What is the Ion Chromatography Golden Jubilee? Celebrating 50 Years of IC Innovation

The year 2025 marks the golden jubilee of ion chromatography (IC), a technique that has revolutionized analytical chemistry and impacted numerous fields globally. As we celebrate 50 years of IC, it’s worth reflecting on its origins, advancements, and significant contributions to science and industry.

Celebrating anniversaries with ion chromatography

What is the traditional first-anniversary gift? It’s paper, which signifies a new beginning, a blank page for a new start. We see paper used everywhere, every day, but not often do we think about how it is made. Paper is made through a process of making pulp from cellulose fiber, such as wood. Chemicals are used in this process to bleach and color the paper according to demand. Ion chromatography plays an important role in analyzing inorganic anions, organic acids from the pulping process, and carbohydrates from the wood.

• IPPTA Jouma12005; (No.2): Ion Chromatography – The Technique and its Applications in Pulp and Paper Industry

Cotton, the gift for the second anniversary, signifies growth, as the threads intertwine to make it stronger. Cotton production relies on ion chromatography to ensure smooth processing. For example, IC is used to measure carbohydrate limits for melezitose and trehalulose deposits on cotton from insects.

• AATCC Journal of Research 3(4):13-23: Separation and Quantitation of Plant and Insect Carbohydrate Isomers Found on the Surface of Cotton

For the third anniversary, the traditional gift is leather for durability. For centuries, we have had leather shoes and clothing in their natural color.  Nowadays, leather is often treated with chromium to create vibrantly-colored goods, like blue leather shoes! With the limits of hexavalent chromium getting lower for drinking water, it is also important to limit hexavalent chromium in leather, as it can affect us from direct skin contact. IC is essential for this analysis.

• Determination of Hexavalent Chromium in Dyes
• Sensitive Determination of Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water Using a Compact Ion Chromatography System

In the fourth year, the traditional gift can be flowers or fruits, suggesting a blossoming relationship or a fruitful journey. When we give a gift of agricultural produce, we need to think about the possible contamination of pesticides. Ionic polar pesticides are known for being challenging to analyze, often involving long and tedious sample preparation and derivatization. However, we now can simplify this analysis by using ion chromatography and mass spectrometry (IC-MS).

• Accurate, Reproducible Anionic and Cationic Polar Pesticide Quantitation

At 5 years, the gift is wood, representing solid longevity and wisdom. This ties back to year one with the paper. By year five, the knowledge that is written on the paper will grow into a book.

Jumping to year 10, we have tin or aluminum, which symbolizes strength, durability, and perseverance. In many metal analyses, ion chromatography is not the first choice of technique until speciation is required. Post-column chemistry is often used to speciate metals while IC is chosen for its inert flow path to handle the aggressive chemicals that are used. Sometimes, it is coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer for speed and simplicity.

• Determination of Aluminum in Complex Matrices Using Chelation Ion Chromatography
• Determination of Aluminum in OTC Pharmaceutical Products
• Journal of Chromatography A: Speciation analysis of inorganic tin by on-column complexation ion chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and electrospray mass spectrometry

To step up to the next big anniversary milestone, the 25th is where we go into the precious metals, silver! It symbolizes brilliance, purity, strength, and beauty. How do I associate silver with ion chromatography? Silver reference electrodes are used for cyanide analysis. This is an important test given the toxicity of inorganic cyanides.

• Determination of Cyanide in Alkaline Solutions Using Ion Chromatography

Finally, we arrive at the golden jubilee, celebrating 50 years. Gold represents wisdom, prosperity, and strength. My understanding is half a century of learning and growth. But how does gold fit into ion chromatography? This now takes me to one of my favorite IC topics: carbohydrates! In carbohydrate analysis, a gold reference electrode is used in High-Performance Anion Exchange with Pulsed Amperometry Detection (HPAE-PAD).

• Carbohydrate Analysis by High-Performance Anion-Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection (HPAE-PAD)

For myself, I have seen how IC has impacted the globe over the last 50 years. From environmental testing to ensure we have clean water to drink, to ensuring colorful toys are safe for our children, to understanding metabolites in our body. As I look to the future, I hope I can be here to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Ion Chromatography. I can’t wait to see what innovations come before then and how much more I can learn about ion chromatography!

Join us on April 10^th to start the celebration and see the impact of characterizing complex carbohydrates using ion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (IC-MS). Register now!

Thermo Fisher Scientific: What is the Ion Chromatography Golden Jubilee? Celebrating 50 Years of IC Innovation

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Wai-Chi Man

Wai-Chi Man is Product Marketing Manager, IC/SP, for Thermo Fisher Scientific.