April 2006: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News by Chemical Institute of Canada

l’actualité chimique canadienne canadian chemical news ACCN

APRIL | AVRIL • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 4

Antibiotic Resistance New Drug Discovery Photochemistry Economic Impact of a Flu Pandemic Orthomolecular Medicine

ACCN

APRIL | AVRIL • 2006 • Vol. 58, No./no 4

A publication of the CIC | Une publication de l’ICC

Ta bl e o f C o n t e n t s | Ta bl e d e s m a t i è r e s

Ar ticles

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité . . . . . . 2 Innovation for All Russell Williams Personals Personnalités . . . . . . . . . . . 3

New Drug Discovery—Beyond the Bench-Top

Orthomolecular Medicine

Mimicking a Good Gene Defect

Throwing the Wrench with Perfect Aim

The Economic Impact of a Flu Pandemic

Where Light and Matter Meet

Daphne C. Ripley, MCIC

News Briefs Nouvelles en bref . . . . . . . 4 Chemfusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Joe Schwarcz, MCIC And in Regulatory News . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CIC Bulletin ICC In Memorium

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

CSC Bulletin SCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 CSChE Bulletin SCGCh. . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CSCT Bulletin SCTC

. . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Local Section News Nouvelles des sections locales . . . . . . . . 29 Student News Nouvelles des étudiants . . . 29

Could medicinal chemistry be applied in an unconventional way to ease the suffering of schizophrenics? Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, FRCP(C)

Drug therapy designed to make quitting smoking easier Paul Fraumeni

Annick Gauthier has a passion for disease biochemistry.

H5N1 concerns hold wide-ranging implications—and a surprising number of opportunities. Naveen N. Anand

Careers Carrières . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Employment Wanted Demande d’emploi . . 33 Events Événements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Have you considered the seemingly endless applications of photochemistry? Marius Ivan, MCIC

GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ

Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chef Michelle Piquette Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédaction Heather Dana Munroe

Innovation for All

The discovery of new medicines has far-reaching benefits Russell Williams

he Wright brothers’ historic maiden flight lasted only 12 seconds and travelled 120 feet. Of course, aeronautic research didn’t end there. There have been hundreds if not thousands of incremental advances, and now jet travel and transatlantic flights are routine. The same concept applies to the discovery of new medicines. We recognize insulin as a Canadian innovation, a medical breakthrough that aids diabetics around the world. The overall treatment of diabetes has significantly reduced the mortality rate of this condition since Frederick Banting’s discovery of insulin. New medicines help Canadians live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. For example, hospitalization rates over the period 1983–2001 for ulcers decreased by 75 percent. For HIV/AIDS, the decrease was 71 percent. Diabetes hospitalization dropped by 44 percent while respiratory diseases and chronic liver disease dropped by 44 percent and 31 percent, respectively. The introduction of a series of new medicines to treat the same disease serves to advance the treatment of illness while providing novel, therapeutic benefits to existing therapies. What works well for one patient may be less effective for another based on age, sex, overall state of health, and other factors. It is essential that patients have a choice. Medical science and patient care are advanced through incremental innovation. These new medicines are chemically different and not duplications of other medicines in the same therapeutic category. Providing physicians and patients with a choice of medicines in a particular therapeutic category helps save health care dollars by avoiding unnecessary hospitalization and surgery. Over the last two decades, pharmaceuticals have contributed greatly to the dramatic 70 percent reduction of the death rate of HIV/AIDS. Similarly, death rates from heart attacks have decreased by 63 percent;

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bronchitis, asthma, and emphysema by 71 percent; and chronic liver disease by 45 percent. Prescription medicines are also one of the most cost-effective and least expensive resources for patient care. A study by Columbia University has estimated that for every dollar invested in newer medicines, six to eight dollars are saved in other parts of the health care system. The patented medicines portion of health expenditures in Canada in 2004 is less than seven cents of Canada’s health care dollar, while the prices of patented medicines in Canada declined over the past decade and remain 9 percent below the international median. With all the evidence that new medicines benefit patients, still the main focus of policy discussions is on restricting access and cutting costs. Patient outcomes seem to be secondary in the debate. The current categorization system of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) fails to recognize incremental innovation that could significantly impact on health outcomes for patients. Rx&D believes Canadians could benefit from improvements to the board’s scientific review procedures and categorization of drugs to recognize the value of new medicines. The goal is improving patient outcome. The research-based pharmaceutical community is committed to working with scientists, governments, and health care stakeholders to ensure Canada has an affordable, equitable, and sustainable publicly funded health care system.

Russell Williams is the president of Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D). Prior to his appointment as Rx&D

Graphic Designer/Infographiste Krista Leroux Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président Cathleen Crudden, MCIC John Margeson, MCIC Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Steve Thornton, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC Editorial Office/Bureau de la rédaction 130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 613-232-6252 • Fax/Téléc. 613-232-5862 editorial@accn.ca • www.accn.ca Advertising/Publicité advertising@accn.ca Subscription Rates/Tarifs d’abonnement Non CIC members/Non-membres de l’ICC : in/au Canada CAN$55; outside/à l’extérieur du Canada US$50. Single copy/Un exemplaire CAN$8 or US$7. L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News (ACCN) is published 10 times a year by The Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca. Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute, or of the societies that recommend the magazine. Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue. Change of Address/Changement d’adresse circulation@cheminst.ca Printed in Canada by Gilmore Printing Services Inc. and postage paid in Ottawa, ON./ Imprimé au Canada par Gilmore Printing Services Inc. et port payé à Ottawa, ON. Publications Mail Agreement Number/ No de convention de la Poste-publications : 40021620. (USPS# 0007-718) Indexed in the Canadian Business Index and available on-line in the Canadian Business and Current Affairs database. / Répertorié dans la Canadian Business Index et accessible en ligne dans la banque de données Canadian Business and Current Affairs. ISSN 0823-5228

president, Williams served as a member of the Quebec National Assembly for nearly 15 years, including parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

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PERSONALS PERSONNALITÉS

Industry

of the porphyrin-based drug Visudyne—the world’s first treatment for age-related macular degeneration.

Peter Mahaffy, FCIC

McGill’s C. J. Li, MCIC, coordinator of the Canadian Green Chemistry Network, presents Jean Bélanger, OC, HFCIC, with the 2005 Canadian Green Chemistry Medal.

The Canadian Green Chemistry Medal recognizes the outstanding contributions of an individual to the promotion and development of green chemistry internationally as well as in Canada. Jean Bélanger, OC, HFCIC, received the award for 2005 on February 28, 2006 at a Boehringer Ingelheim lecture at McGill University in Montréal, QC.

chemistry education professionals from across the globe to improve chemistry education activities throughout the world, including enhancing public appreciation of chemistry.

Government

Twenty-one outstanding Canadian researchers have been awarded a total of more than $1.5 million in the 39th annual competition for Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. Among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, it supports scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering, and interdisciplinary studies within these fields. Winners in the chemistry category were R. Stan Brown, FCIC, of Queen’s University, Michael D. Fryzuk, FCIC, of The University of British Columbia, and Richard T. Oakley, FCIC, of the University of Waterloo.

Ding-Yu Peng, FCIC, of the University of Saskatchewan’s department of chemical engineering has been named the 2006 recipient of the Donald L. Katz Award by the Gas Processors Association. The award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in gas processing research, and for excellence in engineering education. The Dow Chemical Company has named Jeff Wooster to the position of senior value chain manager, food and specialty packaging for plastics. Wooster is widely recognized in the food industry for his contributions to the development of new technology for flexible packaging applications.

University The King’s University College in Edmonton, AB, is pleased to announce that Peter Mahaffy, FCIC, professor of chemistry, has been appointed as the new chair (2006–2009) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Committee on Chemistry Education. This committee brings together

NSERC president Suzanne Fortier, FCIC, stands with David Dolphin, FCIC (left), and the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry.

Suzanne Fortier, FCIC, president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) awarded the 2005 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering to David Dolphin, FCIC. The prize is widely recognized as the country’s most prestigious science award and guarantees $1 million in research funding over the next five years. Dolphin pioneered the study of a class of light-activated compounds called porphyrins, which led to the groundbreaking creation

Distinction Thomas Hu, MCIC, and his co-author from The University of British Columbia, won the Paprican Douglas Atack Award for Best Mechanical Pulping Paper. Their winning paper was entitled, “A New Class of Bleaching Agents for Mechanical Pulps.” Mary Anne White, FCIC, of Dalhousie University has been appointed to the Advisory Board for the NRC’s Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences in Ottawa, ON.

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NEWS BRIEFS NOUVELLES EN BREF

presence. Normal switches are gaps in wires that disrupt the flow of an electrical transmission, but biosensor electrical switches are shaped like pockets. Whether or not they conduct electricity depends on the pocket’s conformation. Researchers on this project include Tito Scaiano, FCIC, department of chemistry at the University of Ottawa, and from SFU—Dipankar Sen, MCIC, department of molecular biology and biochemistry/chemistry; Hogan Yu, MCIC; and graduate student Marcus Kuikka, MCIC, from the department of chemistry. “We’re developing DNA pockets with specific angles that will trap specific target molecules,” says Bechhoefer. “As the target binds, it will restore the electrical conductivity in the pocket, acting as a switch.” Scientists have previously shown that DNA conducts electricity. But unlike traditional conductors such as copper, DNA’s conductivity changes depending on what it’s bound to and what surrounds it. Bechhoefer is using this feature to his advantage. The pockets he envisions have a particular shape and size that depend on the DNA strand’s length and composition. And they’ll conduct electricity only when a target molecule binds and flips the DNA switch. But this switch isn’t very useful if it’s just DNA in solution, he says, because such switches aren’t usually part of physiologically important electrical circuits. So he’s using the DNA as if it were a wire. By surrounding DNA with a surface of insulating molecules, he hopes to conduct electricity between two gold particles (introduced by researchers in test situations) connected by DNA. Bechhoefer anticipates certain advantages to using DNA sensors. Besides being Biosensors—tiny devices that can detect highly sensitive and accurate, they’re ecobiological molecules—built with specially nomical because there’s no need for expenengineered DNA strands may one day advance sive cameras to observe them and no risk of scientists’ ability to detect a wide variety of molecules losing their fluorescence. They’re unwanted components, including metabolites, toxins, and food contaminants. also desirable because there are no radioactive John Bechhoefer of the department of by-products to worry about, as is the case with physics at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is some sensors. He expects he’ll soon have DNA working on a collaborative project to develop strands with switches that are always turned new biosensors that use biological materials on and ones that are always turned off, giving to collect information—often about the valuable baseline information for observing presence of other biological materials—and DNA conductivity. transmit it through electrical signals. These This research is sponsored by the Advanced new biosensors will be based on DNA aptamFoods and Materials Network and Science and ers (short DNA strands that form pockets to Engineering Research Canada (AFMNet). bind target molecules) that act like electrical switches, activated by a particular molecule’s Robert Fieldhouse, AFMNet ADVANCE

Flipping the Molecular Switch

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Canada’s First Private Brownfields Fund Launched A $100 million private equity venture has been dedicated to cleaning up contaminated real estate. The Kilmer Brownfield Equity Fund is Canada’s first brownfield fund, courtesy of Kenneth Tanenbaum, whose family has been involved in Canadian construction for three generations. Tanenbaum ran Lafarge North America Inc. and his father is chair of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. The family holding company, Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. has committed $20 million toward the fund. According to Tanenbaum, the approach will be to clean up contaminated land, potentially re-zone it, and then sell to developers. The fund comes on the heels of Ontario initiatives and legislation clarifying owner liability to encourage the redevelopment of industrial lands. Tanenbaum will manage the fund with the help of three managing partners who are experts in environmental science, real estate development, and finance. For further information, see the Canadian Brownfields Chronicle in the April/May 2006 edition of HazMat Management magazine. HazMat Management magazine

A Checkup for Chocolate Advanced Food and Materials Network (ADMNet) researchers at the University of New Brunswick’s MRI Centre and University of Guelph food science professor Alejandro Marangoni are using MRI in a non-medical use to study the structure of chocolate to help manufacturers lengthen its shelf life. Over time, chocolate undergoes cosmetic degradation, with a white fat crystal layer forming on the surface. MRI investigations are being conducted to gather information about how fat movement toward the surface during storage influence’s chocolate’s appearance, taste, and texture. ADMNet

Illustration by Brandon Denard

NEWS BRIEFS NOUVELLES EN BREF

intended exclusively to support research projects of the NMR research community and their academic and industrial collaborators. The uniqueness of the facility is that it is dedicated to solid-state NMR research in materials, where advantages of the highest magnetic fields are most striking, especially for quadrupolar and low-gamma nuclei such as 17-O, 25-Mg, 35-Cl and others. The 900 MHz instrument in Ottawa is the latest generation digital Avance II NMR spectrometer manufactured by Bruker BioSpin and is equipped with a number of solid-state NMR probes, for both magic angle spinning (MAS) and static, capable of wide range of multinuclear NMR experiments. In collaboration with Bruker BioSpin, work continues on development of solid-state NMR probes for very low-gamma nuclei. The official opening ceremony of the facility is scheduled for June 1, 2006, and will be followed by the inaugural Solid-State NMR workshop. More information about the facility and on how to apply for instrument time is available at www.nmr900.ca. University of Saskatchewan

The 900 NMR facility steering committee

Canada’s Most Powerful NMR Spectrometer Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is widely used in chemistry for structural analysis. Performance of NMR spectrometers greatly depends on homogeneity and strength of the magnetic field. The early NMR spectrometers operated at moderate magnetic fields of about 0.5–1 Tesla (T) created by solenoid electric magnets. Advances in superconducting magnet technology led to the development of NMR spectrometers with considerably higher magnetic fields. Modern NMR spectrometers use magnetic fields ranging from 5 to 16 T. The limit of the current NMR technology is at 21 T, which corresponds to 900 MHz—the resonance frequency for protons. The higher the magnetic field, the more complicated the magnet design becomes with hardware and maintenance costs rising exponentially. At the moment

Photo by Chrissi Nerantzi

there are only a few NMR spectrometers in the world operating at 21 T. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of researchers from the National Research Council Canada, the University of Ottawa, and other universities from across the country, Canada’s first 21 T (900 MHz) NMR spectrometer has been recently installed in Ottawa, ON. This spectrometer is part of the National Ultrahigh-field NMR Facility for Solids, a national scientific user research facility funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, Recherche Québec, the National Research Council Canada, and Bruker BioSpin, and managed by the University of Ottawa. The facility has been created to provide Canadian researchers access to the new 900 MHz NMR spectrometer. The initial application to CFI by the group pictured above—John Ripmeester, MCIC (Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, SIMS NRC), Christian Detellier, FCIC (University of Ottawa), Michèle Auger, MCIC (Université Laval), and Roderick Wasylishen, FCIC (University of Alberta), was supported by more than 40 Canadian academic and industry-based researchers. The facility is

Canada to Build New Nuclear Reactors Ahead of U.S. New nuclear reactors will likely be started in Canada before the U.S., according to Patrick Tighe, vice-president markets and business development at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Tighe told the Platt’s energy conference in Washington on February 14, 2006 that the Ontario government’s commitment to close its coal-fired generating stations would lead to a significant shortage of electricity in the province. Tighe noted that financing and construction of nuclear power plants has changed greatly over the years. Now, nuclear power plants are built to fixed budgets and time tables on a turnkey or partial turnkey basis. Nevertheless, he said, if Ontario needs new nuclear reactors in service by 2015, it has to start the process now. Canadian Nuclear Association

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CPI Plant Start-Ups Strong for 2006 Plans are in the works for the start-up of 33 grassroots plants in the chemical processing industry (CPI) in the U.S. and Canada during 2006. This will be an increase of 18 percent over the reported start-ups in 2005, according to research by Industrialinfo. This small increase in new and grassroots plants reinforces the industry’s confidence that 2006 will be another strong year for growth and increased capital spending. The 33 new plants will represent an estimated total investment value of US$630 million in new investments and will equal over 1,600 new job opportunities. The largest of the new plants starting up in 2006 will be in Canada—the grassroots 71 million standard cubic feet/day (MMscfd) hydrogen plant nearing completion in Edmonton, AB. Construction began in 2004 and commercial operations are scheduled to begin in the second quarter. Next in line is DuPont’s US$50 million grassroots 1,3-propanediol plant, slated to start up later this year. Another factor supporting the idea that 2006 will be a strong year for capital spending is the plan for an immediate expansion of at least one plant starting up this year.

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Air Products has already begun engineering and scheduling for the addition of a second 105-MMscfd hydrogen unit at its new Edmonton site, with construction planned to begin early this summer. The southeast region of the U.S. will be home to the largest number of new plants and new jobs, with 10 start-ups generating an estimated 450 job opportunities. Camford Chemical News

Partnership in Pulp and Paper Research Paprican, the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, and IPEF, the Institute of Forest Research and Studies of Brazil, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a partnership in pulp and paper research. The purpose of this MOU is to set out the framework for cooperation between Paprican and IPEF in order to establish a precompetitive research consortium to serve the needs of the Brazilian pulp and paper industry. During the next three years, the parties expect to demonstrate the feasibility and mutual benefits of this partnership for the industry in Canada and Brazil, and establish a

governance structure for the consortium and the long-term partnership with Paprican. Paprican and IPEF both recognize the importance of basic and applied research and technology transfer through a consortium model and were accompanied in building this partnership by the Brazilian Pulp and Paper Technical Association (ABTCP). The development phase is expected to be completed by December 2006. During this time, input from industry leaders and other stakeholders will be sought for a pilot research program. Current IPEF members will be solicited, as well as other Brazilian and South American pulp and paper companies, universities, and other interested parties. University participation in this venture will be led by the Universidade de São Paulo. The resulting pilot research program will have a duration of approximately two years. The bulk of the work will be performed by Brazilian university partners in collaboration with Paprican researchers. “Paprican is internationally recognized for the excellence of its research, as well as its strong partnerships with industry and universities,” said Luiz Ernesto George Barrichelo, president of IPEF. “We are very pleased to partner with them and believe that they have the potential to play a key role in the development of a strong pre-competitive research program in Brazil.” “Globalization is a key issue and the development of strategic research partnerships with major industry consortia ensures that we stay at the leading edge of pulp and paper research and development,” said Joseph D. Wright, FCIC, president and CEO of Paprican. “This new agreement fits within the framework of our business plan and is in line with our commitment to ensure that we remain in a leadership position to deliver the full potential of available knowledge and expertise to our members and customers. By partnering with IPEF, we are establishing the basis for a long-term relationship with Brazilian scientists, researchers, and pulp and paper producers. We expect that this new strategic alliance will lead to research synergies between our organizations, open new markets for existing Paprican technologies, and generate new sources of revenue for both our institutes,” concluded Wright. Paprican

Photo by Karsten W. Rohrbach

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L’Ordre des chimistes Performance du Québec choisit of the Chemical l’UQAM Industry in 2005 L’Université du Québec à Montréal (L’UQAM) et l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec ont signé un premier protocole d’entente visant le développement de la stratégie de formation continue des membres de l’Ordre. Cet événement s’est déroulé en présence du président du Bureau de l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec, Luc Séguin, du président-directeur général de l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec, Martial Boivin, de la vice-rectrice aux études et à la vie étudiante, Carole Lamoureux, du doyen de la faculté des sciences, Gille Gauthier, du directeur du département de chimie et de biochimie, Mario Morin et du directeur du service de formation continue, Léon-Gérald Ferland. Développé par le service de formation continue de l’UQAM, en collaboration avec le département de chimie et de biochimie et l’école des sciences de la gestion, ce programme s’échelonnera sur une période de trois ans, soit jusqu’en 2009. En plus de permette aux membres de l’Ordre de demeurer performants dans l’exercice de leurs fonctions, ce programme assurera le perfectionnement, l’acquisition de nouvelles compétences et la mise à jour des connaissances des chimistes et biochimistes. « Cette entente affirme la volonté de l’UQAM et de l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec de répondre plus adéquatement aux besoins de formation supérieure en chimie et biochimie », a déclaré Carole Lamoureux. À compter de 2006, les membres de l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec pourront suivre le cours « pratique professionnelle de la chimie et de la biochimie ». À cette formation, s’ajouteront d’autres cours, particulièrement le « contrôle de la qualité », la « gestion de projet » et « la force de la communication dans les équipes de travail ». « Dans le cadre de son mandat, l’Ordre des chimistes du Québec doit assurer que ses membres maintiennent leurs compétences tout au long de leur carrière professionnelle. Cette entente leur permettra d’avoir accès à une formation sur mesure et de haut niveau », a déclaré Martial Boivin. UQAM

Year-end data for 2005 is now available from Statistics Canada. The data below relates to shipments, imports, and exports expressed in dollar values. Dollar value data for selected chemical industry groupings are shown. More detailed data can be found on the Industry Canada Web site at www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/ chemicals. Despite significant economic challenges related to escalation in the value of the dollar, high energy prices, and feedstock outages, this data suggests that the industry generally fared well during 2005. Total industry shipments and exports were both up compared to 2004. The same is true for most sub-industry groupings. For comparison, total manufacturing recorded growth of 3.1 percent for the year so chemicals grew faster than the all-manufacturing average. Sub-industries within chemicals that showed stronger growth than the overall chemical industry average were: petrochemicals— synthetic resins, fertilizers, adhesives and sealants, explosives, and other chemical products. A number of sub-industries experienced declines in shipments compared to 2004. These were: synthetic fibres, pesticides, soaps and detergents, and toilet preparations. All values are in $ billion. The percentage change compared to 2004 is shown in brackets. Total chemical industry Shipments: 50.1 (+5.1 percent) Exports: 27.0 (+11.5 percent) Imports: 37.3 (+5.2 percent) Total chemical industry, excluding pharmaceuticals Shipments: 41.4 (+12.5 percent) Exports: 22.7 (+19.2 percent) Imports: 27.3 (+7.1 percent)

Petrochemicals Shipments: 6.1 (+6.4 percent) Exports: 2.1 (+5.0 percent) Imports: 0.7 (+29.0 percent) Inorganic chemicals Shipments: 3.0 (0.6 percent) Exports: 3.5* (+51.7 percent) Imports: 1.8 (+18.2 percent) Other organic chemicals Shipments: 4.6 (+3.0 percent) Exports: 3.3 (+5.6 percent) Imports: 6.1 (+3.2 percent) Synthetic resins Shipments: 9.7 (+9.7 percent) Exports: 6.8 (+11.4 percent) Imports: 6.6 (+11.5 percent) Chemical fertilizers (excluding potash) Shipments: 2.9 (+16.7 percent) Exports: 1.5 (+23.4 percent) Imports: 0.4 (+12.5 percent) Pharmaceuticals Shipments: 8.6 (+3.2 percent) Exports: 4.3 (+8.2 percent) Imports: 10.0 (+5.3 percent) Paints Shipments: 2.2 (+1.8 percent) Exports: 0.4 (-0.4 percent) Imports: 0.9 (-3.6 percent) Adhesives and sealants Shipments: 0.9 (+8.0 percent) Exports: 0.2 (+14.6 percent) Imports: 0.5 (+7.1 percent) Soaps and detergents Shipments: 1.6 (-5.1 percent) Exports: 0.8 (-2.5 percent) Imports: 1.7 (-3.4 percent) (* Apparent exports larger than domestic production is an oddity that occurs occasionally due to the use of different statistical bases.)

Industry Canada

Basic chemicals Shipments: 14.9 (+4.0 percent) Exports: 9.5 (+18.8 percent) Imports: 9.3 (+6.4 percent)

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Dow Signs Global Charter and Endorses ICCA The Dow Chemical Company recently recommitted its support to Responsible Care™ when Dow’s president, CEO, and chair-elect signed the Responsible Care global charter, a document that considers the evolving challenges for the chemical industry. Dow also endorsed the global product strategy, an effort by the global chemical industry to further improve its product stewardship efforts. Responsible Care is the global chemical industry’s environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) initiative to drive continuous improvement in performance. It aims to meet and exceed legislative and regulatory compliance, and adopt cooperative and voluntary initiatives with government and other stakeholders. The global charter, developed under the auspices of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), addresses topics such as the growing public dialogue over sustainable development, public health issues related to the use of chemical products, the need for greater industry transparency, and the opportunity to achieve greater harmonization and consistency among various national Responsible Care programs. The global product strategy developed by the ICCA guides the industry’s long-term efforts to meet the global challenges of chemical products. It includes development of guidelines for product stewardship, a tiered process for risk characterization and management, focus on downstream industry customers, exploration of intergovernmental organization partnerships, and greater transparency in product stewardship information. The strategy was approved by the ICCA in October 2005. Work to implement the strategy is currently underway.

CFI Earns National Governance Award The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has won the prestigious Conference Board of Canada/Spencer Stuart 2006 National Awards in Governance in the Public Sector category. These awards celebrate bold and innovative solutions to governance challenges, and recognize organizations that have broken the mould in the search for governance excellence. “Because of its unique status as a foundation entrusted with public money, the CFI attaches paramount importance to operating in an economical, effective, and transparent manner, and to communicating its activities and results to a wide audience,” said John Evans, chair of the CFI board of directors. “We’ve made great efforts to ensure that our governance practices reflect this fundamental philosophy, and we’re very proud to be recognized for our successes in this regard.” Over the past few years, the CFI board has taken significant steps to increase its interaction with a larger and more diverse community in order to expand its understanding of how Canada can better position itself to continue excelling in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy. Consultation and communication with researchers, private-sector partners, provincial funding agencies, policy-makers, political leaders, and the public have resulted in broader and more strategic thinking by the board, leading to more informed decisions, better program design and delivery, and more robust communications initiatives with its stakeholders. “The CFI has really lived up to its name and has much to be proud of when it comes to governance,” said Anne Golden, president and CEO of The Conference Board of Canada. “By proactively engaging its major stakeholders in its strategic planning, the CFI’s board has taken public sector governance practices to a new level.”

The Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS The medal represents NSERC’s highest honour and recognizes outstanding researchers who are characterized by both excellence and influence—two qualities that defined Gerhard Herzberg’s illustrious career. The medal is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated sustained excellence and influence in research for a body of work conducted in Canada in the area of the natural sciences and engineering supported by NSERC. For more information on this award and on how to prepare a nomination, please refer to the Web site www.nserc.gc.ca/ award_e.asp?nav=haerberg& lbi=nomination. Researchers in Canadian universities and in government or corporate research laboratories are eligible to be nominated. The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2006.

Camford Chemical Report CFI

8 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

For additional information, please call 613-995-5829 or e-mail inquiries.herzberg@nserc.ca.

y and large, drugs don’t cure disease. They may lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, alleviate pain, restore hormone levels, or help control diabetes, but they don’t solve the underlying problem. Except for antibiotics! If the diagnosis is bacterial infection, the right antibiotic will be curative. At least for now. But the future for these wonder drugs is more murky. Antibiotic resistance is becoming a huge concern. Bacteria, like humans, are biochemically unique. Expose a group of people to the cold virus and they will not all come down with a cold. Obviously, the capacity of the immune system to deal with foreign intruders varies from person to person. Similarly, some bacteria can survive the onslaught of antibiotics and then pass their protective genes on to their progeny. The result is a bacterial population that is resistant to the original antibiotic. Such resistance is an inevitable consequence of the use of antibiotics, and the only protection we have against it is the wise use of these powerful drugs. Unfortunately, we have not always been wise. As pharmaceutical companies successfully developed a wide array of antibiotics, our attitude was that if resistance to one crops up, another will be available to take its place. Until now, this has mostly proven to be so, but the antibiotic cupboard is becoming bare. And there have even been a few chilling reports of resistance to vancomycin, the antibiotic of last resort. Simply stated, the more an antibiotic is used, the less likely that it will maintain its effectiveness. Given that the U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates one third of all antibiotic prescriptions are inappropriate, it is evident that we face a huge problem. Physicians are recognizing this and are becoming less cavalier about prescribing antibiotics. But there is another issue. Although the numbers are somewhat debatable, roughly 25 of the 28 million pounds of antibiotics produced annually in North America are not destined for human use. Instead they are given to hogs, poultry, and cattle, in most cases, not to cure them of disease, but to promote their growth! Since the late 1940s, so-called “sub-therapeutic” doses of antibiotics have been routinely added to animal feed to prevent disease and to increase feed efficiency. Exactly why animals put on weight more readily when

exposed to small doses of antibiotics isn’t clear, but it may have to do with reducing the competition for nutrients by cutting down on the natural bacterial population in the animals’ gut. Some studies also suggest that antibiotic use thins the intestinal wall and increases nutrient absorption. What has become clear, however, is that such sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics leads to the flourishing of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animals and that such bacteria can infect humans. Chickens, for example, will begin to excrete antibiotic-resistant E. coli in their feces just 36 hours after being given tetracycline-laced feed. Within a short time these bacteria also show up in the feces of farmers. And a truly frightening prospect is that bacteria can pass genes between each other, including the ones that make them resistant to antibiotics. This means that bacteria that have never been exposed to an antibiotic can acquire resistance just by encountering resistant ones. Then consider that animals shed bacteria in their feces and that manure is used as fertilizer, and fertilizer gets into ground water, and it quickly becomes evident how the bacterial resistance problem can mushroom. Thorough cooking kills bacteria, but the widespread incidence of food poisoning demonstrates that poor food handling and undercooking is common. True, most people who come down with bacterial food poisoning just experience some unpleasant cramps and diarrhea and recover without the need for antibiotic treatment. In this case, resistance is not an issue. But there are numerous cases of children, the elderly, or people whose immune systems are compromised, who need antibiotic treatment for food poisoning. And now if the bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, these patients can face a dire situation. Take for example the case of an unfortunate Danish woman who died in 1998 after eating Salmonella-infected pork. She failed to respond to ciprofloxacin (Cipro), the usual antibiotic of choice, because of bacterial resistance. In a piece of elegant research, Danish scientists succeeded in genetically matching the Salmonella-resistant strain to a specific pig farm. Surprisingly, these pigs had not been treated with ciprofloxacin, but the pigs on neighbouring farms had been, and the resistant bacteria had moved between farms!

Antibiotic Resistance

CHEMFUSION Joe Schwarcz, MCIC

In North America, antibiotics known as quinolones have been used since 1995 to treat infections in poultry. While this was great for the chickens’ health, it turned out not to be so good for humans. The most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in people is Campylobacter jejuni, and poultry is often responsible. If an antibiotic is needed, ciprofloxacin is the usual choice. But since the introduction of quinolones to farm animals, Campylobacter strains resistant to the drug have emerged. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recognized this as such a serious problem that it has made Baytril, a quinolone, the first veterinary drug to be banned because of the emergence of resistant bacteria. While this is the first action of its kind in North America, Europeans have been phasing out antibiotics in animal feed since the 1980s. Sweden banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in 1986 and Swedish farmers responded by improving hygiene on farms and by altering feed composition. They showed that meat can be produced for the consumer at virtually the same cost as with antibiotics. And without a cost to consumers’ health! The European Union has followed suit and on January 1, 2006 banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed. Continued on p. 23

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 9

New Drug Discovery—Beyond the Bench-Top Daphne C. Ripley, MCIC ew drug discovery does not stop at the laboratory bench. Although basic research may discover thousands of potentially useful medicinal compounds, very few compounds actually make it to market. According to the results of studies published in 2001 by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, only one in 5,000 compounds identified and tested make it to market, with the average cost to develop a single new prescription drug being US$802 million. A key way of recouping investment in drug development is through the patent system, which gives the patent owner a time-limited monopoly to practise the patented invention—usually 20 years from the date of filing the patent application upon which the patent is granted.

examiners for compliance with national patent laws before a patent is granted. Most countries, however, adhere to the same basic patent principles, so it is usually possible to prepare a single patent application suitable for filing around the world. Following the discovery of a new and useful class of chemical compounds, inventors, together with their patent agents, usually prepare a single patent application for filing in one or more countries. Although some amendments can be made to a patent application after it is filed, the scope of permitted amendments may be limited. It is therefore important to try to accurately and correctly describe the invention when the application is being drafted and before it is filed. Inventors play a critical role in meeting this end.

The patent process

Drafting preliminaries

Patents are country specific. It is therefore necessary to apply for a patent separately in each country in which patent protection is sought. Typically, a patent application is examined by qualified

Inventors can facilitate the drafting of an application by providing an invention summary to the patent agent at the outset. The invention summary should provide a basic outline of the invention. In the area

10 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

Photo by Adam Ciesielski

inventors need to ensure that enough information is provided to allow a skilled chemist to make all the compounds covered by the claims of medicinal chemistry, where the invention is one or more new chemical compounds, the summary should describe how the compounds can be made, the structure of the compounds, and possible uses for the compounds. Also, it is often worthwhile to conduct a search of the patent and non-patent literature to understand the state of the art and what the inventors have therefore invented before drafting is commenced.

The invention claimed and described Patent applications and patents have two main parts—the description and the claims. As a general rule, the claims clearly set out what is the invention, fencing off the subject matter sought to be protected by the patent, while the description must provide sufficient information to allow a skilled person to make and use the whole of the invention claimed. Most inventors of new medicinal chemical compounds will only have made a few exemplary compounds at the time the patent application is drafted. Usually these compounds will have a general structure in common, differing only in substituent groups. It is usually possible (and advisable) to claim in a patent application more than the compounds actually made and tested, extrapolating to a larger group of compounds that are expected to work in the same way. Failure to claim more broadly may result in a third party being free to make other, related compounds not specifically claimed, and thereby potentially reducing the value of any resulting patent. Thus, when the application is being drafted, inventors should be asking themselves what other compounds would be expected to work in the same way? For

instance, if an aryl substituent is suitable, would a heteroaryl substituent be suitable? An alkyl group? Etc. In preparing the description, inventors need to ensure that enough information is provided to allow a skilled chemist to make all of the compounds covered by the claims. In some cases this may require a number of examples to show how the compounds were made. In others, where the reactions are standard organic reactions that would be apparent to any skilled chemist, a very few examples may be sufficient. Failure to include sufficient information may be fatal, resulting in a patent not being granted, or it being found invalid after grant. There is also a requirement in most countries that an invention be useful. A patent application must therefore describe at least one use of the invention. In medicinal chemistry, inventors typically have experimental results showing a utility of a representative number of compounds. In many cases, some or all of these results will also be included in the patent application.

Publish and perish— novelty and obviousness In most countries of the world, an invention must be new and non-obvious to be patentable. An invention is generally not considered new if it was in the public domain before the patent application was filed, or if another patent application was earlier filed in the same country and claiming the same invention. An invention is usually considered non-obvious where a skilled person, having regard to what was publicly known before the patent application was filed, would have considered it to be so. Often the prior public disclosure for novelty, and sometimes obviousness, is made by the inventors themselves. If an inventor publishes an academic article or gives a presentation describing the compounds before a patent application is filed, it will not be possible to obtain a patent on those compounds in most countries in the world. Canada and the U.S. are two notable exceptions, with each having a one year grace period in which a patent application can still be filed following such public disclosures by the inventors. So, it is best to defer publishing or presenting research results until after a patent application is filed.

Improvements In most countries, it is possible to patent improvements on a discovery previously publicly disclosed and patented. In medicinal chemistry in particular, improvement patents can be very important. For instance, it is sometimes discovered that a known chemical compound has a new and unexpected utility. It is also often the case in medicinal chemistry (where drugs usually have one or more chiral centres) that a particular stereoisomer, previously unresolved, is found to be particularly useful for treating a disease. Also, it may be discovered that a known compound has a number of polymorphic forms, some or all of which may be useful as medicines. These improvements may all be patentable. So, before publishing results concerning these improvements, talk to a patent agent—you may have another patentable invention. Given the research investment in developing new drugs, take the time to think about patenting and to assist in preparing and reviewing a patent application before it is filed to achieve the most value from your research time and investment.

Daphne C. Ripley, MCIC, is an associate with the intellectual property law firm of Smart & Biggar. She is a lawyer and patent agent, with a focus in procuring patent protection for chemical inventions. She received

her MSc in chemistry from Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 11

Orthomolecular Medicine

Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, FRCP(C) Could medicinal chemistry be applied in an unconventional way to ease the suffering of schizophrenics?

here was no successful treatment for schizophrenia in 1950. An admission to any mental hospital in Canada was a life sentence, with no time off for good behaviour. I was director of Psychiatric Research in Saskatchewan, where we had about 2,500 chronic schizophrenic patients in our two large institutions—this was our major problem. In 1960, a physician from the U.S. called me about his 12-year-old son who had been in a psychiatric ward for some time and had just been declared hopelessly ill. He was advised by his son’s psychiatrist to ship him to the closest mental hospital to forget him. By 1960, antipsychotic drugs had already been in use for about five years. The father had just read our first report that vitamin B-3 (nicotinic acid and nicotinamide) in large doses doubled the expected recovery rate. Our conclusion was based upon the first double blind prospective placebo controlled trials in world psychiatry. I advised him to

12 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

give his son niacin. But his son’s psychiatrist refused, claiming that they had already tried it, and that it would fry his brain—both lies. The boy’s father ground the tablets to a powder and while visiting his son daily, fed him sandwiches made of a slice of bread, jam, niacin, jam, and bread. His son loved jam. Twelve weeks later, the child was healthy and wanted to go home. He eventually became a psychiatrist and published a few papers on his research with manicdepressive patients. His son was one of the early patients to recover when treated with orthomolecular methods. Linus Pauling defined “orthomolecular” in his Science paper in 1968. It refers to the use of optimum amounts of nutrients that are normally present in the body. I would add, “and cannot live in its absence.” This is meant to exclude herbs, etc. How had we come from the totally hopeless views in 1950 to seeing a young patient become healthy in 1960? The following is the history of what

Photo by Derek Jones

happened during that decade that saved a boy from chronic incarceration (or death) in one of the horrible mental hospitals of North America.

How did it start? In the fall of 1951, Humphry Osmond and John Smythies suggested that schizophrenia might be caused by the formation of substances having hallucinogenic properties similar to those induced by mescaline and structurally similar to the catechol amines like adrenalin, noradrenalin, and dopamine. Chemicals that are similar in structure tend to have similar physiological properties. Following this lead, I examined the structure of all the hallucinogens known in 1952. They all contained the indole nucleus or could be indolized in the body. These included LSD, harmine, ibogaine, mescaline, and discoloured pink adrenalin. At the first meeting in 1952 of the Saskatchewan Committee for Schizophrenia Research, Duncan Hutcheon told us that discoloured adrenalin contained the red-pigmented oxidation product adrenochrome. The adrenochrome hypothesis of schizophrenia followed.1 But there were many difficulties with this hypothesis. Stable crystalline adrenochrome had never been synthesized—it had not been shown it could be made in the body from adrenalin, and that it had hallucinogenic properties. However, we discovered how to make crystalline and pure adrenochrome. Eventually, as a result of this basic research, it was found in the body and can be measured in the blood.2, 3 Over the past ten years there has been a major surge of interest 4, 5 in John Smythies’ research on schizophrenia.6, 7, 8, 9 We also needed to know if there was increased oxidation of adrenalin to adrenochrome in the body and brain of schizophrenic patients. Secondly, we had to determine whether it had any hallucinogenic properties. There is no longer any doubt about its psychotomimetic properties, i.e., it causes psychological changes in every animal studied. Schizophrenia patients do suffer from oxidative stress and from a deficiency of antioxidants in the body such as glutathione.10, 11 Finally, and of the greatest importance, was our need for treatment for schizophrenic patients. If we could decrease the formation of adrenochrome, we would have a treatment for schizophrenia.

Vitamin B-3 is a methyl acceptor, and we thought that by giving these patients large amounts of this safe vitamin we might deplete the body’s supply of methyl groups and thus prevent the formation of adrenalin from nordrenalin. And to decrease the oxidation of adrenalin to adrenochrome, we thought that large doses of ascorbic acid, the most effective water soluble antioxidant, would be helpful. Vitamin B-3 is the antipellagra vitamin. Pellagra is characterized by the four Ds—dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death. “Dementia” is not the best term. The proper term is “psychosis” since the pellagrin’s psychosis is indistinguishable from schizophrenia. The reaction to niacin became a diagnostic test. If patients were well within a few days or weeks, they were diagnosed pellagra, and if they did not, they were diagnosed schizophrenia. Niacinamide was added to white flour in 1942 in the U.S. This suddenly stopped that terrible pellagra epidemic that often swept through the southeast U.S. and sometimes made up one third of their admissions to their mental hospitals. One of our first patients given these vitamins was Ken, a 21-year-old catatonic patient at the Saskatchewan Hospital at Weyburn. Ken failed to respond to insulin coma and a series of ECT, which left him worse. By the time we obtained a supply of niacin and vitamin C, Ken was near death in a coma. Osmond and I gave him large amounts of niacin and vitamin C via stomach tube. The next day, he sat up. Thirty days later he was healthy. We continued to treat a few patients until we had seen the effect on eight. They had all recovered or gotten much better. This led to our placebo double-blind prospective randomized controlled therapeutic trials. With our first double blind controlled trial, started in 1952, we treated 30 schizophrenic patients. None of them were the chronic patients in our mental hospitals. We suspected that early cases had a much better chance of responding. They were patients who were sick for the first time or who had been sick, had gotten better, and had relapsed again. They were then followed blind for two years and at the end of that period, the code was broken. We found that one-third of the placebo group was well and that two thirds of the vitamin group was well. Niacin and niacinamide were equally effective.

The chrome indoles— adrenochrome, adrenolutin, and derivatives These coloured indoles form melanin type pigments in the skin and the brain and they are toxic in large doses. The formation of these chrome indoles occurs primarily in two specialized cells—catecholaminergic neurons and melanocytes. They are degenerative and apoptotic agents.12 If present in excess, they will inhibit mitosis or growth and repair and if present in the synapses, will interfere and decrease brain function as do LSD and other hallucinogens.

Effect of oxidative stress— pathological Increased oxidation will increase the formation of adrenochrome and other derivatives of the catecholamines. Anything that increases the rate of these reactions will therefore increase the intensity of the effects of these indoles. These include increased oxygen pressure as in deep sea diving, a deficiency of antioxidants, increased secretion of adrenalin, i.e., stress, and increase in auto catalysis from copper and iron. This is a non-enzymatic pathway used in extreme stress. Too many oxidative catalyses and too few antioxidants are much more apt to be found in diets deficient in protein, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals. A study in Europe showed that the incidence of schizophrenia doubled from 1.7/1,000 to 3.9/1,000 in people born during the last World War, when their mothers were most apt to have suffered severe malnutrition.13 The rate of adult schizophrenia also increased from 0.84 percent risk to 2.40 percent following the famine in China between 1959 and 1961.14 The severe stress induced by the famine probably decreased the efficiency of converting tryptophan into Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD).

Effect of decreased oxidative stress—therapeutic Any factor that decreases the formation of adrenochrome will be therapeutic. This is done by decreasing the stress of the environment by providing healthy housing, by ensuring adequate nutrition, and by treating the individual with civility (decreasing psychological

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 13

stress). The secretion of adrenalin will then be decreased. It can also be done by inhibiting the oxidation of adrenalin by the use of antioxidants, of which there are many in foods and in the body. Excessive oxidative catalysts, copper and iron, should be decreased if they are elevated, and antioxidants should be used. Anything that will inhibit excessive oxidation15 will be therapeutic. For example glutathione transferase prevents long-lived formation of dopachrome and noradrenochrome.16 The adrenochrome hypothesis using adrenochrome as a member of a class of oxidized derivatives of the catecholamines, explains very economically a good deal of what is known about the schizophrenias.17 It allows for the expression of genetic factors, it accounts for the known relation between anxiety, depression, and stress, and the early symptoms of the disease. It accounts for some of the physical changes found in the patients and for the lower incidence of cancer and the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. And finally, it accounts for the fact that vitamins in the Krebs cycle and nutrients that have major anti-oxidant properties are therapeutic. The discovery that vitamin B-3 is therapeutic was not serendipitous.18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 It arose directly out of the adrenochrome hypothesis. Fewer than 10 percent of schizophrenic patients treated with modern medication alone recover. They do not pay income tax. The metabolic pathology burns forever. Modern psychiatry does not treat schizophrenia successfully. This is the conclusion of almost every published analysis. Malla et al.,24 following a very thorough examination of published studies, conclude “Outcome in regard to functional measure such as employment and community and social adjustment are predicted not only by delay in treatment but also by cognitive dysfunction, residual symptoms, and adherence to medication. Pharmacological and psychological intervention show a promising effect in terms of either delaying or preventing conversion to a syndrome level of ultra high risk individuals, but the evidence is not

yet at a level that can be applied in practice.” Plainly put, Malla and colleagues concluded that although there was some evidence that early intervention might improve some of the treatment results, they presented no data that in fact early onset patients were any better off with treatment. There is no mention of the number that actually became and remained normal. And this is the best prognostic group. This is the group that responds the best to orthomolecular treatment. Jobe et al.25 confirm the poor results. They conclude schizophrenia is a “pooroutcome disorder” and they warn that more attention must be given to suicide and early death. It does not say much for antipsychotic treatment with drugs used alone that after 50 years of research, advertising and use that what they have written is merely a repetition of what has been written over and over for the past half a century. Oxidative stress combined with a deficiency of antioxidants may also play a role in several other chronic neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Now, with the medical profession so large and so tightly controlled by its self-governing bodies, it takes much longer. This applies only to new paradigms. It does not apply to old paradigms. Once the concept of antibiotics had been accepted—first described in 1906 or so and popularized during the last great war—new antibiotics can come as fast as the drug companies are willing to make them. In my opinion, orthomolecular psychiatry is such a new paradigm that it must also suffer the same resistance as have other new paradigms including bringing fever down instead of increasing it for smallpox, using cardiac catherization, lumpectomies instead of total mastectomies, and more. I have tried to provide some explanation in my book, Adventures in Psychiatry.27

Endnotes See www.accn.ca/april2006_orthomolecular_ endnotes.html.

Over the past 55 years, Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, FRCP(C), has devoted his research career to trying to improve the lot of those most unfortunate of all patients, schizophrenics who

Why is this treatment still unknown? The best way to answer this question is to quote from what is written on the inside front cover of Stephen R. Brown’s26 book on scurvy. “Scurvy took a terrible toll in the Age of Sail, killing more sailors than were lost in all sea battles combined. The threat of the disease kept ships close to home and doomed those vessels that ventured too far from port. The wilful ignorance of the royal medical elite, who endorsed ludicrous medical theories based on speculative research while ignoring the life-saving properties of citrus fruit, cost tens of thousands of lives and altered the course of many battles at sea.” Almost every technique and method used in modern medicine had to fight its way in the same way. This used to take about 40 years.

are not treated properly. His numerous degrees include a PhD in agricultural biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1944. He began in 1950 as director of psychiatric research at the department of public health in Saskatchewan where he and his colleagues developed the adrenochrome hypothesis of schizophrenia which is now, at last, being examined more seriously. They were aided by federal, provincial, and Rockefeller Foundation support, and did the first double blind controlled therapeutic trials in world psychiatry and in North America. Their work led to the modern development of orthomolecular medicine. Hoffer has been in private practice since 1967, first in Saskatoon, SK, and since 1976 in Victoria, BC. He retired recently at age 88 and is now providing information about vitamins. He has published nearly 30 books and “too many papers—nearly 500.”

What do YOU think? React at editorial@accn.ca 14 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

Mimicking a Good Gene Defect Drug therapy designed to make quitting smoking easier

ou’re a smoker, but your partner isn’t and never has been. Why? And why is it so hard for you to quit when your friend did it without as much trouble? Some of it probably has to do with CYP2A6. When nicotine from a cigarette enters the body, the drug shoots up to your brain and then to your liver. CYP2A6 is an enzyme found in the liver that helps you expel the nicotine from your body, by way of your kidneys. The problem with CYP2A6’s efficiency in metabolizing nicotine so quickly is that once the drug is expelled from your body, you will soon crave more. So you will re-fill your supply with another smoke, then another. The danger, of course, is that after years of feeding the addiction, you have a good probability of suffering debilitating and fatal tobacco-related diseases. But in the late 1990s, a University of Toronto team found that if you have a defective version of CYP2A6, you’re in much better shape for not becoming a smoker—or if you do smoke, you will smoke a lot less. “The defective version of CYP2A6 actually slows down the metabolism of nicotine, so it stays in your body longer,” says Rachel Tyndale, professor of pharmacology, who made the discovery with Edward Sellers, also of pharmacology. “This means that you will have less frequent cravings for nicotine. Or it can result in greater negative effects of nicotine, such as nausea and dizziness, which can turn you off smoking completely.” The presence of CYP2A6 is a fascinating story of adaptation. Tyndale says it is thought that when plants and animals separated early in the evolutionary process, the plants developed toxins to repel animals so that they wouldn’t be eaten. Animals reacted by developing enzymes

Paul Fraumeni

that would act as a defence system and allow the body to get rid of the toxins quickly. One of those enzymes is CYP2A6. “It’s a remarkable example of evolution at work. But this enzyme actually increases smoking, while its defective variation decreases the need to smoke. And not everyone has the defect. So we’re trying to imitate the defect to help people quit smoking more easily.” Tyndale, Sellers, and colleagues Ewa Hoffmann, Sharon Miksys, Yushu Rao, and Helma Nolte have been pursuing a method of mimicking the action of the genetic defect and producing a drug therapy that would either replace or be used in conjunction with current nicotine replacement methods, such as the nicotine patch. “A lot of methods don’t work as well as they could because they are one-size-fits-all approaches. Every smoker has different nicotine needs, so quitting will be much easier if the therapy can be customized. Our drug therapy will allow a smoker to adjust intake of nicotine to when they need it at different times during the day.” Tyndale and Sellers are carrying out their research with support from the Canada Research Chairs, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. They have also formed a company, Nicogen, to develop the drug therapy. Their patents are currently issuing. Tyndale points out that approximately 35 percent of smokers make a serious attempt to quit each year, but only 5 percent are successful. “Quitting smoking is a tough battle. But we believe our process will give people a much better chance of staying off tobacco for good.”

Paul Fraumeni is the editor of the University of Toronto’s research magazine, Edge.

Photo by Brandon Blinkenberg

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 15

Throwing the Wrench with Perfect Aim Annick Gauthier has a passion for disease biochemistry.

s a child growing up in the small town of Pincourt, QC, Annick Gauthier knew two forces would guide her life— she was fascinated by how the body works, particularly diseases, and she wanted to help people. At first she thought she’d be a pathologist. No, she realized later, that’s too late in the disease process. She wanted to prevent disease. To understand the first deadly kiss between pathogen and human cell in such intimate detail that she could throw a wrench into the molecular works. “I’m interested in understanding what’s happening at the most basic biochemical level. If we can figure out how, for example, the Hepatitis C virus actually uses the body to reproduce itself, then we can set up roadblocks that stop the culprit from acting,” says Gauthier, winner of the 2005 NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize. In the late 1990s, Gauthier’s passion for disease biochemistry led her to PhD research in the lab of University of British Columbia microbiologist Brett Finlay, a world leader in the study of the interaction between bacteria and their human “host” cells. She arrived at an exciting time. Finlay’s lab group had just made a major discovery about enteropathogenic E. coli, a major cause of infantile diarrhea that kills an estimated 100,000 children a year worldwide. Surprisingly, unlike most bacteria, enteropathogenic E. coli uses its own protein to attach to a host cell. It’s like installing a door and having the key. Gauthier set her sights on determining how the bacterium inserts this protein. Through six years of research, she determined that a group of bacterial proteins called the type III system act as a superhighway to deliver the bacterial attachment protein into the human cell in a single step. The finding is exciting in that the type III system only exists in pathogenic bacteria, and thus might be an ideal target for vaccines or antibiotics.

16 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

For her present post-doctoral work, Gauthier decided to switch her focus to tackle an even more difficult scourge—the Hepatitis C virus. “I want to use what I learned from bacteria and apply it to virology. I think that this brings a fresh perspective to the problem,” she says from New York where’s she’s working in the virology lab of Charles Rice, an internationally acclaimed researcher at The Rockefeller University. “Often people think about viruses as inert substances, but I think there’s a real interplay going on between the virus and the host.” Approximately three percent of the world population, a staggering 170 million people (including many Canadians) are infected with the Hepatitis C virus. It’s a chronic infection that often leads to cirrhosis or liver cancer. There’s presently no vaccine or even effective therapy for the disease. Gauthier’s post-doctoral research, now in its second year, is focused on understanding how a remarkably simple virus—a strand of RNA that encodes only 10 proteins—hijacks our liver’s cellular machinery while staying hidden from our immune defences. Using her experience with E. coli, she has focused on a particular protein, dubbed NS4B. She suspects it might be the trigger for the creation of a web-like structure that develops in infected liver cells. And since she has already determined that the virus can’t replicate when NS4B is experimentally deleted, the protein could also be the ideal target for future therapies. Says Gauthier, “My hypothesis is that NS4B interacts with host cell proteins to create this membranous web and that’s the site for viral replication. So I want to figure out how it’s doing it.”

Reprinted with permission from NSERC

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The Economic Impact of a Flu Pandemic H5N1 concerns hold wide-ranging implications—and a surprising number of opportunities.

t is impossible these days to open a newspaper or magazine without seeing a story about the arrival of avian flu in a new country, or reports of additional outbreaks in chickens or another human death due to the organism. As the current strain of avian flu inevitably makes its way across the world, the warnings of a looming pandemic become louder—as does the need for proper planning to deal with the effects of such an event. The uncertainties surrounding the timing of the pandemic and the potential disruptions that would ensue will have a profound effect on world financial markets and their support infrastructure. Already, the avian flu has cost the Asian economies in excess of $15 billion and resulted in the deaths and culling of 150 million birds. This cost will only grow and in the event of a pandemic, will escalate exponentially. Recently, a senior World Bank economist told a gathering of world leaders that the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) would drop by at least two percent. This would amount to about US$800 billion over the course of the year. These figures have been extrapolated from the consequences of the SARS epidemic of 2003, which caused a two percent drop in GDP in East Asian economies. The turmoil in the global markets would inevitably impact things closer to home. For some businesses, the current situation creates additional risks that need to be factored in, whereas for others there will be opportunities. The following sets out some basic facts about the potential crisis and its impact on the economy in this part of the world.

Influenza—the link to avian flu All influenza viruses originate in aquatic birds in the wild, where the virus infects their digestive systems. Along the route of migratory flyways, due to erosion of natural habitats, domestic birds frequently come in contact with migrating birds and the virus has access to domestic fowl. Subsequently, the virus can mutate and adapt to infecting mammals such as pigs raised in proximity to fowl and ultimately humans

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Naveen N. Anand

who come in contact with these animals. In the event of a major change in the virus, which results in the emergence of a new strain not previously seen by the human population, the resulting massive global proliferation of infection is defined as a pandemic.

Pandemic influenza— history and potential of H5N1 There have been three documented influenza pandemics in the last 100 years—1968 to 1969, 1957 to 1958, and the most devastating, the “Spanish flu,” from 1918 to 1919. There is evidence that in all three pandemics, the causative viruses arose in birds. The current avian influenza virus making news, the H5N1 strain, arose first in 1997 in Hong Kong (in chicken flocks), where it infected about 18 people and killed six. There are several reasons for thinking that this virus may actually be the precursor to a pandemic strain. H5N1 has never been found circulating in general human populations before. Consequently, it is expected to be particularly problematic if it acquires efficient human-to-human transmission while maintaining its virulence. It has mutated into a more lethal form over time. Since early 2004, it has become 100 percent lethal in domestic chickens and has also acquired the capability of infecting other species such as rodents and pigs. The observed mortality rate in humans reported to have been infected (mainly through contact with infected birds) appears to be quite high—the virus has killed more than 60 people in Asia so far.

Response—public policy Sixty percent of Western countries have some plan on paper at least. Part of this is acquiring stockpiles of vaccine and anti-viral drugs to administer to selected members of their population, should the need arise. There are also ongoing debates on the role and respect of intellectual property (patents) on “essential” drugs and technologies, especially for

The vaccine industry will be foremost in the pandemic preparedness plan developing countries with limited resources. The following factors, among many others, will require honest and deep analysis—the ethical debates of making drugs and vaccines available to people in front-line countries, domestic policies on how these will be rationed and distributed, including which age groups will get priority, and how order will be maintained.

Impact—financial markets and businesses As we all know, financial markets hate uncertainties and this threat of a looming pandemic will soon start to take its toll in a more meaningful way. The flu season in the Northern Hemisphere runs from November to April. The chance of an epidemic increases during this period along with the risk to the markets. Economists have begun to look at the vulnerability and potential meltdown of the financial markets in the event of a flu pandemic. This would be mainly as a consequence of panic, breakdown of order, shortages, and severe restrictions on free flow of goods and services. Some sectors that may be particularly affected are tourism, travel, lodging and hospitality, airlines, and transportation. We can expect commodity prices to fall significantly due to chaos in world markets, as well as housing and real estate to also be adversely affected. Businesses in the food supply chain are also at risk—there is already evidence in Europe that sellers of chickens have seen their share prices plummet (e.g. LDC of France has seen share prices decline by 16 percent since October 7, 2005), whereas fish producers like Pescanova of Spain have gained on speculation. Adverse effects would also be seen here in companies such as Tyson foods and fast food restaurants like KFC (Yum Yum Brands Inc.). Businesses that depend on just-in-time inventory (such as the auto industry) could be hit hard with a double whammy—lack of delivery of inventory and staff shortages. Central banks worldwide would be under tremendous pressure to pump liquidity into the markets and

consequently, we can expect a sharp decline in interest rates. The best way for businesses to mitigate the impact on their operations is to study the risk to their particular circumstance and plan accordingly. Individuals can also plan appropriately and a significant mitigating factor may be planning to reduce overall indebtedness.

Opportunity—life science and pharmaceutical companies As always, there are also opportunities for some businesses, especially those in the life sciences area and delivery of services. The increased funding available for developing new technologies, vaccines, surveillance, testing, and drugs will drive growth in specific groups of businesses. The vaccine industry will be foremost in the pandemic preparedness plan. Influenza vaccines are theoretically the best way to prevent the virus from spreading indiscriminately. The established influenza vaccine producing companies, such as Sanofi Pasteur, Chiron, GSK, CSL (Australia), and Solvay (Netherlands) should certainly benefit from government contracts for stockpiles (Sanofi Pasteur and Chiron have already been awarded multimillion dollar contracts for the vaccine in the U.S.). Other new vaccine companies, such as Crucell (Netherlands) and Protein Sciences Corp. (U.S.) will also be able to easily access developmental funds for better production technology including cell-culture processes, improvements in the lag time for manufactured vaccine turnaround and new ways of administering vaccines (such as patch technologies being developed by Iomai Corp. in the U.S.), which may allow less vaccine to be used per person. Manufacturers of animal fluvaccines, such as Intervet (Netherlands), would also be net beneficiaries in terms of growth. Companies that currently market antiviral drugs that have been shown to inhibit the H5N1 virus (such as Roche with Tamiflu and GSK with Relenza) will certainly see an enhancement to their top-line revenues as countries stock up on these drugs. In the short-term these could be net beneficiaries in terms of market value. Longer term, however, it is harder to estimate since the outcome of the debates on compulsory licensing may have an impact. Other companies developing new generations of anti-viral drugs or technologies,

especially those shown to be active against the new strains of avian influenza (e.g. BioCryst and Gilead in the U.S. and Biota in Australia), will be another set of businesses that certainly have potential for doing well. The situation here is similar to the anti-HIV therapeutic area, in that several types of drugs may be required to counter drug resistance that may arise. Similarly, just as in the areas of bio-terrorism, SARS, and mad cow disease, diagnostic companies generating sensitive, convenient, and rapid tests (such as Response Biomedical of Vancouver, BC) that can be used to screen humans, as well as domestic flocks, will be growth industries. Technology companies that develop products that would allow better surveillance and modeling of a potential pandemic, both in terms of hardware, databases, and software, are part of another sector that would benefit.

No room for complacency Whether the current threat of bird flu will ultimately turn into a catastrophic pandemic cannot be confirmed definitely at present. However, at the very least, this is a wakeup call. Complacency in this matter is not an option. Both financial institutions and businesses will need to plan and factor in potential disruptions due to events such as a pandemic flu. Players in the market will need to factor the risk of a pandemic flu into their current portfolios—both from a sectored and individual company basis. There is opportunity in the market as well, and reasonable hedging strategies may mitigate some of the risk. The above article originally appeared in the Winter 2005/2006 issue of Lab Business magazine. It was reprinted with permission. For more information on Lab Business, visit www.labbusinessmag.com.

Naveen N. Anand is a founding partner of AC BioResearch Inc., Hudson, QC, specializing in facilitating international business opportunities in the life sciences area. Aside from his extensive R&D experience, he served as vice-president of business development with Shire Biologics and Procyon Biopharma Inc. He is a pharmacist by training with a PhD in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and an MBA from the University of Toronto.

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W H E R E L I G H T A N D M AT T E R M E E T Have you considered the seemingly endless applications of photochemistry? 20 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

Marius Ivan, MCIC

hotochemistry as a chemical process has pretty much been around since the first photons were emitted in the universe, light triggered chemical reactions being the source of life on Earth. A systematic study of photochemical reactions started at the dawn of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The Italian chemist, Giacomo Ciamician, and the German chemist, Paul Stilber, were among the first to study photochemical reactions at the end of the 19th century using sealed flasks exposed to sunlight.1 Ciamician presented a big part of his work during a talk he gave in 1908 where he mentioned photochemical reactions that form the basis of photochemistry—oxidations and reductions, fragmentations, auto-oxidations, polymerizations, condensations, and rearrangements. Photochemistry established itself long ago as one of the strongest fields of physical chemistry. It has evolved into a multidisciplinary science lying at the crossroads of medicine, physics, biology, physical, organic, inorganic and theoretical chemistry, polymer, and materials science. Photochemistry, as science, is concerned with the interaction between light and matter, and the photoproducts obtained either directly or from other chemical reactions induced by the initially excited molecule. The best way to describe the behaviour of a molecule upon absorption of a quanta (photon) of light is by using a Jablonski diagram, shown in figure 1. Upon absorption of a photon by a chromophore, an electron is promoted from the singlet ground state (S0) to an intermediate vibrational level of the excited singlet state (S1). In terms of Frontier Orbital Molecular Theory, this transition can be viewed as promoting the electron from the HOMO to the LUMO, which in the case of organic chromophores, could be a π–π* or an n-π* transition (these two are the most often encountered transitions, but σ–σ* are also possible for saturated chromophores exposed to very energetic photons). Following vibrational relaxation (VR) to the lowest vibrational level of S1, the molecule can either relax to the ground state by releasing heat to the environment through a process called internal conversion (IC) or by emitting light (fluorescence), or undergo intersystem crossing (ISC) to the triplet state. Although ISC is a “forbidden” process, it still occurs, favoured by spin-orbit coupling. From its T1

state the molecule can either relax to S0 by emitting light (phosphorescence), react with itself (intramolecular process), or with other molecules (intermolecular process) and form photoproducts. The excited state is very short lived at room temperature, usually between 10 e(-15) to 10 e(-6) s for a singlet state and 10 e(-6) to 30 s for triplet state.2 An excited molecule can decay through internal conversion releasing heat (a radiationless process), by emitting light (fluorescence or phosphorescence), by abstracting a hydrogen intra- or intermolecularly, through isomerization, rearrangement, electron transfer, energy transfer, or by breaking one or more bonds. Most intermediates are radicals, radical ions, or ions.

Figure 1 Although the space is limited, an attempt to bring forward some of the most frequently encountered and important applications of photochemistry will be made in the following. Many photochemical reactions occur in biological media, the most famous being photosynthesis. Photochemical reactions occur in skin exposed to sunlight and synthesis of many compounds, such as vitamin D, is triggered by light. At the same time, exposure to sunlight could induce unwanted photochemical reactions in the skin. Prolonged exposure to sun induces sunburn, which in turn may be prevented by applying sunscreens. The role of the sunscreen is to protect the skin from the “damaging” UVA and UVB radiation by absorbing this radiation and releasing the energy as heat, doing photophysics rather than photochemistry. The interest and the resources allocated for research in this field in academia and in industry are considerable, one source for skin cancer being the photochemical

. . . in the future, science will pay tribute to the photon and photonics reactions that occur upon exposure to sunlight. Free radicals, produced in the body upon interaction of different chemical agents with light, cause DNA and cell damage. Exposure to sun is related to various types of cancer, aging, and cataracts. To counterbalance these negative effects, researchers have looked for compounds that will capture these free radicals, namely antioxidants. Free radicals are produced either by direct photolysis or by photosensitization, a process during which molecules in excited states transfer their energy to other molecules in ground state. Triplet oxygen is a good energy acceptor and it can be excited to its singlet state by energy transfer from a photosensitizer. Superoxide is a reactive species which can induce DNA damage and in the end mutagenesis. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a technique successfully used for cancer treatment, especially skin cancer, but other types as well. As a recognition of the importance of this topic, ACCN published an entire issue dedicated to PDT in 2002. The principle is simple and makes use of selective photosensitization. The patient is injected with a dye, usually 48 hours before exposure. The dye selectively associates with the cancerous cells indicating exactly where the affected tissues are located. The tissues are irradiated with a wavelength at which the dye absorbs, usually in the infrared region of the spectrum. Excited dye molecules act as sensitizers, producing singlet oxygen, which will further damage the DNA of the affected cells, stopping them from replicating. Research in this field is concerned with dyes absorbing in infrared and near infrared regions, since these wavelengths penetrate deeper in the body and are not harmful. However, compounds absorbing at shorter wavelengths are used as well, in a technique involving absorption of two photons from IR laser sources. A photosensitizer used in PDT must have certain properties. It should not be toxic for the organism in its ground state, should be able to selectively associate with the cancerous tissue, absorb preferably in the IR region, and have an excited state lifetime long enough to allow energy transfer.

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 21

Fluorescent sensors are used in many fields. In analytical chemistry, fluorescence spectroscopy is a versatile and sensitive technique, able to determine impurities at very low concentrations, as low as 10 e(-7) M. Selective binding of certain compounds, such as metal ions or organic molecules to these dyes, alters their fluorescence by either shifting the emission maximum or by changing the emission intensity. Since fluorescence is affected by many factors, fluorescent probes are used in different media to detect changes in the surrounding environment such as polarity, morphology, temperature, pressure, etc. In fact, designing and developing fluorescent probes for various applications is one of the most important fields of photochemistry. The increasing need for energy and the limited availability of classic resources has fueled research for alternative sources of energy. Solar energy is a renewable, clean, and readily available form of energy that can be transformed into electrical energy by solar cells through photochemical conversion of light into electricity. Research in this field has been going on for more than 50 years, starting with inorganic silicon-based solar cells developed by Bell Laboratories and continuing today with organic, hybrid, and polymer-based solar cells. Relatively recently developed polymeric and hybrid solar cells have shown promising conversions of light into current, and appear to be the ideal choice for future applications due to their lightweight, flexible shape, and the ease to integrate them into products such as clothing, cars, and roofs, etc.3 Photosensitive materials with exciting properties are developed and reported every day. Photochromism is an interesting and intriguing property of materials. Compounds that reversibly change their color upon irradiation (either by bond breaking and bond forming or by isomerization) have found application in electronics and in everyday life. Photochemical properties are altered by the medium surrounding the chromophore, and these observations have led to the development of a new direction, namely supramolecular photochemistry. Compounds encapsulated in zeolites or clays behave differently than in solution, and photochemistry at interfaces or on surfaces is another interesting application. Nanoparticles show intriguing properties, and in particular they have very interesting

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photochemical properties, with absorption and emission of these particles depending on their size and shape. Carbon, metal, semiconductor, and polymer nanoparticles have found applications in areas previously dominated by organic or organometallic dyes. An example is the application of nanoparticles as photosensitizers in PDT.4 Designing a molecule to be used in photochemistry, developing it until the desired behaviour is reached, is a long process. A key is to monitor the excited states and the reactive intermediate species formed upon absorption of a photon. These short-lived intermediates are observed using laser flash photolysis,5 a technique that allows observation of species living as low as a few femtoseconds and helps determine reactions’ rate constants. Working at low temperatures or in glass may prolong the lifetime of these intermediates, thus allowing characterization using other techniques. Once in an excited state, different reaction pathways could be induced by different substituents for example, or by choosing a different solvent (hydrogen donor, polar or non-polar, more or less viscous, etc). The presence of oxygen influences the outcome of a photochemical reaction, oxygen being a very good radical and triplet state quencher. Pollutants in the atmosphere and in marine water are subjected to photochemical reactions. Reactive species, such as hydroxyl radicals, are obtained in troposphere following light triggered decomposition of some gaseous pollutants. One of the most extensive applications is the use of photochemistry as a tool in organic synthesis. Many reactions that require strong energetic conditions (catalysts, high temperature, and pressure, etc.) may be done by exposing the reagents to light of a suitable wavelength, thus lowering the cost and reaction time. Light-initiated reactions are a green alternative to the classic thermal synthesis. Pericyclic reactions are one of the classic examples taught in photochemistry courses, but all the chromophores show specific reactions that could be exploited for synthetic purposes.6 Many other interesting applications of photochemistry have not been mentioned in this article. One application with implications in our everyday lives is photolithography—a technology used to manufacture computer chips found in

almost all the electronic devices, from cell phones to calculators, cars, laptops, DVD, and MP3 players. The importance of photochemistry as a science is reflected in the number of groups and laboratories around the world that do research in this field. In almost every Canadian university, there is at least one group doing research in this field and many more whose projects involve photochemistry. Advances in laser and imaging technologies allow new and exciting applications of photochemistry. If the 20th century was dominated by the electron and electronics, it looks that in the future, science will pay tribute to the photon and photonics.

Endnotes 1. Angelo Albini and Maurizio Fagnoni, “Green Chemistry and Photochemistry Were Born at the Same Time,” Green Chemistry 6 (2004), pp. 1–6. 2. Nicholas J. Turro, Modern Molecular Photochemistry (University Science Books, Sausalito, CA, 1991). 3. Sam-Shajing Sun and Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci, Organic Photovoltaics (Boca Raton, London, New York, Singapore: Taylor & Francis Group, 2005). 4. Shizhong Wang et al., “Nanomaterials and Singlet Oxygen Photosensitizers: Potential Applications in Photodynamic Therapy,” Journal of Materials Chemistry 14 (2004), pp. 487–493. 5. J. C. Scaiano and L. C. Stewart, “Phenyl Radical Kinetics,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 105 (1983), pp. 3609–3614. 6. Andrew Gilbert and Jim Baggot, J. Essentials of Molecular Photochemistry (Boca Raton, Ann Arbour, Boston, London: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1991), pp. 229–525.

Marius Ivan, MCIC, is a PhD candidate in the group of Tito Scaiano, FCIC, at the University of Ottawa. His research is in the field of organic photochemistry.

And in REGULATORY NEWS …

NRCan Regulation of EC Proposed Explosive Precursors Regulatory Provisions for the Export and Import of NonHazardous Waste Natural Resources Canada Explosive Regulatory Division (NRCanERD) is developing new regulations to address security concerns related to access to “restricted components” (i.e., explosive precursor chemicals), which currently include: • ammonium nitrate • sodium nitrate • potassium nitrate • nitric acid (68+ percent) • hydrogen peroxide (30+ percent) • sodium chlorate • potassium chlorate • potassium perchlorate • nitromethane A task group was formed with all the Canadian sodium chlorate producers to work with NRCan-ERD to develop a sodium chlorate security code of practice to deal with security issues related to sodium chlorate. The Sodium Chlorate Task Group (SCTG) is being coordinated through the Alliance for Environmental Technology (AET). The security code of practice includes most of the security elements from the CCPA and ACC’s Responsible Care™ Codes of Practices and is a description of what the Canadian chemical industry is already doing or should be doing. The code focuses on limited access to the product during the manufacturing, transportation, and distribution processes. The regulations will be less prescriptive and will incorporate the use of “guidelines” where developed (i.e., the regulations may refer to the code of practice for what is required). The SCTG last met with the ERD in December 2005 and with changes in the federal government, the publication of the draft regulations will be delayed until mid-2006, with possible im plementation before the end of 2006. To date, security codes of practice have been developed by industry task groups for two of the substances on the list: ammonium nitrate (by the Canadian Fertilizer Institute) and sodium chlorate (by SCTG). ERD indicated that they will develop general requirements for the substances that do not have security codes of practice developed. All companies that produce, transport, or distribute the explosive precursors will have to register with the ERD, and this will be spelled out in the new regulations.

Environment Canada will be drafting proposed regulatory provisions for the export and import of non-hazardous waste. The provisions are intended to protect Canada’s environment and the health of Canadians from potential risks posed by the transboundary movement of non-hazardous waste and to ensure that this waste is handled in an environmentally sound manner. Exports, imports, and transits of non-hazardous waste destined for recycling or recovery operations are not targeted. Environment Canada (EC) has prepared an on-line discussion document that contains an abridged description of the objectives, structure, and content of the proposed regulatory provisions, as well as the operational procedures to be followed once they are put into place. To view the discussion document, visit www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/ documents/regs/non_haz_wast/cover.cfm. Environment Canada invites all stakeholders to provide their comments on the proposed regulatory provisions until May 1, 2006. The next opportunity for stakeholders to comment on the proposed regulatory provisions will be following the publication of the provisions in the Canada Gazette, Part I anticipated in 2007–2008. ChemExec

CHEMFUSION

Continued from p. 9

Antibiotics are wonderful drugs and we must do all we can to protect their efficacy. While certain uses of antibiotics to treat sick animals are justified, as one scientist who studies antibiotic resistance opined, “Cipro is an essential antibiotic, and we cannot allow its effectiveness to be compromised by squandering it on poultry.”

ChemExec Popular science writer, Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, is a chemistry professor and the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. He hosts the Dr. Joe Show every Sunday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Montréal’s radio station CJAD and on CFRB in Toronto. The broadcast is available on the Web at www.CJAD.com.

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 23

CIC BULLETIN ICC

In Memoriam The CIC extends its condolences to the families of: William A. (Bill) Ayer, FCIC, FRCS, passed away in his sleep on December 2, 2005, at the University of Alberta Hospital. He was born in Middle Sackville, NB, on July 1, 1932 and obtained his BSc and PhD degrees from the University of New Brunswick. After a year at Harvard with R. B. Woodward, Ayer began his academic career at the University of Alberta in 1958 where he built an interWilliam A. (Bill) Ayer, FCIC nationally recognized natural products group. He became the authority on lycopodium alkaloids, some of which are being considered to be of value in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. He identified the alkaloid defence substances of the lady bug, metabolites of the fairy ring mushrooms, and a number of diterpenoids with unique structural features from bird’s nest fungi. Metabolites of blue stem fungi that infect lodge pole pine and aspen were first identified by Ayer. He went on to study metabolites from fungi that are responsible for a number of other diseases—canker formation in plants, for black root disease in pine, for Dutch elm disease, and from fungi that inhibit Dutch elm disease. He discovered phytoalexins, compounds produced by plants upon infection that resist the infecting organism, in his studies of black spot disease on canola and coffee trees. Ayer’s work initiated a new field of research that is steadily expanding and is important to agriculture and forestry. His accomplishments were recognized by the receipt of the Merck Sharp Dohme and the John Labatt Awards from the CIC and the E. W. R. Steacie Award of the CSC. In 1992, he was made University Professor, the University of Alberta’s highest honour. Despite such praise, Ayer remained modest and unassuming. He mentored about 70 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates, authored 210 publications, and received several patents. His students were well trained and many have made significant contributions in their own careers. He was an enthusiastic and popular lecturer at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Ayer was editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry from 1977 to 1983, editor-in-chief from 1984 to 1988, and president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry from 1988 to 1989. University of Alberta

Duncan Lunam Glenn, MCIC, was born in Bristol, QC, April 5, 1930, and grew up on a farm alongside the Ottawa River. He was educated at Shawville High School and McGill University, where he received an athletic scholarship and was on both the hockey and the football teams. He graduated with a BSc specializing in agricultural chemistry in 1953 and microbiology in 1955. Glenn loved his work in sales, travelling from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, as a chemical mining specialist. He worked in the Québec iron ore industry and for several chemical companies, including CIL, DuPont, and Monsanto. After moving to Toronto, ON, in 1956, he worked at BASF for 15 years in the production of plastics, chemicals, and vitamins. He was also employed at National Silicates. He was a member of the CIC from 1957 until his death, and he and his wife, Joan Ashworth-Glenn, MCIC, were often to be seen at Toronto Section meetings. He was also a member of a variety of other professional associations including the Professional Sales Association, Chartered Chemists, the Metallurgical Institute of the American Chemical Society, the Toronto Paint Society, and the Explosives Engineers Society. Adapted from the tribute given by Reverend Jean Hunnisett

E. Roland Menzel, inventor of laser fingerprint technology and Horn professor of physics at Texas Tech University (TTU), passed away due to an illness. He was 62. Menzel was best known for creating laser fingerprint technology in the mid- to late-1970s while a member of the scientific staff for Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Toronto, ON. While working on colour copier technology, Menzel discovered how fingerprints react to lasers. His laser fingerprint discovery was labelled one of the “Milestones of Canadian Chemistry in the 20th Century” by The Chemical Institute of Canada. Lynn Hatfield, chair of TTU’s department of physics, said he has lost a beloved friend and an important member of his faculty. “He was a very colourful character,” Hatfield said. “And, he was an outstanding researcher. He gave very good and interesting talks about his work. During his time at Xerox, he realized you could see fingerprints by shining a laser on them. The laser light excites fingerprint material and causes it to give off light.” Following that discovery, Menzel moved to Texas Tech University in 1979. He created The Center for Forensic Studies at TTU in 1982 with the aim of promoting innovation in physical evidence examination. The centre’s mission is to research new methods of evidence examination, hold workshops for law enforcement personnel to expose them to new technologies and conduct case examinations for law enforcement agencies. In 2003, the centre expanded to include an interdisciplinary forensic science minor program. As well as giving workshops to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, Menzel travelled to China, Israel, Guam, and Saudi Arabia to teach law enforcement officials how to use emerging technology to fight crime. Texas Tech University

24 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

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Funding Chemical Education

he CIC Chemical Education Fund (CEF) is made available from individual member donations and from earnings on trust fund balances accumulated from the generous contributions of the chemical industry over many years. The fund’s objective is to advance education in science and technology, particularly in the areas of chemical sciences, chemical engineering, chemical technology, and related disciplines.

2006 grant recipients • Youth Science Foundation’s Canada-Wide Science Fair • Virtual Science Fair • CSC regional undergraduate student conferences • CSChE’s Student Program at the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference • Public Understanding of Chemistry’s elementary school marketing campaign • Public Understanding of Chemistry’s chemical engineering outreach program • Edmonton CSC Distinguished Lecture Series—Roald Hoffmann Lecture If you have an interesting science project with a strong educational component, why not consider submitting your proposal to the CEF? The CEF directors are always looking for new ideas and new projects. Grants should be submitted by December 15 for the following year’s approval. A mid-summer review of new requests may also take place, if funds allow. For more information about the CEF and the grant application form, visit www.cheminst.ca/funding/cic_cef__e.htm. 2005–2006 CEF donors The CEF directors would like to thank the generous donations to the Chemical Education Fund received between April 2005 and February 2006 from the following CIC members: H. J. Anderson, FCIC M. T. Antoniades, MCIC Margaret-Ann Armour, FCIC Gordon Bates, MCIC Neil Bays, MCIC Maurice A. Bergougnou, FCIC L. G. Bortolin, MCIC R. Peter Brown, MCIC Walter F. M. Brown, FCIC T. M. Callaghan, MCIC

James Carroll, MCIC Francis L. Chubb, FCIC Howard C. Clark, FCIC F. J. Cooper, MCIC Donald A. Craw, MCIC F. R. Crowne, MCIC Katherine Valenta Darvesh, MCIC Amedeo F. De Rege, MCIC Jean A. Desnoyers, MCIC Patrick M. Draper, FCIC T. A. Eastwood, FCIC Chien P. Fong, MCIC George H. Fraser, MCIC J. S. Grossert, FCIC Ronald L. Haines, MCIC J. Hanson, MCIC Thomas E. Harrison, MCIC W. A. Harrison, FCIC F. Harrison, MCIC Owen G. Holmes, FCIC John F. Honek, MCIC T. C. L. Jacob, MCIC W. David Jamieson, FCIC Frank R. Jefferson, MCIC Dieter Klapstein, MCIC Harry G. Krokosh, MCIC Ulrich J. Krull, FCIC R. B. Kuper-Maryn, MCIC E. F. Ladniak, MCIC S. C. Liang, MCIC J. F. Matthews, MCIC Murray A. McAndrew, MCIC Archibald W. McCulloch, FCIC H. M. McFarlane, MCIC Eric Mead, FCIC H. R. Meyer, FCIC T. H. Glynn Michael, FCIC D. S. Montgomery, FCIC D. B. Mutton, FCIC Melonie M. Mrszczyszyn, MCIC E. H. Nenniger, MCIC Brian T. Newbold, FCIC G. L. Ossberg, FCIC W. R. Phalen, MCIC Judith C. Poë, FCIC William D. Powrie, FCIC Harold W. Quinn, FCIC A. Ramella, MCIC Scott Raposo, ACIC Allan H. Reddoch, MCIC Donald E. Rivington, FCIC Maurice A. Ryant, FCIC C. Sandorfy, MCIC

Michel Senez, MCIC D. A. Shearer, FCIC Jet Joseph Sieh, MCIC G. R. Skinner, MCIC Donald G. Smith, FCIC F. W. Southam, FCIC R. B. Stewart, FCIC Josef Takats, FCIC K. M. Thompson, FCIC L. M. Tod, FCIC Clinton A. Waggoner, MCIC Mary Anne White, FCIC Alfred G. Wikjord, MCIC David M. Wiles, FCIC H. G. Winnett, MCIC Tabitha Eden Wood, ACIC CSC BULLETIN SCC

CSC Board Nomination

t its November 17, 2005 meeting, the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) board of directors unanimously approved John McIntosh, FCIC, emeritus professor at the University of Windsor, as a nominee to serve for a second three-year term as director of accreditation. The term would be 2006–2009. The reasoning for the second term is that McIntosh currently serves as chair of the CSC Accreditation Committee and has led the initiative to take the program to the international chemistry community. The additional term would provide continuity for this important project. His biography may be viewed at web4.uwindsor.ca/units/ biochem/web/ChemistryPeople. Further nominations may be received by the membership by following the directions in the CSC by-laws, Article X, Section 3(e) found at www.chemistry.ca/about/governance/cscfrm_bylaws__e.htm. The deadline for receipt of additional nominations is Monday, May 22, 2006. If additional nominations are received, the CSC board will review the requirements for an electronic vote following the Annual General Meeting on Monday, May 29, 2006 in Halifax, NS.

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 25

CSC BULLETIN SCC

CNC/IUPAC Travel Awards Bourses de voyage du CNC/UICPA The Canadian National Committee for IUPAC (CNC/IUPAC) established a program of Travel Awards for young Canadian scientists in 1982. These awards are financed jointly by the Canadian Society for Chemistry’s Gendron Fund and by CNC/IUPAC’s Company Associates (Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Inc., Merck Frosst Canada Inc., and Bruker Biospin Ltd.). The purpose of these awards is to help young Canadian scientists and engineers, who should be within 10 years of gaining their PhD, present a paper at an IUPAC-sponsored conference outside Canada and the U.S. Deadline for receipt of applications: October 14, 2006. Details of the applications procedures can be found at www.cnc-iupac.org.

Winners for 2006 Garry Hanan, MCIC, received his BSc from the University of Winnipeg in 1989 and worked under the supervision of Steve Loeb on ditopic receptors for metal ions. After a year as an exchange student at Auckland University, New Zealand, he returned to work with Steve Loeb, FCIC, at the University of Windsor on Pt complexes of sulfur-containing macrocycles. Hanan then moved to the Université Louis Pasteur Garry Hanan, MCIC in Strasbourg, France and completed his PhD in supramolecular chemistry under the supervision of Jean-Marie Lehn in 1995. After a post-doctoral appointment as an Alexander Von Humboldt Fellow with Manfred T. Reetz in Mülheim, Germany, he worked with Vincenzo Balzani (Bologna) and Sebastiano Campagna (Messina) as an NSERC post-doctoral fellow. Hanan joined the department of chemistry at the University of Waterloo in 1998 and moved to the Université de Montréal (U de M) in 2002, where he is currently an associate professor. He will use his CNC/IUPAC travel award to attend the 37th International Conference of Coordination Chemistry in Cape Town, South Africa in August 2006.

26 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

Le Comité national canadien de l’Union internationale de chimie pure et appliquée (CNC/UICPA) remet des bourses de voyage aux jeunes scientifiques canadiens depuis 1982. Ces bourses sont subventionées par le Fonds Gendron (administré par la Société canadienne de chimie) et par les compagnies associées au CNC/UICPA (Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Inc., Merck Frosst Canada Inc. et Bruker Biospin Ltd.). L’objectif de ces bourses est de venir en aide aux jeunes scientifiques et ingénieurs canadiens, qui sont à moins de 10 ans de l’obtention de leur doctorat, afin de leur permettre de présenter leurs travaux lors d’une conférence commanditée par l’UICPA à l’extérieur du Canada et des ÉtatsUnis. Date limite pour postuler : le 14 octobre 2006. Renseignements supplémentaires : www.cnc-iupac.org.

Hanan’s research program at U de M encompasses several aspects of metallosupramolecular chemistry, including synthetic heterocyclic and coordination chemistry. Metallo-organic complexes with novel photophysical properties are assembled with the ultimate goal of producing artificial photosynthetic devices. Matthew Moffitt, MCIC, obtained his PhD at McGill University under the supervision of Adi Eisenberg, FCIC, and was an NSERC post-doctoral fellow in the group of Mitchell Winnik, FCIC, at the University of Toronto. He is currently an assistant professor in the department of chemistry at the University of Victoria. His research in physical polymer chemistry and materials science targets the application of spontaMatthew Moffitt, MCIC neous structure-forming processes in polymer systems (e.g. phase separation, dewetting, micellization) for the self-assembly of hierarchical polymer/inorganic nanocomposites. His interest in the self-assembly of hybrid building blocks of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles (quantum dots, metal nanoparticles) is fueled by the potential for bottom-up design of new nonlinear optical materials, photonic bandgap crystals, and light-emitting elements

CSC BULLETIN SCC

for photonic circuits. With the support of a CNC/IUPAC Travel Award, Moffitt will attend the World Polymer Congress–Macro 2006, the 41st International Symposium on Macromolecules in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2006. Moffitt’s research in physical polymer chemistry and materials science investigates the application of spontaneous structure-forming processes in polymer systems (e.g. phase separation, dewetting, micellization) for the controllable self-assembly of hierarchical polymer/ inorganic nanoparticle composites. Specific targets include bottom-up design of new nonlinear optical materials, photonic bandgap crystals, and light-emitting elements for photonic circuits. Enzyme modification is a promising field, with many industries rapidly increasing their activities in this sector. Joelle Pelletier, MCIC’s goal is to develop a deeper understanding of enzyme structure-function relationships, thereby providing better tools to modify enzymes for synthetic purposes. Much of her research effort is devoted to the area of ligand selectivity. To this end, she and her team apply Joelle Pelletier, MCIC combinatorial mutagenesis to the active site of enzymes, combined with kinetic and biophysical characterization and molecular modelling, as a general approach to enzyme modification. The First International IUPAC Conference on Green-Sustainable Chemistry, to be held in Dresden (September 10 to 15, 2006) is the first IUPAC Series Conference dedicated to green chemistry. It deals with all aspects of environmentally benign and sustainable chemistry, including “Benign Synthesis Routes” such as industrially relevant enzymatic catalysis. Pelletier’s multidisciplinary bioorganic chemistry research program aims to develop a deeper understanding of enzyme structure-function relationships. She applies combinatorial mutagenesis to the active site of enzymes as a general approach for the improvement or development of industrially-relevant enzymes.

Born in Nottingham, England, Alison Thompson, MCIC, obtained her BSc from the University of Leicester in 1993. In 1996, she was awarded her PhD from the University of Sheffield for research on the development of catalytic asymmetric aziridination and epoxidation reactions with Varinder Aggarwal. She then moved to Strasbourg, France and worked with Arlette Solladié Cavallo for a year as a Alison Thompson, MCIC post-doctoral fellow with a Royal Society/NATO award. In 1997, she joined The University of British Columbia to work with David Dolphin, FCIC, on the investigation of self-assembly processes involving pyrrolic molecules, first as a postdoctoral fellow and than as a research assistant. In 2001, she moved to Halifax, NS, to take up a faculty position at Dalhousie University with an NSERC University Faculty Award. Her current research interests include the synthesis and applications of dipyrromethene complexes, the development of new methodology for the efficient synthesis of functionalized pyrroles, and the design and synthesis of prodigiosins for the evaluation against breast cancer. With grateful receipt of a CNC/IUPAC Travel Award for 2006, Thompson will attend the 16th International Conference on Organic Synthesis (ICOS 16), June 11 to 15, 2006 in Merida, Mexico. At ICOS 16, Thompson will present work on novel diastereoselective complexation reactions that generate dipyrromethene helicates with >99 percent selectivity, as well as novel methodology by which to prepare functionalized pyrroles. The latter project includes the use of new sulfur-based protecting groups and the application of studies that involve microwave technology. The awards are sponsored jointly by CNC/IUPAC’s company associates and the Gendron Fund. Visit www.cnc-iupac.org/awards06_e.html for further information.

CSChE BULLETIN SCGCh

55th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference Student Program Sponsors Thanks for making it great! The following organizations helped make the CSChE 2005 Conference Student Program a success: Acqua Ristorante e Bar Alice Fazoolis BMO Financial Group CIC Chemical Education Fund / Fonds pour l’enseignement de la chimie de l’ICC CIC Subject Divisions (analytical, environmental, and process safety management)

Dow Chemical Company East Side Mario’s Harvey’s Imperial Oil Limited / Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée Izakaya Methanex Corporation Planet Hollywood Tim Hortons University of Toronto Engineering Society (Skule) Xerox Research Centre of Canada

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 27

CSCT BULLETIN SCTC

Report of the President Canadian Society for Chemical Technology

he CSCT ended 2005 on a high note, with increased membership and a healthy financial surplus. Membership at the end of 2005 showed more full-fee memberships than the previous year.

Governance and finances The CSCT is on a more sound financial footing than a few years ago, largely due to the professional development courses that have been offered. Although figures were not audited at the time of writing, it appears that the CSCT will have a surplus of $8,400. The future of the CSCT had been considered, with the CSCT Board looking at the possibility of forming a chemical technology division of the CIC in place of the present society. The CIC Board passed a motion to incorporate the CSCT in 2006, rather than make the format change. This will bring the CSCT in line with the other two societies within the CIC. The CIC and society By-law revision project has begun. The CSCT has a major challenge to attract new members, reflecting the overlap of recognized disciplines such as biotechnology and the environment with the pure chemical technology or chemical engineering technology disciplines. The present By-laws restrict expansion to some extent with the narrow definition of CSCT membership requirements. Changes in the membership should bring about many new exciting changes within the CSCT.

Tom Sutton, FCIC

Professional development The CSCT has once again hosted two professional development courses—ICPES and Lab Safety in conjunction with the CSC and CSChE conferences. The Lab Safety Course was held four times in 2005, twice at Bruce Power in Tiverton, ON, with 60 attendees, at Mosaic in Esterhazy, SK, and during the CSChE Toronto Conference. This course will also be offered in Halifax, NS, at the CSC conference in May 2006.

cCT Applications for the certified chemical technology (cCT) designation have increased immensely over the past year from one or two a year to over 15 for 2005. In particular, there has been an increase in nonCanadian educated chemical technologists. Assessing the education and work information provided for these individuals has proven to be a challenge. A subcommittee was set up to look into handling these assessments. New requirements for additional information have been put into place to process the present applications. The updated CSCT By-laws should clarify some issues on assessment of work and educational requirements.

CTAB The CSCT Board plays an active role in CTAB. I have been involved in meetings over the past two months involving revisions to the requirements for accrediting chemical technology programs.

Student symposia Two successful student symposia took place in 2005, the Student Symposium at SIAST in Saskatoon, SK, in March and the Career Symposium held in conjunction with the CSChE conference in October in Toronto, ON. Both were well attended with approximately 40 attendees at each.

Final words I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow CSCT Board members: Brian Kohler, MCIC, Murray Watt, MCIC, Cathy Cardy, MCIC, Joffre Berry, MCIC, Kevin Ferris, MCIC, Amin Hirji, MCIC, and Ovie Ekewenu, MCIC, for their support and assistance during my term as president. I would also like to thank Roland Andersson, MCIC, and all of the staff of the CIC National Office, whom I have worked with in my various capacities while on this Board. I welcome Joffre Berry to his new role as CSCT president and his new Board of directors and look forward to seeing this society move forward in this changing world under their direction. In conclusion, I would like to remind all CSCT members that the CSCT and The Chemical Institute of Canada belong to you. Get involved! Tom Sutton, FCIC CSCT President, 2004–2006

28 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

LOCAL SECTION NEWS NOUVELLES DES SECTIONS LOCALES

Ottawa Local Section Annual General Meeting and Dinner Assemblée annuelle et souper May 10 mai 2006 18:00–22:00

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

Silver Medalists Honoured The CIC is proud to announce the 2005 Silver Medal winners. The medals are awarded on behalf of each society.

CSC Silver Medal Winners

Algonquin College, Woodroffe Campus, Building D Édifice D, Algonquin College campus Woodroffe With a special presentation from / Avec une présentation spéciale de Jim Young, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada “The Forensics of Human Identification” Cost is $25/person (in advance) or $30/person (on site). If you plan to attend, please contact Jules Thibault, department of chemical engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 by May 1, 2006. Visit our Web site at www.cheminst.ca/

From left to right: Christine Campbell, chair, environmental science; Amy Snook, Sir Wilfred Grenfell recipient; Geoff Rayner-Canham, FCIC, representing the CIC

sections/ottawa for more details. Le coût est de 25 $/personne (paiement à l’avance) ou 30 $ (sur place). Si vous désirez être présent, veuillez contacter : Jules Thibault au département de génie chimique, Université d’Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa (Ontario) K1N 6N5; d’ici le 1er mai 2006. Pour plus de reseignements, visitez notre site Web à www.cheminst.ca/sections/ottawa.

Edmonton CIC Events David Schinder will be the speaker at the Edmonton CIC’s next dinner/lecture event. It will take place at the Faculty Club, University of Alberta, on May 17, 2006. For more information, contact Lucio Gemini at GelminiL@macewan.ca.

The CSC encourages undergraduate students in chemistry and related subjects by offering an award to the student with the highest marks, entering his or her final year of studies at each chemistry and/or biochemistry department in Canada. The CSC Silver Medal consists of an engraved medal and a certificate of merit. The society offers its congratulations to those students who received the CSC Silver Medal.

Gagnants de médailles d’argent de la SCC La SCC souligne les efforts des étudiants de premier cycle en chimie ou autres matières connexes en décernant un prix à l’étudiante ou l’étudiant qui aura obtenu les meilleures résultats scolaires à son avant-dernière année d’études dans un programme conduissant à l’obtention d’un diplôme en chimie ou en biochimie. Le prix de la SCC comprend une médaille gravée, accompagnée d’un certificat de mérite. La Société tient à féliciter les étudiants suivants qui ont mérité cette médaille.

Acadia University • Chemistry Michael James Wheeler Stuart Thelbert Read

Cape Breton University • Chemistry Ashley Diane Parsons

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 29

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

Carleton University

Université de Moncton

University of Regina

• Chemistry Andrew Bergeron

• Biochimie Geneviève Bujold-Michaud • Chimie Josée Boudreau

• Chemistry Tiffany Ulmer

Dalhousie University

University of Saskatchewan

• Chemistry Alexander Speed

Université du Québec à Trois Rivières

• Chemistry Curtis Rieder

The King’s University College

• Biochimie et Chimie David Marcoux

University of Toronto

• Chemistry Joel Kelly

Université Laval

• Chemistry Akos Kokai

Laurentian University

• Chimie Nicolas Guérin

University of Toronto–Mississauga

• Biochemistry Ryan Carbone • Chemistry Neil Graham

University College of the Fraser Valley

• Chemistry (Forensic Science) Yevgeniya Kravtsova

• Chemistry Pamela Jenks

University of Toronto–Scarborough

McGill University

University of Alberta

• Chemistry Camille Correia

• Biochemistry Kyle Martin • Chemistry Heather Lanman

• Chemistry Robert D. McWhinney

University of Victoria

The University of British Columbia

• Chemistry Adrian Houghton

• Chemistry Charles See Ho Yeung

The University of Western Ontario

University of Calgary

• Biochemistry Brian Boys

• Chemistry Jared Michael Taylor

University of Windsor

McMaster University • Biochemistry Clinton Campbell • Chemistry Brett Vanveller

Memorial University of Newfoundland

University of Guelph

• Chemistry Marisa Chard

• Chemistry Nevin de Korompay

• Applied Pharmaceutical Chemistry Colette Papagiannis • Biochemistry Sara Andres • Chemistry Anna Allen

Ryerson University

University of Manitoba

• Chemistry Bich Tram Nguyen Pham

• Chemistry Rylan Lundgren

Simon Fraser University

University of New Brunswick

• Chemistry Heather Crawford

• Chemistry Laura Richard

Sir Wilfred Grenfell College

The University of Northern British Columbia

Queen’s University

• Environmental Chemistry Amy Snook

Thompson Rivers University • Chemistry (Environmental) Alex Enfield

30 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Amy Hayduk • Chemistry Arthur Carter

• Biochemistry Amit Mukerji • Chemistry Erica Morasset

York University • Chemistry Daniel Majonis

CSChE Medal Winners In addition to the medal and certificate of merit offered by all the societies, the CSChE awards an additional prize of $50 and a oneyear membership to the CSChE. Winners have achieved top marks in their third year of a chemical engineering program. The society wishes to congratulate those students who received the CSChE Medal.

STUDENT NEWS NOUVELLES DES ÉTUDIANTS

Gagnants de la médaille de la SCGCh

CSCT Medal Winners

• Biotechnology Kathy McDonnell • Chemical Engineering Technology Craig Thompson • Environmental Technology David Boyadjian • Pharmaceutical and Food Science Technology Callah Burton

La SCGCh décerne comme toutes les autres sociétés des médailles et certificats de mérite. Cependant, elle désire accorder un prix additionel de 50 $ et un abonnement à la SCGCh, aux étudiantes et étudiants qui auront obtenu les meilleurs résultats scolaires à leur avant-dernière année d’études dans une programme de génie chimique. La société désire féliciter les étudiants suivants qui ont mérité la médaille de la SCGCh.

Humber College • Chemical Engineering Technology Jeffery McGinnis • Chemical Laboratory Technology Jeffery McGinnis

Dalhousie University • Vicky Whiffen

McMaster University • Dierdre Schroder

Queen’s University • Chemical Engineering Derek MacFadden • Engineering Chemistry Tyson John

Royal Military College • Travis Andrew Cunning

Ryerson University • Sanjeev Ramesar

Université de Sherbrooke • Pierre-Philippe Lapointe-Garant

University of Alberta • Amy L. Congdon

Durham College

Joffre Berry, MCIC, of BCIT presents a silver medal to Sheila Walker.

The CSCT extends congratulations to those students attending community college or cégep who received the society’s medal. The students listed have achieved top marks in a CSCT accredited chemical, biochemical, or chemical engineering technology program.

Gagnants de la médaille de la SCTC La SCTC tient à féliciter les étudiants suivants qui se sont vu décerner la médaille de la SCST. Ces étudiants de cégep ou de collège communautaire ont obtenu les meiulleurs résultats scolaires tout au cours de leur programme de technologie chimique, biochimique ou technologie génie chimique, approuvé par la société.

Mohawk College • Chemical Engineering Technology Earl Patrick Clarke • Chemical Engineering Technology– Environmental Matthew Reitsma • Environmental Technician Joe Dakin

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology • Chemical Technology Laura Moschansky

Seneca College • Chemical Engineering Technology Jamie Tung • Chemical Lab Technology–Pharmaceutical Constantin Togias

Sheridan College

• Colin William Smith

British Columbia Institute of Technology

University of Ottawa

• Chemical Technology Sheila Walker

• Chemical Engineering Technology Iwona Antczak • Chemical Engineering Technology– Environmental Carolyn Louise Winsborough

Centennial College

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

• Brad Seipp

• Biotechnology Caroline J. D’Arcy

• Chemical Technology Alexis Brown

University of Toronto

Dawson College

St. Clair College

• Leah Marianne Windisch

• Chemical Technology Wei Wei Lu

• Chemical Technology Brian Pare

University of Calgary

• Adam Donaldson

University of Saskatchewan

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 31

CAREERS CARRIÈRES

The CIC’s

Career Services

• CareerSite: The CIC’s job search and résumés on-line service is available at www.chemjobs.ca. • Employer list: Over 1,600 Canadian company listings—available to CIC members only. • Free membership: Full-fee members are entitled to up to two years free membership while unemployed. • ACCN: Post an Employment Wanted ad, check the Careers section for openings and keep abreast of issues in your community. • Attend the career events at the CSC and CSChE conferences. • Networking opportunities: Local sections and divisions can keep you connected.

Synthetic Organic Chemist Wyeth Research, a worldwide leader in the pharmaceutical industr y, has an immediate opening at its Chemical Development laboratories in St.Laurent Quebec for process development chemists. A PhD organic chemist with at least 10 years’ experience

• Need information on certification, professional status, or immigration issues: We can direct you on where to find help.

in process development in the pharmaceutical or specialty chemical industries. The successful candidate will be responsible for synthesizing multi-gram quantities and for developing and improving new processes for preparation of clinical drug candidates at multikilo scale. He or she will also have to provide technical reports and technical transfer documents for technology transfer packages to Kilo-labs, Pilot Plant and 3rd party supplier. Requirements include excellent knowledge of the scientific and technical developments in the field, organizational and communication skills, and a desire to work in a team environment. If you are interested in this challenging position, please send your resume at cvmontreal@wyeth.com.

32 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE AVRIL 2006

EMPLOYMENT WANTED DEMANDE D’EMPLOI

Junior Chemist with one year co-op experience looking for work in the Ottawa region. Graduated in fall 2005. Mature, highly ambitious, organized, and fast learning, interested in all fields of chemistry but would like to specialize in analytical chemistry, material characterization using analytical and spectroscopic instrumentation, and material science. Résumé available upon request at (613) 440-0013 or dsabic@gmail.com.

I have over 10 years of experience (A–Z) in Sales/ImportExport/Marketing/Purchasing of Specialty Chemicals to and from the U.S., Europe, India, China, Russia, and Ukraine. Currently, I am looking for a suitable position in this area. Please contact Chand at 905-424-8428 or cratne@gmail.com.

Looking for the Perfect Position? • Post a free Employment Wanted ad in ACCN. • Read the Careers Section for openings. • Check the CIC careers site at www.chemjobs.ca!

Sim & McBurney Patent & Trade-mark Agents Sim, Lowman, Ashton & McKay, LLP Barristers & Solicitors

The Advanced Sciences Group Michael I. Stewart Patricia A. Rae, Ph.D. Kimberly A. McManus, Ph.D.

John H. Woodley Lola A. Bartoszewicz, Ph.D. Kenneth K. Ma, Ph.D.

We protect all innovations in biotechnology, proteomics, pharmaceuticals and chemistry on a global basis. Please contact us at Sim & McBurney and Sim, Lowman, Ashton & McKay LLP 330 University Avenue, Sixth Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1R7 Telephone: 416-595-1155 Fax: 416-595-1163 E-Mail: mailsim@sim-mcburney.com or mailsim@sim-lowman.com

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 33

ADVERTISEMENT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; For information/comments please see www.chem.ucalgary.ca/csc2000/milestones.htm

EVENTS ÉVÉNEMENTS

Canada Conferences May 9–12, 2006. Climate Change Conference, Ottawa, ON, www.ccc2006.ca May 15–17, 2006. EnviroAnalysis 2006—Sixth Biennial Conference on Monitoring and Measurement of the Environment, Toronto, ON, www.enviroanalysis.ca May 25–27, 2006. College Chemistry Canada (C3), Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, www.c3.douglas.bc.ca May 27–31, 2006. 89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Halifax , NS, www.csc2006.ca

U.S. and Overseas April 23–27, 2006. AIChE Spring National Meeting, Orlando, FL, www.aiche.org. June 26–29, 2006. Balticum Organicum Syntheticum 2006 (BOS06), Tallinn, Estonia, www.bos06.ttu.ee, contact Krista Voigt, chemistry department, Queen’s University, baderadm@chem.queensu.ca June 26–29, 2006. 10th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, “Designing for a Sustainable Future,” Washington, DC, greenchem2006@acs. org, www.greenchem2006.org August 12–17, 2006. 19th International Conference on Chemical Education, Seoul, Korea, www.19icce.org

July 11–14, 2006. The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, Toronto, ON, www.bio.org/worldcongress

August 27–30, 2006. 11th APCChE Congress, Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, www.apcche2006.org

July 23–28, 2006. 23rd International Carbohydrate Symposium, Whistler, BC, www.ics2006.org, ics2006@nrc.gc.ca

August 29–September 2, 2006. XIXth International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry, Istanbul, Turkey, www.ismc2006.org

August 9–13, 2006. Ltos-12, Twelfth Symposium on The Latest Trends in Organic Synthesis, St. Catharines, ON, www.brocku.ca/ chemistry/faculty/hudlicky/ltos/intro.html

September 24–28, 2006. INTERACT 2006, Perth, Australia, www.promaco.com/au/conference/2006/raci

October 15–18, 2006. 56th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Sherbrooke , QC, www.csche2006.ca May 26–30, 2007. 90th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition,Winnipeg, MB, www.chimiste.ca/conferences/ cic_calendar__e.htm October 28–31, 2007. 57th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Edmonton , AB, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/ csche_annual__e.htm October 19–22, 2008. 58th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Ottawa , ON, www.chemeng.ca/conferences/ csche_annual__e.htm August 23–27, 2009. 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering and 59th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, Montréal, QC, www.chemengcongress2009.com

APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 35

Continuing Education for Chemical Professionals

The Chemical Institute of Canada and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology are presenting a two-day course designed to enhance the knowledge and working experience of chemical technologists and industrial chemists. All course participants receive the CIC’s Laboratory Health and Safety Guidelines, 4th edition.

Professional Development May 29–30, 2006

Laboratory Safety

Instructor

This two-day course is intended for those whose responsibilities include improving the operational safety of chemical laboratories, managing laboratories, chemical plants or research facilities, conducting safety audits of laboratories and chemical plants. During the course, participants are provided with an integrated overview of current best practices in laboratory safety.

Eric Mead, FCIC, has been an educator with the chemical technology program at SIAST, Kelsey Campus since 1973. Mead has taught and practised laboratory workplace safety for over 30 years.

Delta Halifax Hotel McNab Room 1990 Barrington Street Halifax, NS B3J 1P2 Tel. 902-425-6700 May 29 Toll-free • Introduction 1-877-814-7706 • Safety management Registration fees $550 CIC members $750 non-members $75 students

• • • • • • • •

Safety policies Training Safety Audit Labelling Flammable solvents Corrosive chemicals Toxic chemicals Reactive chemicals

May 30 Registration form and hotel information www.cheminst.ca/ profdev

• • • • • • • • • •

Insidious hazards Compressed gases Cryogenic liquids Fire safety Storage Waste disposal Personal protective equipment Electrical hazards Fume hoods Radiation hazards

The Chemical Institute of Canada

“The chemical field and profession are built on a foundation of trust with society. An integral part of that trust is the safe operation of facilities including laboratories, whether industrial, academic or government. The education of engineers, scientists and technologists must reflect that level of trust. We all share in the responsibility for safe and ethical research, chemical processing and analysis.” Eric Mead, FCIC Former Chair The Chemical Institute of Canada

Canadian Society for Chemical Technology

Continuing Education for Chemical Professionals

The Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC), the CIC Edmonton Local Section, and the Association of the Chemical Profession of Alberta (ACPA) are presenting the following course designed to enhance the knowledge and working experience of safety, environmental and process safety professionals.

Professional Development Risk Assessment and Management for Continuous Improvement May 15–16, 2006

The Westin Edmonton 10135 100th Street Edmonton, AB T5J 0N7

Registration fees $695 CIC/ACPA members $850 non-members

Registration form and hotel information www.cheminst.ca/ profdev

This two-day course is geared to those whose responsibilities include risk assessments, development of management systems, and providing advice to decision makers. The learning objective is to reach a thorough understanding of integrated risk assessment and management principles and techniques. During the course, participants are provided with a broad overview of the technical tools available to assess risk in industrial environments as well as how these tools fit in the bigger picture of the broader risk management systems to control risk.

• Emergency Management (with reference to Environment Canada and other Canadian Legislation) • Summary and Conclusions

Recommended for Industry and government personnel who have responsibilities in: • Safety, Health and Environment • Worksite safety • Asset Management • Operations Management • Process Safety and Loss Prevention • Risk Management • Security and Emergency Response

Elements of the course

Course leaders

• Introduction • Major Historical Accidents in Process Industries • Risk Concepts, How to Estimate Risk and Evaluate its Acceptability • Integrated Risk Management: Success Factors for High Performance • The Risk Management Process • Techniques for Risk Analysis • Qualitative Techniques: Hazard Identification (Screening Level, What-if, HAZOP, FMEA) with hands-on application examples • Practical Hazard Awareness in Operating Plants • Index Methods • Frequency Analysis Techniques (Fault and Event Trees), SVA, LOPA • Consequence Analysis Methods for Hazards Associated with Hazardous Materials (with reference to US EPA Risk Management Program Rule) • Applications to Plant Layout Design • Elements of Process Safety Management (with reference to US OSHA PSM Regulations)

Ertugrul Alp, PhD, PEng, MCIC, Principal, Alp & Associates Incorporated, has over 20 years' experience in assessment and management of risks to environment, health, safety, property and reputation. His experience covers a number of industrial sectors, including chemical, energy, pulp and paper, mining, steel, and transportation, and government sectors such as labour, environment, health, natural resources, and municipal planning.

The Chemical Institute of Canada

Norman Nibber, PhD, Director, Independent Risk Control Inc., has 20 years' experience in energy industries including: chemicals production, chemical process development and design, process safety and risk consulting. His experience covers a number of industrial sectors including heavy and conventional oil production, refining, gas production and processing, straddle and fractionation plants, LPG, olefins, polyolefins, styrene, polystyrene, methanol, pulp and paper, chloro-alkali, vinyl monomer, and ethylene oxide.

The Chemical Institute of Canada

2007AWARDS

The Chemical Institute of Canada Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the science of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. Sponsored by The Chemical Institute of Canada. Award: A medal and travel expenses.

The MontrĂŠal Medal is presented as a mark of distinction and honour to a resident in Canada who has shown significant leadership in or has made an outstanding contribution to the profession of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. In determining the eligibility for nominations for the award, administrative contributions within The Chemical Institute of Canada and other professional organizations that contribute to the advancement of the professions of chemistry and chemical engineering shall be given due consideration. Contributions to the sciences of chemistry and chemical engineering are not to be considered. Sponsored by the MontrĂŠal CIC Local Section.

Award: A medal and travel expenses up to $300. The Environmental Improvement Award is presented to a Canadian company, individual, team, or organization for a significant achievement in pollution prevention, treatment, or remediation. Sponsored by the Environment Division. Award: A plaque and travel assistance up to $500.

The Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award is presented to an individual who, while resident in Canada, has made a distinguished contribution to macromolecular science or engineering. Sponsored by NOVA Chemicals Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,500, and travel expenses.

The CIC Award for Chemical Education (formerly the Union Carbide Award) is presented as a mark of recognition to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in Canada to education at the post-secondary level in the field

of chemistry or chemical engineering. Sponsored by the CIC Chemical Education Fund. Award: A framed scroll, $1,500 cash prize.

Deadlines The deadline for all CIC awards is July 3, 2006 for the 2007 selection.

Nomination Procedure Please submit your nominations to: Awards Manager The Chemical Institute of Canada 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.cheminst.ca/awards/ cic_index_e.html.

Important ...

Submission deadline is July 3, 2006 APRIL 2006 CANADIAN CHEMICAL NEWS 39

The Canadian Society for Chemistry

2007AWARDS

The Alcan Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguishing contribution in the fields of inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Alcan International Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000.

The Alfred Bader Award is presented as a mark of distinction and recognition for excellence in research in organic chemistry carried out in Canada. Sponsored by Alfred Bader, HFCIC. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $3,000, and travel expenses up to $500.

The Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant who has made an outstanding contribution to inorganic chemistry while working in Canada, and who is within ten years of his or her first professional appointment as an independent researcher in an academic, government, or industrial sector. Sponsored by the Inorganic Chemistry Division. Award: A framed scroll, travel expenses for a lecture tour.

The Boehringer Ingelheim Award is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant whose PhD thesis in the field of organic or bioorganic chemistry was formally accepted by a Canadian university in the 12-month period preceding the nomination deadline of July 3 and whose doctoral research is judged to be of outstanding quality. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses.

The Clara Benson Award is presented in recognition of a distinguished contribution to chemistry by a woman while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Canadian Council

of University Chemistry Chairs (CCUCC).

Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of

$1,000, and travel expenses up to $500.

The Maxxam Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution in the field of analytical chemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Maxxam Analytics Inc. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000. The R. U. Lemieux Award is presented to an organic chemist who has made a distinguished contribution to any area of organic chemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by the Organic Chemistry Division. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses up to $1,000.

The Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada, who shall not have reached the age of 40 years by April 1 of the year of nomination and who has made a distinguished contribution in the fields of organic chemistry or biochemistry while working in Canada. Sponsored by Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $2,000, and travel expenses.

The Bernard Belleau Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of medicinal chemistry through research involving biochemical or organic chemical mechanisms. Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Canada Co. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize of $2,000. The Fred Beamish Award is presented to an individual who demonstrates innovation in research in the field of analytical chemistry, where the research is anticipated to have significant potential for practical applications.

The award is open to new faculty members at a Canadian university and they must be recent graduates with four years of appointment. Sponsored by Eli Lilly Canada Inc. Award: A framed scroll, a cash prize of $1,000, and travel expenses.

The Keith Laidler Award (formerly the Noranda Award) is presented to a scientist who has made a distinguished contribution in the field of physical chemistry while working in Canada. The award recognizes early achievement in the awardeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s independent research career. Sponsored by Systems for Research. Award: A framed scroll and a cash prize of $1,500.

The W. A. E. McBryde Medal is presented to a young scientist working in Canada who has made a significant achievement in pure or applied analytical chemistry. Sponsored by Sciex Inc., Division of MDS Health Group. Award: A medal and a cash prize of $2,000.

Deadline

The deadline for all CSC awards is July 3, 2006 for the 2007 selection.

Nomination Procedure

Please submit your nominations to: Awards Manager The Canadian Society for Chemistry 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 Tel.: 613-232-6252, ext. 223 Fax: 613-232-5862 awards@cheminst.ca Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at-www.chemistry.ca/awards/ csc_index_e.html.

Important ...

Submission deadline is July 3, 2006

56e Congrès canadien de génie chimique du 15 au 18 octobre 2006

Demande de communications le 1er mars 2006 – début des soumissions de résumés en ligne le 1er mai 2006 – date limite pour remettre les résumés Delta Sherbrooke Hôtel et Centre des congrès, Sherbrooke (Québec) Canada

Société canadienne de génie chimique • www.csche2006.ca

56th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference October 15–18, 2006

Call for Papers

Delta Sherbrooke Hotel and Conference Centre, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering • www.csche2006.ca

PM40021620

March 1, 2006 – On-line abstract submissions begin May 1, 2006 – Deadline for abstract submissions