One of the least publicised areas of separation science is that of the application to clinical biochemistry. Many practitioners are based
either in academia, or in hospitals yet the degree of knowledge these scientists require is just as much, if not more so, than many in the
Big Pharma workplace. The molecular structure of the compounds encountered frequently in this area is often complex and can include
several functionalities, which means the development new methods can be very demanding. A major difference is that often the budgets available dictate that equipment is not always state-of-the-art yet improvisation often allows dramatic innovative separations to be
developed. One of the best-known and highly respected scientists operating in that field is Dr Chang Kee Lim, who this year celebrated his official retirement.