectrometry

• LC–MS–MS in Clinical Pharmacology

• High Performance LC–MS–MS Bioanalysis: Emerging Technologies and Workflows

• Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry/FAIMS

• Integrated Quantitative/Qualitative LC–MS: The Future of DMPK?

Educational Opportunities in Separation Science

The Pittcon 2010 short course programme continues to grow and provide valuable educational opportunities for scientists at all levels. Thousands of conferees will make their Pittcon week even more productive by enrolling in a short course to either further their specific technical or professional capabilities or to broaden their exposure to new disciplines. There are many short courses involving chromatographic techniques, from sample preparation and column selection to the most sophisticated LC–MS techniques. Included in the short course programme are:

• Highly Successful Strategies for LC–MS Quantitation: Current Applications and Emerging Technologies

• Introduction to Mass Spectrometry

• Modern HPLC for DMPK, Bioanalytical and Analytical Development Scientists

• Ultra High Pressure LC (UHPLC): Concepts, Practices, Issues, Alternatives and How to get Started

• Sample Prep for Chromatography

• Basic HPLC: Fundamentals, Applications and Troubleshooting

• LC–MS–MS (QqQ, Q-TOF, Q TRAP and Orbitrap) and GC–MS–MS Analysis of Endocrine Disruptors, Pharmaceuticals and Illicit Drugs in the Environment

• HPLC Method Development for LC–MS

• LC–MS Strategies for the Identification of Impurities, Degradants and Metabolites

• Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in the Pharmaceutical Industry

• Basic TLC for Today's Laboratories (including Herbal and Phytopharmaceutical Applications)

• Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography — the Other Side of Reversed Phase HPLC

• Importance of LC–MS Ion Trap Analysis in Analytical Science

• Introduction to Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography (GC×GC)

• Preparative HPLC: Basic Fundamentals and Applications of Scaling Up a Separation

• Method Development and Sensitivity Enhancement for Success with LC–MS.

American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Programme

The American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry (ACS DAC) will once again co-programme with Pittcon 2010 and host a number of invited symposia, contributed sessions and posters on a variety of analytical topics, including:

• Microfluidic Systems with Electrochemical Detection for the Investigation of Biological Processes

• Electrochemistry and Energy

• New Approaches to Address Emerging Environmental Pollutants

• Pushing the Envelope in Capillary Gas Chromatography

• New Frontiers in Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Proteins

• Separation and Characterization of Large Macromolecules and Nanoparticles: There's Plenty of Room at the Top

• New Investigators in Analytical Chemistry

• New Frontiers in Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage

• Advances in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

• Innovations in Separation Science.

Plenary Lecture

Dr Alan G. Marshall, Kasha Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University and Director of the Ion Cyclotron Resonance Programme at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, will present the popular plenary lecture. His talk, The Role of High-End Instrumentation, will focus on how high-end analytical instrumentation has both advanced state-of-the art applications and also stimulated higher performance of much more widely available lower-end instrumentation. Selected examples will draw from synchrotrons, lasers, mass spectrometry, electron and optical microscopy, NMR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and robots.

Awards for Technical Achievements

Well known chromatographers and separation scientists are always among the many Pittcon award recipients for technical achievements.

One of the leading pioneers in gas chromatography, Dr Walter Jennings, will be presented with the prestigious Pittcon Heritage Award. Dr Jennings completed a 35-year career on the Davis Campus of the University of California, where he constructed his first gas chromatograph in 1954. His early research with experimental column designs and phases assisted in the development of many novel, commercially marketed columns. In 1974, he co-founded J&W Scientific Inc., which grew to become the world's largest supplier of fused silica columns.

Dr Lane C. Sander, Leader of the Organic Chemical Metrology Group within the Analytical Chemistry Division, NIST, will be presented with the Chromatography Forum of the Delaware Valley Dal Nogare Award for excellence in chromatography. Among his many accomplishments, Dr Sander developed the first column tailored for the analysis of carotenoid isomers, using a polymeric C30 stationary phase. The goal of his research is to improve the chemical metrology in environmental, clinical and food science disciplines.

The Analytical Chemistry Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science was established by the Subdivision of Chromatography and Separation Science, a subdivision of the Analytical Division of the ACS to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions, to the field of separation science by a young chemist or chemical engineer. The 2010 award will be presented to Craig A. Aspinwall of the University of Arizona for his advances in real time on-line monitoring of neurotransmitters and hormones.

Product Exposition

On the exposition floor, conferees will have the unique opportunity to visit nearly 1000 exhibiting companies to see what's new in laboratory equipment, evaluate products, talk to the technical experts one-on-one and see first hand the latest laboratory developments:

• HPLC, ICP, GC, MS, FTIR and more

• Laboratory equipment, chemicals and supplies

• Laboratory automation

• Informatics and analytical software

• Green chemistry solutions

• Contract laboratory services

• OEM parts and dealers.

The Green Corner

Pittcon 2010 will once again present an exhibitor area called the Green Corner, which will complement the Life Science, Informatics, French Pavilion and New Exhibitor speciality areas on the exposition floor. The Green Corner is dedicated to companies specializing in environmentally-friendly chemistry solutions, resource conservation and pollution prevention techniques. Some of the products and technologies on display on the Green Corner, include:

• Oil and grease monitoring

• Solvent-free extraction

• Environmentally safe nanotechnology applications

• Environmentally friendly Greenstone lab surfaces

• Energy saving fume hoods.

More Conferee Networking Sessions

There will also be more Conferee Networking sessions. These informal two-hour sessions provide a valuable opportunity for conferees to participate in face-to-face scientific discussions and collaborate with colleagues on specific topics of interest.

Some of the Conferee Networking Sessions include:

• Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in the Pharmaceutical Industry

• Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry

• UPLC and Micro LC

• The Application of Hyphenated Instruments on Food Safety and Cosmetics

• Bioseparations — Problems, Pitfalls and Current Issues in Protein Analysis and Purification

• LC–MS — Current Trends for Fast LC

• Conversion of HPLC Test Methods to UPLC.

International Exhibitor–Distributor Facilitation

For conferees focused on developing or enriching their international business interests, Pittcon 2010 will again offer a service called "Exhibitor–Distributor Facilitation". This networking service provides an efficient and easy way for exhibitors and distributors to connect during the conference and exposition. Interested individuals can simply register on the Pittcon 2010 website (www.pittcon.org) to use the service and help connect to appropriate business people.

International Assistance

The Pittcon 2010 website also provides information for international conferees and includes important links to information and resources related to travelling to and visiting Orlando, obtaining Visas and dealing with US Customs authority: http://www.pittcon.org/attendee/InternationalVisitors.html