In the news

Elsevier leads the way in Analytical Chemistry

In the Analytical Chemistry categoryin 2004, Elsevier published nine ofthe top 15 journals with more than100 articles, when ranked by ImpactFactor [1].

These nine Elsevier titles (Table 1)included four out of the top five mostcited journals (Table 2) and gener-ated 53% (174,691) of the totalcitations (328,992) of all 70 titles inthe Analytical Chemistry category in2004.

The 2004 Impact Factors forAnalytical Chemistry showed thatTrAC improved its record in terms ofoverall Impact Factor, comparedwith 2003 (Fig. 1).

TrAC’s 2004 Impact Factor –3.89 – was greater than those ofmany other journals in ISI’s list of

top 15 journals in AnalyticalChemistry. However, TrAC did notqualify for inclusion in the listbecause the criterion was to havepublished more than 100 articles in2004, and TrAC published 84(Table 3).

TrAC generated 2501 citations in2004 – increasing by 13% compared

with 2003 and 67% compared withfour years earlier (2000) (Fig. 2).

Reference

[1] 2004 ISI ª Journal Citation Report,

Science Edition; Category: Analytical

Chemistry; Journals publishing 100 or

more articles in 2004; Total: 70 Journals.

Table 1. The nine Elsevier journals in thetop 15 ranked by 2004 Impact Factor [1]

Journal 2004 ImpactFactor

J. Am. Soc. Mass Spec. 3.76J. Chromatogr., A 3.36Biosens. Bioelectron. 3.25Anal. Chim. Acta 2.59Talanta 2.53Anal. Biochem. 2.37J. Electroanal. Chem. 2.23J. Chromatogr., B 2.18Sens. Actuators, B 2.08

Table 2. The four Elsevier journals in thetop five, ranked by 2004 citations [1]

Journal 2004Citations

J. Chromatogr., A 41,467Anal. Biochem. 34,282Anal. Chim. Acta 21,234J. Electroanal. Chem. 18,536

Table 3. TrAC �s record, 2000–2004

Year: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Articles: 68 66 75 86 84Citations: 1501 1748 1907 2207 2501Impact Factor: 2.91 4.26 4.28 3.54 3.89

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Figure 2. TrAC ’s Citations, 2000–2004.

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Figure 1. TrAC ’s Impact Factor, 2000–2004.

0165-9936/$ - see front matter doi:10.1016/j.trac.2005.08.002 iii

Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 24, No. 8, 2005 In the news

NMR solves targetgenomic structures

Professor Thomas A. Szyperski,University at Buffalo (UB), StateUniversity of New York, USA, and ateam of structural genomics scien-tists have determined the structuresof eight proteins in 10–20 days perprotein [1].

Researchers typically need anaverage of 6–12 months to solve asingle protein using conventionalnuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)methods. Szyperski’s method, calledG-matrix Fourier transform NMR(GFT-NMR), solves protein struc-tures, including membrane pro-teins, which are highly prized inrational drug design.

‘‘This is the type of innovativemethodology development that’scrucial for achieving the goals ofthe Protein Structure Initiative(PSI) and advancing structuralbiology,’’ said PSI Director JohnNorvell of the US National Instituteof General Medical Sciences.

‘‘This publication completes thestory by showing that the methodworks almost better than we ex-pected and is applicable broadly tosolve structures of proteins with200 amino acid residues or more,’’said Szyperski.

The protocol enabled rapid NMRdata collection for high-quality pro-tein-structure determination thatallowed the team to capitalize onhigh spectrometer sensitivity. A setof five GFT-NMR experiments forresonance assignment based onhighly resolved 4D and 5D spectralinformation was acquired in con-junction with a single simultaneous3D 15N, 13Caliphatic, 13Caromatic-resolved [1H,1H]-nuclear Overhauserenhancement spectroscopy (NOESY)spectrum, providing 1H–1H upperdistance limit constraints.

The protocol was integrated withmethodology for semi-automateddata analysis and used to solve eightNMR protein structures from theNortheast Structural Genomics

(NESG) Consortium pipeline. Themolecular masses of the hypotheti-cal target proteins were in the range9–20 kDa with an average of about14 kDa. Each structure required 1–9 days of instrument time, whichwas less than 10–25% of the timenormally required with conven-tional approaches. The protocoleffectively removed data collectionas a bottleneck for high-throughputsolution structure determination ofproteins up to at least 20 kDa, whileproviding spectra that were highlyamenable to fast, robust analysis.

The method has already beenused to solve more than a dozenstructures. Szyperski expects hislaboratory to solve between 12 and15 structures a year using GFT-NMR. His success has attractedapproximately $4m in new Federalresearch funds to his laboratory atUB for the next five years.

Contact:Professor Thomas A. SzyperskiUniversity at Buffalo (UB)State University of NewYork, USATel.:+1 (716)6456800ext.2245E-mail:szypersk@chem.buffalo.edu

Reference

[1] G. Liu, Y. Shen, H.S. Atreya, D. Parish,

Y. Shao, D.K. Sukumaran, R. Xiao,

A. Yee, A. Lemak, A. Bhattacharya,

T.A. Acton, C.H. Arrowsmith,

G.T. Montelione, T. Szyperski, Proc. Natl.

Acad. Sci. USA 102 (2005) 10487.

HPLC findsochratoxin A andhistamine in wines

The AZTI-Tecnalia laboratories inthe Basque region in Spain havelaunched a service making avail-able methodologies for analyzingochratoxin A and histamine inwines, because of the need to adaptto market demands in the wine-consuming world.

To make an analytical determi-nation of ochratoxin A, AZTI hasdeveloped a high-performanceliquid chromatography (HPLC)technique based on fluorescencedetection. Ochratoxin A is a myco-toxin produced by various fungi,such as Aspergillus and Penicillin.Although the presence of such fungiin wines is at very low levels, it affectsexports to the western markets.

An HPLC technique is also used todetermine the presence of histaminein wines (due to the decarboxylationof the histidine amino acid byLactobacillus). While it does notcause a major health problem, it hasan effect on the quality of the wine,so its control is necessary for anumber of trading transactions.

Apart from these analyticalapplications and the needs of thequality systems established in thevarious companies, AZTI has forthe past eight years been analyzingchlorophenols and chloroanisols atvarious points in the wine-production process, including cork-ing and barreling. The degradationthat gives rise to compounds, towhich the taste or the smell of being‘‘corked’’ or ‘‘musty’’ are attributed,is one of the most common defectsin wine and the most quickly de-tected by the consumer. In manycases, it is the main cause of returnsto wine-producing companies.

Contact:Raul Lopez de GerenuAZTISukarrieta, SpainTel.: +34 946 029 400E-mail: rgerenu@suk.azti.esWebsite: www.azti.es

Vitamin E homologsseparated at –20�C

For the first time, all eight homo-logues of vitamin E have beenseparated by applying isocraticreversed-phase high-performance

iv http://www.elsevier.com/locate/trac

In the news Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 24, No. 8, 2005

liquid chromatography (HPLC) usingthe Polaratherm total temperaturecontroller supplied by Selerity Tech-nologies Inc. (STI) [1].

Vitamin E is a term used todescribe compounds that contain the6-hydroxychroman ring and possessthe biological activity of a-tocopherol.There are eight naturally occurringhomologs, comprising four toco-

pherols (a-, b-, d-, c-) and four to-cotrienols (a-, b-, d-, c-). In additionto their vitamin E activity, thesecompounds have been implicated inreducing the risks of diseases,including cancer, cardiovasculardisease, Alzheimer’s, and cataracts.Vitamin E also provides the greatesttotal antioxidant activity in the lipo-proteins in blood.

While a-tocopherol has thegreatest amount of vitamin E activ-ity, the other homologs may be moreeffective at specific activities. Forexample, c-tocopherol is thought tobe more effective at reducing the riskof prostate cancer.

There have been no previousreports of separations of all eightvitamin E homologs using isocraticreversed-phase HPLC. Neal Craft andJohn Estes of Craft Technologies,Inc., Wilson, North Carolina, USA,developed this separation at –20�Cusing the Polaratherm and com-pared it with one at ambienttemperature.

Fig. 3 shows the injection of alleight homologs on a C18 columnusing an ambient isocratic separa-tion, with the coelution of bothb-tocotrienol and c-tocotrienol andof b-tocopherol and c-tocopherol.

Fig. 4 shows the separation at)20�C using the Polaratherm. Thelow temperature influences thecolumn selectivity and results inpartial separation of the two toco-trienols and near-baseline separation(a = 1.065) of the two tocopherols.• STI and the Research Institute forChromatography (RIC), headedby Professor Pat Sandra, at Kor-trijk, Belgium, have agreed toestablish a manufacturing centreof excellence for the Polarathermin Belgium, with RIC taking re-sponsibility for sales and mar-keting in Europe and Asia, andSelerity retaining North Americaand the rest of the world.

Contact:Jody ClarkSelerity Technologies Inc.Salt Lake City, Utah, USATel.: +1 801 978 2295E-mail: sales@selerity.com

Reference

[1] Selerity Technologies Inc., Optimization of

the Separation of Tocopherols using Sub-

Zero Temperature, Application Note

814, 2005 (selerity.com/main/docu-

ments/ tocopherols.pdf).

Figure 3. Separation of vitamin E homologs at ambient temperature. Several of the isomerscoelute.

Figure 4. Separation of tocopherols at )20�C. b-tocopherol and c-tocopherol are well-resolved, and b-tocotrienol and c-tocotrienol are partially resolved.

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/trac v

Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 24, No. 8, 2005 In the news

Spectroscopic analysisauthenticates olive oil

Fourier transform (FT)-Raman andFT-mid-infrared (MIR) spectro-scopies can authenticate olive oil tosome extent, according to a team ofscientists from Belgium and Spain[1].

Spectroscopic analysis was madewith not only the entire oil but alsoits unsaponifiable matter. Uni-variate and multivariate statisticalmodels were designed with thisobjective. This study showed thatcomplete discrimination betweenolive oil and hazelnut oil is possibleand that adulteration can be de-tected, if the presence of hazelnut oilin olive oil is >8% and if the blendsare of olive and hazelnut oils fromTurkey. The limit of detection ishigher when the blends are ofedible oils of diverse geographicalorigins.

An update of ways of finding outif other oils and fats are adulteratedis available, written by Mike Jee,lipids consultant at RSSL, Reading,UK [2]. He relates that initialexamination of a suspect fat or oilusually involves gas chromato-graphic (GC) analysis of its fattyacid composition following theconversion of the fatty acids tomethyl esters. Fatty acid analysiscan be followed by separation andanalysis of the sterols in the oil.

Adulteration of cocoa butter isusually detected by triglycerideanalysis by high-performance liquidchromatography (HPLC) or GC.Triglyceride composition can alsogive a clue as to whether olive andsesame oils contain cheaper oils. Inthe case of olive oil, the analyticalvalues are actually used legally todetermine the grade of the oil.However, even a battery of tests forolive oil cannot completely provethat it is genuine, with hazelnut oilbeing particularly hard to detect,according to Jee, so the reportedsuccess of FT-Raman and FT-MIR[1] is significant.

Contacts:Vincent BaetenWalloon Agricultural ResearchCentreGemblouxBelgiumTel.: +32 81 62 03 50E-mail: baeten@cra.wallonie.be

Mike JeeRSSLReading, UKTel.: +44 118 986 8541E-mail: mike.h.jee@rssl.com

References

[1] V. Baeten, J.A. Fernandez Pierna,

P. Dardenne, M. Meurens, D.L. Garcıa-

Gonzalez, R. Aparicio-Ruiz, J. Agric.

Food Chem. 53 (2005) 6201.

[2] M. Jee, FoodInfo Online Features, 29 July

2005 (http://www.foodsciencecentral.

com/fsc/ixid14011).

Research focuses on‘stand-off ’ bombdetection

In the global war on terrorism, As-sociate Professor Bill Dunn ofKansas State University has joinedthe US Marines to improve remotedetection of bombs in suspiciouscontainers, such as cars, knapsacks,and briefcases.

‘‘The Marine Corps needs whatthey call ‘stand-off’ bomb detec-tion,’’ said Dunn.

The device being developed willuse pulses of both gamma andneutron radiation to determinewhat is inside.

‘‘Different elements emit radia-tion of different characteristic en-ergies,’’ said Dunn. ‘‘We knowwhat signals come back when weinterrogate an object containing anexplosive substance; now, we aretrying to find out the best way toanalyze the data to make sure weare correct, that there are ex-plosives on board.’’

Dunn began working on theproject in November 2004 as thedeath toll in the Iraq war continuedto increase due to car and suicidebombings. The bombings in Londonin July 2005, although differentfrom the car bombs that the projectinitially focused on, have given iteven more priority.

‘‘The technology we are trying todevelop for car bombs can also beapplied to a brief case, a knapsackor a suitcase,’’ said Dunn.

He said most conventional ex-plosives used in these types ofbombs have similar amounts ofnitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen andcarbon, and give off a signaturethat is characteristic of those parti-cular elements.

Dunn believes that, if funding forthe project is dramatically in-creased, he can have the deviceready for field use in about a year. Iffunding continues at its currentrate, he predicts that it will takethree-to-four years.

Contact:Professor Bill DunnKansas State UniversityManhattan, KansasUSATel.: +1 785 532 5628E-mail: dunn@mne.ksu.edu

Smart softwaresimplifies laboratoryaudit

The InsightFaraday Partnershipin the UK has launched theLabSmart software-based processto analyze and significantly en-hance laboratory operations. Co-ordinated by LGC, this audit servicemodels laboratory processes andexplores alternative scenarios forimproving efficiency and resourceutilization.

The software, developed byInsightFaraday with Runcorn soft-ware specialist Webaspx, is flexible

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In the news Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 24, No. 8, 2005

and can model virtually anylaboratory. The audit process typi-cally takes less than four weeks, withminimal disruption to current op-erations. It has been used inlaboratories providing routine ana-lytical services, as well as in for-mulation and biological assaylaboratories.

‘‘Improvements resulting from theLabSmart audit service can rangefrom streamlined work flows, rightthrough to radical redesign of a la-boratory incorporating the latesthigh-throughput technology (HTT),’’said InsightFaraday Director SteveFletcher. ‘‘The modeling process canhelp quantify benefits and justify in-vestment in HTT tools, such as auto-mation and software to achievehigher throughput in laboratoriesand, more importantly, higher qual-ity outputs. Furthermore, LabSmartcovers not just the technologies butalso the management and peoplewithin the lab, highlighting whereskilled researchers’ time can be freedup for more intellectual activitiesand how routine tasks can be dele-gated to automated systems.’’

Contact:Maria RaimondiInsightFaraday PartnershipRuncorn, Cheshire, UK

Tel.: +44 1928 511392E-mail: maria.raimondi@insightfaraday.org

UPLC wins R&D 100Award

Waters Corporation’s Acquity ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) system is next month to re-ceive an R&D 100 Award as one ofthis year’s top 100 most techno-logically significant innovationsknown to industry, government, andacademia.

The Acquity UPLC system sig-nificantly speeds the analysis of com-pounds in routine samples or detectscompounds often missed in complexsamples by conventional high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) methods. It is also used toconfirm toxin levels (e.g., perchlorate,a known thyroid inhibitor) in drink-ing water, and contaminants andbanned substances (e.g., Sudan dyes,veterinary drugs and pesticide re-sidues) in the food supply, as well aslevels of routine compounds, such ascaffeine in soft drinks.

R&D 100 Awards organizer R&DMagazine profiled the winners andtheir products in this month’s issue.

The awards ceremony will take placein Chicago next month.

In the meantime, further backingfor the Acquity UPLC system hascome from leading exponents in thepharmaceuticals industry.

‘‘Acquity UPLC will becomethe option of choice for the develop-ment of fast LC methods in phar-maceutical development in thenear future,’’ claimed Anton D. Jer-kovich, Novartis PharmaceuticalsCorporation.

‘‘UPLC-MS does offer significantgains over the capillary LC–MS formetabolite identification,’’ accordingto Iain Beattie at AstraZeneca’sPhysical & Metabolic Sciencefacility.

‘‘The Acquity UPLC system wasshown to provide accurate andreproducible results for rapid iso-cratic and gradient analysis ofdrug molecules in dose formula-tions,’’ stated. Kenneth R. Weh-meyer, Proctor & GamblePharmaceuticals.

Contact:Brian J. MurphyWaters Corporation,Tel.: +1 508 482 2614E-mail:brian_j_samurphy@waters.com

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Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 24, No. 8, 2005 In the news