Pittcon 2013 – What's in Store for Chromatographers

Pittcon will be held in Philadelphia for the first time this year. Philadelphia is the centre of one of the top life science clusters in the USA, bringing together the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, R&D and a wide range of other supporting industries.

Pittcon 2013 offers a unique opportunity to get a hands-on look at the latest innovations in analytical science and chromatographic technology from leading companies from over 30 countries. Pittcon 2013 will be held from 17–21 March 2013 (expo dates: 18–21 March) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Approximately 50% of exhibitors use Pittcon as the venue to launch new products and 20% of companies offer exclusive on-site discounts on equipment. Several specialty areas will be open on the floor including: New Exhibitor, Life Science, and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) areas and international pavilions for Japan and Germany. Attendees will get the chance to participate in live demonstrations and product seminars. Technical personnel will be available to talk about challenges faced by laboratory managers and offer solutions to improve efficiency.

This dynamic exposition will be complimented by a diverse all-inclusive technical programme offering more than 2,000 technical presentations, as well as affordable short training courses and unique networking opportunities.

As members of the scientific community from over 90 countries converge on Pittcon 2013, networking will become a primary activity among participants. The advance registration fee of $130 before 18 February ($260 after) gives conferees unlimited access to the exposition floor and technical programme.

Technical Programme

World-renowned speakers will present symposia, contributed and oral sessions, workshops, awards and posters covering a wide range of subjects. This year's programmme will include the Wallace H. Coulter Plenary lecture, "Exameter Objects to Nanometer Ones and Back Again," by Nobel Laureate, Sir Harry Kroto, Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at Florida State University and the Wallace H. Coulter Keynote lecture: "How The Higgs Boson Saved Us From A Cold, Dark, Lifeless Universe," by R. Michael Barnett from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory & Coordinator ATLAS Experiment. Other highlights include:

• ACS ANYL SCSC - Supercritical Fluid Chromatography by David Pinkston, Kellogg, and Larry T Taylor, Virgina Tech, will discuss how SFC (supercritical fluid chromatography) is finding a new place in trace analysis and validated methods.

• Adaptation of Platform Analytical Technologies in Pharmaceutical Development organized by Michael W. Dong from Genentech, will outline the concepts, benefits and applications of platform technologies in pharmaceutical development.

• Applications of Two-Dimensional High Performance Liquid Chromatography, organized by Dwight R. Stoll, Gustavus Adolphus College and Peter W. Carr from the University of Minnesota, will highlight recent work of leading experts in a range of applications, with updates on recent theoretical work. Participants in this session can expect to walk away with a good sense for the state-of-the-art of 2D LC, in terms of the scope of the technique, best practices and applications where an immediate impact can be realized.

• Microfluidics for Detection of Circulating Tumour Cells, organized by Hugh Fan from the University of Florida, will present different perspectives from oncologists and technologists.

• Advanced Mass Spectrometry for Food Safety and Cosmetics, organized by Perry G. Wang, US FDA, will focus on the application of advanced mass spectrometry techniques, such as infusion nano-electrospray high-resolution mass spectrometry, Orbitrap technique and tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) on food safety and cosmetics. A new sample preparation technique — "QuEChERS Sample Preparation Approach" for pesticides in foods will be introduced as well.

• New Ionization Approaches in Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Imaging, organized by Sarah Trimpin, Wayne State University and Charles N. McEwen, University of the Sciences, will discuss new promising ionization approaches to molecular imaging. Structure Elucidation in Native Mass Spectrometry, organized by Evan R. Williams, University of California-Berkeley, will talk about new strategies to obtain structural information about macromolecules and macromolecule complexes, including chemical foot-printing, ion mobility spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry and the application of these methods to interesting problems in structural biology.

• Environmental Applications of High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, organized by Earl Michael Thurman, University of Colorado and Imma Ferrer, University of Colorado, will introduce the latest advances in mass spectrometry such as the limits of high resolution and accurate mass, as well as the latest advances in mass spectrometry instrumentation. Topics such as the study of pesticide degradates and pharmaceuticals in wastewater, fracking (removing natural gas from shales), the application of proteomics to environmental studies of contamination in water supplies, and natural pesticides from around the world will be addressed using Orbitrap and other high resolution methods.

Pittcon Honours Scientific Achievements

Every year, Pittcon recognizes and honours scientists who have made outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry and spectroscopy. This year, The Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (SEAC) — Young Investigator Award will be awarded to Bo Zhang, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, Washington, USA. Research in the Zhang group is focused on the understanding of fundamental and applied aspects of electrochemistry and bioanalytical chemistry using nanoscale materials.

The newly established Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science will be given to Norman Dovichi, the Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry at Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA. The Royal Society of Chemistry has awarded the prize to Dovichi for pioneering development of ultrasensitive separations. Dovichi developed the first separations at zepto- and yoctomole levels and capillary electrophoresis-based DNA sequencing.

The ACS Division Of Analytical Chemistry Award For Young Investigators in Separation Science will be awarded to Kevin A. Schug, Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA. Schug was selected for his outstanding contributions to separation science in the ten years since the completion of his PhD. He was previously awarded the international Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award sponsored by LCGC magazine in 2009.

The Chromatography Forum Of The Delaware Valley Dal Nogare Award will be presented to Irving W. Wainer, senior investigator of clinical investigation at the National Institute on Ageing, Maryland, USA. Wainer has published over 300 scientific papers, and has received a number of awards including the A.J.P. Martin Medal presented by the Chromatographic Society for contributions to the development of chromatographic science. Wainer's research focuses on the effect of the disease state on drug metabolism, the development of chromatographic techniques for drug discovery and the development of bioanalytical methods for the determination of drugs within biological matrices.

Professional Development

For the recent graduate new to the field of chromatography, or for the seasoned professional interested in enhancing professional development, Pittcon offers an affordable Short Course Programme offering more than 50 courses in topics relevant to liquid and gas chromatography. These courses, taught by leading experts in their field, range from beginner to advanced levels, in half-, one- or two-day sessions. Some of the new titles for 2013 include Advances in Countercurrent Chromatography and Related Techniques; Gas Chromatography/Infrared Spectroscopy; Introduction to LC–MS for Chromatographers and Beginners; Advanced Topics in Capillary Gas Chromatography — Getting More from Your GC Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Stay Connected

The new free Pittcon 2013 mobile application will help iOS and Android device users organize schedules, technical sessions, short courses, search exhibitor listings and find local restaurants and entertainment. This free app is a valuable resource tool to use before, during, and after the event. In addition, LCGC will be running a dedicated Twitter feed throughout the event keeping you up-to-date on highlights and news from the conference. Follow us: @LC_GC to keep up with the latest developments.

Contact: Marian Nardozzi

E-mail: publicity@pittcon.org

Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Tel: +1 412-825-3220 ext: 203

Fax: +1 412-825-3224

Registration: www.pittcon.org/register