May Meeting: Dr. Sin Urban

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Dr. Sin Urban, the Chief of Environmental Sciences at the Maryland Public Health Laboratory, will discuss the use (and challenges) of NTA to drive regulatory actions, with a specific application related to a recent “diet nut” poisoning case investigation as a paradigm.

The meeting will occur on Tuesday, May 21st, from 12 pm – 1 pm EST.

Dr Sin Urban is Chief of Environmental Sciences at the Maryland public health laboratory. With 72 scientists and 15 analytical sections, the Division of Environmental Sciences is the largest and most scientifically diverse of any Maryland laboratory. Dr Urban earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (UK), and held faculty appointments at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University before being recruited to the state lab in January 2020. Under Dr Urban’s direction, the Lab has implemented PFAS testing, brought on a large-scale food safety testing program, and is modernizing its emergency response capabilities and electronic data reporting.

You can access the recording here: BP4NTA Monthly Meeting-20240521_174241-Meeting Recording.mp4

Abstract Reminder: SETAC Ft. Worth Meeting (Oct 20-24, 2024)

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May 15th is the deadline to submit an abstract for the SETAC Ft. Worth meeting (Oct 20-24, 2024). We found 7 sessions relevant to the BP4NTA membership, highlighted below. All sessions can be found in Track 4, Chemistry and Exposure Assessment. Session titles include:

Call For Papers: Non-Targeted Analysis of the Environment

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This joint Special Issue from Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) and Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ES&T Letters) is seeking new developments and applications of cutting-edge techniques and data science tools in non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry to enable NTA of environmental media, wildlife exposomes, and of the built environment to support human exposome studies. Approaches and applications can range from comprehensive molecular characterization (e.g. formula or structure prediction), to suspect screening of prioritized contaminants, to data acquisition strategies that support unbiased screening and discovery of novel contaminants. Papers that apply or develop open-science tools and resources are particularly encouraged. Submit your manuscript by November 28, 2024.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Advancement of mass spectrometric methods including new sample preparation methods and data processing and prioritization strategies for non-targeted analysis
  • Suspect and non-targeted screening of chemical contaminants across diverse environmental media
  • Non-targeted analysis of the built environment to support human exposome and health studies
  • Identification and characterization of unknown chemicals with non-targeted analysis
  • Advancement of open-science tools and resources for non-targeted analysis

For more information, please check out the announcement at https://axial.acs.org/earth-space-and-environmental-chemistry/call-for-papers-non-targeted-analysis-of-the-environment.

March Meeting: Dr. Steven Watkins

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BP4NTA is excited to introduce Dr. Steven (Steve) Watkins as our March speaker! He will give his talk on “Periodic Table of Foods Initiative (https://foodperiodictable.org/) – developing standardized analytical approaches and centralized data processing to characterize food supplies.”

This talk will be held on Tuesday, 3/19/2024, from 12 pm – 1 pm EST.

The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) is building a global ecosystem and providing tools, data, and training to catalog the biomolecular composition of the world’s food supply. We seek to enable data-driven solutions to improve human and planetary health. We have developed standardized analytical approaches and centralized data processing pipelines for untargeted metabolomics, lipidomics, glycomics, and targeted assays for minerals, fatty acids, etc., and we are working to implement these platforms in laboratories around the world.

You can find the recording here: BP4NTA Monthly Meeting-20240319_170626-Meeting Recording.mp4

ACS 2024 Session – Progress in Mass Spectrometry: Unambiguous Indentification for Small Molecules

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The PNNL m/q Initiative is developing multi-dimensional and integrated experimental and computational methods to unambiguously identify small molecules without the need for authentic reference compounds. This initiative is hosting a symposium at ACS 2024 March 17-18 in New Orleans on the state-of-the-art in reference-free identification using mass spectrometry and featuring key leaders in the community.

New Publication – Online and Offline Prioritization of Chemicals of Interest in Suspect Screening and Non-targeted Screening with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

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Recent breakthroughs in High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) have revolutionized chemical analysis, allowing for the detection of thousands of compounds in a single sample without the need for traditional reference standards. Now, a groundbreaking Perspective in Analytical Chemistry explores how computational methods coupled with HRMS are shaping the future of chemical prioritization for ecological and human health.

🔬 Discover the latest strategies for prioritizing chemicals based on their physicochemical properties, structure, exposure, and toxicity, as well as regulatory status.

💡 Dive into innovative “online” and “offline” prioritization techniques that streamline the identification and quantification process, ensuring high-quality research and effective communication of results.

📈 Learn how these cutting-edge methods have already been successfully implemented in the field, uncovering chemicals of elevated risk to both human and ecological environments.

Click here to access the paper: Online and Offline Prioritization of Chemicals of Interest in Suspect Screening and Non-targeted Screening with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

New Publication – Establishing performance metrics for quantitative non-targeted analysis: a demonstration using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

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The recently published article in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry entitled: Establishing performance metrics for quantitative non-targeted analysis: a demonstration using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances presents a framework for evaluating the performance of quantitative non-targeted analysis (qNTA) methods with respect to accuracy, uncertainty, and reliability. New performance metrics are introduced and examined across five quantitative approaches applied to measurements of 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The purpose of this article is to initiate necessary discussions on the standardization of qNTA performance assessment methods and metrics and to carefully examine sources of error and bias in qNTA studies of chemical stressors.

New Publication – PFAS ghosts: how to identify, evaluate, and exorcise new and existing analytical interference

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The recently published article in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry titled: PFAS ghosts: how to identify, evaluate, and exorcise new and existing analytical interference was a BP4NTA collaborative effort and included EPA, FDA, State laboratories, Industry, and academic researchers. The article aims to address analytical interferences in PFAS studies that use liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS). These interferences can arise when the matrix under study (e.g. surface water, tissue, soil) contains additional compounds that mimic PFAS signals in the instrumentation, leading to false positives. The main goals of this study were to (1) establish a public database for all currently known analytical interferences, (2) allow for the expansion of the database by the scientific community, and (3) to establish guidelines on how to interrogate new data for potential suspected interferents. By sharing this information, this research aims to help reduce troubleshooting time and costs for the research community as well as improve PFAS reporting accuracy in the scientific literature.

2023 BP4TNA Meet Ups!

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Thank you to all the lovely BP4NTA members who came to our SETAC North America and ASMS meet-ups!

May 2024 hold more opportunities for in-person meetings and future collaborations.

SETAC North America 2023
ASMS 2023