July Meeting: Dr. Sarah Choyke

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Dr. Sarah Choyke (pronounced: Choy-key) will be speaking on the development of NTA products in a contract research environment. She is the Technical Director at Eurofins Environment Testing in Arvada, Colorado. She brings over 10 years of experience in analyzing emerging contaminants in the environment with expertise in field sampling, sample preparation, and mass spectrometry. She received her Ph.D from Duke University and her B.S. in Chemistry from Haverford College.

This meeting will occur on Tuesday, July 16th, from 12 pm – 1 pm EST.

Title: Knowing Known Unknowns: A Vision for Non-Targeted Analysis Product Offerings

Abstract: Current analytical methodologies typically quantify a predefined list of analytes using targeted methods. However, environmental field samples may contain additional analytes beyond this predefined list. Advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) have significantly enhanced the analysis of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) through non-targeted analysis (NTA). For a commercial or contract laboratory, there is a heightened emphasis on meeting client objectives, turn-around-times, ensuring data quality metrics and adhering to specific report formatting requirements. To streamline these processes, we have adopted the Study Reporting Tool (SRT) framework as a template for clients to structure their projects and understand the workflow. The NTA workflow and report is designed to be adaptable to project-specific requirements, understandable to the clients, all while remaining manageable for laboratory staff. Due to the complex nature of NTA datasets, client input can drive the NTA to ensure data packages encompass pertinent data objectives while remaining comprehensible to all parties.         

Click here to watch the recording: BP4NTA Monthly Meeting-20240716_164729-Meeting Recording.mp4

June Meeting: Dr. Erin Baker

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Dr. Erin Baker will present on the integration of ion mobility spectrometry with mass spectrometry to identify emerging PFAS contaminants. This meeting will occur Tuesday, June 18th, from 12 pm – 1 pm EST.

Title: An overview of fundamentals and applications of ion-mobility mass spectrometry for environmental non-targeted analysis.

Associated paper – Uncovering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with nontargeted ion mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry analyses

You can find the recording here: BP4NTA Monthly Meeting-20240618_120020-Meeting Transcript.mp4

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.