Ep. 24: For the love of separation science

Welcome to “Analytically Speaking,” the podcast from LCGC International and Spectroscopy.

In this episode, podcast co-hosts Dr. Dwight Stoll and Dr. James Grinias talk with Dr. Andre de Villiers, Professor of Chemistry at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Dr. de Villiers is an expert in multi-dimensional chromatography and leads a research program mainly focused on the use of two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection for the deep characterization of natural products such as tea, wine, wood, and cocoa. Some of his recent work has explored the potential for ion mobility separations to increase the utility of mass spectrometric detection coupled with two-dimensional liquid chromatography separations.

In the conversation, we talk about the development of Andre’s interest in separation science as a result of a chance meeting with Pat Sandra, and the increasingly apparent “perception problem” facing the field of analytical chemistry. Finally, Dr. de Villiers shares his views on some of the most pressing challenges he sees in the work he is doing right now, including the need for better methods to separate complex mixtures of tannins in natural products, and the need for better data analysis tools in multi-dimensional separations in general.

Literature Discussed:

• Muller, M.; De Villiers, A. J. Chapter 12: Applications of Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography to Natural Product and Food Analysis. In Multi-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography: Principles, Practice, and applications; CRC PRESS: Boca Raton, FL, 2022.
• Moore, A. W.; Jorgenson, J. W. Comprehensive Three-Dimensional Separation of Peptides Using Size Exclusion Chromatography/Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography/Optically Gated Capillary Zone Electrophoresis. Anal. Chem. 1995, 67 (19), 3456–3463.https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00115a014.
• Rosenberg, E.; Krska, R. Analytical Chemistry in Front of the Curtain! Anal Bioanal Chem 2024, 416 (8), 1787–1795.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05128-9.
• De Villiers, A.; Lestremau, F.; Szucs, R.; Gélébart, S.; David, F.; Sandra, P. Evaluation of Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A 2006, 1127 (1–2), 60–69.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2006.05.071.

More about our hosts:

Dwight Stoll, PhD:

Dwight R. Stoll is a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, under Professor Peter Carr, working on the development of fast, comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC). Stoll’s current primary research focus is on the development of 2D-LC for both targeted and untargeted analyses. Active research projects in his laboratory touch on most aspects of multidimensional separation methodologies, including optimization strategies, characterization of selectivity in reversed-phase LC, instrument development, and applications in biopharmaceutical analysis. Stoll is the author or co-author of more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters and has instructed numerous short courses in 2D-LC. In 2011 he was the recipient of LCGC’s Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award. In 2017 he received the Georges Guiochon Faculty Fellowship, and was recognized with an Agilent Technologies Thought Leader Award. He is also a member of LCGC’s editorial advisory board and is the editor of the “LC Troubleshooting” column in LCGC.

Jerome Workman, Jr., PhD:

Jerome (Jerry) J. Workman, Jr. is the Senior Technical Editor for LCGC and Spectroscopy. He has held positions as CTO, executive VP, senior research fellow, director, and senior scientist at companies of all sizes, from start-ups to world-leading corporations. He has been an adjunct faculty member of four universities and advised multiple graduate students. He has more than 75 U.S. and international patent applications and 30 issued U.S. and international patents and multiple trade secrets, as well as 500+ technical publications, and 20 reference book volumes on a broad range of spectroscopy and data processing techniques. He has received multiple awards from scientific societies, and has taught annual courses in spectroscopy, chemometrics, and statistics for the AOAC, ACS, ISA, FACSS, and at several universities and corporations. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (FAIC), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK (FRSC, CChem, CSci). Jerry holds B.A and M.A degrees from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and a PhD degree from Columbia Pacific University working in near-infrared spectroscopy. He is an alumnus of both Columbia University Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

About the Analytically Speaking Podcast:

Analytically Speaking, the podcast from LCGC and Spectroscopy, addresses important issues in separation science and analytical spectroscopy. Topics include new analytical techniques, methods, and approaches; the latest trends; advances in instrument and software technology; practical solutions for specific applications; recent papers in the scientific literature and their applicability; challenges and solutions for data analysis and interpretation; analytical chemistry theory and fundamentals (from advanced research to tutorials and troubleshooting); and more. Our regular hosts are Dwight Stoll, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and Jerry Workman, PhD, a spectroscopist, noted author, and currently the Senior Technical Editor of Spectroscopy and LCGC. Dwight covers separation science and Jerry addresses spectroscopy related topics.

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