ACS Award In Chromatography

Udo A. Th. Brinkman became actively involved in optimizing liquid chromatography so he could help reveal what chemicals were polluting rivers throughout Europe, particularly in the Rhine River Basin, more than 30 years ago. That early work eventually led to the development of hyphenated systems that combine sample preparation (such as solid-phase extraction), analysis, and detection in one instrument.

Today, Brinkman, 74, an emeritus professor at the Free University of Amsterdam, is being honored for developing instrumentation and fully automated methods that are widely used in environmental, food, and biomedical applications.

Brinkman is “a world leader in chromatography,” says Patrick J. F. Sandra, a professor of organic chemistry and director of the Pfizer Analytical Research Center at Ghent University, in Belgium. Brinkman has been active in all fields of chromatography, but he is best known for advancing on-line sample preparation strategies and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC).

In recent years, Brinkman has combined comprehensive GC×GC with time-of-flight MS, rapid-scanning quadrupole MS, and microscale electron capture detection. He finds the technique “intriguing and highly rewarding” and has published dozens of papers and several reviews on the topic.

Peter J. Schoenmakers, a chemistry professor at the University of Amsterdam, calls Brinkman “instrumental in raising the level of chromatography to its current high standards.” Schoenmakers says he and many others have been inspired by Brinkman. “He emphasized the importance of working on real problems, dealing with real sample matrices, and producing reliable results.”

Brinkman was “extremely effective in bridging the gap between new technology and analytical practice,” Schoenmakers adds. “He was often the driving force behind the implementation and utilization of the latest developments in industrial and institutional laboratories.”

A prolific author, Brinkman has published more than 700 scientific papers. He has organized several chromatography conferences and has served as editor of the Journal of Chromatography A since 1993.

Winning the ACS award is important, Brinkman says, because it shows that people recognize the high quality of his work over the past three decades. But he emphasizes that it was not just his work, but also that of his students and collaborators.

Officially retired, but still publishing chromatography papers, Brinkman lives with his wife, Jacqueline, and four dogs “in a beautiful part of the province of 
Zeeland, close to the North Sea beach” 
in the Netherlands. In his free time, 
he can be found gardening and reading history books, “with a special appreciation for the accomplished narrative style of so many British authors.” He also enjoys time with his three daughters and three grandchildren.

Brinkman will present the award address before the Division of Analytical Chemistry at the fall ACS national meeting in Boston.