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Chromatography Quiz

Chromatography Quiz #40

Chromatography Quiz #39 Rising Baseline – Announcing our Winners!

Pickering Labs would like to congratulate all of our winners for our previous newsletter’s Chromatography Quiz:

A cookie platter

Uwe Aulwurm from LCTech GmbH, David Green from Pepperdine University, Narjes Ghafoori from Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory, Josiah Hakala from Minnesota Department of Health, and Tom Schneider from Suffolk County Water Authority.

Winners will soon receive a Springtime Bakery Tray! Wooden tray filled to the rim with an assortment of delightful baked goods!

Congratulations to our quiz winners!  Thank you all for your submissions!

Answer to Previous Quiz:

What is causing the Carbamates baseline to rise?

Our customers have been encountering this problem a lot recently. The problem is coming from the methanol (channel B). As the percentage of methanol increases, the baseline increases as well. This problem seems to be compounded due to supply chain issues. We recommend getting a new lot of methanol from your vendor and obtaining LCMS grade. If the new lot does not help, try a new vendor. You will most likely need to flush out your HPLC pump to fully resolve this issue. As always, please refrain from using filters in your mobile phase bottles, as this can take contamination from one bottle to the next. Contact support@pickeringlabs.com with any further questions.

Below you will find a reference chromatogram, HPLC gradient table, and bad chromatogram as a refresher from the last quiz.  Keep scrolling to find this quarter’s fun new quiz!

Bad Chromatogram Example

Bad Chromatogram

Good Chromatogram

Good Chromatogram

Method 1: lists conditions

If you have difficulty reading the images for Quiz #39, please click on them to enlarge or contact David Mazawa (david@pickeringlabs.com) to obtain a more user friendly PDF.

Chromatography Quiz #40 – Trivia for Pickering’s 40 Year Anniversary (multiple choice)

Check out our 40th Anniversary Timeline and complete the quiz below to win a prize. Simply email your answers and your full contact information to Rebecca at rsmith@pickeringlabs.com by April 29, 2022 in order to win. You will receive email confirmation when your submission is received, and winner congratulations will be published in the next issue (to be anonymous, please notify Rebecca in submission).

1.    When did Pickering Labs move to Space Park Way?

a.    1998
b.    1999
c.    2000
d.    2001

2.    Michael Pickering was granted a United States trademark for the name _________.

a.    Thiofluor
b.    Mycotox
c.    Trione
d.    Restore

3.    Which of the following was the first “product testing solution” produced by Pickering Labs?

a.    Saliva
b.    Lung Fluid
c.    Urine
d.    Perspiration

4.    Pickering Laboratories won the AOAC Single Laboratory Validation Method of the Year for the following method:

a.    Amino Acids
b.    Ionophores
c.    Cannabinoids
d.    Mycotoxins

5.    Michael Pickering was issued a United States Patent for the following product:

a.    Thiofluor reagent
b.    Ninhydrin reagent
c.    Restore solution
d.    Vanillin reagent

6.    Which post-column system was introduced in the year 2006 as the lower cost option similar to the PCX 5200?

a.    Vector PCX
b.    Pinnacle PCX
c.    CRX400
d.    Onyx PCX

7.    Which year did Pickering move to their current location at 1280 Space Park Way?

a.    1997
b.    1998
c.    1999
d.    2000

8.    Which year was the Onyx PCX introduced?

a.    2018
b.    2019
c.    2020
d.    2021

9.    Our Eccrine Perspiration solution was first developed by the request from ______.

a.    Crime and Punishment
b.    Crime Sciences Inc.
c.    Crime Scene Investigation
d.    True Detective

10.  Pickering has been supporting the scientific community for nearly 30 years by continuously exhibiting at the following Conference:

a.    ACS
b.    AOAC International
c.    Florida Pesticide Residue Workshop
d.    Pittcon

__________________________________________
David Mazawa
Technical Support Chemist
Pickering Laboratories, Inc.
1280 Space Park Way
Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
david@pickeringlabs.com
Phone: (650) 694-6700 x710

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artificial Body Fluids, Pickering Test Solutions

New PTS Website

By: David Mazawa

Pickering Test Solutions homepage

It is with great pride that we introduce our brand-new, redesigned Product Testing Solutions website: https://www.pickeringtestsolutions.com/.

Our growing presence in this analytical testing space has allowed us to reinvest in new lab space, research and development, additions to product line and now finally a new look for our website.

This redesign was a year in the making and has better functionality, a more updated look and more detailed information regarding our Artificial Body Fluid solutions.  The e-commerce capability has also seen an aesthetic upgrade.  We would like to thank David Mazawa, Saji George and the rest of the Pickering Labs team for their valuable input during this process.  Additionally, our webmaster, Jesse Farnworth and our Marketing Consultant, Phil Mowery, were integral to making this a reality.  

We hope that you like this new “landing spot” as much as we do and we would love to hear any feedback regarding the site!

Artificial Body Fluids, Synthetic Blood

Synthetic Blood

By: Saji George

Bottle of synthetic blood Product Number: 1700-0820

This synthetic blood formulation is prepared according to official methods ASTM F1819-07, ASTM F1670, ASTM F1862 and ASTM F2100. It is intended for product testing and has the surface tension and viscosity close to human blood. Additionally, the color of the solution is intended to mimic the appearance of genuine human blood. The formulation can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of materials used in protective clothing. It can also be used to evaluate absorption capacity of materials that are in contact with human skin for prolonged periods. The formulation is not suitable for medical research. It can be stored at room temperature and has a shelf life of one year.

AATCC

AATCC Show

By: Kevin McKeown

AATCC booth setup

We continue to get back on the road, with Kevin McKeown (Sales Manager) and Saji George (Quality Assurance Manager) attending the AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) 2021 Exhibition held in Research Triangle Park, NC.  This was Pickering Labs first time as an exhibitor and the show was fantastic!  Not only did we learn a lot from the scholarly presentations put on by attendees, but were also honored to have our Artificial Perspiration included in the Time Capsule, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the AATCC organization!  We created a short video for the Time Capsule which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e3QjijWyWM.

Another highlight from the show was the debut of our Artificial Blood solution, which is intended to aid in the analysis of textiles for permeability and staining.  The reception of this new product was great and we look forward to attending more of these shows that focus on our PTS (Product Testing Solutions) product line of artificial body fluids!

Phishing, Spoofing

Spoofing Emails

By: Kevin McKeown

Two dogs that look like each other

It has come to our attention that some of our Dealers have been the target of an email “spoofing” campaign.  These unknown, would-be criminals will poorly impersonate a Pickering Labs employee and may even have a pickeringlabs.com email address.  The email may ask for personal information, sales information or are even bold enough to ask for banking details.  Thankfully, our wonderful partners have sniffed out these bad actors and nothing has been compromised.  We want to stress that if you receive an email from an unknown Pickering Labs employee to please contact our Sales Manager, Kevin McKeown (kmckeown@pickeringlabs.com) to verify the veracity of any communication.  Unfortunately, it is best to be skeptical in these uncertain times and we appreciate any chance to interact.

Kristina Wilkinson, New Employee

New Employee Spotlight – Kristina Wilkinson

By: Chris Nguyen

Kristina WilkinsonOur employee family is growing!  Pickering Laboratories is happy to introduce the newest member of our team: Kristina Wilkinson!

Kristina joined us in November 2021, stepping into her new role as our Purchasing Agent.  As many of you know, this is an exciting (challenging) time to be involved in the supply chain…  So needless to say, she’s really hit the ground running. 

Outside of work, Kristina enjoys all things Disney and Star Wars.  In more normal times (and hopefully again very soon!), Kristina enjoys going to Disneyland regularly.  For those of you keeping track, that means we’ve got at least two Disney buffs on staff…  And yes, this is purely coincidence!

When I interviewed her for this article, Kristina said an ideal day for her would look like: reading a good book and drinking a cup of coffee.  She is also an avid car person.  In particular, any type of Mustang would be her dream car.  She comes to Pickering Labs from the Home Warranty Industry where she was a specialist in buying appliances.

If you have the time, please feel free to reach out to Kristina and say hello!  We would love the help in providing a warm welcome for her.  She’s taken over the purchasing@pickeringlabs.com inbox, so feel free to drop her a line! 

Welcome, Kristina!

Methods, Polyether antibiotics

Polyether Antibiotics Method Spotlight

Cows eating grainPolyether antibiotics, such as Monensin, Salinomycin, and Narasin, also referred to as ionophores, are widely used to control coccidiosis in poultry and to promote growth and increase feed efficiency in cattle. Ionophores reduce the number of gram-positive bacteria that favor fiber fermentation in the rumen thus increasing the number of gram-negative bacteria that favor starch fermentation.  That changes the profile of bacteria-synthesized volatile fatty acids, improving energy intake from feed. Since ionophores have a narrow safety range and are toxic in case of overdose or if fed to sensitive species, medicated feeds, premixes, and supplements are strictly regulated.

Analysis of polyether antibiotics using post-column derivatization with Vanillin in an acidic environment is the basis of several AOAC official methods for feed analysis. Advantages of using this approach include wide analytical range, easy sample preparation, and superior accuracy and reproducibility of analysis.  Post-column derivatization is especially useful for analysis of fairly high concentrations in feeds and premixes since the methods wide analytical range and absence of matrix interferences allow to avoid excessive sample dilution therefore improving accuracy of the results.

Several years ago, researchers from UC Davis presented a study at American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) annual meeting comparing the use of LC/MS methods and post-column derivatization methods for analysis of polyether antibiotics in feeds and biological samples. The group has demonstrated that while LC/MS methods were sensitive and performed well for trace analysis, they presented a lot of challenges when applied to feed samples. Poor chromatography, matrix interferences, poor linearity of the response, and narrow analytical range led to up to 30 % RSDs and considerable deviation from expected values for feeds and pre-mixes. Contrarily, all these problems disappeared when the feeds were analyzed using post-column derivatization with Vanillin. Validation results showed low variability of the results with less than 4 % RSDs for spike recoveries and feeds analysis, wide calibration range from 10-2000 ug/mL (vs 0.1 – 1 ug/mL for LC/MS) and good correlations with expected values.

Pickering Laboratories’ Onyx PCX post-column derivatization system is uniquely suited for highly acidic reagents due to the fully inert flow path and automatic pump flush capabilities. In addition to the post-column derivatization system, we offer highly purified Vanillin and an analytical column tested to ensure separation of Monensin A and B as well as Salinomycin, and Narasin.  Pickering’s method can easily be implemented in any feed laboratory and used to run analysis of medicated feeds and supplements according to official AOAC methods. The same post-column system and HPLC instrument can be utilized for analysis of amino acids in feeds.

Maria Ofitserova, Ph.D.
Senior Research Chemist
Pickering Laboratories, Inc.
1280 Space Park Way
Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
maria_o@pickeringlabs.com
Phone: (650) 694-6700 x703

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