Separation Science

Analytical laboratories are under increasing pressure to process more samples, meet stricter regulatory requirements, and deliver results faster. Yet many critical processes still rely on disconnected systems and manual data transfers. At DiData, one lesson consistently emerges: “growth becomes easier when data foundations are built early.” For organizations looking to modernize their operations, these are core areas worth examining.

Molecular farming—the use of genetically modified plant systems such as soy, safflower, tobacco, and lettuce to express animal-derived proteins—presents a transformative paradigm for the alternative protein sector. However, transitioning from expression in green tissue to a purified, functionally active food ingredient requires overcoming immense analytical hurdles.

Articles Before a single nucleotide can be read by a flow cell, a high-stakes series of separation and purification steps dictates the success of genomic sequencing. Written byShiama Thiageswaran iStock Register for free to listen to this article While the colorful readouts of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data capture the spotlight in genomic medicine, any bioanalyst knows that garbage in equals garbage out.

Metabolite identification lets drug development teams weigh safety and support regulatory decisions about drug candidates. But as those molecules grow more diverse in structure, LC-MS/MS instruments can struggle with complex elucidation. Labile functional groups, glucuronides, peptide, and targeted protein degraders can all be complicate to interpret. In these cases, scientists need analytical instruments and software that help move from possible assignments to clear structural evidence.

Whether the goal is authenticating honey, monitoring airborne allergens, tracking environmental contaminants, or supporting forensic investigations, successful pollen analysis begins with one challenge: separating intact pollen grains from complex samples while preserving the chemical information needed for downstream analysis. Although pollen grains typically measure only 10–100 μm in diameter, they represent remarkably information-rich analytical samples.

Laboratories increasingly need advanced elemental analysis without the complexity often associated with triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In an interview recorded at ASMS 2026, Geoff Winkett, General Manager and Vice President of the Spectroscopy and Vacuum Division at Agilent Technologies, discusses how instrument and software design can help laboratories improve performance, productivity, and ease of use.

Video Gas chromatography innovation plays a vital role in helping laboratories adapt to changing operational challenges while improving throughput. Written byAimee Cichocki InterviewingWarren Potts Laboratories face growing pressure to increase throughput, control costs, and deliver reliable results faster.

Analytical laboratories have made major gains in sample preparation, acquisition, and instrument automation. But for many teams, the biggest workflow constraints now appear after data collection. For Aude Tartiere, Head of Commercial, Expressionist at Genedata, the pressure has shifted downstream, where scientists need to process, review, interpret, and report increasingly complex LC-MS data. “Instrument vendors have been doing a great job,” Tartiere remarks.

Blood-based biomarkers have expanded researchers' ability to study Alzheimer's disease without relying solely on brain imaging or cerebrospinal fluid analysis. The emerging eMTBR-tau biomarker could add a more direct measure of tau tangle pathology and help researchers assess disease stage, cognitive decline, and treatment response. How eMTBR-Tau Differs From P-Tau217 eMTBR-tau and p-tau217 reflect different aspects of Alzheimer's disease biology.

The unprecedented global deployment of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines established synthetic RNA as a safe, highly adaptable, and rapidly scalable platform for directing host cells to express protective antigens. However, the biopharmaceutical industry is already moving toward the next frontier of genetic medicine: self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines.