Since 1954, Pittcon has provided a forum for rapid communication of new technology for chemical and biochemical analysis. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the last three events. But, in 2023, the Pittcon organization is working hard to fulfill the need of vendors and scientists for a forum for dialog between peers and potential customers. COVID-19 is less threating today, so Pittcon 2023 is taking shape as a face-to-face event scheduled for March 18-22 at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
I’ve been attending the series since the late 1960s. Why? Pittcon is essential for career growth and technical advancement in the laboratory space. Where else are you exposed to such a broad, concise program reporting advances in analytical chemistry and applied spectroscopy? If this is your bread and butter, you need to attend in 2023, especially if you have not attended since 2019. You have a lot of catching up to do.
Our world has changed. How? Well, that depends on you and your role.
One of the biggest changes is that PerkinElmer split off the Life Science Business segment so that the analytical products could compete for the spotlight. PerkinElmer’s traditional products, such as chromatography and spectroscopy, will remain. The impact is already apparent. PerkinElmer is actively promoting a new gas chromatograph (model 2400) with and without a mass spectrometer as a key element of their lab 4.0 platform. PerkinElmer’s 2400 is designed for hydrogen carrier gas. Recent press releases and webinars have featured advances in ICP-MS and software for control and reporting.
Another change is that firms such as GSK are responding to climate change concerns by requiring vendors to demonstrate compliance with their sustainability goals. Thermo Fisher Scientific, for example, has introduced an isotope ratio mass spectrometer that has sustainability goals as part of the product design. This appears to be the leading example of a company-wide program.
Are you a laboratory manager?
Pittcon 2023 should be an attractive opportunity for a lab manager to shop solutions to chronic problems. First and foremost, the supply chain has changed. Some previously reliable vendors of consumables and critical validated operating supplies are now of concern.
Thermo has rebranded their solvents. Pipette tips are now made in a new location by new machines from new plastics formulations. This raises the question of the possible need for method revalidation.
Additionally, vendors’ customer support staff may have changed. A once comfortable and reliable vendor-customer relationship may need updating. Did the raw material change? Do I need to revalidate a method? What about corporate’s new sustainability policy?
When I visit laboratories in the U.S., I notice too many of the instruments are not current models. Vendors often have policies of not supporting instruments that are older than 10 to 15 years. Electronic and mechanical parts have short product life cycles. Prudent managers recognize this fact of life—and plan accordingly. Ask your sales and service reps about this. Support policies do change, so ask them every year or so, especially after a vendor introduces a new model.
You may have heard that helium will go on allocation due to supply shortage. About a year ago, Restek introduced a hydrogen conversion kit for capillary gas chromatography. Still worried? PerkinElmer’s new 2400 GC is specifically designed and tested for safely controlling hydrogen as a carrier gas. Agilent has introduced an inert MS interface enabling the use of hydrogen without catalytically reducing nitrogen containing analytes. An unexpected fall out is that run times with hydrogen may be reduced by 30 to 50%. If this is interesting to you, check the poster sessions. Poster presenters love to talk about their experience.
Are you a Subject Matter Expert (SME)?
SMEs need to keep abreast of the leading edge of their field. Pittcon’s plenary lectures and awards symposia are excellent events that report cutting-edge results. This is an opportunity to meet SMEs in new fields. Most of the lecturers are gifted experts that will offer friendly advice or even mentoring. Attend the lectures and follow up with an e-mail. Use Google Scholar to catch up with the state-of-the-art. Remember to bring printed or virtual business cards.
Are you interested in automation? (If not, you should ask yourself, “why not?”
You may be concerned about recent evidence of operator variability in performance of a critical validated method. Plus, it may be labor-intensive. Would you like to explore automating the method? Exhibitors at Pittcon will show new automation options, including several new systems for analyte extraction from Thermo Fisher Scientific, PerkinElmer, CEM and Fluid Management Systems.
Is your lab planning to add new assays for nanoparticles?
Are you hearing that your lab may need to analyze nano materials? There are options that you should consider. Common concerns are size of the particles, population of the particles containing the pay load, stability and consistency of the product, effect of excipients that may act as adjuvants, etc. Options you should consider include ICP-MS, low angle light scattering, flow cytometry with or without imaging, and more. During the last three years, numerous new products have been introduced. And, these are not just virus-like particles, but nano materials for batteries and entropic alloys. Advances in materials science quickly enter the consumer marketplace, which challenges SMEs to develop new instruments ranging from thermal analyzers to high-resolution imaging mass spectrometers.
Are you curious about advances in spectroscopy?
If photonics is your game, recall that Pittcon’s tag line is “…and Applied Spectroscopy.” Recent advances in photonics facilitate new optical instruments and measurement. These are starting to appear in laboratory instruments. Surface-enhanced Raman spectrometry seems to be leading the way. I also detect new interest in Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) for GC. “Super resolution” and “sculpted light” are buzz words seen in many imaging papers.
Do you suffer from the mid-career doldrums?
Technologies have a life cycle. Initially, few leaders tout the new field as they gain recognition as SMEs. All too often, this stage lasts a decade or so, and then the demand starts to decline. Twenty years later, interest has reached a low level.
Since you are now mid-career in age, you face the question of “now what?” This happened with gas chromatography in the 1980s and again with HPLC at the turn of the century.
Experience shows that advances in adjacent or dependent technologies often are precipitated by maturation in another. For GC, mass spectrometry and computer data systems helped it develop into a widely used technology, with many labs running more than 10 instruments simultaneously. For HPLC, mass spectrometry with ESI interface and automation of sample preparation fueled another era of explosive growth. Preparative purification is resurrecting super critical fluid chromatography.
Looking forward, recent advances in photonics will reinvigorate interest in optical spectroscopy. AI will turn existing data into a gold mine for disease and therapeutic discoveries. Material science, including 3-D printing, will lead us into super performance composite materials. Quantum technology will break the Moore’s histogram for computer performance. New energy storage devices will replace existing battery technology, which will provide green solutions to the global energy market.
Would you like to catch up on technology or regulations?
Traditionally, Pittcon has added short courses ranging from introductory to advanced. The tutorial courses help chemists understand the basics principles of the work they are doing in the lab. Where appropriate, the instructors report examples of what can go wrong and why. These courses are highly recommended since auditing agencies ask about the qualifications of the lab staff. Attendance at relevant Pittcon short courses is valuable in responding to audits, especially if a question of qualification arises.
Here are a few very interesting short courses, but there are many more listed on Pittcon’s site.
- Characterization of Microplastics in Environmental Samples using Infrared Spectroscopy
- Analysis of Microplastics in Water
- Cause Analysis and Corrective Action
- Behind the CoA: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Running a Cannalab
Symposia
In addition to general plenary lecture sessions, Pittcon groups contributed and invited papers focused on timely topics. For example, one of the 23 symposia is titled “Advanced Analytical Techniques for the Study of Energy Storage Materials.” Trace contaminates in batteries can reduce the number of recharge cycles or duration of storage or service life.
Another symposium is “Analytical Challenges and Solutions in the Detection and Quantitation of Food Allergens.” Recognized food allergies such as celiac disease and lactose intolerance are traditionally hard to diagnose. Is this another application for LC-MS?
Nano UPLC offers improved compatibility with MS detection and also makes a gigantic stride to a carbon free footprint. For example, a 10 mL vial could be enough mobile phase for several months of operation with a nano LC. In contrast, a conventional HPLC uses 0.5 liter/8 hr per day. Want to learn more? Attend “Advances in Microfluidic Separations for Biological and Pharmaceutical Applications.”
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is using the data we produce and record to improve laboratory performance and increase the impact of the data we produce. This is especially true of disease and drug discovery. You can learn more by attending “Applications of Automation and Machine Learning for Analytical Sciences: Challenges in Pharmaceutical Research and Development.”
What do the regulators want to see in the future from your laboratory? Over the last four decades our society has spent billions of dollars improving data integrity generated by our work. Just look at CFR 21 Par 11, EPA and ASTM methods, OSAC for forensics, etc. This works, but the regulators want more. The session “Assessment of Changing Regulatory Landscape on Analytical Development and Validation for Pharmaceutical Drug Products” will focus on the drugs. However, concerns of FDA auditors have a pattern of arising quickly in other regulatory bodies.
Interested in changing positions or location?
Pittcon organizes an employment bureau with a focus on helping employees and potential employers find good matches. Employers looking for chemistry talent find Pittcon to be a good venue to fish for people with strong background and interest in working in situations where chemical knowledge is a requirement. If your current employment situation conflicts with your needs and/or interests, consider participating in Pittcon’s employment bureau. Update your resume, line up your references, and start networking.
The location of Pittcon 2023 in Philadelphia is particularly advantageous since it is in the middle of the Eastern chemical and pharmaceutical region. I anticipate that many potential employers will see Pittcon 2023 as an affordable opportunity for their talent search.
Concerned about attendee safety?
Predictions of a tridemic is a valid consideration. However, Pittcon’s organizing committee has worked with public health departments to mitigate the greatest risks. Vaccination for COVID-19 and the flu appear to be effective in reducing transmission and severity. Potential attendees should monitor and follow the advice provided by public health organizations. I believe that science will show the way to have a safe, face-to-face meeting. However, if the tridemic hits hard, then plan on meeting in 2024 in San Diego. I plan to be there, too.
In summary, Pittcon 2023 promises to provide a golden opportunity to keep current in developments in the chemistry laboratory space. You can mix and match as you see fit. I’m eager to meet you in Philadelphia.
About the Author: Robert Stevenson, Ph.D., is a member of Labcompare's Editorial Advisory Board and Editor Emeritus of Labcompare and American Laboratory. He has been involved in developing instrumentation and enabled applications since the late 1960's at firms including Varian, Altex, Bio-Rad, and TosoHaas. Stevenson has been a regular contributor to American Laboratory since its founding in 1968. He has authored more than 450 papers on new technology and applications.