McMaster Chemistry Extracts 1999: Faculty Highlights

John Brennan was among the first sixty-six recipients of the Ontario government's Premier's Research Excellence Awards, and one of two McMaster professors to receive this award. The newly established awards program, aimed at professors who are within eight years of their first academic appointment, recognizes the demonstrated excellence of academic contributions, and the importance of proposed research. The award provides funds that are used to match a university or industrial contribution at ratio of 2:1. The total value of Prof. Brennan's award is $150,000, with $100,000 coming from the province, and $50,000 being provided by MDS-Sciex. These funds may be used to support postdoctoral fellows and graduate students over a period of not more than five years.

This distinction recognizes Prof. Brennan's research in the area of bioanalytical chemistry, particularly as applied to the development of biosensor technology and high-throughput drug-screening methods. A key focus of this research is the entrapment of enzymes, antibodies and other ligand-binding proteins in sol-gel derived glass matrices, and the use of these biomaterials for the development of optical biosensors. Manipulation of protein thermostability, development of fluorescence-based bioassays, and preparation of new sol-gel derived materials are cornerstones of his research program. The eventual goal of these studies is to understand and control the function of entrapped proteins, and to then use this information to create new biosensor platforms, primarily based on optical fibres and multi-analyte arrays.

A model of the photophysical behaviour of 7-azatryptophan in water. The behavior of this probe in sol-gel media is being studied in Dr. Brennan's lab.

The award will allow Prof. Brennan to expand his research into the highly competitive area of high-throughput drug-screening. By combining fluorescence-tagged protein targets with proprietary sol-gel processing technology, Prof. Brennan hopes to be able to prove that multiplexed arrays of non-conventional protein targets are suitable for rapid screening of potential drug compounds. The technique could have significant impact on the drug discovery process.

Professor Brennan also received a CNC-IUPAC travel award with which he attended the Society of Analytical Chemistry Conference, SAC '99, in Dublin, Ireland in July, 1999.

In May, 1999, Gary Schrobilgen was among 62 newly elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada one of three from McMaster who was officially inducted on November 19 in Ottawa. He and his co-workers are best known for their outstanding contributions to main-group chemistry, but in particular to the experimentally challenging field of fluorine chemistry. His outstanding contributions include charting the limits of high oxidation and co-ordination number in so-called "hypervalent" molecules. He and his co-workers have synthesized and structurally characterized approximately half of the known compounds of the noble gases, in addition to the most powerfully oxidizing and highly co-ordinated fluoro and oxofluoroderivatives of maingroup and transition elements. Professor Schrobilgen has identified new xenonnitrogen bonds, the first kryptonnitrogen and kryptonoxygen bonds, and is distinguished in his use of multiNMR, Raman spectroscopy and Xray crystallography to elucidate structures of highly unstable and air-sensitive compounds. He has also contributed to our understanding of the structure and chemical bonding in maingroup ring, cage and cluster molecules.

Harald Stöver has been named NSERC/3M Chair in Polymer Chemistry and Advanced Materials for the next five years. The Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council and 3M Canada have, together, provided $1.7 million to establish the Chair. This new Industrial Research Chair was announced on June 7, 1999, at a faculty club reception hosted by McMaster President Peter George, NSERC President Tom Brzustowski and 3M Canada President Robert Burgstahler, and attended by Hamilton West MP, Stan Keyes.

This honour comes in recognition of Prof. Stöver's achievements in synthetic and colloid polymer chemistry. He and his group have produced a variety of novel polymeric materials through the synthesis of new monomers and chemical modification of existing polymers.

Scanning transmission X-ray spectromicroscopic images of polymer microspheres synthesized in Dr. Stöver's group. The X-ray energies correspond to excitation of carbon 1s electrons. Varying photon energy provides images tuned to specific chemical species. The images were produced in collaboration with Adam Hitchcock using synchrotron radiation.

Research supported by the Chair features the development of polymer microspheres for the encapsulation of insect pheromones. Pheromones are secreted by female insects to attract males. Distributing a random set of pheromone sources, via spraying encapsulating microspheres, can disrupt the mating cycle of insects damaging crops. This provides an environmentally friendly alternative to harsh pesticides for insect pest control. The non-toxic pheromones target specific insect species, providing unprecedented control of crop habitat. Although synthetic pheromones are relatively easy to produce, their use as pesticides has been limited due to rapid biodegradation. Thus, the role of polymer microspheres is to protect the pheromones. Professor Stöver's work focuses on developing encapsulating materials permitting controlled release of pheromones over a number of weeks.

The establishment of this NSERC/3M Chair will assist the expansion of polymer research at McMaster. It also affirms the economic importance of polymer chemistry and materials science. In the words of Tom Brzustowski, "The ability to develop and characterize new materials is quickly becoming important in the Canadian economy. The training of new polymer specialists is therefore essential to Canada's future.''

Brian McCarry has been selected as the first Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Environment & Health in recognition of his leading role in environmental chemistry and environmental toxicology.

Professor McCarry's research uses the techniques of analytical chemistry and toxicology to explore two general areas of environmental chemistry: the identification of new environmental genotoxins (that is, chemicals which cause genetic mutations and may lead to tumour formation in higher organisms) and the development of new source apportionment methods to identify sources of contaminants. The overall theme of the research is the development of general methods that are applicable to a range of complex environmental mixtures, such as air particulate, sediments, and biota.

AFM characterization of a polymer membrane performed at McMaster University, Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. This new type of ion exchange membrane, developed in the group of Ron Childs based on a pore-filling concept, outperforms commercially avialable water softening mambranes.

Left to right: Suzanne Ackloo, Adrienne Boden, Lena Andrew and Brian McCarry

The combined use of chemical separations, chemical analyses and bioassays has led to the identification of a number of new mutagens and toxic substances in the air and the waters of urban areas. This group has recently published the first report on endocrine-disrupting chemicals in urban atmospheres. Other research projects are examining the mechanisms whereby these agents exert their biological effects. In the source apportionment work the focus is on the identification of new marker substances and new analytical methods to distinguish sources of contaminants. Recently, two research projects have begun which look at a wide range of contaminants in a variety of media in order to understand how these contaminants move about in the environment.

Professor McCarry's unique inthefield research into environmental contaminants is just what is needed to provide an objective assessment of the true risks associated with chemical exposures during environmental disasters. His unique approach was featured in the article "Toxic Detective" which appeared in the Fall 1998 edition of McMaster Times. Professor McCarry and his group provided invaluable contributions to the assessment of the impact of emissions from the Plastimet Fire in 1997 at a plastics recycling facility in Hamilton and from the Hagersville Tire Fire in 1990.

Stephen A. Jarislowsky is the Chair and CEO of Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., a pension fund management company based in Montreal. Mr. Jarislowsky, who holds an engineering degree and an MBA, developed an interest in financial management early in his career; while he no longer teaches courses in this area at McGill, he still writes a regular column in the Montreal Gazette. Mr. Jarislowsky serves as a Director on the Boards of numerous corporations and has established Chairs at other universities, primarily in areas related to finance and medicine.

Michael McGlinchey will receive the 2000 Alcan Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry. The award will be presented in May at the 83rd Canadian Chemical Society Conference in Calgary, where Prof. McGlinchey will deliver an award lecture. The $2000 award and framed scroll, sponsored by Alcan International Limited, are in recognition of distinguished contributions in the areas of inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry.

William Leigh is the new Chair of the McMaster Chemistry Department. He takes over from Michael McGlinchey who remains as acting Chair from July 1st to December 31st, 1999. Michael McGlinchey served as Chair from 1996 to 1999. His efforts include overseeing the beginning of a rebuilding phase in the department , witnessed by recent faculty appointments and the approval of the plan to modernize and move the undergraduate labs to the former Geology wing of the Arthur N. Bourns building.

Lijuan Li has moved to a new faculty position in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the California State University at Long Beach.

Related Links: Research Groups: Brennan, Childs, Leigh, McCarry, McGlinchey, Schrobilgen, Stover
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