Quantitative Non-Targeted Screening of Environmental Samples: An HTC-18 Interview with Jan Christensen
At HTC-18 in Leuven, Executive Editor of LCGC International, Alasdair Matheson, spoke to Jan Christensen from the University of Copenhagen about his presentation entitled: “Quantitative Non-Targeted Screening of Environmental Samples: Endless Possibilities – But With Caution."
Jan H. Christensen is a Professor in Environmental Analytical Chemistry. He is the leader of the Analytical Chemistry group, Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and heads the Research Centre for Advanced Analytical Chemistry (RAACE). His group develops analytical methods and new tools to handle and process complex multidimensional chromatographic data. The main application areas are currently suspect- and non-target screening of organic and inorganic contaminants in waste-, surface-, and drinking water; as well as sustainable fuels; plant–microbe interactions, and foods. Jan has authored and co-authored more than 160 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on these topics, are (co-)responsible for five courses in analytical chemistry, and has supervised over 80 BSc, MSc students, and PhD students ORCID : 0000-0003-1414-1886. He is an active member of LCGC international’s editorial advisory board (EAB).
Jan discussed the following topics:
- Your group focuses on quantitative non-targeted screening (NTS) of environmental samples. Why is NTS important?
- In your HTC-18 lecture you highlighted that there are endless possibilities for quantitative non-targeted screening – but with caution? What caution do you advise?
- Is non-targeted screening always essential? Does targeted screening still have a role?
- Your group investigates contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in different categories of water: waste-, surface-, and drinking water? What CECs are you looking for in each category?
- What advice would you give to environmental scientists who want to perform reliable, targeted screening in the categories previously mentioned?
- You also published a paper recently highlighting that CECs in environmental samples can be improved by considering all mass adducts. Can you elaborate on this?
- What is the future of quantitative non-targeted screening in environmental analysis?
To learn more about HTC-18, see our previous interview with Martina Catani of the University of Ferrara.
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