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National Environmental Monitoring Conference, NEMC

NEMC 2018 Report

Pickering Laboratories, Inc. exhibited at the National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC) in New Orleans from August 6 to 10, 2018. We enjoyed the great posters and talks ranging from technical issues monitoring environmental samples to challenges with cannabis testing. We hosted a booth where we met new leads and supported some of our long-time customers. Handfuls of fidget spinners, cooling towels, emoji pens and of course our trustworthy calibrated rulers were gifted to attendees that stopped by. Rebecca Smith presented our poster about Glyphosate in Foods. The method abstract can be downloaded here. Also on display at our booth were handouts for our Product Testing Solutions product line.

Here’s David Mazawa, ready to discuss the latest post-column applications with show attendees:

It was great catching up with our customers and meeting some new people at the conference!  We hope everyone who attended enjoyed the technical talks and New Orleans food as much as we did.

The next NEMC meeting will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from August 5 to 9, 2019.  We’re looking forward to it!

AOAC

AOAC 2018

Held in August, the 2018 AOAC International Meeting in Toronto, Canada was an excellent opportunity for Pickering Laboratories to be closer to our customers in Canada and the northern United States. The annual AOAC meeting brings experts in food safety, food integrity and public health together to develop and validate analytical methods. This year, Canadian Governmental Laboratories were in significant attendance as well.

Mike Gottschalk and Maria Ofitserova met with existing customers and other attendees interested in our instrumentation and consumables. We exhibited the latest in post-column applications at our booth and sponsored a Vendor Session on our most recently developed method.  We also answered questions our growing Pickering Test Solutions product line. The artificial body fluids we manufacture for research and consumer product testing generated a surprising amount of interest from attending laboratories needing standardized solutions for testing various products.

At our Vendor Session, Maria Ofitserova presented our newly developed and validated method: “Amino Acids Analysis in Dietary Ingredients and Supplements by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Post-Column Derivatization.” This method follows the requirements specified by the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Dietary Supplements and the presentation generated many interesting discussions with representatives of contract laboratories running amino acids analysis.

Maria Ofitserova also continued her work as part of the AOAC Stakeholder Panels and Expert Review Panels. Stakeholders meetings focused on the needs of consumers and industry leaders in the areas of food analysis, supplements analysis and baby formula analysis.

The Pickering Laboratories PINNACLE PCX post-column derivatization instrument is well known for analysis of Amino Acids, Mycotoxins, Glyphosate and many other analytes. Our chemists’ hard work fits very comfortably within the mission of AOAC to research, develop and validate analytical methods.

Visit www.pickeringlabs.com for our latest post-column applications and product releases.

Amino Acid Analysis, amino acids, cannabinoids, Cannabis

New Application Notes

ANALYSIS ANALYSIS OF MYCOTOXINS IN CANNABIS PLANTS AND CANNABIS-CONTAINING PRODUCTS OF MYCOTOXINS IN CANNABIS PLANTS AND CANNABIS-CONTAINING PRODUCTS

State regulations have established maximum allowed levels for Mycotoxins in Cannabis-containing products sold to consumers at the following maximum levels: levels for total Aflatoxins G1, G2, B1 and B2 are set at < 20 ppb and levels for Ochratoxin A at < 20 ppb. Pickering Laboratories developed an easy and sensitive method to analyze Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and Ochratoxin A in cannabis plants and edible products. Mycotoxins are isolated using immunoaffinity clean-up columns and analyzed with fluorescence detection. To increase sensitivity of Aflatoxins B1 and G1, an in-line photochemical reactor is installed before the detector. This method utilizes standard HPLC equipment and allows testing laboratories to easily determine Mycotoxins at levels below the limits established by state regulations.

Click to download  Analysis of Mycotoxins in Cannabis Plants and Cannabis Containing Products (MA241).

ANALYSIS OF AMINO ACIDS IN DIETARY INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Analysis of amino acids using cation-exchange columns and Ninhydrin post-column reagent is well-establish methodology that is recommended by the European Pharmacopeia. Pickering Laboratories developed and validated a post-column method for amino acids analysis of dietary supplements that is sensitive, selective and can be used without modifications to analyze capsules, tablets, drinks and other samples. Accelerated methods are available for samples with a limited number of amino acids. 

Click to download  Analysis of Amino Acids in Dietary Ingredients and Supplements (MA397)

food, glyphosate

Glyphosate in the News

 
As you may have noticed, Pickering Laboratories has been periodically updating our newsletter subscribers on Glyphosate-related reports in the news.   We are interested in the evolving current events related to Glyphosate regulation and the new research being conducted worldwide. 
  
  
  

Here’s the latest:

Glyphosate residue-free inquires surge as ‘Clean Food’ movement gathers pace.
Glyphosate is being food in consumer products and consumers are finding that a choice is possible.

Common weed killer linked to bee deaths.
A study has found that Glyphosate is a factor in bee deaths and determined the mechanism of effect.

Previous Articles on Glyphosate
Pickering Laboratories offers a post-column method for Glyphosate analysis that has been the industry standard for many years. Our methodology is simpler and more sensitive than LCMS, not to mention less expensive. Please contact us to speak with a chemist about post-column instrumentation or for tips and tricks to improved sample preparation, lower detection limits, or if you’ve got a new sample matrix in mind.

Gas Line Clips, Reagent

Reagent and Gas Line Clips

Dear valued customer,

You may have noticed that the stiff tubing of the reagent line will sometimes unscrew itself from the white adapter and cap. This will usually end up in a big mess. We have found that securing the gas line and reagent lines together will secure the reagent line and prevent it from unscrewing on its own. We will be launching the Reagent and Gas Line Clips on Oct 8, 2018. Any Vector or Pinnacle manufactured on or after this date will include the new clips. The gas and reagent line clips will also be included with all reagent caps. You can also order packs of two with the ordering information below:
   

1452-0356       Reagent & Gas Line Clips, pack of 2
  

Please contact Pickering Support with any questions.

David Mazawa
david.mazawa@pickeringlabs.com
Technical Support Chemist

Amino Acid Analysis, amino acids, Sodium Amino Acid Standard

Sodium Amino Acid Standard with Norleucine

Dear valued customer,

A new amino acid standard is available for your convenience. This expanded comprehensive set of amino acids with internal standard, Norleucine, can be used for oxidized or non-oxidized samples.

Please see the components listed below.

1700-0165  Sodium Amino Acid Standard with Norleucine, 0.25µmole/mL, pack (5x1mL)

Compound
   
L-Alanine 
Ammonia    
L-Arginine
L-Aspartic acid 
Cysteic acid
L-Glutamic acid  
Glycine
L-Histidine  
L-Isoleucine 
L-Leucine  
L-Lysine
L-Methionine-D,L-sulfone 
L-Phenylalanine
L-Proline
L-Serine
L-Threonine  
L-Valine               
Taurine   
L-Cystine    
L-Methionine  
L-Tyrosine 
Tryptophan
Norleucine
Concentrations µM/mL
 
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25

 

Please contact Pickering Support with any questions.

David Mazawa
david.mazawa@pickeringlabs.com
Technical Support Chemist

Chromatography Quiz

Chromatography Quiz #30

Chromatography Quiz #29: Amino Acids Elevated Baseline – RESULTS

Pickering Labs would like to congratulate all of our winners for our previous newsletter’s Elevated Baseline Amino Acids Chromatogram: Tom Schneider from Suffolk County Water Authority, Narjes Ghafoori from LA County Environmental Toxicology Lab, and Dr. David Green from Pepperdine University!

Winners will soon receive: A Harvest Bundle of Gifts from www.HarryandDavid.com!

This bountiful harvest bundle includes: creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake, a beautiful Autumn Garden Party plant gift, and a Pumpkin-Shaped Gift Basket which features juicy pears, pumpkin bars, cranberry relish, and much more. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Best of all, bundle gift items are sent individually to make the celebration last a little longer!

Congratulations to our quiz winners and we hope they look forward to receiving their gifts next week!

Thank you all for your submissions!
  
  
    
   

The correct answers for the Elevated Baseline Amino Acids Chromatogram are as follows:

The shift on the baseline is called an ammonia plateau and it is due to the presence of low-level amines and ammonia in the buffers. These compounds accumulate on the column during equilibration time and come out during the gradient in a form of a plateau. Since the buffers have low pH, these compounds are unavoidable but care should be taken to avoid excessive contamination that can cause the plateau to be too high. Amines are present even in the air and get dissolved in buffers as time goes by.

The issue usually comes from buffer A. Try and replace with a new lot if possible.

Below are some tips on how to minimize any potential problems:

  • Remove all filters from the ends of HPLC lines that go into the buffer bottles. All our products are filtered before bottling and these in-line filters only drag contamination from one bottle to another.
  • Replace open buffers on the instrument at least every two weeks. If you don’t use the full bottle in 2 weeks, pour half of the bottle into a clean glass bottle to put on the instrument and tightly cap the remaining portion to keep until future use.
  • Don’t flush column with water, use only Column Regenerant for cleaning the column.
  • Don’t use the first injection of the sequence for calculations since it usually has a different profile due to differences in equilibration time.
  • Program the needle wash between the runs to avoid carry over.
  • If you see unexpected peaks on your blank or other chromatograms make a fresh vial of the solution and run again to confirm the problem. Also run “No Injection” to see if the peaks are coming from the injected sample of from the baseline.
  • Flush HPLC periodically with 100% water, then 100 % methanol, then 100 % water with no column attached (!!!) to keep the lines clean.

Chromatography Quiz #30 – Aflatoxins Analysis, Decreased Signal:

Simply email your answer as well as your full contact information to Rebecca at rlsmith@pickeringlabs.com by December 21, 2018 in order to win. You will receive email confirmation that your submission has been received. The answer to the quiz and winner congratulations will be published in the next issue (to be anonymous, please notify Rebecca in submission).

Aflatoxin analysis by photochemical derivatization is achieved with the parameters listed below:

Analytical Column: Mycotox Column, C18 4.6x250mm
HPLC Eluent: Sodium Phosphate buffer PN 1700-1108/Methanol/Acetonitrile (57/28/15)
Flow Rate: 1 ml/min
FLD: Excitation 365nm, Emission 430nm
UVE Photochemical reactor with 254nm UV light: 1.0ml knitted reaction coil.

 

What could contribute to a decrease in signal?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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