News

The International Conference on Non-Target Screening (ICNTS 23) is coming up later this year. If you are involved with non-targeted analysis (NTA or NTS), you don’t want to miss this! Click here to visit the official website.

ICNTS will be held in Erding, Germany (near Munich) October 16-19, 2023. Abstracts for talks and posters are accepted until May 31 and later poster submissions are accepted until August 31.

BP4NTA’s very own co-chair, Christine O’Donnell, will give a keynote about BP4NTA on Day 4 in a session titled “NTS Harmonization and Reporting Strategies”.

Other session topics include:

• Computational Mass Spectrometry
• NTS in Metabolomics
• NTS in Foodomics
• GC-MS goes NTS
• NTS in Health Care, Doping and Forensics
• Commercial NTS Solutions by GC-(MS(/MS)
• Soft Ionization in NTS
• Ion Mobility in NTS
• NTS in Environmental Analysis
• Commercial NTS Solutions by LC-(MS(/MS)
• Special session organized by the ‘FA Non Target Screening’ (German Water Chemistry Society)

Measurement challenges and how to tackle them: Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and other Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC)

Jacqueline Bangma(1), Helmer Jonathan Korb(2), Lilit Ispiryan(3), and Jessica Lynn Reiner(4)

(1) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC; (2) Sales / Applications, iChrom Solutions; (3) Applications Development, Axel Semrau, Germany, (4) National Institute of Standards and Technology

Chemical measurements are at the foundation of understanding the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in the environment, and quantifying CEC concentrations in both the environment and model systems are key to understanding their associated toxicology. However, the detection of many CECs in environmental matrices can lead to unique measurement challenges that, if not recognized, can lead to falsely inflated or deflated measurements. Measurement challenges can arise from numerous sources depending on the field in question. Some examples of challenges from analytical chemistry include matrix suppression, matrix interferences, and in-source artifacts. Recently, investigations of PFAS in biological (e.g. muscle tissue, serum, placenta) and environmental matrices (e.g. groundwater, landfill leachate, food products) have identified several instances of analytical interferences where compounds interfere with quantitation of both short (e.g. PFBA and PFPeA) and long chain PFAS (e.g. PFOS and PFHxS) using low-resolution targeted mass spectrometry. Therefore, the focus of this session is to highlight, and share known and potentially unknown instances of PFAS and CEC measurement challenges with the wider scientific community. In addition, this session hopes to highlight methodologies that can help address measurement challenges including but not limited to analytical set-up (e.g., automated online SPE coupled with LC-MS/MS, adjustments to chromatography conditions, and monitoring for additional transitions).  Authors encourage submissions from the mass spectral field, but also encourage submissions relating to other fields that may experience measurement challenges in some form (e.g. lab-based bioassays) related to CECs. This session will allow researchers to share experiences, foster collaboration, increase awareness of measurement challenges and how to address them across the scientific community.

Title: Beyond Legacy PFAS: Human Exposure to Novel PFAS and PFAS Mixtures

Chairs:

Carrie McDonough, Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry

Natalia Soares Quinete, Florida International University, Department of Chemistry

Amina Salamova, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a compound class comprised of thousands of fluorinated organic compounds that are extensively used in various industrial and consumer applications such as water-, grease-, and stain-repellents, surfactants, and lubricants. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), commonly referred to as legacy PFAS, have been widely used since the 1940s. However, their manufacturing and use have been regulated over the last two decades due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity to wildlife and humans. As a result of these restrictions, other PFAS have become more widely used and are now being discovered and measured in environmental samples and human tissues due to advances in analytical chemistry (e.g., non-targeted analysis). Legacy PFAS are known to be widespread in human blood but accumulation of novel PFAS in human fluids and tissues is incipient and much remains to be learned about human exposure, toxicokinetics, and effects for these novel compounds. This symposium focuses on human exposure to PFAS of emerging and immediate concern and progress towards a more comprehensive understanding of total PFAS body burden, and will not include discussions of only “legacy” PFAS (PFOS and PFOA). In addition, research using innovative approaches to characterize the PFAS exposome elucidating human health outcomes from environmental exposure would be of interest.

If you plan to attend the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) 44th annual North America Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky this November, look out for the following sessions proposed by some of our members:

Title: Advances to address challenges in Non-targeted Analysis for Environmental Risk Assessment

Chairs: Natalia Quinete, Juliane Brown, Ruth Marfil-Vega and Gabby Black.

The topics in this session will include studies aimed at improving the reliability, reproducibility, and understandability of NTA methods and results through the application of NTA for the identification of organic contaminants in various environmental sample types (soil, water, air, etc.); fate and transport studies; pollution source identification; efficacy evaluation of environmental remediation efforts by NTA; development of NTA methods, workflows, and tools for ERA; quantitative NTA (qNTA), and uses of NTA for risk assessment of “unknown” compounds.

The Special Issue “Analytical Strategies in Molecular Food, Environmental and Biomedical Screening” in the MDPI journal ‘Molecules’ uses the SRT tool for authors and editors if it comes to a manuscript submission containing the topic non-target screening.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/special_issues/GB65A1Z15E

A team of eighteen BP4NTA members, led by Gabby Black (USGS) and Charlie Lowe (USEPA), recently published a Trends article titled “Exploring chemical space in non-targeted analysis: a proposed ChemSpace tool”. This publication outlines a proposed tool that would utilize various chemometric models to define the chemical space coverage of a nontargeted analysis research project. While the tool itself is still under development, the authors outline the various aspects of sampling, sample processing, data acquisition, and data analysis that influence the types of compounds that are extractable, detectable, and identifiable based on NTA workflows. Furthermore, the authors encourage researchers to begin thinking of chemical space and utilize existing tools to help better understand NTA results. For example, is a compound not identified because it is not present in the sample, or is the extraction method or acquisition mode unable to identify it? The ChemSpaceTool strives to not only provide context for results, but also improve performance and decrease method development time. The article is available here!

BP4NTA members Alli Phillips, Jon Sobus, Antony Williams, Kelsey Miller and Kathy Peter teamed up with Research Square to create an informational video about the NTA Study Reporting Tool (SRT). The SRT is a downloadable & fillable framework designed to facilitate standardized reporting and review of NTA methods and results. The 3-minute SRT informational video provides:

• an overview of why the Study Reporting Tool (SRT) was developed by BP4NTA
• a description of the SRT itself, its scoring system, and associated reference content
• a summary of the peer-reviewed evaluation of the SRT and its main findings
• instructions about how to download and use the SRT
• an explanation of the SRT’s value to researchers, reviewers, and editors

The SRT itself can be accessed at www.nontargetedanalysis.org/SRT.

Exposomics is the study of all exposures over the course of a lifetime, including chemical and non-chemical, intentional and not. Targeted analytical techniques are a poor match for such “all exposures” as they are limited to a narrow chemical space. Non-targeted analysis (NTA) techniques provide a wider potential chemical space, with a goal to identify all chemicals in a sample. NTA science continues to evolve through harmonization of methods and approaches, standard setting, performance benchmarking, and development of analytical and computational tools and databases. Such efforts increase the confidence in and usability of NTA data for regulatory and epidemiology applications. Application of mass spectrometry coupled with separation techniques to solve environmental, health, consumer product, food, and forensic problems via NTA is rapidly increasing.

Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE) publishes research that integrates exposure knowledge with information from across scientific disciplines to contribute solutions for the most pressing environmental and public health concerns. 

As such, the Special Topic Editors Drs. Elin Ulrich and Benjamin Place would like to invite submissions for a forthcoming special issue Exposomics Using Non-Targeted Analysis.

Submissions should focus on the understanding and use of non-targeted analysis for exposomic research: studying environmental exposures and/or their effects on development, health, and disease. All authors and reviewers for this special topic are encouraged to use the non-targeted analysis study reporting tool (https://nontargetedanalysis.org/srt/) for the evaluation of the submitted NTA studies.

• Be submitted to the journal on or before October 30, 2022

 
JESEE special focus issues are collections of articles on key topics identified by the editors. Articles are published AOP as they are accepted. Submission does not guarantee acceptance and all manuscripts will be privy to editorial discretion and peer review. For pre-submission inquiries, please contact the journal editorial office at jesee@us.nature.com.

Submissions should also:

• Adhere to the JESEE Instructions for Authors
• Be submitted to the journal on or before October 30, 2022
• Include a note in the cover letter that the submission is for the Exposomics using NTA special issue

As a JESEE author, you can expect the following:

• Turnaround to first decision of 4-5 weeks
• Full and swift indexing of content in MEDLINE/PubMed
• Article deposition to PMC in accordance with your funder mandates
• Permanent viewing access to article for sharing with colleagues or on social media
• Daily updated article-level metrics on your content
• Wide exposure to professionals in a wide range of environmental and public health disciplines.

We look forward to seeing your work!

BP4NTA has really ramped up this year, and we have fallen behind on announcements. See below for several exciting updates to wrap up 2021!

A new BP4NTA publication is out in Analytical Chemistry! This publication introduces the working group and its purpose and features our web content including the reference content, glossary, and Study Reporting Tool. This manuscript is a great way to get the word out about BP4NTA, and can be cited when our online materials are used a references for publications.

An Introduction to the Benchmarking and Publications for Non-Targeted Analysis Working Group

Benjamin J. Place*, Elin M. Ulrich, Jonathan K. Challis, Alex Chao, Bowen Du, Kristin Favela, Yong-Lai Feng, Christine M. Fisher, Piero Gardinali, Alan Hood, Ann M. Knolhoff, Andrew D. McEachran, Sara L. Nason, Seth R. Newton, Brian Ng, Jamie Nuñez, Katherine T. Peter, Allison L. Phillips, Natalia Quinete, Ryan Renslow, Jon R. Sobus, Eric M. Sussman, Benedikt Warth, Samanthi Wickramasekara, Antony J. Williams

Analytical Chemistry 2021, 93:49, 1628-16296 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02660

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Several BP4NTA members have a new manuscript out in Environment International on quantitative non-targeted analysis. Be sure to check it out!

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BP4NTA has a new subcommittee focused on developing materials for stakeholders who are not NTA practitioners but are interested in using NTA data in their work or understanding how NTA data is useful in their field. We are actively developing videos and fact sheets designed for outreach to various stakeholder groups, and are actively looking for more committee members and community collaborators. Reach out to Yong-lai Feng (yong-lai.feng@canada.ca) if you are interested in helping out!