Separation and Characterization of Macromolecules: SCM-11 Preview

Many of the relevant questions that chromatographers are confronted with concern macromolecules. There are two good reasons for this. Firstly, macromolecules are increasingly important in many aspects of society. Secondly, analytical problems involving “large” molecules are often far from trivial. Macromolecules pose different challenges than small molecules and require different sets of skills and analytical technologies. The successful series of conferences on the Separation and Characterization of natural and synthetic Macromolecules (SCM) aim to discuss these issues with top experts from industry and academia, researchers, and—most importantly—practicing analytical chemists. The next episode, SCM-11, will take place in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) from January 22–24, 2025.

Amsterdam City, Illuminated Building and Canal at night, Netherlands | Image Credit: © gnoparus - stock.adobe.com

SCM-11 is one of the most-important conferences on polymer analysis. Innovating new or improving existing polymers requires detailed characterization of the molecular structure. Recycling of polymers and the transition to circular plastics raise challenges that are yet to be addressed. Biological polymers, such as natural or derivatized cellulose and lignin polymers, are increasingly important, but developing suitable characterization methods and establishing meaningful structure-property relationships are still highly challenging. Better analytical methods are vital for increased valorization of such natural polymers. The pharmaceutical industry has shifted dramatically from small molecules to macromolecules, including peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids. All these subjects have their own dedicated conferences, but the strength of the SCM series is that it brings together analytical chemists from the different fields. “Dead or Alive” is one of the themes of the SCM-conference, as it is one of few platforms that brings together material scientists focussing on synthetic (“Dead”) polymers and scientists from the pharmaceutical and life sciences (“Alive”). This gathering of diverse scientists has often led to strong synergies and cross-fertilization.

This is not surprising, because many of the analytical tools used are very similar. Size-exclusion chromatography is a bread-and-butter technique for characterizing (synthetic) polymers, but it is increasingly used for the separation and purification of proteins. Dedicated detectors, such as multi-angle light scattering, dynamic-light-scattering, and viscosity detectors are of common interest. Other LC techniques are used to achieve separations based on molecular structure. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) finds increasing use for qualitative and quantitative analysis of diverse macromolecules. Mass-spectrometric techniques and hyphenated chromatography-MS systems are increasingly used across the board, but there is still significant interest in spectroscopic techniques, such as infrared, Raman, and, especially, nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy (NMR) techniques.

A hot topic is the separation and characterization of nanoparticles, the size of which overlaps with that of large macromolecules. New developments are needed to provide satisfactory answers to all questions arising in this field. Hydrodynamic chromatography and, especially, field-flow-fractionation are extremely important in this area. They have always featured strongly at SCM conferences and this will be the case again at SCM-11. Hyphenation with characterization methods and quantitative Py-GC-MS are essential in this domain, as are the collection, pre-separation, and concentration of samples from complex matrices.

The SCM conference features plenary and keynote lectures by top experts, but it also offers great opportunities for (PhD) students, postdocs, and professional analysts to present their work in the form of submitted lectures or posters. SCM-11 features a large series of tutorials and state-of-the-art overview lectures that allow participants to broaden the scope of their knowledge and to catch up with various fields of science.

A fantastic way to gain a large amount of knowledge in two important fields is provided by two one-day short courses that will be taught by world-class scientists in the days leading up to the SCM-11 conference. On Monday, January 20th, 2025, Wolfgang Radke, who is now with Agilent Technologies, will present a short course on Interaction Polymer Chromatography. He will cover all kinds of chromatographic separations not based on molecular size. This includes gradient-elution separation of polymers and molecular-weight-independent separations at so-called critical conditions, as well as two-dimensional polymer separations. The course will include practical advice for developing such methods. On Tuesday, January 21st, 2025. Davy Guillarme and Jonathan Maurer, from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) will present a short course on the Analysis of Biopharmaceuticals. They will discuss fundamental and practical aspects of the analysis of a broad range of therapeutic biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, antisense oligonucleotides, small interfering RNA, messenger RNA, and more.

Participation in the SCM-11 conference is highly recommended for everyone who has an interest in the Separation and Characterization of any kind of macromolecules.

E-mail: P.J.Schoenmakers@uva.nl
Website: www.aanmelder.nl/158246/home