Asphaltene Chemistry

Quote of the Week
"You know something is wrong when a mortgage broker is pulling down $5 million per year and a Ph.D. chemist is earning $100,000."
JEFFREY R. IMMELT, CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC – p. 21
September 21, 2009
In This Issue:
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Highlights

Cover Story
Asphaltene Chemistry
Mass spectrometry unravels the chemical makeup of the least understood and heaviest crude oil fraction. (pp. 12-17)

Business
Vanishing Plants (Member Content)
Latest closures are ending chemical production at the only U.S. facilities of their kind. (pp. 21-24)

Science & Technology
Top Raman (Member Content)
ACS Meeting News: Surface-enhanced spectroscopic tool could yield health care, global security applications. (pp. 36-38)
Table of Contents
News Of The Week
Big Guns Target Global Warming p. 7
Climate Change: UN summit, G-20 meeting focus on invigorating talks on new treaty.
New Tuberculosis Drug Target p. 8
Microbiology: Inhibitors affect mycobacterial, not human, proteasome.
Runaway Reaction Led To Four Deaths p. 8
Report: Inexperience with highly reactive chemicals turned fatal in 2007; chemical board urges education.
Lilly Sets Out To Reorganize p. 9
Pharmaceuticals: Plan will establish five business units and cut $1 billion in costs, 5,500 jobs.
Elan Alters J&J Pact p. 9
Pharmaceuticals: New deal maintains partnership with Biogen Idec, cuts what Johnson & Johnson will pay.
Delving Into D-Amino Acids p. 10
Biochemistry: Bacteria use right-handed amino acids to build and regulate part of their cell wall.
Precursors To Titan's Smog p. 10
Planetary Science: Scientists begin to unravel the chemistry behind the orange haze cloaking Saturn's moon.
Changing Of The Guards p. 11
New CEOs: Moves at the top are afoot for Bayer, Nova, and IFF.
Positive Earnings Estimates p. 11
Recovery: With higher sales volumes in the third quarter, Solutia, Lubrizol boost 2009 earnings estimates.
Business

Vanishing Plants pp. 21-24 (Member Content)
Latest closures are ending chemical production at the only U.S. facilities of their kind.
Stepping On The Gas pp. 26-27 (Member Content)
North American petrochemical makers are benefiting from domestic natural gas development.
Business Concentrates pp. 19-20 (Member Content)
- LyondellBasell Sets Stage To Emerge From Bankruptcy
- LyondellBasell Industries has filed a plan with a New York City court to emerge from bankruptcy as early as the end of this year...
- Clariant Building Chinese Ethoxylates
- Clariant is building a 50,000-metric-ton-per-year ethoxylation plant in Dayabay, China, that will open by early 2011...
- Cartel Ruling Goes Against AkzoNobel
- The European Court of Justice dismissed AkzoNobel’s appeal of a $26 million European Commission fine imposed in 2004 for fixing prices...
- Süd-Chemie, Evonik To Develop Cathode
- Süd-Chemie will supply Evonik Industries with a new lithium-ion battery cathode material for use in hybrid and electric vehicles and stationary storage...
- Air Products Wins Solar Contracts
- Industrial gas supplier Air Products & Chemicals says its Indian joint venture with INOX Air Products (INOXAP) will supply two Indian photovoltaics manufacturers with gases and materials...
- BASF Selling Brazil Polystyrene Unit
- BASF has agreed to sell its Brazilian polystyrene business to Brazil’s Companhia Brasileira de Estireno (CBE) for an undisclosed sum...
- DSM Develops New Implant Plastic
- DSM Biomedical has developed an easily cross-linkable ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene for hip and knee implants...
- Teijin Sets Sight On Bioplastic
- Japan’s Teijin has unveiled eyeglass frames made from the plant-based plastic Biofront...
- Corning Acquires Plastic Labware Firm
- Corning has expanded its life sciences business by acquiring Axygen BioScience from the private equity firm American Capital for about $400 million in cash...
- EU To Fund Drug Research Proposals
- A partnership between the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations will issue a call at the end of October for research proposals...
- Merck And Wellcome Launch Vaccine Venture
- Merck & Co. and the Wellcome Trust have created a research and development joint venture focused on affordable vaccines for poor countries...
- Alcon Adds Biologics With EsbaTech Buy
- Seeking to add biologics drug development capabilities to its portfolio, Alcon has agreed to acquire EsbaTech, a Swiss biotech firm with single-chain antibody fragment technology...
- Business Roundup
- LyondellBasell, International Specialty Products, Solutia, Sumitomo Metal Mining and BASF, AstraZeneca, Mascoma will work with Chevron Technology Ventures, Dionex, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AgraQuest will supply Alpharma Animal Health, Abiant...
ACS News

Chemluminary Awards Salute ACS Volunteers pp. 43-45
Spotlight shines on divisions, sections, and individuals working on behalf of ACS.
ACS Honors Heroes Of Chemistry 2009 pp. 46-47
Individual, pair, and team honored for breakthroughs.
ACS Board Shifts $1 Million From Lower Priority To Higher Priority Programs p. 47
Government & Policy

Lead Testing Clarified pp. 30-31 (Member Content)
Plastics and metals in toys will need testing, but new rule exempts many natural materials.
Water And CO2 Shouldn't Mix p. 32 (Member Content)
EPA proposes softening regulations to protect drinking water and allow CO2 to be sequestered underground.
Government & Policy Concentrates p. 29 (Member Content)
- Ozone Standard Under Review
- The national air quality standard for ground-level ozone, which was tightened slightly last year...
- Protecting Salmon From Pesticides
- EPA has asked manufacturers of three organophosphate pesticides—chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion—to voluntarily adopt...
- First CO2-Based Fuel Standard Proposed
- The Obama Administration has proposed the first regulations for vehicles based on their carbon dioxide emissions...
- REACH Aims To Limit Animal Tests
- The European Chemicals Agency has issued a clarification aimed at avoiding unnecessary animal testing...
- Lax Oversight Of Hazmat Shipments
- The federal agency responsible for regulating the transport of toxic chemicals and other hazardous materials...
» more government & policy news...
People
Obituaries p. 49 (Member Content)
Science & Technology

Top Raman pp. 36-38 (Member Content)
ACS Meeting News: Surface-enhanced spectroscopic tool could yield health care, global security applications.
Halogen Bonding Begins To Fly pp. 39-42 (Member Content)
ACS Meeting News: Noncovalent interaction akin to hydrogen bonding is becoming an important tool for chemists.
Science & Technology Concentrates pp. 34-35 (Member Content)
- Cations Cling To Cartilage
- A new class of contrast agents promises to generate clearer pictures of the state of cartilage in joints
- Oxygen’s Turbulent History
- Isotope studies reveal new details about the rise of oxygen in Earth’s ancient atmosphere and oceans
- Catch-And-Release Method For Microbots
- Scientists devise a pH-controlled system for reversing electrostatic forces between two surfaces, allowing microscale objects to be moved around
- Polymer-N-Paper Recyclable Batteries
- An all-polymer battery has the power storage and rechargeable qualities needed to succeed, plus it’s environmentally friendly
- New Tool Quantifies Costumed Nucleosides
- A proteomics-based approach provides the means to quantify the number of individual modified bases in a cell
- Spotlight On Cement
- A molecular model for evaluating the CaO-SiO2-H2O mineral phase in cement promises ever better use of the ubiquitous building material
- Isoprene Inhibits Cloud Formation
- The C5 compound emitted by trees prevents formation of particulate aerosols caused by C10 monoterpenes, also emitted from plants
- Ligating Peptides Through Lysine
- Lysine modified to contain a thiol group can be used instead of cysteine to perform native chemical ligation en route to synthesizing peptides
» more science & technology news...
The Departments
Letters pp. 3-4 (Member Content)
Newscripts p. 56
Science Is Child's Play
This Week Online
C&EN Webinar

New C&EN Webinar on Outsourcing in Drug Discovery
Join us for the next C&EN Webinar, "Outsourcing is a Key Pathway in the Future of Drug Discovery."
Learn about the current state of outsourcing in the pharmaceutical industry and examine developments that have emerged in the past few years, including:
- Outsourcing drug discovery, including lead discovery and optimization
- Outsourcing to Asia
- Balancing cost and quality
- Pharma's R&D commitment to new drug development
- Outsourcing market's size and geography
This free webinar will be held Thursday, October 1, 2009, 1:00-2:00 PM ET. Register online.
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