Eastern Analytical Symposium & Exposition 2023 Abstract Book

Significance of the topic

This abstract collection from the 2023 Eastern Analytical Symposium highlights contemporary analytical chemistry challenges and innovations spanning environmental monitoring, pharmaceutical development, biomedicine, forensic science, materials characterization and process analytics. The significance lies in bridging advanced separation and spectroscopic technologies with high-throughput mass spectrometry, imaging, and data science to address trace-level detection, complex mixture characterization, quality control, and accelerated discovery workflows that are essential to regulatory compliance, product safety, and research reproducibility.

Study aims and overview

• Survey experimental and instrumental advances presented at the symposium, including multidimensional chromatography (GC×GC, 2D-LC, LCxMSy), high-throughput MS-driven reaction screening, vibrational and Raman imaging (including SRS and confocal Raman microscopy), and tailored sample-preparation approaches (pyrolysis-GC-MS, QuEChERS, passive samplers).
• Showcase applied problem domains: detection and fate of microplastics and PFAS, quantitative low-level impurity enrichment in pharmaceuticals, proteomics for early cancer biomarker discovery, forensic residue analyses, and PAT/methods for continuous synthesis and crystallization.
• Describe integration of chemometrics, machine learning, and automated instrumentation to accelerate method development, improve robustness, and support decision-making across analytical pipelines.

Methodology and analytical approaches

• Multidimensional separations: Extensive use of GC×GC and 2D-LC to resolve highly complex matrices—approaches include heart-cutting, trapping/enrichment workflows, parallel mass-spectrometer detection (LCxMSy), and multi-cycle modulators to increase resolving power for lipids, oligonucleotides, polymers, and VOC profiling.
• Mass spectrometry strategies: High-throughput MS (ESI microdroplet acceleration for reaction discovery), triple quadrupole methods for targeted trace analytes (OGSR, PFAS), QTOF/HRMS for structure elucidation and non-target screening, and MALDI-MS for rapid formulation stability screens.
• Vibrational imaging and microscopy: Confocal Raman, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and second harmonic/ nonlinear scattering techniques to probe interfacial chemistry (silica chromatographic supports, cell membranes), single-particle nanoplastic identification, and latent-fingerprint chemistry (FTIR-ATR detection of Ruhemann’s purple).
• Targeted chemical assays and sample prep: Pyrolysis GC-MS for polymer identification; QuEChERS + UPLC-MS/MS for PFAS and pesticide screening in food and seafood; ion chromatography for anions in APIs; ICP-MS (with argon gas dilution) for elemental contaminants; HPLC-ELSD and charged aerosol detection for polysorbates; SEC, IP-RP and LC-MS approaches for mRNA poly(A) tail characterization.
• Process Analytical Technology (PAT): In-line/real-time monitoring using mid-IR, Raman (including low frequency), DLS/FFF for particle/crystallization control, and automated A-TEEM/chemometric models for rapid quantitation of compounds such as capsaicinoids.
• Data science: Use of retention databases, web-based 2D-LC simulators, chemometrics (PLS, DMD), machine learning and explainable AI to improve method development, predictive QC, and interpretation of complex spectral data. Emphasis on FAIR data practices for spectroscopy.

Key results and discussion

• Environmental monitoring: Single-particle SRS and confocal Raman identified and chemically profiled abundant nanoplastics in bottled water and harbor waters; PFAS studies documented widespread deposition via rainfall, detection of replacement chemistries (e.g., GenX), and highlighted the need for non-targeted and isomer-resolving methods.
• Pharmaceutical analytics: Trapping-mode 2D-LC workflows achieved quantitative enrichment and high recovery (>97%) for sub-ppm impurities; LC-MS stationary-phase selectivity studies resolved isobaric interferences (e.g., NDMA vs DMF) and enabled reliable ng-level quantification; UHPLC-MS/MS and method modernization (USP <621>) were shown to extend method flexibility while controlling robustness.
• Proteomics and biomarkers: Multiple LC-MS/MS serum and breast milk proteomics studies identified panels of dysregulated proteins (apolipoproteins, serpins, immune/glycoproteins) as candidate early breast-cancer biomarkers; workflows combined in-gel and in-solution digestions with nanoLC-MS/MS and standard bioinformatics pipelines.
• Forensics and diagnostics: GC-QqQ-MS produced high true-positive rates for organic gunshot residue; FTIR-ATR and Raman approaches provided non-destructive detection of latent-print chemistries; particle-correlated Raman spectroscopy (PCRS) showed promise for forensic soil particle discrimination and mock casework.
• Reaction and process acceleration: MS detection of microdroplet reaction acceleration demonstrated orders-of-magnitude rate enhancements and enabled high-throughput screening and small-scale synthesis; photochemical/electrochemical flow reactor developments and PAT+AI approaches addressed scale-up challenges.
• Method performance and robustness: Studies emphasized column selection and surface treatments (e.g., silicon-based CVD coatings, MaxPeak HPS) to reduce metal and adsorption artifacts, improve inertness and reproducibility for trace and biopharmaceutical analyses.

Benefits and practical applications

• Higher-resolution separations (GC×GC, 2D-LC) and orthogonal detection schemes reduce false positives/negatives in trace-level regulatory testing (PFAS, nitrosamines, OGSR) and enable nontarget discovery workflows.
• Label-free imaging (SRS, Raman) allows single-particle chemical identification of nanoplastics and non-invasive probing of biomolecular interactions at membranes and porous supports used in chromatography.
• Automated trapping/enrichment and MALDI- or LC-MS screening accelerate impurity detection, formulation screening, and biotherapeutic attribute monitoring (MAM), shortening development timelines.
• Adoption of PAT and rapid biophysical assays reduces time-to-result for formulation and process changes, enabling earlier decisions in development and scale-up.
• Integration of chemometrics and ML increases interpretability, supports robust method transfer, and helps prioritize analytes in complex non-target mixtures.

Instrumentation used

• Liquid chromatography: UHPLC, UPLC, nanoLC, ion-pair and HILIC variants, SEC, 2D-LC platforms, GC×GC systems.
• Mass spectrometry: Triple quadrupole (QqQ), QTOF/HRMS, TOF, MALDI-MS, LC-MS/MS (APCI/APPI/APGC, ESI), GC-MS, GC-APCI, APGC.
• Vibrational and optical: Confocal Raman microscopy, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), FTIR-ATR, A-TEEM fluorescence/EEM, low-frequency Raman, second harmonic/ nonlinear scattering imaging.
• Elemental and inorganic: ICP-MS (with argon gas dilution), ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity.
• Microscopy and particle analysis: SEM-EDS, TEM, particle-correlated Raman spectroscopy (PCRS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), field-flow fractionation (FFF).
• Other: Passive samplers for PFAS, pyrolysis-GC-MS for polymers, microfluidic segmented-flow platforms, TAP reactor for transient kinetics, NMR for structural polysaccharide analysis.

Future trends and application possibilities

• Broader adoption of multidimensional separations and parallel MS detection (LCxMSy) for routine nontarget screening in regulatory and industrial laboratories.
• Increased use of label-free vibrational imaging (SRS, confocal Raman) for single-particle and single-cell chemical mapping in environmental and biomedical research.
• Expansion of high-throughput MS-driven reaction discovery and droplet microfluidics for rapid synthetic optimization and biocatalyst screening.
• Deeper integration of AI/ML with mechanistic models for reaction understanding, chromatographic method transfer, and explainable predictive models that generalize across instruments and matrices.
• Growth of standardized FAIR data repositories for vibrational and chromatographic datasets to support model transfer, reuse and regulatory acceptance.
• Development of rugged, low-cost passive sampling and enrichment devices (for PFAS, microplastics) enabling time-weighted monitoring and improved exposure assessment.

Conclusions

The 2023 EAS program demonstrates that contemporary analytical chemistry is evolving into an integrated discipline where advanced separations, imaging, and mass spectrometry are tightly coupled with sample preparation, automation and data science. This convergence enables detection and characterization of diverse, low-level analytes in complex matrices—improving environmental surveillance, pharmaceutical quality control, forensic practice and biomedical discovery. Continued progress will depend on method standardization, improved instrument interoperability, and transparent model validation to ensure reproducibility and regulatory acceptance.

References

• Selected citations from abstracts: Bang J. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016; Villarreal et al., JACS 2017; Porter, Chem 2019; Davis, ACS Nano 2021; Shi et al., ACS Nano/ACIE 2021; Singh et al., JACS 2023.
• Cooks R.G. et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016 (ESI microdroplet chemistry); Morato et al., SLAS Technology 2021.