Problems from East and West - LC problems know no national boundaries - Chromatography Online
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Problems from East and West
LC problems know no national boundaries
Jan 1, 2009
By: John W. Dolan
LCGC North America

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John W. Dolan
At the beginning of the new year, it is good to look back in time — are there things that we can learn from the past? As I write this column, I have just finished presenting a series of troubleshooting and method development seminars in Istanbul, Turkey, and Amman, Jordan. Liquid chromatography (LC) is as hot a topic in these cities as it is in London, Bejing, Mumbai, or San Francisco.


Figure 1: Basilica Cistern (Istanbul, Turkey).
As my host, Ibrahim, showed me around Istanbul, he was quick to point out that M.S. Tswett may not have been the first to use chromatography. In fact, as we toured the Basilica Cistern (Figure 1), he noted that the columns were installed more than 1500 years ago and were recycled from even earlier applications — and they still work just as well as they did when new! (You James Bond fans will remember a scene in "From Russia with Love" that was filmed here.) Then, less than a week later, my hosts in Jordan, Khalil and Basela, reminded me that the columns at Petra (Figure 2) are 2000-year-old monoliths that also continue to function in their original manner. (This is where Indiana Jones searched for the Cup of Christ in "The Last Crusade.") And all this time I have felt good if a column lasted a few months!


Figure 2: The Treasury (Petra, Jordan).
All joking aside, I had a wonderful time interacting with chromatographers in these two countries. Whenever I make such trips, I am reminded that we are all in the same business — using LC as a tool to separate and measure analytes in pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental, and other types of samples. This month's "LC Troubleshooting" discussion will center on questions from these seminars — you will see quickly that they are no different than the ones you get from your labmates.

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Source: LCGC North America, 1/1/2009
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