Impact of Separation Science on Pharmaceutical R&D and beyond (15th November 2007, Sunderland)

In November 2004, the Chromatographic Society staged a 2-day symposium entitled “Impact of Separation Sciences upon Pharmaceutical R&D” held at the GSK Research laboratories at New Frontiers Science Park, Harlow. The analytical issues cited, at the time, included the need for techniques that were robust, quantitative, sensitive and allowed short analysis times to cope with the increasing number of samples. The subject of several of the talks described the application of Turbulent flow chromatography and Capillary Electrophoresis. In more conventional HPLC separations, the theme was on the use of short narrow bore columns to improve peak capacity and speed of analysis. Three years on, the Chromatographic Society organised a 1-day symposium with an almost identical title: “Impact of Separation Science upon Pharmaceutical R&D and Beyond”. Interestingly neither Turbulent flow nor Capillary Electrophoresis featured in the program of talks. So what has happened in the intervening years that have taken these topics off the programme? The answer is UPLC and sub-2μm silica particles. The venue for the symposium was the impressive Stadium of Light (Figure 1), home to Sunderland Football club. The conference facilities at the stadium enabled the lecture theatre for approximately 70 delegates and mini-exhibition from chromatography suppliers to cohabit in the same room very successfully. This resulted in an intimate yet spacious feel to the meeting with free mingling of exhibitors and delegates.