Portable Chromatography Innovations Take Center Stage at ISC

Chromatography systems are becoming increasingly compact, a trend that marks a significant advancement for the industry. This shift is enabling scientists to conduct more research directly in the field, reducing reliance on laboratory-based analysis.

The miniaturization of chromatography tools is poised to transform several sectors, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and environmental monitoring, by providing researchers with portable, efficient, and reliable systems that can be used in diverse and challenging environments.

During the International Symposium on Chromatography in Liverpool, U.K., on October 8, experts from both academia and industry gathered to discuss this emerging trend in a dedicated session. Ali Salehi-Reyhani, a lecturer at the Department of Surgery & Cancer at Imperial College London, led the discussion by showcasing his team’s work on miniaturizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems. He emphasized that traditional liquid chromatography (LC) techniques, although crucial for a broad range of applications, are hindered by logistical challenges when transporting samples from the field to the lab.

Ali Salehi-Reyhani, a lecturer at the Department of Surgery & Cancer at Imperial College London, discussed his work with miniaturized LC at the ISC conference in Liverpool.

“If you want to do lab-based analysis, you have to rely on logistics,” Salehi-Reyhani explained. “Samples may transmute or degrade due to delays in logistic turn-around times. There is a need for field-based analysis.”

To address these limitations, Salehi-Reyhani’s group is developing portable HPLC tools that maintain high sensitivity and performance, like their bulkier laboratory counterparts. His team’s innovations focus on enhancing column technology and ensuring the equipment is rugged enough to handle the rigors of field use. One highlighted project involves a point-of-care method for detecting oncological biomarkers in the urine of at-risk patients. The sampling is done directly from a toilet ring, enabling long-term monitoring without the need for frequent laboratory visits. Additionally, Salehi-Reyhani’s group is collaborating with Chester Zoo to implement these portable systems in conservation research to monitor the health and welfare of endangered species, such as rhinos.

A New Approach to Skin Permeation Studies

The symposium also featured a presentation by Ilaria Neri from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, who introduced the concept of biomimetic chromatography as an innovative method for studying the dermal permeation potential of chemicals. Understanding how chemicals penetrate the skin is crucial for both pharmaceutical development and cosmetic safety assessments. However, traditional approaches that use animal models are often limited by variability, low reproducibility, and ethical concerns. To address these issues, Neri’s team developed a novel in vitro platform called ChromaSkin, which simulates the skin’s complex structure using a two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) system.

The ChromaSkin platform mimics the lipid-rich epidermis using a ceramide-like stationary phase and replicates the dermis with an immobilized artificial membrane, providing a closer approximation of the skin’s layered barrier. Neri’s team validated this method using 50 pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients, demonstrating a strong correlation between the compounds’ chromatographic behaviors and their known transdermal passage data. This innovative approach offers a more humane and reliable alternative to animal testing, while also improving throughput and data consistency.

Neri’s group also utilized the Permeapad 96-well plate, a biomimetic membrane system based on phospholipids, which provides a high-throughput, cost-effective method for evaluating passive skin permeability. By integrating these complementary in vitro techniques, the team of scientists were able to achieve a more comprehensive prediction of skin permeability, suggesting a promising pathway for refining chemical risk assessments without the use of animal models.

Water Analysis Using Ion Chromatography

Brett Paull from the University of Tasmania, Australia, presented his team’s work on developing a portable ion chromatography platform designed for reliable in-field analysis of nitrogen-containing anions and cations in environmental and industrial waters. This innovation addresses significant limitations of traditional methods, which rely on grab sampling and laboratory-based analysis. Paull emphasized that ion chromatography is widely regarded as a "gold standard" for environmental water monitoring, especially for nutrient anions. However, current practices are vulnerable to inaccuracies due to the transformation and degradation of nutrient species during sample transport and storage, leading to unreliable data—particularly when modeling nutrient dynamics in large water catchments that demand high precision.

To overcome these issues, Paull’s team developed the Aquamonitrix nutrient analyzer, a fully portable, field-deployable ion chromatography system capable of providing robust and accurate nutrient monitoring in diverse and challenging environments. Designed for green, on-site operation, the Aquamonitrix platform has been tested in real-world scenarios, including large-scale river sampling campaigns and in-field soil pore water analysis. Its versatility also enables it to measure a range of nitrogen species beyond standard nutrients, such as ammonium in industrial wastewater and monochloroamine in municipal tap water. This adaptability makes the system an invaluable tool for comprehensive environmental monitoring and management, offering a practical solution for accurate, on-the-spot assessments that traditional lab-based methods cannot provide.