Table of Contents

Meet the New Editors of MCF Retention Times

Ravi Ravichandran

Both Brian Leafblad and I would like to introduce ourselves as the new editors of the MCF newsletter. Brian works as an Analytical Chemist at Ecolab and I work at 3M Pharmaceuticals. I served as the editor of The Accelerator, ACS Newsletter of the Indiana section for 3 years. Brian has had experience in publishing In The Flow, an internal Ecolab HPLC newsletter. Maybe this opportunity will help us improve our editorial skills!!

At the outset, we both would like to thank the board for entrusting us with this job. As the incoming editors, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Kristi Brezinka for serving as the editor of the newsletter for the past two years. Having been an editor of a newsletter which reached 1500 members in the past, I know it is a hard job. Thank you Kristi for your willingness to spend your personal time!

We have given our newsletter a new look. We hope you like this. Please let us know your feedback. We would like the MCF Retention Times to be one of the primary modes of communication among the membership. This is your medium for publishing articles of interest to MCF members. Here are a few ideas.

• You can be a guest columnist! All we ask is that the column be relevant to MCF, namely in the area of separations. If you know someone who may be interested in writing a guest column, please encourage them. They need not be MCF members.

• If you came across an interesting article in a journal pertaining to chromatography, please send us a short note. We will try our best to publish it.

• If you are aware of a local seminar organized by other professional societies, please send us the details. We can perhaps include it in the Calendar of Events.

• If you attend one of MCF’s quarterly meetings, and want to write a review of the seminar, please go right ahead!

If any of you have any ideas on adding some interesting sections to the newsletter, please contact one of us. We will be glad to discuss your ideas.

You will see in this issue the list of deadlines for submission of articles for future newsletters. Please send us any items that you would like to have published in the newsletter by the deadline. We would prefer to receive articles electronically. Our email addresses can be found in this issue (page 4) as well as on the MCF website.

From the President's Desk

Becky Wittrig

One of the most enjoyable things about being involved in the Minnesota Chromatography Forum has been the opportunity that I have had to meet so many new people. The MCF is a diverse collection of chromatographers in a wide variety of academic and industrial positions. Since I come from a relatively small analytical lab with only a few chromatographers, I look forward to talking with others who practice the art and science of separation science. MCF also helps its members to stay current through short courses, technical presentations, and the MCF newsletter and website.

Are you interested in becoming more active in the MCF? We are always looking for interested volunteers for positions on the MCF board, with elections held during the spring symposium. There are a number of opportunities to become more involved in the MCF. There are three evening meetings held in the fall, winter, and spring which include a focus speaker as well as an opportunity to network with other local chromatographers. The annual spring symposium, held each May, is a three-day event that includes a technical program, short courses, and a vendor exposition. Short courses are held throughout the year as well. If you would like more information, please contact me at (651) 917-5876 or by e-mail at rwittrig@pillsbury.com.

I am looking forward to another great year with the MCF!

Seattle delivered its best week of weather in years for conferees at HPLC 2000. Opening day was marked by the concurrent announcement by President Clinton that the first survey of the human genome had been completed. Separations scientists were quick to mention that mapping the human genome would not have been possible without chemical separations (did anyone mention mass spec?). With a strong contingent of opinion leaders in the field, the conference provided a clear picture of current trends and advances in chromatography. The title of the symposium has included the term "Related Techniques" in recent years to make room for discussions on capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography, and field flow fractionation, among other techniques. Of particular note this year was the large number of papers devoted to proteomics, which was touted as the area of the largest expected growth for the near future. Also of interest was the emphasis on hyphenated and multidimensional techniques, as evidenced by the profusion of excellent papers along that topic.

Overall, the HPLC symposium series is the conference of choice for the separations scientist desiring to stay abreast of new developments in the field. It offers a narrower scope than symposia based on a general theme. The program, however, is more in-depth. The conferee can choose from a variety of talks and posters on very specific topics such as analytical biotechnology, miniaturized techniques, fundamental concepts and retention mechanisms, and pharmaceutical and combinatorial analysis, to name a few.

The author, Dr. Thomas Chambers, works in 3M Pharmaceuticals.

Editors’ Note: Did you attend a meeting that may be of interest to MCF members? Please write a synopsis of what you thought of it and send it to rravichandran@mmm.com

"Beginning Gas Chromatography"
November 14^th - 16^th, 2000

From the Education Corner...

Kim Grandprey

As in the past, this area of the newsletter will be devoted to introducing to the individuals involved in the Education Committee to the membership body. We continue with a person whose participation has grown over the two years he has participated!

Bill Cameron is an analytical chemist who currently works for 3M at their Cottage Grove site. Bill spends most of his time working with chromatographic problems and techniques, chiefly GC and HPLC, but also has the opportunity to dabble in many other analytical techniques.  Before joining 3M, Bill worked for a health food manufacturer, and an independent environmental firm. After 19 years of working as a chemist he is still amazed at the diversity in analytical tools available to chemists, and also at the diversity of the approaches that can be taken to solve problems! Bill attended his first Spring Symposium in 1982 and became a member of the Education Committee in 1999.

Bill and his wife have two boys, 12 and 15, who add much excitement and many additional challenges to his life. Sports and church activities occupy the majority of his non-work hours.

Way to Go Paul!

MCF’s 1st year Director, Dr. Paul Jackson became a celebrity when he hit the news through Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of American Chemical Society published on June 19, 2000. The article was titled "Starting from Scratch: New professors share their experience". He has the privilege of being one among the seven faculty members featured in the article.

Year 2000 Palmer Award Winner!

Yes! It is old news that Peter Johnson won the 2000 Palmer award. Are you are wondering who Peter is? Thanks to John Freeburg, the official photographer of MCF Spring Symposium, we have been able to print a picture of Peter receiving the award from Luke Charpentier, the chair of the Palmer Award Committee.

Don't Miss the Fall Meeting!!

  Abstract:

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is the most widely used method for determining molecular weight (MW) and molecular weight distribution (MWD) of both synthetic and naturally occurring polymers. The MW and MWD of polymers are important characteristics that govern both their physical properties and end-use applications. As a result, MW and MWD information are needed to establish structure-property-processing relationships for the development of new products and the improvement of existing materials. Furthermore, these measurements are needed to assess the quality of materials, and for process control and monitoring polymerization kinetics.

Although SEC was first introduced 45 years ago, there have been continuous and significant advances in SEC column technology, detection systems, and new applications. For example, in many laboratories, SEC is used routinely, in conjunction with molecular-weight-sensitive detection systems, for determining absolute MW/MWD, as well as molecular structure, such as molecular size, conformation, and branching, as a function of MW. Furthermore, by interfacing SEC with spectrometric detectors, polymer compositional heterogeneity can be determined. In the past several years, emphasis has been placed on coupling SEC with either ESI/MS or MALDI-TOF/MS for determining MW and chemical compositional information. More recently, online NMR detection is becoming an emerging technology that offers many exciting possibilities. In this talk, we will present an overview of recent developments in SEC and discuss new trends and challenges.

Please watch your mail for the details regarding the exact time and place of this seminar.

What a Century!

Ravi Ravichandran

Many of you may be receiving Chemical & Engineering News and or Today’s Chemist. The recent issues of both publications were accompanied by a supplement entitled "Pharmaceutical Century". It is a great publication that deals with the history of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. What I found interesting was how the area of Separation Science has revolutionized the pharmaceuticals industry. The development of chromatography by Tswett, electrophoresis by Tislieus, gas chromatography by Martin are a few of the many the publication covered.

As I was reading through the publication , it dawned on me that we have watched two major developments – Chromatography, especially HPLC and PCs in the past two decades. To some of the younger chromatographers this may sound strange. Yes! I belong to the old school which did not know what an integrator was let alone a PC based data system. I still remember the days ( late 70s to early 80s) of cutting and weighing and using planimeters-(what is that?) for measuring areas of the peak. It is very humbling to know that pioneers like Tswett, Tiselius and Martin did not have access to some of the modern day gadgets. If they could revolutionize the field of separations with a few instruments that were available to them in their lifetime, think what they would have done if they were alive today!

Today we talk about hyphenated techniques. Analytical chemists have become very enterprising and have taken on the challenge of measuring single molecule and have successfully met it. I take this opportunity to remember some of the great analytical chemists who lived in the last century. I cannot help but marvel at the inspiration all of these great minds have provided us to take on more challenges in the 21st century.

Deadlines for Future Newsletter Submissions