The Analytical Scientist

52 Pages·2021·8.637 MB·English

APRIL 2021 # 96
Upfront In My View Feature Sitting Down With
Cancer-detecting dogs and The language of analytical Can life ever be the same Water wizard,
whiskey terroir chemistry without Riva? Susan Richardson
06 14 32 – 39 50 – 51
Of Mice and Monkeys
How advanced analytical approaches are reducing our reliance on animal research.
16 – 23
www.theanalyticalscientist.com
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make the difference
The i-volution in HPLC analysis continues
The advanced i-Series of compact (U)HPLC systems Analytical Intelligence
has evolved to include Analytical Intelligence in the integrates smart automation and utilizes advanced
Prominence-i HPLC and Nexera-i UHPLC systems. technology such as M2M and IOT to facilitate main-
The products combine high-speed analysis, simplified tenance, simplify lab management and ensure con-
method transfer, automated sample pre-treatment, sistently reliable results
minimized environmental impact and easy mainte-
nance with the flexibility of working remotely. They Flexible software control
are ideally suited for applications in pharmaceutical, by Shimadzu LabSolutions LC/GC, LC-MS or DB/CS
chemical and food industries. for full FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Software
packages from other vendors are also supported
Significantly improved analytical productivity
through automation and remote control, resulting in
increased efficiency and a reduced risk of human error

www.shimadzu.eu/i-make-the-difference The Analytical Intelligence logo is a trademark of Shimadzu Corporation.
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The Proof Is in the Pandemic
Editorial
COVID-19 has shown that we can, when required,
rapidly adapt and respond to a crisis. We now need to
apply this same vigor to saving our planet…
A
pril, for me, represents a key turning point in
the history of our planet’s two current crises
(COVID-19 and climate change). On April
1, 2020, the COP26 conference was officially
postponed until 2021 due to the unraveling pandemic – just
one day later we saw global cases surpass one million. This
month also celebrates the anniversary of another important
event – Earth Day. If you’re unfamiliar with the backstory,
April 22 marks the day (in 1970) that 10 percent of the US
population took to the streets and demanded immediate
environmental action. Not only did it usher in a new era for
this movement, but it was chosen as the date to sign the Paris
Agreement.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent many hours trapped
indoors this year, contemplating the state of our planet and
resolving to see a better (and greener) post-pandemic world.
Thankfully, it seems we are not alone; with the countdown to
COP26 fully underway, many countries are finally embracing
“net zero” and making significant plans to cut their carbon
emissions. It appears 2020 was the final wakeup call the world
needed to realize there is no plan(et) B.
Even within our own analytical sphere, there is much to
be optimistic about. Though we are all – understandably –
desperate to get back to our beloved face-to-face conferences
(more on this in our feature on page 32), there are certainly
some positives to come from our new-found virtual world. For
example, I suspect the days of hopping on a plane for a meeting
that could easily be done via video call are long gone. The same
make the difference
connectivity also makes collaboration on global challenges
easier than ever before.
There’s a huge amount of work ongoing across our field to
The i-volution in HPLC analysis continues tackle a great number of environmental issues – from analysis
on microplastics and microfibers, to wildfire contaminants and
The advanced i-Series of compact (U)HPLC systems Analytical Intelligence peatlands research. Even the polymer industry itself is now
has evolved to include Analytical Intelligence in the integrates smart automation and utilizes advanced focused on providing more sustainable solutions to plastic (see
Prominence-i HPLC and Nexera-i UHPLC systems. technology such as M2M and IOT to facilitate main- page 24). But this is just a taste of the immense role analytical
The products combine high-speed analysis, simplified tenance, simplify lab management and ensure con- science can play in saving our planet – if you, or someone you
method transfer, automated sample pre-treatment, sistently reliable results know, is doing work in this area, I’d love to hear about it:
minimized environmental impact and easy mainte-
[email protected].
nance with the flexibility of working remotely. They Flexible software control
As we emerge from our state of enforced hibernation, it’s
are ideally suited for applications in pharmaceutical, by Shimadzu LabSolutions LC/GC, LC-MS or DB/CS
vital – for ourselves and the Earth – that we all fully wake up
chemical and food industries. for full FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Software
to real danger. If the pandemic has proven anything, it’s that
packages from other vendors are also supported
nature does not favor those who wait.
Significantly improved analytical productivity
through automation and remote control, resulting in
increased efficiency and a reduced risk of human error
Lauren Robertson
Deputy Editor
www.theanalyticalscientist.com
www.shimadzu.eu/i-make-the-difference The Analytical Intelligence logo is a trademark of Shimadzu Corporation.
Contents
16
08
In My View
03 Editorial Upfront 10 Th e promise of single-cell
The Proof Is in the Pandemic, analysis, with Zachary Pitluk
by Lauren Robertson 06 Lessons learned from cancer-
detecting dogs and GC-MS 12 Hari Narayanan discusses
spectrum art to honor Black typical pain points in beverage
On The Cover History Month analysis - can discrete analyzers
provide an answer?
A monument to the sacrifices
made by lab rats around the 14 I nstrument or machine?
world, located in Novosibirsk Victoria Samanidou wants to
in Siberia, Russia, sits at the address inaccurate terminology
center of a striking collage in our field
ISSUE 96 - APRIL 2021
Feel free to contact any one of us:
[email protected]
Content Team
Editor - Matthew Hallam
Lauren Robertson (Deputy Editor)
Frank van Geel (Scientific Director)
Commercial Team
Publisher - Lee Noyes
Gaurav Avasthi (Business Development Manager)
Nick Ransom (Business Development
Executive Americas)
Design Team
Head of Design - Marc Bird
Hannah Ennis (Senior Designer)
Charlotte Brittain (Designer)
26
Digital Team
Digital Team Lead - David Roberts
Peter Bartley (Digital Producer Web/Email)
Abygail Bradley (Digital Producer Web/App)
Audience Team
Audience Growth Strategy Manager
– Brice Agamemnon
CRM & Compliance
CRM & Compliance Manager - Tracey Nicholls
Hayley Atiz (CRM Assistant)
32
Commercial Support Team
Internal Systems Manager - Jody Fryett
Dan Marr (Campaign Reporting Analyst)
Commercial Services
Commercial Service and Social
Media Manager - Matt Everett
Kevin O'Donnell (Marketing Executive)
Features Departments Alice Daniels-Wright (Video Project Manager)
Jess Lines (Project Support Coordinator)
Lindsey Vickers (Sales Support Project Manager)
16 O f Mice and Monkeys 40 Solutions: Philippe Schmitt- Jennifer Bradley (Sales Support Coordinator)
Animal models are an Kopplin and Stefan Pieczonka Marketing Team
Marketing Manager - Katy Pearson
unfortunate necessity in some discuss their work unmasking Jo Baylay (Marketing Executive)
fields - could analytical science the dark metabolome behind
Accounts Team
help us to change the status quo? beer - and what this could Kerri Benson (Accounts Assistant)
Emily Scragg (Accounts Apprentice)
mean for our understanding of
Human Resources
24 The Show Must Go On? civilization itself! Human Resource Manager - Tara Higby
We caught up with organizers
Management Team
and attendees to discuss the Chief Executive Officer - Andy Davies
Chief Operating Officer - Tracey Peers
impact of another year without Senior Vice President (North America) - Fedra Pavlou
Financial Director - Phil Dale
ISCC/GC×GC Sitting Down With
Commercial Director - Richard Hodson
Content Director - Rich Whitworth
32 One Word: Plastics 50 S usan Richardson, Arthur
Reflecting on the current state Sease Williams Professor of
and future of polymer research Chemistry at the University
Change of address [email protected]
with four industry experts of South Carolina, Columbia, Hayley Atiz, The Analytical Scientist, Texere Publishing Limited,
Booths Park 1, Chelford Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8GS, UK
South Carolina, USA, and
General enquiries
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[phone] | [email protected]
Mass Spectrometry
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Editorial California at Berkeley, USA Biosystems Research Peter Schoenmakers,
Advisory Gary Hieftje, Indiana Institute, USA University of Amsterdam, Reprints & Permissions – [email protected]
Board University, USA (Retired) Luigi Mondello, University The Netherlands arThrane gceompyernigt hotf tinhi tsh peu mblaictaertiiaonls bcoenlotnagins etod Tine xtehries Ppuubblliicsahtiinogn Lanimd ittheed .t yNpoo gprearpsohnic mala y
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State University, USA Development, The Michelle Reid, Cristal USA or commercial use without the prior written consent of Texere Publishing Limited.
Christina Jones, Research Netherlands Therapeutics, The Ron Heeren, Maastricht The names, publication titles, logos, images and presentation style appearing in this
chemist, NIST, USA Ian Wilson, Imperial Netherlands University, The publication which identify Texere Publishing Limited and/or its products and services,
Emily Hilder, University of College London, UK Monika Dittmann, Netherlands including but without limitation Texere and The Analytical Scientist are proprietary
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6 Upfront
Upfront
Research
The Secrets of Innovation
Trends
Liquid Sunshine
Do environmental conditions
influence the more subtle
flavors of whiskey?
The seasoned wine quaffers among you will
already know the importance of “terroir”
when it comes to the distinct flavors found
in your glass. But whiskey is not wine –
and here, the impact of soil, climate, and
sunlight has been largely overlooked. Co-author Dustin Herb stands in a field of barley
A team of industry and public sector
researchers (presumably whiskey lovers)
decided to investigate whether the by another trained panel who assign an microclimates, and crop management
environment in which barley is grown aroma and intensity.” practices,” says Herb. “Furthermore,
can contribute to the unique flavor After much separating, sniffing and by placing a value-added label on the
components of new-make (unmatured) tasting, the team found that barley barley, farmers are given a profitable
single malt whiskey. To do this, they variety certainly plays a key role in the rotational crop to help break prevailing
used two different “analytical” methods: flavor of single malt whiskey, but so monocultures while increasing weed
i) a sensory panel, consisting of six does the terroir – when and where the suppression, disrupting pathogen and
highly-trained whiskey enthusiasts who grain is grown and how it is managed by pest cycles, improving soil health, and
evaluated the spirit based on “holistic individual farmers. Indeed, chemometric overall benefiting subsequent crops.”
aroma and taste perception” and ii) gas analysis of both datasets suggested that The team plan to further their research
chromatography olfactometry (GCO). the environment and season had more of by validating their findings under
“In GCO, molecules within the an effect on aromatic sensory perception commercial production scale conditions
spirit samples are separated via vapor than variety alone. and looking at other factors that could
point and polarity, then simultaneously The take home? “Using a terroir model impact whiskey flavor.
identified via molecular fragment shape for whisky production creates a niche
and abundance using MS,” says Dustin among local and regional distillers to Reference
Herb, co-author of the paper. “The capitalize on the individual ‘terroir’ of 1. M Kyraleou et al., Foods, 10, 443 (2021).
molecules are then further characterized their local environments – soil types, DOI : 10.3390/foods10020443
I N F O G R A P H IC
Dolly the Sheep Laika
The Famous
Possibly the most famous animal in A stray from the streets of Moscow,
science history, Dolly made waves Laika wasn’t the first animal in space,
Animals of Science
in the media when she was born but she was the first to orbit Earth in the
in Edinburgh in 1996. Though she Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2. Sadly
We look back at some of
wasn’t the first mammal to be cloned, (and controversially) she was
the biggest contributors to
she was the first created using somatic never expected to return –
scientific research from the
cell nuclear transfer of an adult cell. her sacrifice paved the way
animal kingdom
for human spaceflight.
Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris GC-MS
Diagnosing
Oral Cancer
B U S I N E S S IN BRIEF
with Raman

A roundup of this month’s business Spectroscopy
news, from a newly launched
Orbitrap system to a cutting-edge NMR for metabolomics-based
A spectroscopic technique
potency test for cannabis diagnostics (3).
offers potential for
• Waters has announced a
noninvasive cancer screening
• Thermo Scientific has launched new peptide multi-attribute
its new Orbitrap Exploris GC- method (MAM) workflow to
MS, which will reduce turnaround complement their BioAccord Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC):
times for analytical labs while LC-MS. The method should common, but difficult to detect early. To
enabling accurate quantification of enable researchers to accurately address this challenge, researchers used
trace components for both targeted assess vital product quality shifted-excitation Raman difference
and non-targeted applications attributes for innovator drugs, spectroscopy (SERDS) to evaluate the
in a single full-scan system. The biosimilars, and biologics (4). molecular composition of OSCC, non-
new system is the latest addition • ACS Laboratory – the largest malignant lesions, and physiological
to the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap hemp and cannabis testing mucosa – and whether they can be
Exploris portfolio (1). facility in the eastern US – has differentiated by Raman spectroscopy (1).
• Thanks to the recent addition of released its new “Potency 12” Based on physiological tissue of the oral
Bruker’s 1.2 GHz Avance NMR UHPLC test to identify the cavity, they found that non-malignant and
spectrometer, the Juelich Center elusive Delta-8 and Delta-10 cancerous lesions can be distinguished with
for Structural Biology in Germany THC extracts. This makes ACS high accuracy using SERDS. The method
has already made great strides in one of the few DEA-licensed also yielded high accuracy in identifying
the name of translational research labs in the US able to do so (5). non-malignant lesions that required
for age-related neurodegenerative confirmation by surgical biopsy.
diseases. The hope is that the new References “Our study shows the potential of Raman
system will help uncover high-level 1. Thermo Fisher (2021). Available at: spectroscopy for revealing whether a lesion
structural details about increasingly https://bit.ly/3rAPMaj is cancerous in real time,” said lead author
complex samples (2). 2. Business Wire (2021). Available at: Levi Matthies . “Although it won’t replace
• Numares AG – an NMR https://bwnews.pr/3u7lu0e biopsies any time soon, the technique could
diagnostics company – has 3. Numares (2021). Available at: help reduce the lapse of valuable time as
announced the 510(k) submission https://bit.ly/39rUiS0 well as the number of invasive procedures.”
of its AXINON IVD system to 4. Business Wire (2021). Available at:
the FDA. This could potentially https://bwnews.pr/3sC1xhY Reference
be the first AI-driven clinical 5. PRNewsWire (2021). Available at: 1. 1. L Matthies et al., Biomed Opt Express,
laboratory system that uses https://prn.to/3rzV6dV 12, 836 (2021).
Pavlov’s Dogs Schrödinger’s Cat The Common Fruit Fly
These famous canines Okay, so not a “real” We couldn’t conclude our list
helped Russian Doctor cat per se, but without giving a nod
Ivan Pavlov prove that this theoretical to one of the many
the salivary reflex animal still animal models
of dogs could be made a significant used in scientific
conditioned – later contribution to the research (more
known as “classical field of quantum on this in our
conditioning.” mechanics. cover feature).
8 Upfront
Sniffing Out
Prostate Cancer
with Artificial
Neural Networks
How a machine-based cancer
detection system mimics the
canine nose
Though prostate cancer is the second-
highest cause of cancer death in men, organic compound (VOC) analysis by Andreas Mershin, a research scientist at
early biomarker detection methods GC-MS, or microbiota profiling (1). MIT and author on the study (2). “And
– specifically, the prostate-specific Canine olfaction reliably distinguished now we’ve shown that we can do this –
antigen screening test – lack sensitivity between prostate cancer samples and we’ve shown that what the dog does can
and specificity. We need to reduce false biopsy-negative controls, whereas VOC be replicated to a certain extent.”
positives and false negatives – but how? and microbiota detected qualitative This multiparametric approach lays
The answer may lie in our four-legged differences between the groups. the groundwork for the development
friends. Trained canines have been From this, the team trained an of machine-based diagnostic tools that
shown to reliably detect and diagnose artificial neural network to mimic canine mimic canine olfaction – and, given
cancer by smell. Granted, dogs in the olfactory diagnosis – distinguishing the dogs’ keen sense of smell, it has
lab would be a logistical nightmare and between biopsy-positive and biopsy- the potential to improve diagnostic
not feasible for mass testing – but that’s negative samples based on the GC-MS efficacy in a field where unreliable results
where researchers at Massachusetts data both alone and combined with run rampant.
Institute of Technology (MIT) come in. canine olfaction data. “We knew that
Using urine samples from patients the sensors are already better than what References
with or without prostate cancer the dogs can do in terms of the limit of 1. 1. C Guest et al., PLoS One, 16, e0245530
(confirmed by biopsy), they tested detection, but what we haven’t shown (2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245530
whether the cancer could be detected by before is that we can train an artificial 2. 2. MIT News (2021). Available at: http://bit.
trained sniffer dogs, molecular volatile intelligence to mimic the dogs,” said ly/307Yl0K.
Gelling with MS- its adoption for viral infections. But to MS quantification. The team have
the traditional sample pretreatment demonstrated the technique’s successful
Based Diagnosis methods required for these analyses incorporation into MS-based testing
take over 20 hours and there are still of clinical samples, such as hepatitis
challenges around peptide recovery and B virus. With MS-based diagnosis on
New gel electrophoresis
reproducibility of results. the rise, this high-throughput sample
method could enable rapid
Now, researchers have developed a preparation approach could help with
analysis of protein biomarkers
novel approach, termed BAC-DROP, translation to the clinical lab.
in clinical specimens
that could help overcome some of these
issues. First, the proteins are fractionated Reference
The use of MS-based proteomics for at high resolution; then, the gel itself 1. A Takemori et al., J Proteome Res, 20, 1535
clinical diagnosis is steadily increasing is dissolved to release any fragments (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00749
– and COVID-19 has only accelerated that have escaped before proceeding
Upfront 9
I M AG E OF THE MONTH
Spike Protein
Potential
New therapeutic targets
revealed on SARS-CoV-2
spike protein
Portrait of a Black Female Scientist Using a technique called amide
hydrogen-deuterium exchange
Luis Schachner produces stunning artwork using MS spectra – and this portrait of a MS (HDXMS), researchers have
Black researcher is no exception. “Danté Johnson, Raquel Shortt, and I were inspired discovered a number of potential new
to create this piece to start an important conversation about the lack of minority therapeutic targets on the SARS-
representation, equity, and inclusion in research” he said about it. “One of the key ideas CoV-2 spike protein (1).
we had was using spectra for the hair. Beautiful afros made of wonderful, thick curly By placing the spike protein and
hair are prominent in Black culture, so we opted to draw a striking image of a Black ACE2 receptors in heavy water
woman with hair made up of GC-MS traces for melanin.” (D0), the team were able to visualize
2
Like what you see? Keep an eye out for our May feature with Luis to see more of his what happens when the two bind.
work and an interview with the artist himself! Their discovery? This binding is
necessary for furin proteases to cut
Would you like your photo featured in Image of the Month? the spike protein, leaving behind the
Send it to [email protected] S2 subunit that allows the virus to
enter our cells.
“Maybe the S1/S2 cleavage that
is necessary for furin cleavage can
serve as a new target for inhibitory
Q U O T E
OF THE MONTH
therapeutics against the virus,” said
Ganesh Anand, coauthor of the
paper (2). “This study also may help in
explaining how mutations in emerging
"At what point does a collection of glial cells constitute a variants might alter dynamics and
allostery of ACE2 binding, potentially
human brain? How many interacting cells do we need to
increasing infectiousness of the
label something living?"
SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Ian Wilson, Professor at Imperial College London, UK,
References
discussing organ-on-a-chip technologies in our cover
1. PV Raghuvamsi et al., eLife, 10, e63646
feature on page 21. (2021). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.63646.
2. Penn State News (2021). Available at:
https://bit.ly/3lRkrih.
www.theanalyticalscientist.com

10 In My View

In My
View
Experts from across the
The Vast
world share a single
strongly held opinion
Potential of
or key idea.
Single-Cell
Analysis
Single-cell analysis has great
promise… but how can we
get there?
By Zachary Pitluk, Vice President of Life
Sciences and Healthcare, Paradigm4,
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
It is now four years since a group of
scientists met in London to discuss how
to create a human cell atlas (HCA) – a
collection of maps that describes and
defines the cellular basis of health and
disease. Research based on this atlas
has also helped researchers create more
specific maps – such as the COVID-19
Cell Atlas, which could help us in the
fight against SARS-CoV-2.
Cell atlases are powerful – but, to
unlock insights that will enable us to
help specific patients, we need reference
datasets of hundreds to thousands of
patients to complement population-
scale genomics datasets. This vision of
precision medicine is coming ever closer
thanks to the technological advances –
particularly in the field of data handling single-cell level. In 2013, scRNA-
and analysis – and single-cell research. seq was Nature’s Method of the Year.
Advances in single-cell genomic It earned the accolade a second time “This vision of
analysis provide the industry with in 2019 due to its ability to sequence
greater insights from clinical trials – DNA and RNA in individual cells (1), precision medicine
for example, by allowing scientists to allowing extrapolation of the biological
look further into specific molecular differences between cells. is coming ever
responses to different therapies. Of Massively parallel single-cell genomics
the many single-cell genomic analysis assays can now profile hundreds of closer thanks to
methods, scRNA-seq is the most thousands of cells, meaning that
widely used. This approach involves researchers can gain more insights than technological
labeling biomolecules that originate ever before on certain cell characteristics
from individual cells, allowing high- and behaviors. The uptick in spatial advances”
throughput molecular analysis at the single-cell analysis puts a further onus