All posts by Pickering Laboratories

Chromatography Quiz

Chromatography Quiz #39 – Rising Baseline

Chromatography Quiz #38 —  Troubleshooting High Pressure — Winners

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

pumpkin basket with baked goods and wine

Josiah Hakala from Minnesota Department of Health, Tom Schneider from Suffolk County Water Authority, and Narjes Ghafoori from Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory.

Winners will soon receive a Pumpkin-Shaped Gift Basket! Includes an assortment of baked goodies, sweet treats, and a bottle of red blend wine! ($99 value) Happy Autumn!

Congratulations to our quiz winners!

Thank you all for your submissions!

The correct answer to the Troubleshooting High Pressure Quiz was beautifully summarized by Tom:

The blockage is located between the union and the inlet to the detector.  The largest pressure drop occurs when the outlet of the union is disconnected.  Since the inlet to the detector does not show a significant decrease in pressure, the tubing that connects the union to the detector is the cause of the high back pressure and should be replaced.

Chromatography Quiz #39 – Rising Baseline

What is causing the Carbamates baseline to rise? Below you will find a reference chromatogram, HPLC gradient table, and bad chromatogram.

Bad Chromatogram Example

Bad Chromatogram

Good Chromatogram

Good Chromatogram

Method 1: lists conditions

Correctly identify the chromatography issue and win a prize! Simply email your answer and your full contact information to Rebecca at rsmith@pickeringlabs.com by November 30, 2021 in order to win. You will receive email confirmation when your submission is received, and the troubleshooting answer and winner congratulations will be published in the next issue (to be anonymous, please notify Rebecca in submission).

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amino Acid Analysis, amino acids, Pharmaceutical

Amino Acids Analysis for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Thermo Scientific Dionex article sampleIf you are interested, feel free to check out some cool work that Thermo Scientific published on behalf of RSSL in the United Kingdom, using an ICS-6000 in combination with a Pickering post-column system to perform Amino Acids Analysis for the Pharmaceutical Industry.

RSSL expands GMP services for the pharmaceutical industry with combined Thermo Scientific Dionex ICS-6000 HPIC System—Pickering Pinnacle PCX amino acid analyzer solution.

Click here to download their entire PDF. 

Method Abstract

Method Abstract Brochure

by David Mazawa

Method Abstract Brochure coverA New Method Abstract Brochure from Pickering Laboratories!

As the leading experts in post-column technology and analytical methods, Pickering Laboratories invites you to explore the possibilities for expanded use with your existing HPLC instrumentation. 

In an effort to increase flexibility in our marketing material and give our customers an easy reference tool, we have split method abstracts from our comprehensive Product Catalog. The method abstracts are now in their own convenient brochure. This allows us to update technical information without having to completely revise the Product Catalog. The Method Abstract Brochure is also organized in an intuitive way to make it easy to find what you’re looking for. You can now easily see what we offer at a quick glance. We now have the following sections for our method abstracts:

  • Analysis of Amino Acids
  • Analysis of Glyphosate (including EPA Method 547)
  • Analysis of Contaminants and Residues (including EPA Methods 531.2 and 218.7)
  • Analysis of Supplements
  • Analysis of Antibiotics and Other Pharmaceuticals
  • Analysis of Mycotoxins
  • Analysis of Cannabis and Hemp
  • Analysis of Sugars and Sweeteners

 

Download a digital copy of the Method Abstract Brochure!

 

Please let us know if you would like a printed copy or if you have any questions. Simply contact support@pickeringlabs.com and one of our chemists can assist you.

 

Nitrosamines

Nitrosamines Contamination in Water and Pharmaceuticals

By Dr. Maria Ofitserova

Nitrosamines Contamination in Water, food and PharmaceuticalsIncreasing Awareness of Nitrosamines Contamination in Water and Pharmaceuticals

Nitrosamines are a class of compounds that are considered human carcinogens and mutagenic agents. These compounds can be formed in the presence of amines and nitrosating agents and are found in water, food, cosmetics and personal care products as well as pharmaceuticals.

Contamination of drinking, ground or waste waters with Nitrosamines is due to either industrial sources or formation during sanitation process that uses chloramine. A number of states have published regulatory guidelines for levels of Nitrosamines in drinking and ground waters ranging from 0.017 to 0.0007 ppb

In cosmetics, the compound most often found as contamination is N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA). The FDA monitors and reports the presence of Nitrosamines in cosmetics sold in the United States.  Nitrosamines impurities are also covered in Annex II and Annex III of the European Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC), which establishes the regulatory limits at 50 ppb for maximum content of Nitrosamines.

Recent identification of alarming levels of Nitrosamines in a number of prescription and over-the-counter medications has led to recalls as well as permanent removal of certain products from the market. In February 2021, FDA published the guidelinesOpens in a new window for the pharmaceutical industry to control Nitrosamines impurities in human drugs. The guidelines direct manufacturers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and finished pharmaceuticals to detect and prevent unacceptable levels of Nitrosamines contamination. The FDA guidelines also establish Acceptable Intake (AI) limits for Nitrosamines impurities.

Analyzing Nitrosamines at the contamination levels established for water, cosmetics and drugs requires highly sensitive analytical methods. High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with post-column photolysis and chemiluminescence detection has been used to analyze Nitrosamines in water samplesOpens in a new window without pre-concentration at levels below 1 ng/L. Determination of NDELA in cosmetics according to ISO/DIS 10130 is also performed using HPLC with post-column photolysis and chemical derivatization, followed by UV/Vis or fluorescent detection.  

Pickering Laboratories, Inc. supplies laboratories with the UVETM photochemical reactor, which is ideally suited for in-line photolysis and can be easily coupled with any HPLC system for analysis of Nitrosamines in water or pharmaceuticals. Combining UVETM with the Onyx PCX derivatization system would allow laboratories to additionally implement method ISO/DIS 10130 for analysis of NDELA in cosmetics and personal care products.

 

Apocrine Sweat

Product Highlight:  Apocrine Sweat

By Saji George

Woman exercisingApocrine glands are a member of the sweat gland family. Although present from birth, apocrine glands become active during puberty and start to produce apocrine sweat. This sweat is composed of proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, steroids, lipids electrolytes, and nitrogen metabolites such as ammonia and urea. Apocrine sweat is initially sterile and odorless but when acted upon by commensal bacteria present in the axilla region, it produces the malodor compounds responsible for the human axillary odor.

Participation in sports and other types of exercise has become an integral part of many people’s everyday life as a means to achieving a healthy lifestyle. Clothing can play a further role in retaining or emanating odor because bodily secretions and skin bacteria may be easily transferred from the body onto the adjacent garment.

Odor-control products are now in high demand, including: textiles, personal hygiene products, and underarm hygiene products that are formulated with nutrients or antibacterial substances after careful investigation of skin flora.

Pickering Laboratories’ artificial apocrine sweat was formulated as a human mimic after thorough research of available literature. It includes necessary chemicals that are vital to its unique properties. There is nothing else like it on the market! Our diverse customers come from the fragrance, odor control, personal care, and performance textile industries, to name a few.

For more information about our artificial test solutions, please visit our website at https://www.pickeringtestsolutions.com/Opens in a new window.

Artificial Body Fluids, Certificate of Analysis, coa

New Certificate of Analysis for PTS Products

By David Mazawa and Kevin McKeown

Mock up Certificate if Analysis for artificial body fluidsPickering Laboratories introduces improved Certificate of Analysis for Artificial Body Fluids products

Perspiration is on everything that we touch with our fingers or that comes into contact with our bodies.  Sweat can react with materials and trigger allergies, or it can shorten the life of consumer products via corrosion or discoloration.  Natural human perspiration has a complex composition and Pickering Laboratories has delivered the closest match to the “real thing.”  In an effort to conform to the ever-improving internal quality objectives of our customers, we have updated the Certificates of Analysis for our Artificial Body Fluids, giving richer data and content that will help both analysts and QA managers.  In this new update, you’ll find a detailed listing of the QC analyses that our products undergo, from Amino Acids Analysis by HPLC with post-column derivatization to reproducible pH testing by high-accuracy pH meters, as well as analyses of the individual components that are included in our solutions.  These product testing solutions carry our “Guaranteed Chemistry” seal of approval so that you can have full trust in our reliability, with zero lot-to-lot variability.  We believe this document, with its updated rich color scheme and increased data, can be a benefit to your analytical goals!

Please drop us a line to let us know what you think!