Practical aspects and advantages of coupling ion exchange chromatography to mass spectrometry for biotherapeutic analysis

Missed the International Symposium on Chromatography 2026? Explore our posters and talks now.

Practical aspects and advantages of coupling ion exchange chromatography to mass spectrometry for biotherapeutic analysis

Based on Ken Cook’s ISC 2026 talk, this expanded webinar will explore the practical aspects and advantages of directly coupling ion exchange chromatography to high-resolution mass spectrometry for biotherapeutic analysis.

The session will highlight how pH gradient elution with volatile, low ionic strength buffers can improve the analysis of monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins, and PMOs, while avoiding the need for fraction collection and desalting.

Attendees will also learn about the key method development considerations that influence performance, including buffer selection, pH control, and column choice.

The talk will further demonstrate how direct ion exchange-MS can deliver high sensitivity, clean deconvolution, impurity detection, and GLP-ready quantitation in a streamlined workflow.

Key learnings

• Understand the principles and practical setup of direct ion exchange-MS for biotherapeutic analysis.
• Learn how volatile, low ionic strength buffers support pH gradient separations compatible with MS.
• See how buffer and column selection affect separation quality, sensitivity, and reproducibility.
• Learn how the workflow applies to mAbs, fusion proteins, and PMOs.
• Understand how direct coupling can improve impurity detection, deconvolution, and quantitation in regulated workflows.

Audience

This webinar is intended for scientists and analysts working in biopharmaceutical characterization, protein analytics, oligonucleotide therapeutics, method development, and regulated analytical environments. It will be especially relevant for those working on charge variant analysis, intact protein characterization, impurity profiling, and GLP-compliant workflows.

If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please register to automatically receive a link to the on-demand recording. 

Presenter: Dr. Ken Cook (BioPharma Applications Support Expert, Thermo Fisher Scientific)

Moved to industry from a University lectureship in Biochemistry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, following 7 years’ experience in academia. Now with over 35 years’ experience with Thermo Fisher Scientific using a wide range of analytical equipment and software. Publications range from metabolomics, proteomics to large biopharmaceutical drug analysis. Current job title is the European manager for the BioPharma expert support group. This involves the support of Bio-Pharmaceutical applications to characterise protein and oligonucleotide based bio-therapeutics. This involves ongoing collaborations with the Biopharmaceutical industry and academia. Characterization methods of Bio-therapeutics include, monoclonal antibodies, peptides, AAV analytical development, small and large RNA analysis including sequence mapping of mRNA by LC/HRMS.