ISC Opening Ceremony Features Key Discussions on Pharmaceutical Analysis and Fast GC

The 2024 International Symposium on Chromatography draws attendees from around the world to Liverpool, United Kingdom. © Pefkos - stock.adobe.com

The 34th International Symposium on Chromatography (ISC) has officially commenced, running from October 6-11, 2024, in Liverpool, U.K. The event brings together leading scientists and professionals to explore the latest advancements and foundational principles in chromatography. This year’s symposium features an array of poster and plenary sessions, hands-on short courses, exhibitor booths, and numerous networking opportunities for attendees to engage and learn.

A highlight of the event is the Rising Stars in Separation Science Awards, presented by LCGC International, which celebrates the achievements of early-career researchers in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical fields, as well as in liquid (LC) and gas (GC) chromatography analysis.

On October 6, symposium chair Tony Edge officially opened the ISC by reflecting on the transformative impact of chromatography over the past century. He emphasized how the technique has become instrumental across diverse sectors, including drug development, battery technology, agriculture, sustainability, and textiles.

“As a chromatographer, you should be very, very proud, because we underpin so much of what is going on around us,” Edge said. “As the river flows, it touches many places.”

The work of many scientists has fundamentally shaped the understanding and practice of separation science. Edge’s introduction highlighted the contributions of pioneering scientists such as Jan Jozef van Deemter, known for the Van Deemter equation that describes column efficiency, and Howard Purnell, who developed the Purnell equation to define chromatographic resolution. Looking ahead, Edge said chromatography will continue to play a pivotal role in drug discovery, environmental sustainability, and advancing scientific research.

“Share your enthusiasm, question assumptions, and use your imagination to think about what we should be doing next,” he said. “Together, as a community, we can absolutely move chromatography and science forward.”

Exploring Advanced Analytical Technologies in Drug Development

Following Edge’s remarks, Kelly Zhang, senior fellow and director of Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry at Genentech, presented on the impact of chromatography in navigating the evolving therapeutic landscape. She provided a comprehensive overview of the analytical challenges and recent advances in emerging drug modalities, including nucleic acid-based medicines, cell and gene therapies, peptides, oral proteins, and advanced drug delivery technologies.

Complex impurity profiles in nucleic acid-based medicines can decrease chromatographic resolution with increasing length, for instance. Additionally, the higher-order structures and aggregations in these therapies complicate the separation process.

Zhang also discussed the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into chromatographic analysis. These tools offer promising avenues for collaboration and data sharing, but pose significant challenges related to data quality and accessibility, especially within the proprietary constraints of pharmaceutical companies. She concluded her talk by encouraging researchers to embrace these emerging technologies to enhance analytical methodologies.

“We’re looking for better, more robust technologies that can be applied for everyday use in the industry,” Zhang said.

Innovations in Fast Gas Chromatography

The final plenary session featured a presentation by Alastair Lewis, professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of York, on the development and application of very fast capillary GC for mobile air measurement. Although fast GC technology originated in the 1970s, its adoption in real-world settings has been limited due to its low sample capacity and difficulty in analyzing complex gas samples.

Air contains thousands of compounds, mostly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but only a small number of molecules per milliliter. Additionally, real-world samples often have a high-water content, complicating accurate detection. Despite these limitations, Lewis highlighted several key contributions of fast GC, particularly in the context of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC), where fast GC enables the separation of up to 10-20 peaks in just 1-10 seconds.

New advancements, particularly in time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS), are now renewing interest in very fast GC. TOF MS’s increased sensitivity and better peak deconvolution, coupled with its compact and robust design, make it well-suited for challenging applications such as atmospheric and air quality studies. As Lewis concluded, these innovations could make very fast GC a more powerful tool for future research and environmental monitoring.

The opening sessions of ISC 2024 set a forward-looking tone, emphasizing the vital role of chromatography in addressing contemporary scientific challenges and supporting the next generation of innovations in separation science.