Restek at RAFA 2026

Name: Restek at RAFA 2026
Start: 2026-11-02T23:00:00.000Z
End: 2026-11-05T23:00:00.000Z

2 - 5. November 2026

Meet Restek at RAFA 2026 in Prague and explore new GC and PFAS solutions, including RMX columns, EZ software tools, reference standards, and technical presentations.

For more information click here

Come and meet us at the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague at booth 7 !

Join our Restek team in Prague for the 12th international symposium on recent advances in food analysis. Meet us at booth 7 for all this and much more!

Discover the possibilities of our new RMX column – learn why it’s the future for analysing challenging semivolatiles.
Every PFAS workflow comes with unique and complex challenges – that’s why Restek are the right PFAS partner for you. Our team is ready to help you navigate complex issues with confidence.
Play our “Guess the Length of the GC Column” game for a chance to win a great Restek prize !
Experience a demo to learn how:
- Our EZ software suite could allow you to perform method development in minutes.
- Our new Reference Standards Finder tool simplifies searching for the standards you need.
Bring us your questions! Our knowledgeable team are ready to help you optimize your analyis with our flagship products and analytical solutions.

Technical Presentations

Seminar: Exploring Evolution in Gas Chromatography to Address Regulatory Needs

Presentation: Wednesday, November 4, 1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m., Leo Hall
Presenters: Javier Arrebola, Jason Herrington, Ramkumar Dhandapani, Chris English and Jaap de Zeeuw

Gas chromatography remains a proven technique for pesticide analysis, yet recent regulatory changes including method consolidation, lower detection, matrix interference — have raised the bar for detection performance. This work evaluates a novel GC–MS column technology and format with uncoated interface minimizing stationary phase degradation and thermal stress at elevated transfer line temperatures. Across a diverse panel of pesticide analytes, it delivered faster baseline stabilization, lower background noise, and improved signal-to-noise ratios in full-scan and SIM modes, with clear benefits for high-boiling-point and late-eluting compounds. By reducing analyte loss and column bleed, the technology enables reliable detection of thermally labile substances at lower detection limits-ready GC-MS & MS/MS workflow.

Learning Objectives

Understand how recent regulatory changes—chlorinated solvent ban and method consolidation—are reshaping detection requirements for pesticide analysis.
Evaluate how a novel GC–MS column with an uncoated interface improves baseline stability, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise ratio across full-scan and SIM modes.
Apply these advances to build GC workflow that lowers detection limits and improves sensitivity for thermally labile, high-boiling-point compounds.

Poster: PFAS Reference Standards storage and handling

Authors: Grayson Ritch, Anyssa Coverston, Kendra Jozefick, Doerte Lohrberg, Jason Herrington

The testing of PFAS in environmental and commercial products has become an increasingly more ubiquitous globally. The high fluorophilicity of many commonly tested PFAS in conjunction with their ionic nature can result in prominent adsorption onto un-deactivated surfaces and micelle formation in solution. If unaccounted for, these effects can lead to erroneous results and shorten shelf-life of standards. This poster will discuss how specific characteristics of PFAS compounds can lead to complications in the storage and handling of certified reference material and provides recommendations to mitigate these difficulties.

Poster: Simplifying PFAS analyses in fish tissue with an improved dual bed solid-phase extraction workflow

Authors: Alexis Shelow, Jason Hoisington, Diego A. Lopez, Elena Gairloch, and Ramkumar Dhandapani, Restek Corporation

Quantifying PFAS in complex food matrices presents a significant analytical challenge due to matrix interferences and the need for highly sensitive detection limits, necessitating robust sample preparation to ensure accurate and reliable results. Despite its efficacy, solid-phase extraction (SPE) faces challenges in numerous matrices where traditional ion-exchange sorbents fail to remove certain interferences, often requiring the additional implementation of dispersive carbon cleanup steps. Furthermore, particulates remaining from previous homogenization steps can obstruct SPE cartridges, extending loading times or necessitating the use of multiple cartridges to complete an analysis.

In this work, a tissue homogenizer was implemented and compared to a variable-speed mixing table for the extraction step in accordance with EPA Method 1633. Graphitized carbon black (GCB) and weak anion exchange (WAX) dual-bed SPE cartridges incorporating a novel filter aid were evaluated as a single step extraction and cleanup format. Recoveries for all 25 PFAS analytes in fortified samples ranged from 70% to 160%, except for ADONA and PFNA, and the relative standard deviation was less than 20% for most analytes.

The tissue homogenizer minimized contamination risk by maintaining all steps within a single extraction tube and reduced the 16-hour shakeout to 4 minutes. The single SPE extraction and cleanup format provided a simplified and consistent approach for fish tissue while meeting accuracy and precision requirements for most analytes. Details of the LC–MS parameters employed will also be discussed.