Twelfth MaSC Workshop and Meeting

21 – 25 September 2026

Cologne, Germany

We are pleased to announce that the 12th Workshop and Meeting of the Users’ Group for Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography (MaSC) will take place in Cologne, Germany from Monday 21 – Friday 25 September 2026. The workshop will be held at two locations: the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Südstadt Campus, and the German Mining Museum of the Leibniz Association, Bochum on 21 and 22 September. The conference will take place at the VHS Forum in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne on 23 and 24 September. There will also be a full day of training on using the ESCAPE method for GC/MS data analysis on 25 September at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Südstadt Campus.

Workshop, 21-22 September 2026

EGA-MS and Py-GC/MS: Complementary Approaches for Comprehensive Material Characterisation. Applications for PVC and elastomer analysis.

The identification of chlorinated polymers and elastomers in samples from heritage objects poses several challenges. In both, the presence of additives such as plasticisers, fillers, the effect of ageing, and/or the presence of complex blends or copolymers prevents a clear identification by spectroscopic means, so that pyrolysis techniques are necessary for precise characterisation.

Due to their relevance in cultural heritage collections, the timely and safe identification of these kinds of polymeric materials is paramount. The workshop will offer both theoretical and practical insights in dealing with their analysis in the heritage context, including the complementary use of EGA-MS and Py-GC/MS, and focusing on methodological and practical issues.

The theoretical part will be covered by Nathalie Balcar (C2RMF), who has long experience in the analysis of PVC in cultural heritage materials, Caroline Bouvier and Eleonora Pellizzi (Bibliothèque nationale de France) with expertise on elastomer analysis through the project ESPyON, as well as Michael Soll (Frontier Labs).

Participation in the workshop will be limited due to laboratory space constraints. Those wishing to attend will be asked to submit a short bio and paragraph describing their experience with Py-GC/MS and/or EGA-MS, including instrumentation, the materials they usually work with, and how they would benefit from the workshop by May 31. Details regarding submission and registration will be posted shortly.

Meeting, 23-24 September 2026

The conference will take place at the VHS Forum in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, and will comprise discussions and presentations on novel applications of chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques to the study of art and cultural heritage objects. Presentations of studies related to the workshop themes are encouraged, but contributions on a broad range of topics are welcome. We hope to create an informal atmosphere for the exchange of ideas, and discussions of work in progress are encouraged.

The deadline for abstract submission for a paper or poster presentation will be May 31. A link to the submission platform will be posted shortly.

ESCAPE workshop, 25 September 2026

A full day of training on using the ESCAPE method for GC/MS data analysis will be held directly after the workshop and meeting at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Südstadt Campus. Details will be posted shortly.

Registration fees

The costs of the different parts are as follows:

Questions can be addressed to the local organisers, Ester Ferreira (ester.ferreira@th-koeln.de) and Elena Gómez Sánchez (elena.gomezsanchez@bergbaumuseum.de), or the MaSC committee at info@mascgroup.org.

Important deadlines

On behalf of the local organisation committee
Ester Ferreira and Elena Gómez Sánchez

And the coordinating committee of MaSC
Ilaria Bonaduce
Ester Ferreira
Catherine Higgitt
Christopher Maines
David Peggie
Jennifer Poulin
Ken Sutherland