It’s time for Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposi
tion in Somerset, New Jersey.
We will be at booth #524 – be sure to come by and say, “Hi”
Author Archives: Steven Miles
Tell us your chromatography stories!
This is pretty exciting – in 2011, we’re celebrating 50 years in the chromatography business!
To help us mark the occasion, we’re collecting your stories.
Please take a moment to go through this FIVE QUESTION survey and let us know if you have any stories to share.
Celebrating Metrics Week in Chromatography
Since 1976, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has marked the week of October 10 as Metric Week (Oct. 10 = 10/10).
This year is especially nice, with the date being 10/10/10.
Once in a great while, we get requests for 8 x 8 thin layer chromatography plates – and that’s when we are reminded that not everyone has adopted the metric system (aka “international system of units” or “SI”).
The whole concept of a decimal-based system of measurements was first proposed in 1585 by Simon Stevin in his book, “The Tenth.”
The idea has been embraced by great minds like Thomas Jefferson, and the U.S. Mint produced the world’s first decimal currency in 1792.
Click Here for more interesting facts surrounding the history of the Metric System.
Click Here for more on Metric Week from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
By the way, we won’t say anything bad about you if you order 8 x 8 plates, just don’t be surprised when you get them and they say “20 x 20” on the side of the box.
HPLC reveals difference between freshly brewed and bottled tea
Our friends at Chromatography Today published an 
interesting finding recently about how HPLC has been used to examine the chemical differences between fresh-brewed tea and bottled tea.
Here’s an excerpt:
Dr Shiming Li, a natural product chemist at New Jersey biotechnology firm WellGen, led a team using HPLC to analyse polyphenol levels in fresh tea and in bottled health drinks.
In some cases, the bottled beverages had levels of the antioxidants equivalent to around five per cent of the quantity seen in a single freshly brewed cup of either green or black tea.
Book: “Plant Drug Analysis” – limited copies available
The Book “Plant Drug Analysis” – by H. Wagner & S. Bladt – is currently out of print. But, we’re happy to say that we’ve gotten our hands on a few copies.
Here’s a synopsis:
This paperback second edition of Plant Drug Analysis includes more than 200 updated color photographs of superb quality demonstrating chromatograms of all relevant standard drugs. The atlas will be a useful reference for analyzing plant drugs, identifying unknown drugs or monitoring the purity or constituents of a given drug.
All drugs presented meet the standard of the official pharmacopoeia and originate from well-defined botanical sources. With this guide the technique of thin layer chromatography can be easily used without previous pharmacognostic training. Only commercially available equipment and reagents are needed, the sources as well as all practical details are given.
Click here to learn more and to order your copy – there’s only a few copies left!
Preparing for 2011 – The International Year of Chemistry
While attending the American Chemical Society meeting in 
Boston, we attended a planning meeting for the International Year of Chemistry.
Here’s some basic information:
The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Under the unifying theme “Chemistry—our life, our future,” IYC 2011 will offer a range of interactive, entertaining, and educational activities for all ages. The Year of Chemistry is intended to reach across the globe, with opportunities for public participation at the local, regional, and national level.
The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. The year 2011 will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Madame Marie Curie—an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women to science. The year will also be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies, providing a chance to highlight the benefits of international scientific collaboration.
There are many ways to participate in the International Year of Chemistry – such as:
- Treating all levels of students, from preschool children to university students, to chemistry demonstrations at appropriate levels
- Organizing visits for members of the public to industrial sites, including manufacturers, chemical producers, or metal and petroleum refiners
- Publicizing the contributions that chemistry makes to the global economy by submitting articles to newspapers and magazines or developing television and radio programs
- Sponsoring poster exhibitions highlighting the usefulness and wonder of chemistry
- Organizing problem-solving projects through which students can use their knowledge of chemistry to develop solutions to local problems
- Publicizing the contributions that chemistry has made to improve lives, particularly recent developments in chemical research
- Holding career fairs at schools at which professionals show how they use chemistry in their jobs.
- Organizing hands-on activities and demonstrations to help participants gain an understanding of what it would be like to work in a chemistry-related field
- Interacting with government leaders to underscore the importance of a strong chemical enterprise
Click Here for more ideas and information.
Please let us know if you are doing anything special for the International Year of Chemistry, especially if what you are doing involves Chromatography.
We Work For Health honors Sen. Carper
U.S. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware was presented with this year’s Medical Innovation Champion award by the 
Delaware Chapter of We Work for Health (WWFH) at Junior Achievement of Delaware (JA) in Wilmington on August 27. The award was furnished in conjunction with a WWFH roundtable discussion on the future of medical innovation in Delaware.
Senator Carper’s work has been of tremendous importance to the robust medical innovation industry in Delaware, and the workforce and economic support it provides. He has been a strong supporter of the innovators, helping ensure they are able to recoup their investments with the protection of data exclusivity rights in health care reform. He is an advocate and supporter of the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) and Delaware becoming the first state to roll out electronic health records statewide.
“Senator Carper has gone to bat for innovators here in Delaware and around the country,” said Frank Howard, WWFH Campaign Manager. “His leadership in health care reform was critical in keeping important research alive.”
Medical innovation leaders in Delaware held a roundtable discussion following the award covering several issues of importance to the continued support of medical innovation in Delaware. Topics covered included narrowing gaps in translation research so more lab discoveries make it to market; navigating current limitations on private investment; reforming the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory review process; and stimulating the cultivation of new innovators through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and other programs.
“Today’s gathering allowed for important discussions on what steps we need to be taking to support future innovators,” said JA President and WWFH Delaware Chapter Co-Chair Rob Eppes. “Here at Junior Achievement, we are doing our part to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders in medical innovation and research.”
Attendees were invited on a tour of JA’s Innovation Hub by Eppes. The Hub is a STEM career exploration zone within the JA World experiential learning center. Through virtual expeditions, students are able to explore local STEM career opportunities and the associated educational requirements. Preparations are underway for the Hub to host 2,700 students for the JA Innovation Hub Career and College Readiness Experience in late September.
Roundtable participants included representatives from: AIDS Delaware; Analtech, Inc.; Christiana Care Health System; Delaware AFL-CIO; Delaware Bioscience Association; Delaware Biotechnology Institute; Delaware Economic Development Office; Delaware Healthcare Commission; Delaware HIV Consortium; Delaware State University; Junior Achievement of Delaware; and Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers.
We Work for Health is a grassroots initiative that unites health consumers, biopharmaceutical company employees and retirees, vendors, suppliers and other business, academic and community partners to demonstrate how these diverse groups work together to improve America’s health care system and strengthen our economy.
Connecting in Maryland
What happens when you mix Bio and Pharma professionals 
with one of the most prestigious schools in the country and a great, relaxing setting on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor? That was the question Chris Frew wanted to answer when he helped create “Bio on the Bay” a chance for many in the Bio and Pharma communities to come together and share ideas, network, and unwind together.
Chris Frew is Scientific Director at Tech USA. Here he explains the origins of these gatherings and the kinds of people who are attending on a regular basis.
Chris can be reached at cfrew@techusa.net if you would like to learn more.
Thoughts on thin layer chromatography from Associate Professor Barney Grubbs
While we were at the ACS Fall Meeting, we got to meet 
several great people who use chromatography on a regular basis.
Barney Grubbs is Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stony Brook State University of New York and Scientist with the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Barney says his research group is interested in the common ground shared by polymer, organic, and materials chemistry and they are involved in the design, synthesis, and characterization of polymer-based organic materials.
Barney spent a few minutes with us talking about how he and his students use Thin Layer Chromatography in their work.
More ACS photos
We’re happy to see so many members of the Delaware BioScience Association in Boston for the ACS Fall Meeting!
This afternoon we spent some time with Paul from Adesis, then got to attend the first ACS Tweet Up. Here’s the photos:
