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September 5, 2011 - Volume 89, Number 36
- p. 54
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New results in total synthesis reinvigorate a 40-year-old field of research.
Disagreement on conservation course of action complicates a potential reopening.
Researchers zero in on the pathways that allow cancer to bounce back after treatment.
Making the iconic pants requires both color-addition and color-removal chemistry.
Materials Science: Chemists observe metal objects sloughing off ions to form nanoparticles.
Chemical Biology: Methylated bases in mRNA may have roles in gene regulation and obesity.
Microfluidics: Automated chip is designed to detect extraterrestrial amino acids.
Publishing: Jonathan Sweedler to take the helm.
Yale updates policies on machine shop use after student death.
Conservation scientists seek new ways to keep modern paintings looking their best.
Studies could lead to sensitive and selective analyses for tiny signaling agent.
Materials Science: Guidelines predict structures formed by nanoparticles and DNA linkers.
Molecular Biology: Technique tags and enriches cells genetically altered by nucleases.
Electronics: Metal-carbon bonds increase electrical conductance.
Stereochemistry: Enzymelike pocket that hosts chiral species controls catalyst's enantioselectivity.
Analyzing elements’ isotope ratios can authenticate wines and cheeses, as well as expose clandestine labs where illicit drugs such as cocaine are made. Now, chemists report that this strategy also has the potential to detect the provenance of complex designer-drug mixtures known as bath salts, which provide users with a high but remain legal in many U.S. states. In May, Oliver B. Sutcliffe, Niamh Nic Daeid, and colleagues at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland, published the first reliable liquid chromatography test for mephedrone, a common ingredient in bath salt powders (J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal., DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2011.05.022). They have now used isotope-ratio mass spectrometry to trace several structurally related substances in simulated bath salt samples, including mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, back to their starting materials. The proof of the pudding, Sutcliffe said, would be to do the same thing with street samples, something the team plans to work on soon. He added that the team can identify the components of street samples with NMR, but he noted that NMR instruments are far rarer in forensic labs than are mass spectrometers and that the technique cannot link drugs to manufacturers.
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