Separation and Purification of Polar Compounds on a Reversed-Phase Preparative Column: Are You Thinking about Atlantis™ dC18?

In a commentary published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers voiced concerns about the limitations in PFAS research due to restricted access to high-purity reference standards.

Researchers investigating the relationship between cannabis use during pregnancy and depressive symptoms—and whether continued use beyond the first trimester or higher levels of use were linked to increased symptoms—used liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to confirm the presence of 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) in urine samples.

Analytical scientists are faced with the task of finding the right column from an almost unmanageable range of products. This paper focuses on columns that enable protein analysis under native conditions through size exclusion, hydrophobic interaction, and ion exchange chromatography. It will highlight the different column characteristics—pore size, particle size, base matrices, column dimensions, ligands—and which questions will help decide which columns to use.

The proposed tariffs by the Trump administration on various industries may have implications for analytical chemists across industry, government, and academia.