Method audit
Send me your method and a chromatogram. You get back a written diagnosis.
Most method problems are not in the instrument. I spent 14 years learning that in pharmaceutical QC, two Ontario CROs, environmental testing and natural health products. The same four failures happen again in very different samples.
So I check them in the same order, and the instrument is last.
Send a method CA$300 · 5 working days
The four checks before the instrument
01
The question
Is this technique able to answer what you are asking it? A technique that cannot reach the concentration you need will not be fixed by tuning it.
02
The vial
What is actually in it, and what did the preparation do to it? Sample preparation sits here, and this is where I find most of them.
03
The chemistry
Does the column match the analyte? A polar analyte on the wrong stationary phase gives you a problem no gradient will solve.
04
The instrument
Only now. This is where almost every lab starts, and it is the reason the same methods get chased for weeks.
What you send
- Your method conditions: column, mobile phase, gradient, flow, temperature, detection
- At least one chromatogram that shows the problem
- A chromatogram from when it worked, if you have one
- Your sample preparation steps
- One or two lines on what changed, and when it started
If you cannot share the analyte, tell me its class and its pKa. That is usually enough.
What you get back
A written report, 2 to 3 pages, in 5 working days.
- What I think the cause is, and why
- Which checks I ruled out, and how I ruled them out
- What to try first, second and third
- What each one costs you if I am wrong
You can hand the report to your analyst and they can act on it without me.
What this is not
I do not run your samples. I do not validate your method. I do not come to your lab. Those are separate pieces of work and they cost more.
This is the diagnosis on its own, priced so you can find out whether I am any good before you spend real money.
Price
CA$300
For a single method.
That is an intro price for the first 10 audits. After that it is CA$500.
If I cannot find a cause worth acting on, you do not pay.
Who does the work
I am Nazmul Alam. Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Waterloo, in Janusz Pawliszyn's group, on quantitation in solid-phase microextraction. 18 peer-reviewed papers, 1,900 citations, 200+ analysts trained. 14 years running methods for a living.
Send a method
I will tell you within a day whether it is something I can help with, before you pay anything.
If you would rather email, that works too. Use [email protected] and put the symptom in the subject line, in your own words. "Peak fronting since Tuesday" is a good subject line. Or call +1 647-919-3041.