Table of Contents

From the President's Desk

Brian Leafblad

Greetings everyone, it’s that time of year again! The kids are headed back to school soon, the Packers-Vikings rivalry is getting geared up for the first season in the NFC North, and most importantly - MCF is back in action. I hope all of you were able to take some time away from work and school to enjoy the summer. I know our past-president, Ward Swanson, took a well-deserved vacation from MCF duties over the summer and I am very grateful to him for his work the past year. Thanks to Ward’s leadership, MCF is stronger than we have ever been in terms of membership, finances and member opportunities. He is always quick to give credit to the many people on our various committees because they make the president’s job easy. I will mention two of them here as I think back on the past year and also on the year to come. (You will hear more about others in future issues, stay tuned!)

I would like to thank Ravi Ravichandran of 3M for his continued work as the Retention Times editor. Ravi consistently puts in a lot of time and effort coordinating the printing/mailing, organizing authors, and compiling all the information for the newsletter, and the quality of this newsletter shows. As the major communication method for MCF, a high-quality newsletter is absolutely crucial. And Ravi comes through for us every time.

I also need to thank Michelle Iverson of Chrom Tech for her work as chair of the Education Committee. Michelle and her committee members put together a very high-quality education schedule every year. And for the registration cost, the quality is unmatched by anyone. Where else can you find class opportunities that provide a balance of old-favorites and new technologies, the best instructors and hands-on experience with equipment from the major vendors? Thanks to Michelle and the Education Committee, we have it right here.

It is because of the work of people like Ward, Ravi and Michelle that MCF has become one of the premier professional chromatography societies in the country, one that we can all be proud to be a member of. So as we head into another year of MCF activities, take some to thank the people that make it all possible. Enjoy the classes and meetings, read the newsletter, and check out the website. And while you do, consider how you might be involved in the future of MCF.

First Annual President's Picnic

Ward Swanson

Calling all MCF members! The President, Past President, and President Elect invite you to the first MCF Presidents Picnic. This will be a great opportunity to get to know your favorite executives and let them know what you think about the MCF and how it is running. The best part is it’s FREE to all MCF members and their families. Look for more details coming in the mail, but mark your calendar now!

Tentative Information:
What: The MCF Presidents Picnic!
Where: Bryant Lake Park Pavilion, Eden Prairie.
When: Saturday September 14th 1pm to 5 pm.
Who: All MCF members and their families.

Dinner and beverages will be served to all MCF members and their families. RSVP instructions and complete details will be following in the mail, so look for it. See you there!

From the Editor's Desk

Ravi Ravichandran

It has been nearly two years since I became the Editor of MCF Retention Times. While the praise by the MCF President – Brian Leafblad is very humbling to me, I could not have done this without the help of many. I will remiss if I do not thank Brian for his willingness to proof the newsletter in the shortest time I often give him. Than you Brian. For making my job easy! Also, I would like to invite each of you to write a guest column on any separation related topic. If you know someone who is an expert, perhaps you can encourage him or her to write a column.

By the way, if you you are interested in participating in the 2003 MCF Symposium Committee please contact Roberta Provost at 651-642-1150 ext. 55, or by e-mail at rprovost@mad.scientist.com. Meetings are on held once a month on Tuesdays at noon at Legend Technical in St. Paul, and a free lunch is provided.

Remembering Dr. A.J.P. Martin

Dr. Archer Martin, a British biochemist who won a 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering one of the most widely used analytical techniques for separating and identifying the parts of complex mixtures, died on July 28. He was 92. He is survived by his wife, Judith Bagenal, two sons and three daughters, according to the British daily The Guardian.

The Nobel prize for developing the process, known as partition chromatography, was shared with Dr. Richard Synge, who died in 1994. Dr. Martin, while working at the Wool Industries Research Association in England in 1938, was investigating the amino acids that make up the proteins in wool fiber. He had trouble studying them because their similar chemical structures made it difficult to separate them using established methods.

Dr. Martin and Dr. Synge found a way to separate amino acid mixtures by exposing them to different solvents. They found that if they added methyl orange, a dye, to an amino acid mixture and poured the solution down a glass column filled with ground up silica gel and water, the amino acids would separate. Over the next few years they improved the technique by replacing the separating column with a slip of paper and a stationary liquid. With that technique, the amino acids would separate into a series of spots on the sheet and, by dissolving the spot, scientists could measure the amounts of particular amino acids in different proteins.

The technique made it possible to isolate the individual amino acids and nucleic acids that are the basic building blocks of all living things. The process is widely used today in chemistry, biochemistry and medicine. It also helped lead to the discovery of the first amino acid sequence in insulin, for which Dr. Frederick Sanger won the Nobel Prize in 1958.

Archer John Porter Martin was born in north London. He earned his undergraduate and doctorate degrees at Cambridge. As a child, he had dyslexia and could not read properly until he was 8. Still, he fell in love with science and even built five-foot-high distillation columns in his basement similar to those used in oil refineries to extract gasoline from petroleum.

Dr. Martin joined the National Institute for Medical Research in Britain in 1948 and, four years later, was named director of its division of physical chemistry. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1950, received several medals and awards, and taught at the University of Houston from 1974 to 1979.

In the 80's, Dr. Martin developed Alzheimer's disease and became one of the first volunteers for a trial of one of the earliest treatments for the disease. The drug, Cognex, is one of the few that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Martin's later career produced no new important findings. In 1979, when he was dividing his time between the University of Houston and the University of Sussex in Britain, the Texas university decided not to approve renewing his annual appointment to work after the age of 65 because he had published so few papers. At the time, one supporter pointed out that while Dr. Martin had published only 70 papers when the average scientific researcher might expect to publish 200, his ninth paper won him the Nobel prize.

Editor’s Note:

Thanks to Peter R. Johnson from 3M for pointing me to this article that was written by Anahad O’Connor in The New York Times on August 6, 2002.

Education Corner

The spring symposium was a great success for the education committee.  Not only were the classes well received, our committee also gained two new members!  This month’s education corner focuses on one of our new members, Scott Henrich!

Scott has been an advanced analytical chemist in the inhalation group of 3M Drug Delivery Systems Division since 1998.  His primary focus in this position is extractables and leachables in the elastomer portion of analytical R & D.  Scott received his B.S. degree in ’92 from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  He worked in the QC laboratory at 3M Cottage Grove until ’96, when he joined the Conventional Drug Delivery group of 3M Pharmaceuticals in St. Paul as an analytical chemist.

Scott and his wife have been married for two years and plan on building their home in the next year just south of Prescott, WI.  They are both enjoying spending time with their springer spaniel and all of their nieces and nephews.  Scott enjoys any outdoor activities, especially hunting, fishing, camping, golfing and softball.

May 13-14th, 2003, MCF Spring Symposium Short Courses:

Mass Spectral Interpretation

Instructors: Phil Lyon and Stacy Hanson, 3M

Chromatographic Analysis of Foods and Flavors

Instructor: Becky Wittrig, Restek

Gas Chromatography, (Title TBD)

Instructors:  Daron Decker and Cameron George, Agilent Technologies

We always welcome new committee members and new course suggestions! I can be reached at 952/431-6000 or michelle@chromtech.com.

ATTENTION MCF MEMBERS!

In December, 2001, MCF established a new post office box. Mail sent to the previous one should have been forwarded, but was not until May 2002. MCF was informed that some mail was destroyed. We don't know if that actually occurred. If you have sent correspondence to MCF that has not been acknowledged, please contact:Jan Jopke 952-949-2518 ccs@mn.rr.com

New MCF Address:

P.O. BOX 44562
Eden Prairie MN 55344