Survey of current state and probable directions of development of research activity internationally in separation science

The level of research conducted internationally in separation science is extremely intense.  For example, all of the international journals covering the broad area of analytical science publish numerous papers in separation science, often to the extent that more than half the published papers fall into this category.  In addition, there are journals that deal solely with separation science (such as Journal of Chromatography A, Journal of Chromatography B, Journal of Chromatographic Science, Electrophoresis, Journal of Separation Science, Chromatographia).  It is pleasing to note that Australian scientists are well represented in editorial boards of these specialist separation science journals.

Current international research in separation science concerns technical innovations, which focus on the enabling instrumental and methods development, which are applied to, improved or advanced chemical analysis.  These include:

• Micro- and chip-technologies

• Capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography technologies

• Hyphenated and de novo instrumental systems development

• Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC´GC)

• Multidimensional HPLC

• Field and portable instrumentation

• New chemistries in immobilised separations media and structures, eg. monolithic phases

• Fast analytical separations

• Enhanced molecular recognition in separations

• Bioseparations; including proteomics; metabolomics

• On-line sampling/concentration/separation technologies

Specific applications of separation science that also feature prominently in international research are food separation technology, pharmaceuticals separations technology, industrial separation technology, and natural product separation technology.

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