June | juin 2011
Canadian Chemical News | L’Actualité chimique canadienne A Magazine of the Chemical Institute of Canada and its Constituent Societies | Une magazine de l’institut de chimie du canada et ses sociétés constituantes
The
catnip
Cure Fighting malaria in Burundi
Detecting tumours with isotopes Tagging antibodies
www.accn.ca
Chemical
Table of Contents
Features
14
Catnip Cure for Malaria A new project for Burundi. By Jodi Di Menna
June | juin 2011 Vol.63, No./No 6
20
Cell Detection’s New Frontier A new tool for cancer research and drug discovery. By Tyler Irving Pour obtenir la version française de cet article, écrivez-nous à magazine@accn.ca
Departments 5
From the Editor
7
Guest Column By Marcelo König Sarkis
8
Chemical News
Canada’s top stories in the chemical sciences and engineering
By Tyler Irving
26
Redemption Road for Radiation The future is bright for medical i sotopes. By Tim Lougheed
31
Society News
34
Chemfusion By Joe Schwarcz
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 3
FRom the editor
A
Executive Director
s you read this issue of ACCN, one general theme becomes apparent — chemistry and chemical engineering are potent weapons against such enduring scourges as malaria and cancer and key to the preservation and maintenance of human health. For example, our cover story, written by ACCN editor Jodi Di Menna, is an engrossing look at an ambitious project undertaken by chemical engineering professor Gregory Patience of École Polytechnique. Patience has started an agricultural and manufacturing initiative in civil war-torn Burundi in East Africa growing catnip to extract nepetalactone, which is used as a repellent against malariacarrying mosquitoes. In an underdeveloped nation such as Burundi, the challenges are immense. But hope, passion, ethics and a belief in the efficacy of chemistry drives Patience to become part of the solution against a disease that kills nearly 800,000 people every year. Veteran science writer and ACCN contributor Tim Lougheed also looks at the growing importance of medical isotopes in the early detection and diagnosis of diseases like cancer in his excellent story “Redemption Road for Radiation.” Staff writer Tyler Irving’s Q and A with the University of Toronto’s Scott Tanner also tackles the relationship between medicine and chemistry. Tanner has merged atomic mass spectrometry with flow cytometry to create ‘mass cytometry,’ which has the potential to revolutionize cancer research and drug discovery. You may note that Jodi isn’t at the helm of this issue of ACCN, having traded editing duties for maternal ones. However, expect Jodi back early in 2012 to resume her stellar work at ACCN. Since I have met only a few of you to date, and mainly over the telephone, I hope that I make your acquaintance at the 94th annual Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition. Please take the time to say “hello” as I would love to hear your story ideas and suggestions for the magazine. If we miss each other, don’t hesitate to email me at the address below to discuss all chemical matters great and small.
Roland Andersson, MCIC
ACTING EDITOR
Roberta Staley
Editor (on leave)
Jodi Di Menna
news editor
Tyler Irving, MCIC
Graphic Designers
Krista Leroux Kelly Turner
Society NEws
Bobbijo Sawchyn, MCIC Gale Thirlwall
Marketing Manager
Bernadette Dacey
Marketing Coordinator
Luke Andersson
Circulation
Michelle Moulton
Finance and Administration Director
Joan Kingston
Membership Services Coordinator
Angie Moulton
Editorial Board
Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC
Editorial Office 130 Slater Street, Suite 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 T. 613-232-6252 | F. 613-232-5862 magazine@accn.ca | www.accn.ca
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Subscription Rates Go to www.accn.ca to subscribe or to purchase single issues. The individual non-CIC member s ubscription price for 2011 is $100 CDN. The institutional subscription price for 2011 is $150 CDN. Single copies can be purchased for $10. ACCN (Canadian Chemical News/ L’Actualité chimique canadienne) is published 10 times a year by the Chemical Institute of Canada, www.cheminst.ca Recommended by the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC), the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE), and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology (CSCT). Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute or of the Societies that recommend the magazine.
Change of Address
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ISSN 0823-5228
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guest column
EU-Canada trade talks may spark changes to patent law
C
anada and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating the terms of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) since May 2009, with talks set to conclude in Brussels next month. Although CETA addresses many issues, several key proposals will directly affect Canadian pharmaceutical patents and generic marketplace entry. The first proposal addresses data exclusivity extension for innovative drugs. The EU is proposing that Canada’s data protection regime of six-years-plus-two be extended to eight-years-plus-two. Currently, a generic company cannot file a submission for a generic drug with Health Canada relying on the innovator’s data prior to six years from the date of first authorization. The Notice of Compliance (NOC) cannot be granted prior to eight years from the date of first authorization. If paediatric studies have been conducted, this term may be extended an additional six months. The EU is also proposing to extend the period to 11 years (eight-years-plus-two-plus-one) if the brand-name obtains another NOC for a new therapeutic indication within the first eight years of marketing authorization. The current data exclusivity period of six-plus-two-years was implemented in October 2006 by the federal government after considerable lobbying from brand-name drug companies and the United States Trade Representative, which requested that Canada strengthen data exclusivity provisions. Prior to the six-plus-two-year exclusivity period, Canada implemented a five-year exclusivity period in order to comply with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The second key proposal addresses patent term extension. The EU proposes that Canada implement a five-year patent term extension. Currently, the EU has a patent-term extension for pharmaceutical patents
By Marcelo König Sarkis
termed a “supplementary protection certificate,” or SPC. The SPC cannot extend beyond five years of the original expiry date of the patent. This is provided to patent holders who have experienced delays in obtaining marketing authorization. Currently, a Canadian patent has a 20-year term, calculated from the earliest filing date. This extension could effectively provide the patentee a 25-year term. A recent report, co-authored by Aidan Hollis of the University of Calgary and Paul Grootendorst of the University of Toronto, states that these proposals could equate to an additional cost of $2.8 billion a year to Canadian drug plans. The delayed entry of a generic into the marketplace, together with a patent term extension, translates into a longer period without a less costly generic version. Finally, provisions for appeals of a NOC decision will be changed under the trade agreement. Under the current Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, should either a brandname or generic lose an NOC proceeding, an appeal is available (although once an NOC is issued, an appeal by the brand-name may be deemed moot). The EU is proposing that the appeal process be exhausted before Health Canada issues the generic an NOC. Regardless, the patentee currently has the option (and frequently exercises the option) of initiating a patent infringement action once a generic company enters the marketplace. The report by Hollis and Grootendorst warns that this proposal could result in increased litigation costs, increased court costs and increased consumer costs due to a market entry delay by a generic. Marcelo König Sarkis, P. Eng. is a senior patent agent with the law firm of Heenan Blaikie in Toronto. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 7
Biotechnology
8 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
Phospholipids have a polar head (red circle) and two tails. When one tail is replaced with a porphyrin molecule (blue hexagon), the new phospholipid derivatives can form a construct known as a porphysome (right).
Biochemistry
Ion-jumping mystery solved Without ion channel proteins, our nerves would shut down and we wouldn’t be able to see, move or breathe. Despite this, there’s a lot we don’t know about how these transmembrane proteins work. For the first time, scientists at Laval University have been able to measure exactly how far sodium ions can travel through these channels. Ion channel proteins exist to allow charged ions like Na+ to pass through the non-polar environment of the cell membrane. Because real ion channel proteins are complex and difficult to study, Normand Voyer and his Laval team created synthetic versions using peptide synthesis. These consisted of helixes with polar crown ethers to act as the “jumping points” for the ions. By varying the distance between the crown ethers, the team figured out that the maximum distance at which sodium
Laval University researchers have created synthetic sodium ion channels where the crown ether “jumping points” are separated by known distances. When these points were greater than 11 angstroms apart, the channels ceased to function, indicating that this is the maximum distance the ions can travel on their own.
ions could still jump. The final number was 11 angstroms. By comparison, an average red blood cell is about 80,000 angstroms in length. Although it is the first time this distance has been so accurately measured, the synthetic channels have other potential uses. “The real breakthrough is the opportunity that this discovery opens up of designing what we could call nanotransducers,” says Voyer. “They allow very efficient transport of ions across insulators — the lipid membrane — basically acting as nanoscale wire.”
juin 2011
Normand Voyer
A nanoparticle that delivers drugs, provides photothermal therapy, acts as a fluorescent tracer and is non-toxic seems too good to be true. But a research team at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering has created a nanoparticle, called a porphysome, which does all this and more. Porphysomes were developed while trying to examine porphyrin properties in liposomes, an artificial cell membrane made of a phospholipid bilayer. “Phospholipids have a polar head and two tails,” explains Gang Zheng, who heads the U of T team. Zheng’s team replaced one tail with a porphyrin. Since the porphyrin group — derived from chlorophyll — is optically active, incorporating the porphyrin-phospholipid into the liposome should have allowed it to react with light. Surprisingly, adding these new molecules didn’t destabilize the liposome, but rather increased stability as additional molecules were added. “By the end, we completely got rid of the natural phospholipids,” says Zheng. This meant that the spherical structure was no longer a liposome, but something entirely new — a porphysome. The porphysome is similar to cell membranes in the human body, which makes it non-toxic. However, it becomes a multifunctional weapon once it reaches a tumour. It absorbs laser light, heating up enough to destroy cancer cells. It can be filled with cancer-fighting drugs like doxorubicin, which are released when the porphysome degrades. At the same time, the porphyrins become fluorescent, allowing researchers
to see exactly when and where the drugs were released. As they travel through the body, the porphysomes can also be tracked in real time using photoacoustic imaging. The beauty of the porphysome is its simplicity. “The fact that it’s intrinsically multifunctional, multi-modal and such a simple structure — that’s very satisfying,” says Zheng. Having demonstrated these functions in rats and mice, the team is trying to find additional uses, as well as collecting the safety data that will allow the porphysome to be tested in humans.
Jon Lovell
Porphysome holds promise for cancer treatment
Chemical News
Canada's top stories in the chemical sciences and engineering Business
Health
Digital microfluidic device poised for commercialization
Llama blood source of C. difficile therapy
How much does it cost to screen a million molecules for their therapeutic potential? The answer might not be as high as you think. Digital microfluidics can miniaturize many components of highthroughput screening. Thanks to a recent development at the University of Toronto, this technology could soon be ready for commercial purposes. Traditional high-throughput technology is based on plastic plates containing 96 separate reaction wells. Complex and costly robotic systems are required to dispense samples and reagents into these plates. Aaron Wheeler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto, believes that many components of this system could be replaced with digital microfluidics (DMF). Instead of 96 well plates, DMF uses electrodes embedded in a flat surface to create and manipulate nanolitre-sized droplets. By mixing droplets in parallel, the digital microfluidic chip can run multiple assays at once. Wheeler’s team has already demonstrated the
f easibility of this process, building a DMF chip that can simultaneously carry out up to 16 of the same assays currently used for drug discovery. Now, a $500,000 grant from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research will fund the push to get up to 96 simultaneous reactions and make a chip that is compatible with current robotic technology. “Our digital microfluidic device would do two things,” says Wheeler. “First, it will use 100 to 1,000 times less reagent per assay, which leads to significant savings and could allow you to apply these technologies to a wider range of problems. In addition, we’re going to remove some of the reliance on robots. We’ll still need a robot to initially dispense reagents, but all of the rest of the processes, from dispensing small amounts of drugs to rinsing the samples, will be carried out using this automated droplet manipulation scheme.” Wheeler expects the prototype to be ready in about two years.
Environment
Nanoparticles alter soil bacterial profile From socks to suntan lotion, beer to storage bins, nanoparticles are ubiquitous in society. But what effects do these particles have on the environment? Virginia Walker and graduate student Niraj Kumar of Queen’s University, along with Vishal Shah from NY State’s Dowling College, have just finished a study that shows that some nanoparticles can affect the microbes in soil. The team took pristine soil from the Arctic that was not already contaminated with nanoparticles. They then mixed it with silver, copper and silica nanoparticles at a dose of 0.066 per cent by weight. Changes in the bacterial community were monitored using respiration tests, fatty acid analysis, DNA fingerprinting and sequencing. Silver had the most dramatic effect, with populations of some bacterial species decreasing to 44 per cent of their previous levels while others increased. Copper had a less dramatic but still measurable effect, while silica had little effect. It’s not yet known what the consequences of this change in the microbial community will be. However, the team was concerned over one negatively affected species, Bradyrhizobium canariense, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen into a form used by plants. Walker says that her findings should be a warning to industry. “Nanoparticles are very important in the electronics industry and for other things, but maybe there should be pause for thought.”
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a bacterium that causes potentially deadly infections in up to three per cent of hospital patients on antibiotics. Fortunately, researchers from the National Research Council (NRC) have developed a powerful new weapon in the fight against this killer, courtesy the South American llama. Llamas, and indeed all camelids, produce a unique type of antibody in their blood that has a simpler structure than those found in other mammals. Because of this, antibodies generated by llamas are easier to clone, manipulate and mass-produce using molecular biology and recombinant DNA techniques. Jamshid Tanha and his NRC team have done just that, developing a suite of recombinant antibodies, called single-domain antibodies, capable of binding to TcdA and TcdB, two toxins produced by C. difficile. The bacterium is often resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics used in conventional treatments. Because the antibodies target the toxins rather than the bacterium itself, the team believes they will be more effective than antibiotics and prevent the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. What’s more, because of their particular structure, stability and specificity, these antibodies are unlikely to have side effects. In vitro tests show that the new proteins neutralize the toxins and prevent harmful effects. They can also be mixed in various combinations that improve efficacy several hundred-fold. Tanha says he hopes to move to in vivo animal studies soon, eventually taking a bite out of the more than annual $1 billion in health care costs caused by C. difficile.
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 9
Chemical News
Canada's top stories in the chemical sciences and engineering
Michael Helander
Materials
Chlorine key to simpler, cheaper OLEDs Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) can replace liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in such things as cell phones but, due to their complexity, are costly to produce. This could soon change, thanks to an accidental discovery by Michael Helander, a graduate student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering. OLEDs are made of thin films of luminescent organic molecules sandwiched between two electrodes. When properly arranged and supplied with an electri-
cal current, they can produce a full-colour, flat panel display. The upper surface is made of indium tin oxide (ITO), which is both electrically conductive and partially transparent. This design is problematic however, as there is a gap between the energy needed to remove an electron from the organic layer and the energy required for the ITO to accept it. Current designs bridge this gap using additional layers of transparent organic materials, but each layer adds enormously to the cost of production. Helander hit on a unique approach after noticing that the efficiency of one of his experimental batches of OLEDs was unexpectedly high. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed traces of chlorine on the ITO surface. “We were baffled,” says Helander. “Where was this coming from? Then we realized that someone in the lab had solvent bottles open.” Fumes from the chlorinated solvents, reacting with the ultraviolet light used to clean the ITO, had deposited a thin layer of indium chloride on the ITO surface. This allowed the ITO to accept lower energy electrons. The result was an OLED that works at high efficiency without the need of additional organic transport layers. “People tried to do this years ago,” says Helander. “The problem was that most forms of chlorine are highly reactive and tend to etch away ITO. The breakthrough here was to start with a relatively inert chlorine-containing organic compound.” Helander hopes the innovation will make OLEDs more competitive with LCD technology.
Pharmaceuticals
Nobiletin combats insulin resistance and obesity Murray Huff of the University of Western Ontario’s Robarts Research Institute has found a molecule that offers protection against insulin resistance, obesity and atherosclerosis. Just don’t ask him how many tangerines you have to eat to get this effect. Insulin allows glucose uptake by cells, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle. However, it also stimulates the liver to secrete fatty molecules into the bloodstream. In patients with Type 2 diabetes, the body’s tissues become resistant to the effects of insulin, so more is needed to achieve the same effect. The extra fatty molecules produced by the liver can accumulate
within artery walls, promoting the formation of atherosclerotic lesions, which increases the risk of heart attacks. Nobiletin is a flavonoid that is commonly found in tangerines. It mimics the effect of some of the body’s own signaling molecules. When Huff cultured liver cells in the presence of nobiletin, he found that they produced fewer fat particles than those grown without the drug. He then gave nobiletin to mice that were genetically predisposed to develop high blood fats, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis when fed a Westernstyle, high-fat diet. The results were dramatic. “The blood fat elevation was completely prevented, the elevation in
liver fat was attenuated significantly, insulin came back to almost normal levels and their tendency to be obese completely disappeared,” Huff says. The reduction in atherosclerotic lesions was also striking, Huff adds. Huff hopes that nobiletin can be developed into a therapeutic for people suffering from metabolic disorders. He cautions that its presence in tangerines does not necessarily indicate that people should begin consuming this fruit. “Our focus was on the pharmacological properties of purified nobiletin,” says Huff. “We did not address the question of how many tangerines you would have to eat in order to get a dose that is metabolically important. It’s kind of the equivalent of taking a couple of aspirin to cure your headache as opposed to gnawing on willow bark.”
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 11
Chemical News
Canada's top stories in the chemical sciences and engineering Natural Resources
Russian dandelion seeds Ontario rubber industry The Russian dandelion isn’t much to look at, being a smaller version of the humble yellow blossom currently dotting your back yard. But for Dave Wolyn, professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph, this weed could germinate a nascent natural rubber industry for southern Ontario. The idea was first proposed during the Second World War, when traditional sources of East Asia rubber were cut off as hostilities escalated in the South Pacific. Research from this era showed that the rubber content from dandelion seeds varied from zero to 30 per cent. At least 10 per cent was required for economic viability. After the war, the restoration of trade links and the advent of synthetic rubber seemed to spell the end of the idea. But even today, natural rubber is still needed to make tires for heavy vehicles like airplanes. With increasing demand from China and India for rubber, and concerns that disease could wipe out the Asian rubber industry, the idea of growing rubber in Ontario holds promise. Wolyn plans to start by evaluating the rubber content in plants grown from seeds gathered in Kazakhstan. “Through breeding we can improve the plant for its rubber content,” says Wolyn. “As supply and demand changes, there’ll be new and interesting opportunities to start a rubber industry.”
Business Briefs
In April, Equinox became the target of a $6.3-billion hostile
Montreal-based chemical distributor Anachemia Canada has
the Globe and Mail, the bid marked the first time that China
been purchased by VWR International, based in Radnor, Pa.
has tried to buy a foreign mining company outright. However,
VWR's senior vice-president Matt Malenfant stated in a
Reuters reported that Minmetals backed off when Canadian
media release that the takeover would “enhance VWR's
mining company Barrick Gold Corp. made a $7.3-billion offer
product portfolio and provide access to new customer
for Equinox. Equinox’s board of directors endorsed the
segments like the mining industry.” Financial details of the
Barrick deal, and withdrew their bid for Lundin the same day.
bid, announced by Minmetals Resources, which is controlled by China’s state-owned China Minmetals Corp. According to
takeover were not disclosed. Canadian drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals InternaCanada’s mining sector has been affected by a complex web of
tional has made a $5.7 billion unsolicited bid for Pennsyl-
mergers and takeovers. In late February, Equinox Minerals put
vania-based drug developer Cephalon Inc. The American
forward a $4.8 billion hostile bid for the smaller Lundin Mining
company rejected the offer. Valeant is appealing directly to
Corp. Lundin’s board of directors recommended that the share-
shareholders to replace the board of directors with one that
holders reject the bid in favour of a friendly merger with Canadi-
would be more favourable to a takeover. Valeant produces
an company Inmet Mining Corp. However, the deal was mutually
several well-known drugs such as the antidepressant
terminated this past March, leaving Lundin’s future uncertain.
Wellbutrin and the painkillers Ralivia and Cesamet.
Chemical News is reported and written by Tyler Irving. Want to share your thoughts on our news stories? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 13
Catnip cure for malaria 14 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
juin 2011
Chemical Engineering | Disease COntrol
Montreal chemical engineering professor Gregory Patience is helping the war- torn nation of Burundi grow catnip to extract nepetalactone - a key new chemical in the fight against malaria.
Gregory Patience
By Jodi Di Menna
Gregory Patience in Burundi.
I
t was just a year ago that a chance meeting at the Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport sparked an idea to help vanquish one of East Africa’s deadliest killers. Gregory Patience, professor of chemical engineering at École Polytechnique in Montreal, was on his way to a conference in Philadelphia last June when he met Ginette Karirekinyana, director general of Quebec-based development group Agence Consultative en Éthique de la Coopération Internationale (Aceci), who was flying to a United Nations meeting in New York. They discussed development and the needs of Africa and soon found common ground on the subject of controlling malaria in Burundi through a new chemical mosquito repellent. “At the conference I was going to, DuPont was talking about a mosquito repellent that was as good as, if not better than, anything on the market,” Patience recalls. “So that’s how it started. There was a need, there was an opportunity, and within three weeks I was in Africa meeting with the government to find out what its interest would be in the project.” Patience’s idea was met with enthusiasm by Burundi officials. The plan was simple: grow, harvest and process the catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) to create a mosquito repellent that could be applied to clothing or skin to protect against the malariacarrying Anopheles mosquito. The processing plant, based on licensed technology from DuPont where Patience had worked for 14 years before going to Polytechnique, would be built in Burundi. The initiative would later be expanded to include other East African countries. Not only would farmers be able to grow a saleable crop, the initiative would give root to a chemically based industry in the resource-poor country and, most compelling, would provide a missing piece of the puzzle for controlling a disease that claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. It seemed like an easy sell — until the realities of development in one of the world’s poorest nations set in. Burundi has only recently begun to emerge from a plague of ethnic violence that lasted nearly 15 years. After the assassination in 1993 of its first democratically elected president, a decade of Hutu-Tutsi conflict ensued. About 300,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed and hundreds of thousands more displaced. Tutsis, who make up just 14 per cent of the population, dominated the government and army. In 2005, a majority Hutu government, headed by former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza, attained power in an internationally
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 15
brokered peace process. The challenges facing Burundi’s new expects that biomass from the catnip plant and other sources government are enormous: high illiteracy and child mortality will be the primary generator of steam. An additional engirates, political corruption, HIV/AIDS and a subsistence agri- neering conundrum is dealing with the massive volumes of culture-based economy. leftover plant matter. One tonne will produce just two kiloEven so, Burundi’s fertile soil and abundant rainfall and three grams of the highly concentrated essential oil. The batch annual growing seasons bode well for Patience’s catnip project. reactor will accommodate seven tonnes at a time. “The To meet the goal of producing 300,000 kilograms per year of the logistics of getting seven tonnes into a batch reactor, vaporessential oil needed to make the mosquito repellent, large areas of land are required — about 5,000 hectares, Patience says by Skype from Burundi. Due to soil erosion and overcrowding from waves of returning refugees, agricultural space is at a premium in Burundi. Patience expects most of the planting will be done in regions hardest hit by malaria, which are coincidentally the areas with the most available land. To date, Patience has managed to nudge the project along on only $70,000, which has covered feasibility studies and established partnerships in Burundi and Canada. The funding has been cobbled together using research grants and monies from the Canadian International Development Agency and a private donor. Compared to funding, the engineering challenges are straightforward. The process The Batwa people of Burundi were the first to embrace the catnip project and complete the test planting. itself is relatively simple: the catnip plant is harvested then partially dried and put into a huge vat where izing and taking seven tonnes out, which is now more like the essential oil, called nepetalactone, is extracted using 14 tonnes because it’s full of water, then drying that and steam. Once the oil is decanted, it’s mixed with ethanol and combusting it to generate steam — that’s a logistical nightpressurized with hydrogen and a Pd/C catalyst to convert it mare,” Patience says. Still, he’s optimistic. “We’ve got time to to dihydronepetalactone, a chemical turn-off to mosquitoes. figure out how to do that.” Despite his confidence, Patience doesn’t underestimate the As well as being locally derived, rather than imported at cost, the plant extract is less toxic than conventional mosquito monetary challenges. “Looking for financing is the enormous repellents like DEET (N,N-diethyl- m-toluamide) and can be task facing us.” Patience estimates that $2 million is needed safely used by pregnant women and children who are the most to complete the pilot study. To commercialize the venture vulnerable to malaria. To support the operation, Patience requires another $20 million. The next step, he says, is looking hopes to export part of the production to North America, for grants to finance the capital investment. Operating costs where there’s a potential market among hikers and campers would be covered by sales. Money will be saved, Patience adds, by working with co-operatives that already have access to land. looking for an alternative bug spray. The obstacles are daunting, but Patience is undeterred — Simple enough, except for one glitch — the hydrogenation step is hugely energy intensive. Electricity in Burundi can be motivated by seeing first-hand the devastating impact of cut without warning for several hours at a time. Patience is malaria. “It’s going to happen. There’s absolutely no doubt considering solar panels as a potential source of energy but that it’s going to happen.”
16 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
juin 2011
Last year, malaria killed 780,000 people worldwide, most of whom were African children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Malaria is one of the biggest killers in Burundi, accounting for up to 50 per cent of deaths among children under five, reports the United States Agency for International Development. Malaria also effects economic development, reducing gross domestic product in countries like Burundi by about 1.3 per cent annually, the WHO reports. Last year in Burundi, “the deaths from malaria were more than in 2009 by at least 50 per cent,” Patience says. Such statistics emphasize the urgent need for an effective malaria control strategy, he adds. The WHO’s current malaria strategy relies heavily on two interventions: mosquito bed nets impregnated with insecticides and indoor spraying of insecticides like DDT. The WHO points out that the latter strategy has limitations because of an increasing resistance to chemicals by the Anopheles mosquito. Mosquito repellents have not factored into the WHO’s anti-malarial strategy and this has been a major obstacle for Patience. Having the WHO on board “is critical” he says. The WHO needs to recognize repellents as a malaria-control measure in order to attract funding from international organizations. “We believe mosquito nets are effective when you’re in them, “ says Patience, “but you have to complement that with mosquito repellents when you’re not in them.” This is an especially pertinent point given that the Anopheles mosquito is active from dusk until dawn. “The WHO hasn’t recognized this [need for repellents] yet, but we’re making those connections.” When asked what drives him, Patience is forthright. “To see that something is missing — it’s like a puzzle and there’s a piece missing, and it’s just illogical not to put that piece there. You tear your hair out. I mean, come on, you need mosquito repellent. These things kill.” This past April, Patience sent an excited email from Burundi, where he spent World Malaria Day trying to garner support. He and Karirekinyana, who was born in Burundi but now lives in Canada, were making headway. “We had an excellent conversation with the WHO today,” he writes. “They expressed a very good understanding of our program and have even talked about undertaking an operational research program to examine the efficacy of our approach.” He also met with the director of the Programme National Intégré de lutte contre le Paludisme (PNILP), which is leading the national effort to fight malaria and is supported by the WHO. PNILP will develop its four-year
strategy beginning this November. Patience reports that the director “seems to be willing to adopt our program as part of their strategy for Burundi.” Even through email, his jubilation was palpable. “All this is very, very new! When the PNILP formally adopts our program as part of their strategy, then the WHO will also engage it.” With the WHO’s support of the mosquito repellent as part of their anti-malarial strategy in Burundi, the project will have overcome a major hurdle. “This trip has been a whirlwind and we have been making huge progress at all levels,” he writes. With this kind of momentum and Patience’s unrelenting determination, it’s hard to imagine anything but success for the simple idea sparked in an airport last summer.
Malaria breakthrough in Saskatoon You wouldn’t think that a northern city like Saskatoon would be a hotbed of research for malaria. Nonetheless, a Saskatoon-based National Research Council team led by Patrick Covello recently isolated the genes found in the sweet wormwood plant that produces the front-line anti-malarial drug artemisinin. In 2005, the World Health Organization recognized that artemisinin, in combination with other drugs, was the best treatment to use in areas where the parasitic plasmodium malariae, which causes malaria in humans, had developed resistance to traditional drugs, Covello says. A team at the University of California at Berkeley is refining a process whereby the genes are added to yeast, thus growing artemisinin in just a few weeks, greatly reducing the production costs of the drug. The global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis, in partnership with the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco, is moving towards industrialization of the drug, with the intent of commercializing artemisininbased combination therapies in 2012.
Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 17
QA &
Cell Detection’s New Frontier Mass cytometry — an amalgam of atomic mass spectrometry and flow cytometry — raises the bar for high-resolution detection and quantitative assay in the field of cell biology. By Tyler Irving
A
tomic mass spectrometry blasts molecules into tiny bits and examines the pieces. Flow cytometry gently probes cells with sophisticated antibodies. University of Toronto chemistry professor Scott Tanner, CEO of DVS Sciences, has merged these seemingly disparate areas to create “mass cytometry,” which has the potential to revolutionize cancer research and drug discovery.
ACCN: What are the limitations of
flow cytometry today? ST: Flow cytometry is the current
state-of-the-art method for looking at the heterogeneity of cell populations. If you have a complex sample and you need to identify each individual cell in that population, flow cytometry is the way to do it. Flow cytometry operates by probing a cell with an antibody or some affinity reagent, to which a fluorophore is appended. Then, the cells flow one at a time through a laser excitation. You look at the forward scatter and side scatter, which tell you about cell size and granularity, and then you look at the emission of the fluorophores to get the presence and quantity of the antigens that you’re probing with the antibodies.
20 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
The limitations are tied to the breadth of the emissions spectra. When you excite a fluorophore with a laser it will emit a bunch of photons with a fairly broad distribution of wavelengths. And if you try to measure more than four of those f luorophores, then the emissions begin to overlap. If you have a very intense signal in one channel and a very weak signal in another channel, then you’ll have a lot of spillover into the weaker channel. So you have to compensate for that; you have to do an assay that measures what the overlap is into each channel. ACCN: How many different fluorophores can you keep track of at once? ST: Most researchers can do four. There are some who can do eight, some superb
people who can do 12, and a few champions can do as many as 17. The issue is that when you get up to a number of parameters like that, the selection of the fluorophores is an onerous task, because you have to know what you’re going to be seeing at what intensity level. Then you have to choose your panel so that you put your bright fluorophores on your weak signals, and your weak fluorophores on your strong signals, and then try to label your samples so that all the signals are more or less the same height to minimize the amount of spillover. It could take six months to do a 12-colour panel selection. ACCN: How did you become convinced that atomic mass spectrometry
could overcome those limitations? ST: Atomic mass spectrometry has a 30-year history of being state of the art for
measurement of the atomic composition of matter, such as the amount of beryllium in a nuclear fuel rod or the amount of arsenic in well water. In the atomic mass spectrometer, you have a high temperature (7000 ˚K) flowing plasma. When you put a sample into that stream, it reduces your sample to the atomic state and then it ionizes those atoms. Then we sample those ions. Atomic mass spectrometry has been very good at resolving individual masses, because it is used for isotope analysis. The ‘aha moment’ was recognizing that one can append a specific type of atom to an antibody or an affinity product. Then you can use the affinity product to provide the specificity and the atom becomes the probe that is measured. You can look at the atomic composition of the cell, but what you’re really looking at is the atomic composition of the probes, which are surrogates for the antigens that you’re
juin 2011
Chemistry | Mass cytometry measuring. So really it was just transferring the concepts of a fluorescent assay into the atomic mass spectrometry world, where you get the advantages of high-resolution detection, quantitative assay, enormous dynamic range — all the kinds of things you want in an analytical platform. ACCN: What elements did you use? Was it easy to
create these new element-tagged antibodies? ST: It’s always easy in hindsight. The nice thing about the
eriodic table is that it is periodic, there are 13 lanthanide p elements with 37 different stable isotopes and the chemistry of the lanthanides is similar. If you know how to bind one lanthanide atom, then you know how to bind each of them. As soon as I have one, say for holmium, then the same probe will work for terbium or thulium or ytterbium. So one construct automatically produces 37 different probes. We always thought that 37 was a pretty good start and that people would be happy with that, but as soon as you give them that they ask, “where are the next 30?” So the next 30 will be the noble metals. There’s another 30 noble metals that are available as enriched isotopes, and they have a different chelator molecule. So that will give you a 60 or 65 parameter potential. ACCN: Can you give some examples of applications
where you would need to measure this many different parameters? ST: My U of T research group works within the cancer stem cell community. The application is to identify the disease early, before it’s turned into a blast stage, so that the therapies
are less aggressive. To identify the cancer stem cell, you have to be able to identify a biomarker signature that is unique to that cell and not any other cell. Statistically, because there’s only one cancer stem cell in a million cells, you need to have something like 20, 30 or 40 probes that give you a multivariate signature that is distinctive for that cancer stem cell. The same thing would be true if you’re looking at circulating tumour cells; the signature for that rare cell gets hidden in the signature for all the other cells if you do a bulk analysis, so you need to do them individually. The other one would be in drug discovery. Say you want to look at the effect of a particular drug candidate on the phosphorylation pathways that occur in a single cell. The conventional way is to look at the target and to look at a metabolite of that target, so you see one pathway within the cell. What we allow you to do is measure many of those simultaneously. We just had a paper published in Science that had 18 phosphorylated proteins being measured simultaneously in response to each drug candidate. It’s looking at a bone marrow sample, which is a very complex sample. Additionally, it measured 13 cell surface probes to distinguish the dendritic cells from the stem cells, T-cells and B-cells, and then we can look at each one of those populations in 18 different dimensions of phosphorylation against each drug candidate. It gives an immense amount of data. So that allows you to look not only at the pathways you’re targeting, but also parallel pathways that could also be stimulated or suppressed, and it gives you much more information about what the impact of this drug is. It allows the drug developer to fail early and fail often, which is the mantra for accelerating drug discovery cost-effectively. ACCN: You first developed these
lement-tagged antibodies 10 years e ago, why are they only starting to receive widespread attention now? ST: We developed the concept of element-
tagged immunoassays back in 2000, and showed its use in bulk analysis using conventional inductively coupled plasma Scott Tanner is the inventor of the CyTOF, an analytical instrument which applies atomic mass spectrometry techniques to the study of cell populations
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 21
signal
Element Labeled Antibodies
would buy fluorophore labelling kits that they would append to their own antibodies. But in the past 30 years, companies have started selling catalogues of pre-conjugated antibodies. So our next step is to provide the same solution. Today we sell kits and the customer conjugates those antibodies. DVS Sciences is opening a new office in California where we’re going to do the conjugation and sell conjugated antibodies from a catalogue. ACCN: Aren’t lanthanides quite rare and expensive? atomic mass
The CyTOF approach uses antibodies tagged with elements that are uncommon in biological samples (such as lanthanides), which bind to biomarkers on the surface of cells. The construct is then fed into a hightemperature plasma, where it is atomized and ionized. By counting the ions of the rare element, information about the presence and number of the desired biomarker is obtained.
mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); there are several people around the world who are doing that now. Afterward, we got talking with John Dick, senior scientist at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, who was the first to identify the stem cell basis of leukemia. He pointed out to us that we really wanted to look at the heterogeneity of cell samples, and therefore we wanted to emulate flow cytometry. At that point we had moved into the U of T and were generously funded by federal and provincial bodies, so could do the development under the radar scope of the biological community. Both the tagging constructs and the instrument that’s going to read those were at a commercial level by 2009. So that’s when we told the world about it. There’s a huge buzz happening now, largely because of the promotions coming out of Garry Nolan’s group at Stanford University. Garry was one of the early leaders in flow cytometry and he cottoned onto the idea instantly. We’ve got six instruments in the field at the moment: there’s one in Toronto, two at Stanford, one at the National Institutes of Health , one in Taiwan and one in Japan. ACCN: How much does this cost? ST: The cost is $600,000 for the instrument and today’s tagging constructs are $400 to label 100 micrograms of antibody. In the old days of fluorescence, 30 years ago, people
ST: The answer is yes; the caveat is that the detector is incred-
ibly sensitive, so you don’t need to use much of them. The stable isotopes are available commercially, there are a number of companies that sell them and there’s a catalogue that you get. A certain number of them are available off the shelf, and a certain number can be produced for you in a certain period of time, so it’s a matter of planning: you order them, you schedule it out, they arrive in. An order of a few milligrams of a stable isotope actually provides many tagging constructs. ACCN: What has it been like going from being a
researcher to being a CEO? ST: It’s been an interesting go. When you’re a small venture,
it’s not that different from being a professor; it’s a matter of managing a small budget and trying not to go broke. We’ve recently taken venture support for the company; we’ve really gone to a big scale in the last few months. It’s a totally new growth opportunity for me, I had a lot of years experience in the business community, but more on the technical side of the business than on the management side of the business. So once again we do it exactly like I did my technology, I collaborate with people that give me great business advice. ACCN: What will be the effect of this technology on
cancer research and drug discovery? ST: It’s transformational. It allows the biologists to ask the
really big questions. The challenge is getting people to think of the big questions now. We tend to ask questions that we know that we can answer, so the questions we’ve been asking so far have been mitigated by our capability to measure only a few things at a time. Now that we have the technology to measure many things at a time, we can ask a lot bigger questions. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca
22 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
juin 2011
Redemption
road for radiation This is the final story in a three-part series looking at the past, present and future of Canada’s place in the global supply of medical radioisotopes. The writing of this series has been supported and enhanced by a journalism award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Radioisotopes have become an indispensable tool in the arsenal of modern medicine, sparking a growing need for a network of cyclotrons throughout Canada. By Tim Lougheed
26 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
juin 2011
Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization
Business | isotope production
Images created with probes and isotopes yield more than static views of the body’s interior; they reveal the location and extent of biochemical reactions that indicate the presence of particular pathogens or tumours.
adioactivity gets a bad rap, as far as John Valliant is concerned. Geiger counters in Japan may be working overtime to take stock of that country’s reactor accident, but the McMaster University chemistry professor argues that radioactive molecules are invaluable and often irreplaceable tools in medicine. And in what may amount to a supreme irony, it was our own reactor difficulties in Chalk River that prompted an unprecedented Canadian interest in medical isotopes. “This is the good side of radioactivity,” Valliant says, pointing to the well-established field of nuclear imaging, which now plays a key role in detecting and diagnosing conditions that range from cardiac disease to cancer. Researchers have designed small molecules, antibodies and peptides to interact specifically with the molecular structures of cancer cells. By tagging the agents with different isotopes, such as 18Fl or 99mTC, then injecting them into a patient, the distribution and the interaction of imaging agents and targets can be recorded by a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography camera to create detailed functional images of the human body. In contrast to a simple anatomical picture such as one gets from an X-ray or mammogram, PET and SPECT images yield far more information. The captured image represents the biochemical process, and in the near future this technique could reveal the presence of tumours that might be otherwise too small to be visible. So small, perhaps, that the next logical step — biopsy of a tissue sample — could effectively remove the entire tumour. The key to such progress lies with those agents that hone in on particular organs, tissues, or other parts of the body that interest a doctor. Formally known as probes or radiopharmaceuticals, these agents represent an avenue of research that has grown as the clinical potential of new imaging technologies has become more widely established. Valliant’s own appreciation of that potential prompted him to approach the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program five years ago to seek support for an organization that would focus on finding the right targeting agents to tag with isotopes. The result was the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), set up to be an independent and eventually self-sustaining firm, located on the McMaster University campus in Hamilton, Ont.
The location is more than a matter of convenience, Valliant says. CPDC bridges the academic and commercial sectors at their weakest points to search for better imaging agents. The CPDC provides the skills and expertise in manufacturing and regulatory affairs, which are major obstacles for academic centres to advance their work in molecular probes and ultimately commercialize it. Funding for this type of work is difficult to secure and expertise in these areas is limited. However, CPDC’s experienced, focused teams provide expertise in pre-clinical development of new probes, regulatory affairs, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and quality assurance in order to achieve Health Canada approval for clinical trials and the commercialization of new probes. Potential business partners, being largely risk averse, have little interest in supporting this type of early stage, proof-of-concept research, which can demand an unknown amount of time and money. In this way, CPDC minimizes this risk and ensures that partners can invest after a promising new probe has been identified. While facilitating the transfer of technology from labs on campus to those in corporate settings, CPDC also helps universities nurture an emerging cadre of researchers with expertise in the field. The centre also ensures that physicians can get access to the latest imaging agents produced to the highest quality standards in the industry. PET and SPECT imaging can also find new drugs. According to Travis Besanger, director of product development at the CPDC, imaging with new probes is revolutionizing the testing of pharmaceutical compounds and
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 27
the selection of patients who will best respond to a particular therapy. “You can save so much time and money by tracking the movement and impact of your drug with an imaging agent and molecular imaging,” Besanger says. “We’re trying to open up the repertoire of PET agents that are available to companies and physicians to help them determine the impact of the therapy and if there is a drug that might yield more positive results for patients.” That goal has already been embraced by members of the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont. The institute has built up one of the most advanced imaging centres in the country, staking out new ground in areas such as hybrid PET/MRI systems that push the boundaries of this technology. Their members voice the same enthusiasm as those at CPDC, along with sober assessments of the administrative burden that accompanies their burgeoning capabilities. “It’s a huge challenge,” points out Michael Kovacs, a PhD nuclear chemist from the University of British Columbia who now finds himself immersed in regulation. Before, staff at a hospital imaging facility in London or Hamilton might have come in at a reasonable morning hour to receive isotopes couriered in from Nordion labs in the Ottawa area, so that patients could receive injections of the short-lived radioactive isotopes for a mid-morning SPECT scan. At the PET imaging sites served by Lawson and CPDC, however, staff must begin work by 2 a.m. to prepare for mid-morning appointments. Using a nearby cyclotron, it takes five hours to produce a day’s worth of isotopes. Much of this time is spent calibrating
28 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
and validating equipment, filling in a master batch record, and making quality control preparations, with each step being carried out as specified by Health Canada whose inspectors show up regularly to make sure facilities comply with GMP and that Canadians are receiving quality products. The call for compliance should not be surprising, since the whole process involves the manufacture of radioactive material that is destined to go into the human body. Each stage is relatively simple by industrial chemistry standards: a target such as water enriched with 18O fills the cyclotron, where it is bombarded with high energy protons to yield 18F ions with a halflife of just under two hours. The now radioactive liquid travels through shielded, concrete-reinforced underground conduits from the cyclotron to an adjacent “hot cell,” a heavily shielded version of a typical laboratory fume hood. Fully enclosed, this bench includes a self-contained automatic kit to combine the ions with the necessary reagents to form common radioactive tracers such as fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a sugar that lends itself to a wide variety of PET imaging applications. The key to making isotopes locally is the availability of a cyclotron, which accelerates charged particles to create radioactive versions of target materials. The device, which could sit in a car garage, remains heavily shielded while it is operating, along with specialized containment structures such as an in-floor trench to address the possibility of leaks. Depending on the particular site, the whole installation could run as much as $10 million. That may sound like a lot, but it pales next to the estimated $700 million
juin 2011
that was spent trying to replace the nuclear reactor producing 99Mo and subsequently 99mTc, the ubiquitous isotope used by SPECT cameras. Until recently, about half the world’s supply of 99Mo was reliably supplied by a reactor at Chalk River, Ont., a small town on the Ottawa River west of the nation’s capital. Originally installed in the 1950s for scientific research purposes, the ensuing decades saw this facility become a prolific source of isotopes that could be shipped far and wide for efficient clinical use. All went well until 2007 and 2008, when the aging reactor unexpectedly shut down for repairs and all work stopped on a pair of replacement reactors that would not function reliably. By 2010 the federal government had invested more than $30 million for an assortment of research groups, including Lawson and CPDC, to explore the viability of creating radioisotopes for imaging without using a nuclear reactor. Most of the resulting investigations are focusing on the prospects of cyclotrons to supply all the necessary isotopes, including the prized 99mTc. Unfortunately, the radioactive halflife of these products remains too short and the production yields too low to allow any one cyclotron to serve an area larger than a few hundred kilometres. What may emerge, therefore, is a network of cyclotrons serving regional markets across the country. The idea is appealing from a reliability and cost perspective, despite a greater administrative overhead. That five hours needed to produce the tagged probe fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) at Lawson, for example, fills a binder of
To create an image, patients are injected with targeting compounds that have been tagged with radioactive molecules. Detectors on this PET scanner construct detailed representations of specific parts of the body.
documentation distinguishing it from FDG produced by CPDC with a cyclotron on the McMaster campus. They are chemically identical, but for manufacturing purposes each represents a local “brand” of FDG. “Each of these sites would become its own manufacturing entity,” says Kovacs. “That raises regulatory challenges, because Health Canada likes to treat each of these sites as independent legal entities that will have to file their own regulatory documents.” One way around this difficulty may be to centralize the administration of these various sites, branding their individually produced isotopes with commonly established manufacturing practices. Lawson is leading a formal proposal to create the Molecular Imaging Network, which could liaise directly with government agencies to provide network-wide regulatory approval.
Other initiatives are under way across the country. Researchers at TRIUMF, the large cyclotron facility at UBC, are examining a number of techniques that would refine the everyday use of this technology for imaging. Meanwhile, Advanced Cyclotron Systems, the Richmond, B.C.-based manufacturer, has begun building and selling cyclotrons, including imaging centres in Edmonton and Sherbrooke, Que. The company is working with clinical staff at those two sites to assess their ability to produce 99mTc for local needs. Advanced Cyclotron will also be delivering one of its systems to the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, laying the foundation for Saskatchewan’s first PET imaging site. At the same time, Canadian Light Source, which operates Canada’s only synchrotron at the University of Saskatchewan, will test an innovative concept that could see inexpensive linear accelerators used to produce 99mTc. Meanwhile, the university has also secured upward of $30 million to assemble a centre for nuclear scientific research to rival anything found at Chalk River, including a new research reactor. Richard Florizone, U of S’s vicepresident finance and resources and principal architect of the nuclear science centre proposal, admits that the recent Japanese disaster has made it hard to open discussions about building a reactor in the province. Nevertheless, the modest size of such an installation — in contrast to much
larger reactors used for power generation — makes it an easier sell, says Florizone. Moreover, he regards the venture as necessary to maintain a Canadian base of talent and expertise in this field, a collection of human resources that could be lost if research staff at Chalk River are scattered when the reactor there is expected to shut down for good in 2016. There is an even more inviting reason for the university’s plans — Saskatchewan is one of the world’s leading suppliers of uranium. In this sense, radiation has done much for the province’s bottom line, though Florizone thinks it could do even more. Rather than just shipping this important commodity to customers elsewhere, he would like to see it become the rationale for home-grown enterprises that regard radioactivity as an asset rather than a liability. “For us to be able to respond, and respond successfully, to something that’s a big national and global issue, it’s great,” Florizone says. “What more do you want as a university than to bring your skills and experience to bear on the most important problems that society identifies?” While it is obvious that radioactivity can well be identified as one of those problems, it can likewise serve as a solution to many other problems, particularly in the field of health care. As uncomfortable as society may now be with radiation as a threat to human life, the burgeoning field of radioisotopes and imaging promises to reverse that attitude. We may ultimately come to count on radiation as a tool that can save lives. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 29
Society news
CONFERENCES
Students meet in Saskatchewan and Ontario This past March was a busy month for students, with two separate conferences held in Saskatchewan and Southern Ontario. Chemical technology students from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) as well as industry professionals gathered in Saskatoon March 18-19 for the 10th Annual CSCT Western Canada Student Symposium. The event included a tour of the Canadian Light Source, a mixer, a full day of technical presentations and an awards banquet.
On March 26, undergraduate chemistry students gathered at the University of Waterloo to participate in the 29th annual Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference (SOUSCC). The full-day conference was attended by about 140 students who gave research presentations.
LOCAL
Professors address public fears over nuclear crisis A panel of Simon Fraser University professors assembled on April 11 at the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue to discuss the ripple effects of Japan’s nuclear crisis. Sponsors for the event, called The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis, included the SFU chemistry department and the Chemical Institute of Canada. SFU associate professor of chemistry and panel organizer Vance Williams remarked that there was “considerable confusion and alarm regarding the Fukushima nuclear crisis and its potential impact on residents worldwide and specifically in the Lower Mainland.” Panelists included Mark Jaccard, professor of environmental economics, Corina Andreoiu, assistant professor of nuclear science, Kris Starosta, associate professor of nuclear science and Paul Schaffer, adjunct professor of chemistry and deputy head of the nuclear medicine division at TRIUMF.
The chemistry of love, magic and wine The residents of Campus Îles-de-la-Madeleine celebrated the International Year of Chemistry April 12-13 at when Ariel Fenster, professor of chemistry at McGill University, presented three lectures on the magic of chemistry, the chemistry of love and wine chemistry. The lecture series was supported by the Chemical Institute of Canada. Îles-de-la-Madeleine is an archipelago in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about 320 km off the coast of Québec. Fenster is a founding member of McGill’s Office for Science and Society, an organization dedicated to disseminating the latest information about health, the environment and technology.
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 25, 2011 The Maritime section of the Chemical Institute of Canada, in recognition of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, is hosting a conference on Chemical Education at Crandall University. Moncton, N.B., http://sagcom2011.wordpress.com/ July 27-29, 2011 2nd International Conference on Nanotechnology. Ottawa, Ont. http://icnfa2011.international-aset.com/ Sept. 25-29, 2011 8th European Congress of Chemical Engineering. Berlin, Germany. www.ecce2011.de Oct. 23-26, 2011 61st Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference London, Ont. http://www.csche2011.ca/ Nov. 14-16, 2011 Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering, Santiago, Chile. www.ciiq2011.cl
IN MEMORIAM
The Chemical Institute of Canada wishes to extend its condolences to the family of Donald A. Craw, MCIC.
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 31
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Submit your nominations electronically to: awards@cheminst.ca Nomination forms and the full Terms of Reference for these awards are available at www.cheminst.ca/awards.
Society news RECOGNITION
CIC Chemical Education Fund 2011 Grants The CIC is pleased to announce its support of the following events and organizations, which have been awarded grants from the Chemical Education Fund (CEF). Chem13 News Periodic Table Project, Ask a Laureate, Edmonton and Toronto CIC Local Section IYC activities, Les Jeux de chimie, Partnership with Bolivia Project, McMaster University Chem-E Car, CSC regional undergraduate student conferences, CSChE undergraduate student program at the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference, CSCT student symposia The CEF directors would like to all the donors for their generous gifts.
New Fellows of CIC and EIC The Chemical Institute of Canada has awarded 2011 Fellowships to Cornelia Bohne from the University of Victoria, Marc Dubé, University of Ottawa, Richard Munz, McGill University and Kenneth Schmidt, Wilson Analytical Services, DK3 Scientific and Canadian Tool. Fellowships are given annually in recognition of CIC members who have made outstanding contributions in their field. The Engineering Institute of Canada also granted Fellowships to Grant Allen, FCIC, of the University of Toronto, Ajay K. Dalai, MCIC, University of Saskatchewan and Shiping Zhu, FCIC, McMaster University. The Fellowships recognize outstanding service to the profession.
CSC Ichikizaki Fund for Young Chemists awards The recipients of the 2011 CSC Ichikizaki Fund for Young Chemists include: Patrick T. Gunning, University of Toronto; Mark S. Taylor, University of Toronto and Glenn Sammis, University of British Columbia. The award provides financial assistance to young chemists who are showing unique achievements in basic research by facilitating their participation in international conferences or symposia.
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OUTREACH
Scientists put on magic show Take some liquids, add colour, wave a science-lab wand and POOF! You had ChemQuest 2011, a Simon Fraser University and Douglas College celebration of the International Year of Chemistry and the B.C. Year of Science. On May 14, SFU’s academic quadrangle at the Burnaby, B.C. campus was transformed into a giant chemistry lab featuring scientists at work and at play as well as an explosively entertaining chemistry magic show. Lessons included how to make a liquid magnet and boil water with just a laser pointer.
Inorganic weekend nets prizes The 2011 Atlantic Inorganic Discussion Weekend (AIDW) conference was held March 18-20 at the Riverside Resort and Conference Centre in Fredericton, N.B. The event allows undergraduate and graduate students to present and discuss their research with other students, postdoctoral fellows and professors. Cash prizes were awarded for the best presentations.
june 2011 CAnadian Chemical News 33
Chemfusion
Modern chemistry rooted in myth and magic By Joe Schwarcz
“
W
hat an odd collection of things,” the student remarked as she looked down at my desk. I had never thought of the items as odd, but now, as I glanced at the celluloid cow, blue cat figurine, Chinese box, scorpion encased in acrylic, vial with a sliver of purple silk, aluminum spoon, bottle of Vioxx, pills labeled “breast enhancer,” rubber ducky, double-helix-shaped necklace and bobblehead of Houdini, I realized that she had a point. To me these curios I have collected over the years aren’t merely odd, but represent the evolution of chemistry. My figurine of Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess, is associated with protective ointments. Her likeness sits on top of many Egyptian cosmetic jars, including one found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. These ancient ointments represent the first known example of a large-scale chemical process. They were used in eye makeup both for cosmetic and medicinal effects. Eye diseases were common when the flooding of the Nile contaminated water with bacteria from the black soil of the Nile valley. Lead compounds can cause skin cells to produce nitric oxide, which promotes anti-bacterial activity. Interestingly, the ancient Egyptian term for black earth was “keme,” which is the likely origin of the word “chemistry.” So Bastet arguably represents the beginnings of chemistry. Near Bastet is an elaborately coloured box that symbolizes early Chinese
34 L’Actualité chimique canadienne
contributions to chemistry and medicine. The box contains an ancient Chinese remedy described as a “miracle drug made from carefully selected high quality herbs and special parts of wild animals to treat hypertension, apoplexy, cerebral nerve illness and cardiac diseases.” Like the Egyptians, the Chinese were adept at manipulating minerals, mostly because of their obsession with creating gold, a metal they thought was the key to immortality. Celluloid has great historical importance, being the world’s first commercially successful plastic, made by treating cellulose with nitric and sulphuric acid. However, my cow reminds me not only of celluloid, but also of a comment repeatedly made by education professor Joan Gussow of Columbia University, “As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.” Because of its flammability, celluloid was eventually replaced by other plastics. Polymethylmethacrylate, better known as Plexiglass or Lucite, was introduced in the 1930s and immediately found an application in fighter plane canopies. It was also used in airplane windows, protective panels in hockey rinks and as a clear encasement for objects like my scorpion. This creature is chemically meaningful too, highlighting the notion that natural does not equal safe. Synthetic does not necessarily equal safe either, as exemplified by my bottle of Vioxx, an arthritis treatment that caused such side effects as heart attacks and strokes. Unfortunately, advances in pharmaceutical chemistry always carry possible side effects. Not so my “homeopathic breast enhancer pills.” Homeopathic medications contain no active ingredient and are an excellent example of a product whose success depends largely upon placebo effect. My aluminum spoon isn’t used to stir anything, except perhaps a little controversy. It dates back to a time when aluminum was more valuable than gold and only the wealthy could afford aluminum cutlery. Modern chemistry
juin 2011
has made aluminum readily available but many today would balk at stirring their coffee with an aluminum spoon because of unfounded allegations that exposure causes Alzheimer’s disease. The ‘rubber ducky’ is actually a polyvinylchloride duck, and symbolizes the excesses of environmental activism. It is soft and pliable, thanks to plasticizers called phthalates that have been vilified as “environmental estrogens.” While there are legitimate issues with some phthalates, throwing out the PVC ducks with the bathwater to protect children is nonsense. A necklace in the shape of the DNA double helix adorns my lamp. Perhaps chemists will tease out of its structure the secret of longevity that eluded the ancient Chinese alchemists. DNA is the “blueprint of life,” a truly magical molecule. How else would one describe turning black coal tar into brilliant mauve except as magic? And that’s just what William Henry Perkin did back in 1856 when he produced the world’s first artificial dye. A tiny ribbon of silk dyed with a sample from Perkin’s original batch sits on my desk. It is a precious item because it represents the birth of the modern synthetic chemical industry. Overseeing my empire of knickknacks is Houdini, his bobbing head a reminder of the need for critical thinking and the importance of separating truth from fraud. The great magician’s exposé of fake mediums was a demonstration of how things are not always as they seem. My desk may only seem to be a mess, whereas it is actually a tour through chemical history. As this is the International Year of Chemistry, it seemed the appropriate time to take people on that tour. To see a video version of this article, visit www.cheminst.ca and check out ‘What's New.’
Joe Schwarcz is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. Read his blog at chemicallyspeaking.com. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca or visit us at www.accn.ca
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