Concentrating on Chromatography

What if you could dry biofluid samples in the field—without a vacuum system, freeze dryer, or full lab setup?In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, I sit down with Rajas Poorna and Charles Anderson to explore their work on a frugal, field-deployable alternative to traditional lyophilization through the Evapinator project.Originally inspired by the principles of frugal science, their approach rethinks how we stabilize a...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, host Dave Oliva sits down with Chris Reid to explore how chemical biology and LC-MS are being used to tackle one of the most urgent global challenges: antimicrobial resistance.As antibiotic resistance continues to rise—and new drug development struggles to keep pace—researchers are looking beyond traditional approaches. Instead of targeting how bacteria build their cell walls, Chr...

What if most PFAS contamination isn’t even being measured?In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, we sit down with Dr. Leigh Terry from the University of Alabama to explore one of the biggest challenges in environmental analysis today: understanding—and accurately measuring—PFAS in water systems.While most regulatory methods focus on a small number of compounds like PFOA and PFOS, there may be thousands of PFAS compound...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, David Oliva sits down with Amanda Guiraldelli Mahr to break down one of the most important (and often misunderstood) concepts in analytical chemistry: Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD).If you’ve ever relied on trial-and-error for method development—or wondered how top labs are using Design of Experiments (DOE), modeling, and AI to work smarter—this episode is for you.Amanda shar...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, we sit down with Kelly Broster McMahon to explore the analytical science behind one of the most important pharmaceutical trends today: GLP-1 therapeutics.Drugs like Semaglutide have transformed the treatment of diabetes and obesity—but ensuring their safety, efficacy, and quality requires cutting-edge analytical workflows.In this conversation, we break down how chromatography and ...

Can mass spectrometry work without chromatography?In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, host David Oliva speaks with Jeff Zonderman of Bruker about how Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) mass spectrometry is enabling rapid sample analysis with little or no chromatography.Traditional LC-MS workflows rely on chromatography, solvent-intensive sample preparation, and complex instrumentation. DART offers a different appro...

What if Mars already had biosignatures… and destroyed them?In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, host David Oliva sits down with Megan Farrah from Tufts University to explore how GC-MS is being used to reconstruct potential biosignatures under simulated Martian conditions.Inside a Mars Simulation Chamber, Megan irradiates sterols and hopanes — two of NASA’s priority targets for life detection — in soil matrices contai...

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been the backbone of modern analytical workflows for decades — but what if one of its most trusted components is also its biggest bottleneck?In Episode 50 of Concentrating on Chromatography, host Dave Oliva sits down with Daniel DeBord, Chief Technology Officer at MOBILion Systems, to explore how high-resolution ion mobility may be changing the way scientists think about precursor...

Light can heal. Light can power devices. But light can also destroy molecules.In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, we sit down with Kshmeya Chopra to explore how phthalocyanines — highly conjugated macrocycles used in photodynamic therapy, sensing, and organic electronics — respond to prolonged light exposure.Using UV–Vis spectroscopy, Kshmeya and her research team systematically investigated how:• The central metal ...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, we sit down with Lindsay Repka to discuss how LC-MS and GC-MS transformed her lab’s approach to photoredox chemistry.What began as a project to develop a visible-light photocrosslinking handle unexpectedly led to a major discovery: the solvent (DMF) was reacting with the photocatalyst itself. Using high-resolution LC-MS, Lindsay’s team observed multiple solvent adducts forming — s...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, David speaks with Francis Femi Oloy about using chromatography to uncover hidden pollutants in real-world water systems.Femi’s team analyzed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in six major rivers in southwestern Nigeria — compounds that were banned decades ago but still persist in the environment. Using a workflow that many analytical labs will recognize — liquid–liquid extraction, ...

How do you see proteins, metals, and disease processes inside real tissue — and still trust the numbers?In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, David sits down with Monique Mello, analytical chemist, educator, and LA-ICP-MS imaging specialist, to explore how laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) and immuno-mass spectrometry imaging (iMSI) are transforming pathology, environmental science, and translational research.Monique ...

How do chemists design molecules that safely carry radioactive metals through the body to target cancer cells?

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, David sits down with Simona Mastroianni and Marianna Tosato to explore the chemistry behind radiopharmaceuticals — drugs that combine radioactive isotopes with specially designed chelators to diagnose and treat cancer.

Their latest research focuses on the theranostic pair l...

Neglected and opportunistic infectious diseases affect some of the world’s most vulnerable populations—but often receive the least attention from traditional drug discovery pipelines.In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, host David Oliva sits down with Brad Haubrich to explore how early-stage drug discovery is being applied to fungal and parasitic pathogens, including those responsible for neglected tropical diseases ...

Haloacetic acids (HAAs) are disinfection byproducts formed when chlorine or bromine reacts with organic matter in water—and some are linked to serious health concerns. In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, we sit down with Jessica Whitehouse, MSc student at the University of Calgary, to discuss how she developed a GC-MS method to detect and quantify HAAs in real-world water samples.During her undergraduate research at...

In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, host David Oliva sits down with Dr. Steven Weinman, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Alabama, to explore how membrane science and chromatography intersect in modern separation challenges.Steven shares his journey from chemical engineering student to membrane researcher, and explains how membranes are used not only for water purificati...

How do the hidden carbohydrate structures on your favorite protein powders shape the gut microbiome? In this episode of Concentrating on Chromatography, Matthew Bolino, M.S., from the University of Nevada, Reno, breaks down his latest research on N‑glycans from common dietary proteins (whey, egg white, soy, and pea) and how their structural diversity influences microbial fermentation and short‑chain fatty acid production.Bolino exp...

In this episode, we interview Daniel Reddy, 2025 CAS Future Leader and PhD candidate at Queen's University, about his groundbreaking research on automated mass spectrometry and dried matrix spots (DMS).Dan's work combines computer vision, 3D printer automation, and laser micromachining to revolutionize sample preparation—reducing CO₂ emissions by 28-fold and organic solvent use by 21-fold compared to traditional methods.Wha...

Join us as we sit down with Jim Gearing, Associate Vice President of Marketing for Agilent's Gas Phase Division, to explore how the world of chromatography is changing and how intelligent instrument design is meeting users where they are.This interview was conducted in collaboration with Separation Science, the premier online learning platform for analytical scientists, providing expert content on chromatography, mass spectrome...