Free-to-attend Masterclass series from Markes International & SepSolve Analytical
Covering thermal desorption, automated sample extraction & concentration, advanced separation, detection and data analysis
Join us for our free-to-attend Masterclass series, held at our various global facilities and hosted by Markes International and SepSolve Analytical. Each in-person event focuses on a different analytical theme, with expert talks, case studies, laboratory tours and live demonstrations.
Covering technologies from across the Markes and SepSolve portfolio – including thermal desorption, automated sample extraction and concentration, GC×GC, TOF MS and intelligent software tools – these Masterclasses are designed to help analysts improve their workflows and gain practical insights they can apply in the lab.
Masterclass events
Expand each section to learn more about our Masterclass events. Each are free-to-attend, in-person events.
Date: Wednesday 1 October 2025 | Location: SepSolve Analytical, Peterborough, UK
This Masterclass is dedicated to thermal desorption (TD) – providing a clear understanding of its fundamentals and showcasing the latest innovations in the technology.
Through expert-led presentations, real-world case studies and practical demonstrations, you will see how TD is being applied across environmental, industrial and academic settings. From method development to advanced sampling strategies, this Masterclass will equip you with the understanding and practical insight to see where TD can add value in your laboratory.
Key takeaways:
- A clear grounding in TD principles and workflows, including application examples and case studies from areas of the environmental, food and materials testing
- First-hand insights from academic and industrial users of TD
- Practical demonstrations of TD hardware and complementary sampling approaches
- Live software demonstrations for comparing and interpreting TD–GC–MS data
Speakers
- Dr Luciana (Oxford University) – “Do I smell a (dead) rat?” Exploring carrion mimicry using TD–GC–QTOF–MS
- Jessica Lenderyou (AqDot) – TD–GC–MS in evaluating cucurbiturils for broad-range VOC control
- Anya Lindstrom Battle (Oxford University) – Scent snapshots: profiling healthy urban greenspaces
- Markes TD expert – Fundamentals and technical innovations in TD
Date: Thursday 2 October 2025 | Location: SepSolve Analytical, Peterborough, UK
This event focuses on next-generation sample extraction and concentration techniques for GC–MS.
You’ll discover how a single multi-technique platform integrates thermal desorption (TD), high-capacity sorptive extraction (HiSorb™), headspace and SPME – all enhanced by powerful cryogen-free trapping – to deliver step-change improvements in sensitivity and performance.
Through presentations, case studies and practical demonstrations, you’ll learn how these capabilities open new possibilities for both targeted and untargeted analysis across environmental, food, clinical and planetary research.
Key takeaways:
- How trapping boosts the sensitivity of HS, SPME, sorptive extraction and TD workflows
- Real-world examples from academic and industrial users
- How to enhance and modernise sample preparation workflows
- Laboratory demonstrations of the multi-technique platform alongside associated technologies (GC×GC, GC–TOF, Fast GC)
- Live software demonstrations for simplifying complex GC–MS data
Speakers
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Luke Bell (University of Reading) – Use of HiSorb in diverse food & environmental applications
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Claire Batty / Camilla Wilkinson (The Open University) – From Cosmo to Cosmos: planetary protection with advanced extraction
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Anya Lindstrom Battle (Oxford University) – Scent snapshots of urban greenspaces
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Markes & SepSolve experts – Fundamentals of multi-technique extraction with application examples in clinical and fragrance workflows
Date: Tuesday 21 October 2025 | Location: Markes International, Bridgend, UK
This event is designed for analysts who want to strengthen their non-target discovery workflows using gas chromatography (GC, GC×GC and GC–MS).
Through academic talks, industry case studies and practical demonstrations, you’ll learn how advances in sample extraction, enrichment, separation, detection and data analysis can improve the discovery of unknowns and deliver more confident insights.
Key takeaways:
- Practical strategies for improving non-target workflows with complementary GC techniques
- Insights from academic and industrial researchers in environmental, health, energy and automotive applications
- Laboratory tours with instrument demonstrations
- Live software tools to simplify complex GC–MS data comparison
Speakers
- Dr Carsten Müller (Cardiff University) – Making sense of scents: untargeted analysis of VOCs in the study of life
- Dr Baptiste Poursat (University of Glasgow) – Non-targeted VOC profiling from septic tanks: early warning indicators in anaerobic digestion
- Dr Kieran Jones (University of Nottingham) – Operando capture and non-target screening of VOCs from battery systems
- Dr Waqar Ahmed (University of Manchester) – Breath volatiles in chronic lung disease: endogenous and environmental biomarkers
- Nick Molden (Emissions Analytics) – Reverse-engineering car tyres – approaches and challenges
Date: Tuesday 21 October 2025 | Location: Markes International GmbH, Offenbach am Main, Germany
This event focuses on next-generation sample extraction and concentration techniques for GC–MS.
You’ll discover how a single multi-technique platform integrates thermal desorption (TD), high-capacity sorptive extraction (HiSorb™), headspace and SPME – all enhanced by powerful cryogen-free trapping – to deliver step-change improvements in sensitivity and performance.
Through presentations, case studies and practical demonstrations, you’ll learn how these capabilities open new possibilities for both targeted and untargeted analysis across environmental, food, clinical and planetary research.
Key takeaways:
- How trapping boosts the sensitivity of HS, SPME, sorptive extraction and TD workflows
- Real-world examples from academic and industrial users
- How to enhance and modernise sample preparation workflows
- Laboratory demonstrations of the multi-technique platform alongside associated technologies (GC×GC, GC–TOF, Fast GC)
- Live software demonstrations for simplifying complex GC–MS data
Speakers include
- Assoc. Prof. Natasha Spadafora (University of Ferrara) – Optimising volatile organic compound extraction for food quality and safety by integrating green sampling approaches and analytical readiness.
- Dr Damien Eggermont (University of Liege) – Empower headspace extraction exploiting novel, automated sample concentration techniques.
Date: 22 October 2025 | Location: Markes International GmbH, Offenbach am Main, Germany
This free-to-attend, in-person Masterclass is designed to help analysts build confidence in applying advanced separation and detection techniques in their own laboratories. Complementary to our earlier Masterclass on sample extraction and concentration, this event focuses on advances in gas chromatography – particularly comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC), time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS) and the software tools that simplify data handling.
Through presentations from academic experts, case studies and demonstrations from SepSolve specialists, you will learn how GC×GC can be applied more widely and practically than often assumed, delivering greater separation power and improved discovery workflows. The event also explores how TOF MS and intelligent data processing can add value across both targeted and non-targeted applications.
Speakers include:
- Assoc. Prof. Natasha Spadafora (University of Ferrara) – Enhancing Food Integrity and Authenticity Assessment through GC–MS and comprehensive statistical analysis of volatile organic compounds
- Damien Eggermont (University of Liège) – GC×GC, a powerful tool to unravel sample identity
- Experts from SepSolve Analytical – Advances in separation, detection and data processing
What you will learn:
- How GC×GC can be implemented to improve separation power and reveal new insights – without complexity or prohibitive cost.
- Where TOF MS brings advantages in both targeted and discovery workflows.
- How advanced software tools for GC–MS and GC×GC–MS streamline data processing, comparison and mining.
