Advances in Food Testing 2026

Mastering Sample Preparation Challenges

Join Dr. Hans-Joachim Hübschmann for an in-depth webinar exploring modern solutions to the most demanding bottlenecks in analytical sample preparation.

Overview

Food and food contact material testing presents severe analytical hurdles, from complex matrices causing severe ionization effects to the demand for trace-level quantification at picogram or femtogram levels. Traditional multi-compound, multi-matrix methods like QuEChERS, SweEt, and QuPPE heavily rely on manual dispersive SPE (dSPE) clean-up and manual calibration. While the classic separating funnel is effectively a museum piece today, modern laboratories still struggle with the manual labor, high solvent volumes, and evaporation steps required by standard SPE cartridges.

This session demonstrates how to transition from labor-intensive batch processing to fully automated walk-away workflows using micro-solid phase extraction (µSPE). Operating on a chromatographic timescale, µSPE functions like a miniaturized liquid chromatography column to deliver sharp elution profiles directly to LC/MS or GC/MS systems, bypassing the need for time-consuming evaporation and drying steps.

Key Topics Covered

• Understand the mechanics of µSPE and its advantages over classical SPE, including reduced solvent consumption, minimized sorbent use, and final eluates in the 100 µl range.
• Learn how to automate standard extraction protocols, such as QuEChERS and QuPPe, directly utilizing a PAL System to execute load-wash-elute and scavenging modes.
• Examine validated case studies on high-lipid matrix clean-up for pesticide residue analysis in avocados and citrus using automated column µSPE with zirconia-based sorbents.
• Review automated workflows for highly polar anionic pesticides, such as glyphosate, glufosinate, and AMPA, using strong ion exchange (SAX) clean-up to improve recoveries in complex matrices like honey and pollen.
• Explore a fully automated implementation of EPA Method 1633 for PFAS analysis in environmental samples, achieving quantitative sensitivity below 0.1 ng/l with online µSPE-LC-MS/MS and standard addition.

By integrating extraction, clean-up, calibration, and injection into a single automated timeline, laboratories can improve quantitative recoveries, reduce human bias, and align their operations with the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry.