MAY DINNER MEETING OF THE
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON (CSW) WASHINGTON SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
JOINT WITH THE
WASHINGTON CHROMATOGRAPHY DISCUSSION GROUP (WCDG)

CSW 1056th Dinner Meeting Thursday, May 19, 2005

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), Wood Room 5645 Fishers Lane (at Twinbrook Parkway) Rockville, MD 20852 (301) 881 - 0666

Curtis Phinney of the USP will serve as moderator for a Roundtable Discussion of a number of timely and relevant topics in the area of food chemistry. Participants and their discussion topics will include:

• Kim Morehouse of CFSAN, FDA will speak on irradiated foods.
• Janet Novotney of USDA will discuss the phytonutrient bioavailability program.
• Alexander J. Krynitsky, CFSAN, FDA will discuss perchlorate in food.
• Gabriel I. Giancaspro of the USP will discuss botanical markers and nutraceuticals.
• Douglas Hayward of CFSAN, FDA will speak on measurement of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofurans in food.
  
  

The format for the Roundtable Discussion will involve a 5-minute overview by each scientist of his/her work, followed by a question and answer period of approximately 30 minutes, concluding with a wrap-up question from the moderator.

Curtis Phinney, MSPH, is a Reference Standards Scientist with the USP. He is responsible for coordinating activities related to the production and vetting of USP Reference Standards, primarily of dietary supplements, botanicals, fatty acids, and fixed oils. He is a member of the AOAC International Dietary Supplements Task Group Expert Review Panel for Coenzyme Q10.
Prior to joining USP in August 2004, Curtis spent 11 years at NIST as a Research Chemist in the Organic Mass Spectrometry and Organic Analytical Methods Groups. He specialized in analyte isolation and method development for Definitive Method determination of clinical analytes by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. He has 24 years of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry experience, including at the Univ. of Mass./Amherst and Boston, in industry, and with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Since November 2002, Alexander J. Krynitsky has worked for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the FDA, College Park. He currently serves as Branch Chief for the Methods Research Branch (of the Division of Pesticides & Industrial Chemicals/Office of Plant & Dairy Foods). He oversees methods development work for new/improved analytical methods for pesticide residues in foods & in dietary supplements; analytical methods for dioxins, PCBs, & polybrominated diphenyl ethers in foods; & other analytical methods for industrial chemicals that are needed to address immediate problems for food safety (such as developing analytical methods for perchlorate).

Prior to joining CFSAN, Alexander worked as a chemist for 12 years for the U.S. EPA/Office of Pesticide Programs Lab, presently located at Fort Meade. Before this, he was an analytical chemist for 16 years at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Laurel. He has had 30 years experience in analytical methods development work for the determination of pesticide residues and other industrial chemicals in complex matrices. He has also been involved with training state chemists with the analysis of pesticide residues in complex matrices, using state-of-the-art techniques such as liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Research interests are in the area of developing rapid analytical methods using mass spectrometry. He received a B.S. degree in analytical chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Inst., Blacksburg. Currently, he is Section Editor for Residue and Trace Elements for the J. AOAC International.

Dr. Giancaspro trained as a Pharmacist at Buenos Aires University, Argentina, and received his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the same University. He has 17 years of experience as Professor of Drug Stability and Drug Quality Control in the Pharmacy School of Buenos Aires Univ. Gabriel also worked for 10 years in the private sector as Technical Director of Schwabe, Argentina, and as Director of Laboratorio Kampel Martian SA (in charge of R and D).

He joined USP in 1997, working as Scientific Liaison for Latin America, with the Chemistry Committees. In 1999 he moved to the Dietary Supplements Division as Scientific Liaison for several USP Expert Committees on Dietary Supplements, with emphasis on Botanicals, Non-Botanicals and Bioavailability. In July 2004 he was promoted to Associate Director of the Dietary Supplements Division of USP.

Janet Novotny holds degrees in Mathematics (BS), Nutritional Sciences (MS), and Biophysics (PhD) from the University of Illinois. Dr. Novotny is currently a Research Physiologist at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. Her research area involves use of stable isotopes, mass spectrometry, and kinetic modeling to determine rates of absorption and metabolism of phytonutrients by humans.

Kim Morehouse received his BS (1979) and MS (1980) in chemistry from Oakland University. He received his PhD (1985) in physical chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. Kim spent two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with Dr. Ron Mason, where his research centered on the determination of free radical metabolites of xenobiotics. He joined FDA in 1987, and is currently a Research Chemist with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in the Division of Chemistry Research and Environmental Review, Office of Food Additive Safety.

Douglas Hayward has been a research chemist for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition since 1993. He has worked almost exclusively in the area of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) measurement in foods. Major focus of research has been on the uses of tandem mass spectrometry in the determination of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. More recently, the focus has shifted to automation and the analysis of PBDEs.

Before coming to FDA, he worked for 13 years for the State of CA's toxic waste program in the Hazardous Materials Lab. The last 8 years were spent setting up a laboratory for PCDD/F analysis, and participating in a number of public health investigation into PCDD/F contamination at hazardous waste sites, and bioaccumulation in foods and CA residents. Doug has authored or coauthored more than 30 research articles, book chapters or reviews.

APRIL DINNER MEETING OF THE
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON (CSW) WASHINGTON SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
and
The Washington Professional Chapter
Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity

CSW 1055th Dinner Meeting Thursday, April 14, 2005

Holiday Inn, Key Bridge, Rosslyn 1900 N. Fort Meyer Drive Arlington, VA 22209 (703) 807-2000

Dr. Michael J. Fasolka is the Leader of the Multivariant Measurement Methods Group; Director, Combinatorial Methods Center; Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD

Michael J. Fasolka joined the Polymers Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in January 2002, and he currently is Leader for the Multivariant Measurement Methods Group and the Director of the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center (NCMC). Prior to this, he received a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Materials Science and Engineering, 2000) and completed 2 years of post-doctoral training in the Physics Laboratory at NIST as a National Research Council Associate. His research interests lie in the area of combinatorial and high-throughput methods for materials research, polymer surfaces and thin films, and scanned probe microscopy.

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Abstract

Polymer Research at the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center

Combinatorial and high-throughput (C&HT) experimentation methods have vaulted beyond screening for drug discovery. Now, an array of novel C&HT approaches and technologies are making materials research more productive, more rapid, and more thorough. A vanguard in these endeavors, the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center (NCMC) specializes in the development of C&HT measurement methods for polymer research. This presentation will give an overview of current research at the NCMC. Topics will include microfluidic technologies for the analysis of complex polymer formulations, gradient methods for polymer nanomaterials and nanometrology development, and HT approaches for measuring polymer adhesion and mechanical properties. For more information on NCMC research, see http://www.nist.gov/combi

College Chemistry Achievement Awards for 2004 - 2005

Frederick W. Carson, Chairman
CSW College Chemistry Achievement Award Committee

Awardee	College/University	Advisor/Sponsor/ Supervisor
Carey Jeanne Myers	American University	Dr. Monika Konaklieva Research Supervisor
Bach T. Dinh	George Mason University	Dr. Keith Davies Research Supervisor
Sarah Choy	Georgetown University	Dr. Faye Rubinson Academic Advisor
David Signorielli Penneys	George Washington Univ.	Dr. Michael Wagner Research Supervisor
Neil C. Gibson	Howard University	Dr. Charles Hosten Research Supervisor
Tabitha Ann Clem	Saint Mary's College of MD	Dr. Andrew Koch Research Supervisor
Ling Xin Chen	University of MD	Dr. Steve Rokita Research Supervisor

MARCH DINNER MEETING OF THE
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON (CSW) WASHINGTON SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

CSW 1054th Dinner Meeting Thursday, March 10, 2005

Sir Walter Raleigh Inn/Restaurant 6323 Greenbelt Rd. Berwyn Heights/Greenbelt, MD 20740 (301) 474 - 6500

Dr. Catherine Fenselau grew up in Nebraska, received her A.B. degree from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in the laboratory of Carl Djerassi. After post-doctoral work with Melvin Calvin and A.L. Burlingame at the University of California and the NASA Space Science Laboratory at Berkeley, she joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University's Medical School. She rose through the ranks to become Professor there in 1982, and is Professor and Past Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland. She is frequently invited to lecture in Europe, Asia and South America, and has been visiting professor at the University of Warwick and at Kansai Medical University. She was President of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, founding Editor-in-Chief of Biomedical and Environmental Mass Spectrometry (1973-1989), and recipient of the Garvan Medal (1985), the Maryland Chemist award (1989) from the American Chemical Society, the Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Society Award (1993) and the 1999 Eastern Analytical Symposium award for Analytical Chemistry. Presently she is an Associate Editor for Analytical Chemistry and on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Science Center. Her research addresses biological mass spectrometry, proteomics, and the chemistry of conjugated drug metabolites. She has published more than 290 papers and book chapters and trained 140 students and post-doctoral fellows.

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Abstract

Rapid Analysis of Microorganisms by Mass Spectrometry

Catherine Fenselau
University of Maryland

The 2005 Hillebrand prize is awarded to Catherine Fenselau for the development of rapid biodetection methods based on mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Such advanced systems will facilitate rapid medical diagnosis, monitoring and control of the spread of highly contagions diseases, and on time (detect to protect) recognition and identification of biohazards, particularly those associated with terrorism.

While it is now accepted by many that mass spectrometry provides a rapid and reliable method for detection and identification of biological agents, Anhalt and Fenselau in 1975 were the first to report that pathogenic bacteria could be introduced directly and intact into a mass spectrometer and that specific biomarkers could be vaporized, ionized and structurally identified. Most importantly, they demonstrated that the compositions and abundances of these chemical biomarkers, revealed in the mass spectra, allowed taxonomic distinctions to be made. Though the biomarkers observed in this early demonstration were small metabolites, the philosophy to employ intact biomarkers for rapid characterization of microorganisms by mass spectrometry was in clear contrast to all previous research, which had advocated vigorous pyrolysis prior to MS analysis. The biomarker concept has become the basis for all current applications of mass spectrometry for rapid detection and characterization of microorganisms. At least eight companies have launched commercial products designed to facilitate applications in food safety, medical diagnosis and homeland security. Most of this talk will address analyses made in the "detect to protect" time-frame.

The talk will review the capabilities of matrix assisted laser desorption (MALDI) mass spectrometry for rapid analysis of airborne microorganisms. Reproducibility of such spectra is difficult to control, depending on the laser power, matrix: sample ratio, conditions of growth and harvesting of the sample. The speaker's team has advocated the use of bioinformatics to relate a spectrum to a species of microorganism. This approach, which evolves from global progress in sequencing prokaryote genomes, can be implemented in several ways. In the approach that requires the simplest instrumental system, the masses of all proteins predicted by many genomes are calculated and compared to the protein masses observed by mass spectrometry. The significance of the match of this cohort to a particular bacterial/spore genome (species) is calculated, allowing for the sizes of the various genomes and accommodating common post-translational modifications. In another approach, applicable to toxins, viruses and species with small sets of proteins, the protein can be cleaved chemically or enzymatically in the sample holder, and masses of the parent protein as well as masses of the polypeptide cleavage products can be matched against sets of masses predicted in silico. In a third approach, applicable to mixtures of microorganisms, limited numbers of proteins are released from the cell by selective chemistry and incubated in situ with proteolytic enzymes. As many peptides as possible are rapidly analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry to provide partial sequences of each. These microsequences provide reliable identifications, searched against known protein sequences, of proteins and thereby of genus and species in the mixture.

One of the great strengths of mass spectrometry is that the analyst is not limited to monitoring pre-selected target species. The mass spectrometer provides broad band information on whatever is there. However, detection speed and sensitivity can be enhanced by identifying peptides that are unique to organisms of concern, for example anthrax.

FEBRUARY DINNER MEETING OF THE
CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON (CSW) WASHINGTON SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

CSW 1053rd Dinner Meeting Thursday, February 10, 2005

American University Mary Graydon Center, Rooms 2 & 3 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016

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Arthur B. Ellis joined the National Science Foundation as Director of the Division of Chemistry in July, 2002. He is on detail from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he has served as Meloche-Bascom Professor of Chemistry since 1986. Ellis and his co-workers conduct research on nanoscale shape memory alloys, and they develop instructional materials based on nanotechnology.






The Division of Chemistry of the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides funds for basic research and education in the chemical sciences. In partnership with the community it serves, the division has launched several new programs designed to address grand challenges in the chemical sciences, strengthen linkages with other fields, integrate research with education, and broaden participation. These developments and opportunities for new partnerships will be described.