Pittcon 2024: Mass Spectrometry in Pharmaceuticals

At the Pittcon conference in San Diego, California, experts from a number of different companies lectured on the use of mass spectrometry in pharmaceutical analysis.

The session began with “Determination of Ethylene Oxide and Dioxane in Different Grades (Chain Lengths) of Polyethylene Glycols by a Single Headspace Capillary Gas Chromatography Method,” presented by Jingzhi Tian of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. Tian discussed the development of a new single headspace capillary gas chromatography method that can adequately separate all peaks of interest and accurately quantitate and identify ethylene oxide and dioxane in bulk lots of various grades (different chain lengths) of polyethylene glycols (PEGs).

Elizabeth Humston-Fulmer of the LECO Corporation followed with “Non-Target Characterization and Simultaneous Quantification for Reformulation of Complex Fragrance Samples with GCxGC-MS/FID.” Humston-Fulmer demonstrated an improved workflow using GCxGC with dual TOFMS/FID detection to yield reliable identification and area % quantification in a single injection. GCxGC provides enhanced chromatographic separations to address coelutions, removing the need for separate 1D analyses with different stationary phases to handle complex samples.

The session concluded with “Metal Ion Leaching From Stainless Steel and Hastelloy in Common Pharmaceutical Solvents and the Impacts on Production and Analysis,” led by Jesse Bischof of SilcoTek Corporation. Bischof presented metal ion leaching data via ICP-MS along with a method to mitigate this leaching in the form of nano CVD silicon-based coating to block metal ion leaching into the solvent. Results will show that by applying the coating to tubing, valves, filters, tanks, and any other metal processing equipment, metal ions can be limited to sub-ppb levels of leaching providing greater control over pharmaceutical processes.