Jan 2004: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

canadienne January � janvier

2004Vol. 56, No./no 1

Natural Products Nutraceuticals

Biodegradable Polymers

Fresh Ideas in Packaging

… and so much more!

L’Actualité chimiqueChemical NewsCanadian

281611

• Guest Column/Chroniqueur invité 2Canadian Research Future Looks PromisingRoland Andersson, MCIC

• Personals/Personnalités 3

• News Briefs/Nouvelles en bref 6

• Book Review/Critique littéraire 8

• Chemical Shifts 9Cathleen Crudden, MCIC

• Chemputing 12Fit to PrintMarvin D. Silbert, FCIC

• Chemfusion 13The Natural Chemistry of InsectsJoe Schwarcz, MCIC

• PAGSE Report/Rapport du PFST 14

• CIC Bulletin ICC 27

• Division News/Nouvelles des divisions 29

• Local Section News/Nouvelles des sections locales 31

• Student News/Nouvelle des étudiants 33

• Careers/Carrières 34

• Events/Événements 37

Cover/CouvertureNature’s Candy: JoEl Inc. candy company wraps each piece of its new College Farm organic hard candies in clear, corn-based film calledNatureWorks PLA. See the story on p. 18. What’s Canada’s role in the promotion of environmentally sustainable, dietetically fortifying,homegrown, and globally marketable natural products?

Feature Articles/Articles de fond

That’s a Wrap 16Corn yields a natural solution for sustainable food packaging

Prepared exclusively for ACCN by Cargill Dow LLC

Au Naturel 18Canadian industry looks toward a global opportunity in thefunctional food and natural health products market.

Kelley Fitzpatrick

Seeds of Change 22The growing trend of producing biodegradable polymersfrom oilseed crops

Suresh S. Narine

Table of contentsTable des matières

L’Actualité chimique canadienne � Canadian Chemical News

2004Vol. 56, No./no 1

January � janvier

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A p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e C I CU n e p u b l i c a t i o n d e l ’ I C C

2 L’Actualité chimique canadienne � janvier 2004

Section headGuest Column

Chroniqueur invité

Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chefMichelle Piquette

Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédactionHeather Dana Munroe

Publications Assistant/Adjoint aux publicationsJim Bagrowicz

Graphic Designer/InfographisteKrista Leroux

Editorial Board/Conseil de la rédactionTerrance Rummery, FCIC, Chair/Président

Catherine A. Cardy, MCICCathleen Crudden, MCIC

Milena Sejnoha, MCIC

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Canadian Chemical New/L’Actualité chimiqueCanadienne (ACCN) is published 10 times a year byThe Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 foispar année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada.www.cheminst.ca

Recommended by The Chemical Institute of Canada,The Canadian Society for Chemistry, the CanadianSociety for Chemical Engineering, and the CanadianSociety for Chemical Technology. Views expresseddo not necessarily represent the official position ofthe Institute, or of the societies that recommend themagazine. Translation of any article into the other officiallanguage available upon request. / Recommandépar l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Sociétécanadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de géniechimique et la Société canadienne de technologiechimique. Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pasnécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut oudes sociétés constituantes qui soutiennent la revue. Latraduction de tous les articles dans l’autre langueofficielle est disponible sur demande.

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ISSN 0823-5228

With theswear-ing in

of Paul Martin asprime ministeron December 12,2003, the futureof research andinnovation inCanada looksvery promising.Consider thatMartin was incharge of federal

finances and supported major initiativesover the past half-dozen years such as theCanadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI),the development of the Canadian Institutesfor Health Research (CIHR), the CanadaGraduate Scholarships, the CanadaResearch Chairs, the introduction of aprogram to financially support indirectcosts of research, and the continuedincreases beyond inflation rates to bothgranting councils (Natural Sciences andEngineering (NSERC), Socials Sciences andHumanities Research (SSHRC)).

In his first day as prime minister, Martinannounced the realignment of thefunctions of departments and agencies andchanges to the Cabinet committee system.Martin has committed to a new focus onscience and technology with significantchanges in government (such as newMinisters of State include New andEmerging Markets, Infrastructure) and keyscience advisory positions reporting to theprime minister. The appointment ofArthur Carty, HFCIC, in the newly createdposition of National Science Advisor to theprime minister is great news. He will workclosely with the National Advisory Councilon Science and Technology. Joe Fontanahas been appointed ParliamentarySecretary to support the prime minister onscience and technology. For the full newsrelease please see: “Prime MinisterAnnounces Appointment of Cabinet” atwww.gc.ca/eng/news.

Many of Martin’s changes reflectrecommendations made by the PartnershipGroup for Science and Engineering

(PAGSE) over the past severalyears. PAGSE’s September 25, 2003recommendations to the House ofCommons Standing Committee on Finance(www.page.org/en/discussion_papers/sub2003e.htm) were the creation of a PMOOffice of Science and Innovation, SettingPriorities for Research, Commercializationof Research, International Dimensions, andcontinued support for the GrantingAgencies and Cluster Development.

Besides the support of the new Martingovernment, there are other reasons for thechemical sciences and engineeringcommunity to be optimistic for the future.I believe that Canadians have truly turnedthe corner from the days of branchplant/natural resources dependencymentality to a new state of quiet confidenceas a knowledge-based economy. YoungCanadians will feel more confident aboutthe chemical sector, which has alwaysbeen a leader in technology advancement.Canada has lead the G8 countries ineconomic growth for the past several years.With both the U.S. and world economiesnow at their strongest position since theSeptember 11th tragedy, this will bode wellfor Canada.

Despite my optimism, continued strongparticipation by the CIC in both PAGSE andthe Canadian Consortium for Research(CCR) is important. We must work as hardin the good times as when the cycle of theeconomy is at its lowest point. TheCIC/Societies board members must remaindiligent in listening to members, developingpolicies and promoting these in briefs andat meetings with federal cabinet ministers,MPs, and senior bureaucrats. I encourageall members to support the CIC govern-ment relations work and to share yourthoughts and ideas at [email protected] send us a letter to the editor [email protected].

Canadian Research FutureLooks PromisingOn his first day—Paul Martin makes key changesto advance research and innovation

Roland Andersson, MCIC

Roland Andersson, MCIC, is executivedirector of The Chemical Instituteof Canada and can be reached at

[email protected].

Industry

Robert N. Young, FCIC, andRobert J. Zamboni, MCIC, bothvice-presidents of medicinalchemistry at the Merck FrosstCentre for TherapeuticResearch, have been awardedthe Heroes of Chemistry prizeby the American ChemicalSociety (ACS). This year’sprestigious honour recognizesindustrial chemists andchemical engineers who areimproving children’s healthand wellness by creatingcommercial products based onchemistry. The Merck Frosstscientists are recognized fortheir contribution to thediscovery and development of amedical therapy to help controlasthma in adults and childrenas young as two years old. Theaward was presented at the226th national meeting ofthe ACS.

“The drug discovery processis an extremely challenging onewhere thousands of moleculesare tested over years ofresearch. The fruits of the

scientists’ labour have led tothe advancement of science inaddition to having contributedto the well-being of patients,”said André Marcheterre,president of Merck Frosst.

University

Christina Smeaton (centre)is the 2003 recipient of theCSC Silver medal for excellencein third-year environmentalchemistry at Sir WilfredGrenfell College. The award waspresented by Geoff Rayner-Canham, FCIC, (left) on behalfof the CSC and Pierre Rouleau(right), Chair of EnvironmentalScience, on behalf ofGrenfell College.

L’Université de Montréal estfière d’annoncer la venueau Département de chimiede Shawn K. Collins, MICC.

Collins est natif de Val d’Orau Québec. Il a reçu son PhDde l’Université d’Ottawa en2001 et a, par la suite,effectué un séjour post-doctoral à la University ofCalifornia at Irvine, sous ladirection du professeur LarryOverman. Sa spécialité est la

chimie organique et sestravaux de recherche visent ledéveloppement de nouvellesstratégies pour la synthèsed’intermédiaires ou deproduits chiraux qui sonttraditionnellement difficiles àpréparer en utilisant lesméthodologies courantes.

Richard Martel, MICC, est undiplômé de l’Université Lavalsous la direction du professeurPeter H. McBreen. Il a par lasuite œuvré au T.J. WatsonResearch Centre de la sociétéIBM, à Yorktown dans l’état de

New York comme chercheurprincipal. Il se joint àl’Université de Montréal augroupe de recherche sur lesnanomatériaux qui occuperaun nouveau bâtiment sur lecampus à partir de maiprochain. Il s’intéresse enparticulier à la compréhensiondes propriétés électriques destructures de dimensionsnanométriques, par ex. lesnanotubes de carbone, via lafabrication de systèmes modèles.

Après des études en Roumanie,son pays d’origine, AndreeaSchmitzer, MICC, a obtenuson PhD de l’Université Paul-Sabatier de Toulouse en Franceet a effectué des études post-doctorales à l’Université deMontréal sous la direction de laprofesseure Joelle Pelletier. Laspécialité de Schmitzer est lachimie bio-organique etelle s’intéresse, en particulier,à la mise au point de méthodesde conception rationnellede matériaux possédantdes cavités fonctionnaliséesadaptées à des besoinsspécifiques via les principes dela chimie supramoléculaire etde l’auto-assemblage.

GovernmentThe Governor General haspresented G. MichaelBancroft, FCIC, with ourcountry’s highest honour forlifetime achievement, TheOrder of Canada. The Orderwas established in 1967 torecognize outstanding achieve

January 2004 � Canadian Chemical News 3

Section headPersonals

Personalités

Robert N. Young, FCIC

Robert J. Zamboni, MCIC

Shawn K. Collins, MICC

Richard Martel, MICC

Andreea Schmitzer, MICC

ment and service in variousfields of human endeavour.

Professor at the University ofWestern Ontario, Bancroft wasone of the first chemists topromote the use of synchrotronradiation in research. A billiontimes brighter than the sun,this light source is used toprobe the structure of matter.He was one of the key playersin the development of Canada’sfirst synchrotron that is sched-uled to be operational at theUniversity of Saskatchewan in2004. Thanks to his sustainedefforts, this new technologyoffers the potential forsignificant breakthroughs inmedical science and engineeringand increased economic benefitsfor our country.

Paul Martin announced theappointment of NRC presidentArthur J. Carty, HFCIC,as Canada's first NationalScience Advisor to the primeminister. Carty will workclosely with the NationalAdvisory Council on Scienceand Technology.

According to Carty, his "yearsat NRC have been very reward-ing and fulfilling,” and they haveallowed him “to identify issuesat the national level relating toscience, technology, and innova-tion that need to be addressed”.Carty hopes that his “new posi-tion will allow (him) to bringthese issues directly to the atten-tion of decision makers, and toensure that the seminal role ofR&D is understood and consid-ered in the policy developmentprocesses of government.” Inthat context, his work will con-tinue to involve NRC and heintends to be helpful to NRC as itcharts its path in the future.

Carty continued, saying thathis excitement about the oppor-tunities his new job presents“are coloured by (his) regret athaving to leave NRC,” which hedescribed as being the mostrewarding years of his career.“I have had the honour to workwith some of the brightestminds and the most dedicatedpeople in Canada. TogetherI believe we have accomplishedgreat things, and I am confidentthat NRC is well positioned tocontinue to have a significantimpact on Canada andCanadians in the future.”

NSERC has announced the win-ners of the 2003 NSERC SynergyAwards for Innovation. Amongthe seven partnerships out fornational recognition were theCIC’s own:

John MacGregor, MCIC, andTheodora Kourti, MCIC, andTembec Inc. and Dofasco Inc. forstatistical methods that recovervaluable information from largedata flows collected duringmanufacturing;

Douglas Reeve, FCIC, andERCO Worldwide for a 50-yearpartnership that has hadenormous environmental andeconomic benefits for the pulpand paper and water treatmentindustries;

Douglas Stephan, FCIC, andNOVA Chemicals Corporation,for new and cost-effectivecatalysts produce high-performance plastics.

DistinctionMadeleine Jacobs has beennamed the executive directorand CEO of the world’s largestscientific society, the AmericanChemical Society (ACS). Jacobswas formerly editor-in-chief ofthe weekly ACS news magazine,Chemical & Engineering News.She heads the 128-year-old Soci-ety that has a membership ofmore than 160,000 chemistsand chemical engineers and astaff of 1,900. A chemist andscientific journalist herself, Ja-cobs is well connected in thescientific and chemical commu-nities at all levels, including thetop leadership in industry, acad-eme, and government. Inaddition to having receiveddozens of honours and awardsin her career as a writer, editor,and innovator, she’s also beenrecognized for motivatingyoung people with the ACSAward for Encouraging Womeninto Careers in the ChemicalSciences.

The CIC welcomes the arrivalof its new publicationsmanager, Michelle Piquette.Piquette is fluently bilingualand has 20 years’ experience inthe publishing industry. Shemost recently worked for amarketing and communicationsagency and prior to this in auniversity public affairs office.Piquette takes on the roles ofboth publishing editor of TheCanadian Journal of ChemicalEngineering (CJChE), in collab-oration with graphic designerRené Lalonde and publications

assistant Jim Bagrowicz, andas editor-in-chief of the Cana-dian Chemical News/L’Actualitéchimique canadienne (ACCN)with managing editor HeatherDana Munroe.

Uttandaraman Sundararaj,MCIC, is the recipient of thePolymer Processing Society’sprestigious Morand Lamblaaward, which recognizes origi-nality, high achievement, andpotential for continuingcreativity among youngresearchers in the science andtechnology of polymerprocessing. He is currentlyassociate professor in thedepartment of chemical andmaterials engineering at theUniversity of Alberta. He isalso the associate Chair ofchemical engineering withinthat department.

Sundararaj’s main researchinterests are in processing ofpolymer blends and nanocom-posites. He is particularlyknown for his work on blendmorphology developmentduring processing and for theeffect of reaction and blockcopolymers on coalescence inpolymer blends. He is alsorecognized for his work inminiature mixing equipmentincluding the design of newprocessing equipment tomelt-blend small amounts ofmaterial. His recent researchincludes visualization andmodelling of blend structuregeneration in twin-screwextruders, and processing andproperties of novel polymernanocomposites.



Personalités

Arthur J. Carty, HFCIC

Michelle Piquette

Uttandaraman Sundararaj, MCIC

G. Michael Bancroft, FCIC



Personalités

ObituariesKeith J. Laidler, FCIC, FRSC,passed away on August 26,2003, at the age of 87. Professoremeritus at the University ofOttawa, Laidler taught in thedepartment of chemistry from1955 to 1981. From 1961 to1966, he was Chair of the

department of chemistry andvice-dean of the Facultyof Science. In 1971, hewas awarded the University ofOttawa Staff ResearchLectureship. He also receivedThe Chemical Institute ofCanada Medal. In 1974, hewas the recipient of theChemical Education Award ofThe Chemical Instituteof Canada.

Laidler was known for hisannual Christmas ScienceLectures that he started in1956, only a year after he hadjoined the university. He wasinspired by the FaradayLectures from the RoyalSociety that took place once ayear in his native England. TheChristmas Science Lecturescontinue to this day, and havegrown in popularity. Laidlerwas also a long-time actor withthe Ottawa Little Theatre and alandscape painter.

Submitted by the Universityof Ottawa

David B. MacLean, FCIC,passed away in August 2003. Hegraduated from Acadia Univer-sity with a BSc and received hisPhD from McGill in 1945 at theage of 22. He began his careeras a research chemist with Do-minion Rubber Co. in Guelph,ON, in 1946 and moved on tohis academic career at NovaScotia Tech. in 1949. In 1954, hejoined McMaster University andbecame a full professor in 1960.He later became professoremeritus at the same institution.He served two terms as Chair ofthe department of chemistrywhere he was integral in the

installation of the first high-resolution mass spectrometerand the first high-pressureliquid chromatographic facility.He tirelessly worked to maintainnuclear magnetic resonance in-strumentation that was the envyof Canadian organic chemists.During his lifetime, MacLeansubmitted over 100 manuscriptsfor publication journalsincluding the Canadian Journalof Chemistry.

Reprinted with permission from theGlobe and Mail

Ernest James Wiggins, FCIC,passed away on August 10,2003 at the age of 85. He re-ceived his BSc in chemicalengineering from Queen’s Uni-versity in 1938 and his PhDfrom McGill University in 1946following active service in theCanadian Army. He became thefirst head of the Chalk RiverAtomic Energy Project and wassubsequently employed withthe Defence Research Board ofCanada and with StanfordResearch Institute in California.He returned to Canada in 1957to join the newly activatedSaskatchewan Research Coun-cil, and in 1962 was appointeddirector of research of the

Alberta Research Council. Heheld that position until hisretirement in 1977. During thisperiod, he led a major expansionin the applied research forAlberta industries such as oilsands and forest products. Hewas a founder of the PetroleumRecovery Institute and otherjointly funded activities withindustry that have since helpedAlberta become a world leaderin oil and gas productiontechnology. He also played akey role in establishing theAssociation of ProvincialResearch Organizations to gaingreater recognition by thefederal government of theimportance of the provincialactivities in technology andindustrial development. Wigginsserved as a member of theAlberta Oil Sands Technologyand Research Authority and asa consultant on energy-relatedtopics for over 20 yearsfollowing his formal retirement.He was a lifetime member ofthe Association of ProfessionalEngineers, Geologists, andGeophysicists of Alberta, andthe recipient of an honorarydoctorate from AthabascaUniversity.

Submitted by Karen Fletcher

Keith J. Laidler, FCIC

BiotechBuddiesSemBioSys Genetics Inc., aCanadian biotechnologycompany, has executed adevelopment agreementwith Martek BiosciencesCorporation to co-developvalue-added specialty oilproducts with potentialpharmaceutical and nutraceu-tical applications. Under theterms of the multi-yearagreement, SemBioSys willuse its Safflower biotechnologycapabilities to developplant-based DHA products forMartek.

“Martek had the opportunityto work with many other plantbiotechnology companies.The fact that they selectedSemBioSys as a partner istremendous validation of ourproprietary technology anddevelopment capabilities,”said Andrew Baum, presidentand CEO of SemBioSys. “Weare pleased to have beenchosen by Martek as a strategicpartner and look forward tothis exciting collaboration.”

SemBioSys has developed avariety of proprietary geneticengineering technologiesfor recombinant proteinproduction and metabolicengineering of oilseeds includingSafflower. These technologiesare ideally suited to theproduction of high-valuelipids in oilseeds. The com-pany has a fully integratedcapacity to develop suchproducts from gene through topilot-scale manufacturing inthe shortest possible time.

Calgary, AB-based SemBioSysGenetics Inc. is a privatelyheld biotechnology companyfocused on the developmentof high-value protein and oil-body-based products. Theseproducts implement itsproprietary oilbody-basedtechnology—the Stratosome™Biologics System. Spun out ofthe University of Calgary in

1996, the company's productsinclude: specialty nutritionaloils for infant formula that aidin the development of the eyesand central nervous system innewborns; nutritional supple-ments and food ingredientsthat may play a beneficial rolein promoting mental and car-diovascular health throughoutlife; and new, powerfulfluorescent markers fordiagnostics, rapid miniaturizedscreening, and gene andprotein detection.

SemBioSys Genetics Inc.

Petro-Canada’sKyotoCompromisePetro-Canada, one of Canada’slargest energy companies anda former Crown corporation,is involved in oil and naturalgas production in Canada andinternationally. Ron Brenne-man, chief executive ofPetro-Canada, said he hopesprime minister Paul Martinwill slow Canada’s implemen-tation of the Kyoto accord, amultinational agreement forreducing greenhouse gasemissions. Brenneman wasencouraged by conversationshe’s had with Martin on thematter.

“Paul Martin is clearlycommitted to the environmentand to action on climatechange. But he also under-stands how critical it is tofoster private-sector innova-tion here in Canada to addressthese daunting changes.”

The Kyoto accord seeks toreduce emissions of gases thatare caused by burning fossilfuels that are thought to causeglobal warming. The U.S. hasrefused to sign the accord, butthe federal government hassaid it will support the

agreement. Brenneman saidthe federal government, underJean Chrétien, had adopted “aprescriptive approach” onKyoto by forcing companieslike Petro-Canada to reducegreenhouse gas emissionswithin a specific time frame.He believes the governmentshould allow companies moretime to come up with creativesolutions, adding that oil com-panies have a record ofproducing cleaner fuels andbeing more energy efficientthemselves to save costs. Heelaborated by saying that henow has to turn down un-proven ideas for reducinggreenhouse gas emissions incase they won’t pay off intime for the Kyoto deadlines.

The Canadian Press

New Rules—FDABioterrorismActAs of December 12, 2003, theAmerican Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) mustreceive advance notice of

shipments of food intothe U.S.

President George W. Bush’sPublic Health and Securityand Bioterrorism Preparednessand Response Act of 2002,commonly known as the Bioter-rorism Act, includes a largenumber of provisions to help en-sure the safety of the U.S. fromterrorism. This translates intoaction for the Secretary ofHealth and Human Services(HHS). It is their duty to protectthe nation’s food supply againstthe threat of internationalcontamination.

People who manufacture,process, pack, transport, distrib-ute, receive, hold or import foodwill be required to create andmaintain records that the FDAdeems necessary to identify theimmediate previous sources andthe immediate subsequent recip-ients of food. This will allow theFDA to follow up on crediblethreats of serious adverse healthconsequences or death tohumans or animals by tracingthe food back to its source.Farms and restaurants areexempt from the requirement.

For further information visitwww.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada


Section headNews Briefs

Nouvelles en bref

NSERC BumpsUp Stipends

NSERC has increased the valueof its stipends to graduatestudents and postdoctoralfellows. These increases weremade possible by the additionalfunding provided to NSERC inthe February 2003 budget anddemonstrate the priority theCouncil places on support of thetraining of new researchers.• The Industrial Postgraduate

Scholarship stipend was in-creased from $13,800 to$15,000. The requiredindustrial contribution willincrease from $5,500 to$6,000 as of May 1, 2004;

• The doctoral-level postgrad-uate scholarship (PGSDoctoral formerly PGS B)was increased by $1,900 to$21,000 per year;

• The Postdoctoral Fellowshipwas increased from $35,000to $40,000 per year.

The Council has also increasedthe amount that a professor canpay as a salary contribution orstipend to a doctoral studentfrom an NSERC grant. The newmaximum is $19,000 per student

per year, a $2,500 raise from theprevious level. This amountdoes not include non-discretionary benefits.

Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council

ofCanada (NSERC)

Better ThanVitamin EFat goes rancid over time ifno antioxidants are added.Our bodies also contain fatmolecules, called lipids,which are essential for ourcell membranes. Lipids mustalso be protected fromexcessive peroxidation. Leftunchecked, it can causeatherosclerosis or variousautoimmune and neurode-generative diseases, such asAlzheimer’s disease, to set in.Nature’s most importantweapon in defence oflipid peroxidation is thea-tocopherol vitamin E.An international team ofresearchers has now developeda new class of antioxidantsthat are up to 100 times moreeffective than vitamin E.

The trouble with the peroxi-dation of lipids is that it is achain reaction. In the firststep, an oxygen radical—amolecule with an unpairedelectron on an oxygen atom—removes a hydrogen atomfrom a lipid. This leaves be-hind a lipid radical, which hasan unpaired electron on a car-bon atom, which reacts withan oxygen molecule to form alipid peroxyl radical. This is anoxygen radical that can thenattack another lipid in turn—in order to steal a hydrogenatom—resulting in yet anotherlipid radical. The vicious circlestarts all over again and is dif-ficult to stop. This is whereantioxidants like a-tocopherolcome into the picture; theyintercept the lipid peroxylradicals. Radical scavengerslike tocopherol are phenols.They consist of a six-mem-bered aromatic carbon ringwith an attached oxygen atom,and this oxygen atom carries ahydrogen atom. This hydrogenatom is stripped away by theperoxyl radical. In contrast tothe lipid radicals, the resultingphenolic radical is relativelyunreactive, and the chain reac-tion stops. In order to find an

even better radical interceptor,the chemists searched for aphenolic compound, whoseOH group gives up its hydro-gen atom more easily thanvitamin E. However, most ofthese super radical scavengersare much to readily attackedby oxygen in the air tobe useful.

Computer simulations en-abled the developer Derek A.Pratt, and his co-workers todevelop a new class of air-stablephenolic antioxidants. Subse-quent experiments havedemonstrated that two ofthese amino pyridinol com-pounds, as they are called, areparticularly effective radicalscavengers. They consist of aphenol ring, in which one ofthe carbon atoms has beenreplaced with a nitrogen atom.This aromatic ring is fusedwith another, aliphatic carbonring, which also containsa nitrogen atom. “Theseamino pyridinols are, to thebest of our knowledge,the fastest peroxyl-radical-trapping antioxidants everreported,” says Pratt.

Angewandte ChemieInternational


Section headSection head ESection head FSection head

News BriefsNouvelles en bref

OrganicChemistryDirectoryOn-LineOrganicworldwide.net has justlaunched its new “Directory ofOrganic Chemistry Research.”This Web site collects allrelevant information aboutorganic chemistry researchworldwide in order to facilitatecollaborations in this field. Visitthe site at www.organicworld-wide.net/directory.

EcoSynth


Section headBook Review

Critique littéraire

While the main focus of this textbook ison the chemistry of the Alberta oil sands,bitumens, and heavy oils, it provides anexcellent complement to the study ofpetroleum chemistry in general. This isnot merely another book on crude oilchemistry. It is a major source ofinformation on the manner in whichmodern fractionation and degradationtechniques may be combined with thehigh resolving power of modern instru-mentation to monitor the changesoccurring at various stages in theprocessing of crude oils as well as thoseoccurring in organic matter insedimentary rocks over geologic time.

The book is designed to provide thechemical foundation on which to buildprofessional education training coursesrelated to the needs of the Canadian pe-troleum industry and to supply thechemical background needed by theprocess engineer to consider in thedevelopment of new technology. It willalso be of interest to environmentalchemists dealing with organic discharges.A long chapter is devoted to the specialrole played by the asphaltene fractionin governing the physical andchemical properties of Alberta heavy oilsand bitumens.

The special issues related to oil sandprocessing arising from the combinedtrace minerals, dissolved gases, connatewater, unrelated organic matter attachedto the mineral matter are treatedthoroughly.

The work described on the determinationof the biomarkers, their concentrationsand ratios illustrates the power of thisinformation in ranking the oils in order ofthe degree of the biodegration and toindicate the thermal maturity status ofthe oil. This information also suggests ahypersaline marine environment andcarbonate source rock for the original oil.This will be of interest to the organicgeochemist supporting explorationprograms.

New information ispresented on methodsfor the removal of theadsorbed resinousmaterial from theasphaltene to producea better chemicallydefined core. Thechemistry of the core,revealed by thermaldegradation, naph-thalene anion, andby nickel boridereduction show therole played by theoxygen and sulfurlinkages in holdingmajor segmentstogether. The size ofthese segments placesan upper limit on thesize of the aromaticclusters within them.The oxidative degra-dation by rutheniumions of the asphaltenecore provides insightsinto the nature of thealkyl bridges linkingthe aromatic rings and the type ofsubstitution on the rings. This unveils aunifying principle that the bulk of thechemical constituents of petroleumasphaltene consists of normal alkanoicderived hydrocarbons and heterocycleswith minor amounts of pigments,terpenoids and other biotic material.

The attached biomarkers in the coreare less biodegraded than those in theassociated maltene fraction. This pointillustrates the capacity of the core toprotect the biomarkers from biodegrada-tion and the catalytic action of the clays.

The complexity of the inorganic and or-ganic matter requires the application of manydifferent separation techniques. In somecases, degradation methods supported bymodern instrumental analytical equipmentare required to gain the chemical struc-

tural information necessary to under-stand the source of process difficultiesand to provide geological insights. Theauthors have gone to considerablelengths to provide the appropriatechemical background and to interpret theresults obtained by the chemical methodsand instruments used. Copious referencesare supplied with numerous appendices,summaries, and an index to aid students.

In essence, this book contains the basicchemical knowledge of the oil resourcesneeded to support the futuredevelopment of the oil sand and heavyoil industry in Canada.

Douglas S. Montgomery, FCIC,Former head of the Fuels Division of CANMET,

Energy Mines and Resources, Canada

The Chemistry of Alberta Oil Sands Bitumens and Heavy Oilsby O. P. Strausz, FCIC, and Elizabeth M. Lown695 pages, ISBN 0778530965Published by The Alberta Energy Research Institute, Suite 2540,Monenco Place, 801 6th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2P 3W2www.aeri.ab.ca.Price: $200.

Book Review


What the Heck isWrong with thatReaction?

Coupling reactions such as the Heckreaction and Stille reaction areoften used for the construction of

carbon-carbon bonds using catalyticamounts of palladium. In the Stillereaction, a stannylated alkene and anelectrophile, such as an aromatic halideor triflate are reacted in the presence of apalladium catalyst. Loss of R3SnX drivesthe reaction. In some cases, particularlythose in which the stannyl alkene hasanother substitutent on the carbonundergoing the reaction, a side productcontaminates the reaction. This productis called the “cine” product and resultsfrom substitution on the carbon atomadjacent to the stannylated carbon(Equation 1). Since this product isdifficult to separate from the desired prod-uct, studies directed towards theelimination of this compound wouldincrease the utility of the Stille reaction formore highly substituted vinylstannanes.

Various mechanisms have been postu-lated to explain the production of the cineproduct. The key question relates to thereactivity of intermediate 1 (Scheme 1).This complex could react by beta-hydrideelimination to yield 2, or by loss ofXSnBu3 to yield Pd alkylidene 3. Bothproducts could ultimately yield the cineproduct. Eric Fillion, MCIC, and his groupat the University of Waterloo set out to

find evidence for the Pd alkylidene,which had never been observed. Theresults of this study, co-authored bycrystallographer Nicholas Taylor,appeared in the Journal of the AmericanChemical Society (2003, 125, 12700).

In order to prove that compounds suchas 1 can undergo XSnBu3 elimination andgenerate palladium alkylidenes, the Fil-lion group reacted stannatrane 4 withPd(0). This unusual stannane was chosenbecause it undergoes facile oxidative ad-dition with Pd, which is needed togenerate the key beta stannyl species 5(Scheme 2). In the presence of Pd(0),stannatrane 4 is converted into the iodospecies 7 with concomitant transfer ofthe methylene group to norbornene 8.

The ability to convert olefins into cyclo-propanes is a typical reaction of metalalkylidenes. The Fillion group observedethylene and formaldehyde as products ofdimerization and oxidation of the metalalkylidene in the absence of norbornene,thus providing extremely strong evidencefor the intermediacy of alkylidenes suchas 6 or 3 in the Stille reaction.

What’s new in chemistry research? Chemical Shifts offers a concentratedlook at Canada’s latest developments.

Cathleen Crudden, MCIC

Bu3Sn

R

Br

+

Pd catalyst

R

R+

"normal" Stilleproduct

"cine"product

SnBu3R PhPdXLnR PdXLn

Ph

SnBu3

R

Ph

SnBu3

PdHLn+

X–

R PdLn

Ph

– XSnBu3

R

1

2

3

N SnI

Pd(0)

4

N Sn 7

6

I

N SnPdLn

I5+

H2C PdLn

8

9

Chemical Shifts

Equation 1

Scheme 1

Scheme 2

Chemical Shifts


Section head

Chemical Shifts

Additions andAllylations at theUniversity ofAlbertaThankfully for chemists at the Universityof Alberta, mosquito season is over. Com-pound 9 (below), also known as(5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide is theoviposition attractant pheromone of thefemale Culex mosquito, which is one of thespecies that transmits West Nile virus.Oviposition pheromones are released byfemale mosquitoes in order to attract otherfemales to what is a prime spot for layingtheir eggs. Thus these types of pheromonescould be used to trap female mosquitoesbefore they reproduce. Compound 9 hasrecently been synthesized by Dennis Hall,FCIC, and graduate student Xuri Gao,ACIC. Their synthesis, which appeared inthe Journal of the American ChemicalSociety (2003, 125, 9308), employs atandem Diels-Alder/allylboration strategywhich installs both stereocentres and theheterocyclic ring rapidly and with highlevels of enantiomeric control.

The synthesis begins with a Diels-Alderreaction between heterodiene 10 andvinyl ether 3 as the dienophile (Equation 2).This particular type of Diels-Alderreaction is called an inverse-electrondemand Diels-Alder because the diene iselectron poor and the dienophile iselectron rich. This is the reverse of“normal” Diels-Alder reactions. The keyto the efficiency of Hall’s synthesis is theboronate (B(OR)2) substituent, whichremains in the product (12) as an allylboronate, which can react with analdehyde as shown in Equation 3.

The reactions of allylic boronates suchas 12 with aldehydes proceed in a stereo-controlled fashion to set two newstereocentres remote from the initial one,with high levels of selectivity. Coordinationof the aldehyde (R’CHO) to the boronatom in 12 results in a very orderedtransition state called the Zimmerman-

Traxler structure, which is responsible forthe high levels of stereocontrol.Interestingly, heterodiene 10 used in thesynthesis of 12 is also an aldehyde, yetthe allylborane product did not react asecond time with 10.

In order to make only one enantiomerof the final product, Hall and Gaoemployed chromium complex 14, acatalyst developed by Eric Jacobsen atHarvard University. Under optimizedreaction conditions, the reactionproceeded with greater than 95 percentenantioselectivity using only 0.3 percentof 14. The second step (Equation 3) couldthen be carried out without purificationleading to a single diastereomer.

Finally, the synthesis of mosquitopheromone 9 was accomplished startingwith compound 5, in which R = Et andR’= C10H21. Hydrogenation in thepresence of palladium on carbon catalystremoves the endocyclic olefin, and thestereochemistry at the alcohol wasinverted by converting it into themesylate, which was then displaced withcesium acetate. Finallly, oxidation withmCPBA/BF3•OEt2 yields the desiredlactone as shown in Scheme 3.

O O

B(OR)2

OR OR

B(OR)2

+

(10) (11) (12)Mosquito pheromone

O OC10H21

OAcH

Diels AlderReaction

(9)

(12)+ R'CHOO OR

(13)

R'

OHH

allylboration

NCr

O

CH3

O Cl

Jacobsen's Catalyst (14)

Equation 2

Equation 3

O OEtR'

OHH

1. H2, Pd/C

2. MsCl, NEt3, 18-C-63. CsOAc, 18-C-6 toluene, 100 °C

O OEtR'

OAcH

R' = C10H21

mCPBA

BF3•OEt2NEt3

9

13

Scheme 3

Peptides Used toProbe Sweet Spotson AntibodiesCarbohydrates are found on the surfaces ofall mammalian cells and control many of thebiochemical processes carried out by the cell.Their role as cellular sensors is generallyinitiated by interaction of the carbohydratewith a protein outside the cell. This bindinginteraction acts as a light switch inside thecell and turns on various processes includingimmune defence, cell adhesion, fertilization,and metastasis. Within the cell, carbohy-drates also play important roles in proteinfolding and transport. Oligosaccharides arealso present on cancerous cells in a uniquefashion, making them important targets incancer treatment. Carbohydrates are alsopresent on the surfaces of bacterial and viralcells. Thus, development of vaccines basedon specific carbohydrates is an active area ofresearch. However, the ubiquity of carbohy-drates can make this a difficult task. Vaccinesmust be targeted to specific pathogens andcannot interfere with native carbohydratesthat are so important for mammalianbiochemistry. For this reason, carbohydratemimics are being explored as agents to elicitmore discriminating immune responses.

Remarkably, peptides are proving to beeffective carbohydrate mimetics despite thesignificant differences in their structure. Thisbrings up the question of the nature of themimicry: is it structural, functional, or com-pletely different? These are some of thequestions that Mario Pinto, David Bundle,FCIC, and their collaborators are attemptingto answer. In a recent publication in the Pro-ceedings of the National Academy of Science2003, 100, 15023. the interaction of anoctapeptide with the Fab fragment of the an-tibody SYA/J6, which is specific for the cellsurface O-antigen polysaccharide of thepathogen Shigella flexneri Y, was determinedby X-ray crystallography and solutioncalorimetry.

Mario Pinto, from Simon Fraser University,David Bundle and Mary Chervenak fromthe University of Alberta, and Nand Vyas,Meenakshi Vyas and Florante Quiocho fromBaylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX,have shown that the binding modes of thepentasaccharide that elicits the immuneresponse in the first place are significantly

different from the synthetic octapeptide.The octapeptide (Met-Asp-Trp-Asn-Met-His-Ala-Ala, Figure 1a) has a significantly largernumber of contact points with the antibody(126), compared with only 74 in the case ofthe oligosaccharide. “(Figure 1b), but thepeptide does not sit deeply in the pocketand thus its ability to mimic the oligosac-charide it compromised.” Despite the larger

number of contacts, the peptide only bindstwice as strongly as the oligosaccharide.Part of the reason for this is the un-favourable entropy of binding of thepeptide, which must adopt a significantlymore ordered structure once bound in theactive site. The incorporation of a largenumber of water molecules along with thebinding is also entropically unfavourable.

The crystal structure of the Fab fragmentand the octapeptide is shown in Figure 2.This structure is refined to a resolution of1.8 Å. The octapeptide fits into the combin-ing site with the first four amino acids in anextended conformation and the last four asan alpha-helix. Direct hydrogen bonds areobserved between the amino acids of the oc-tapeptide, between the octapeptide and theFab fragment, and certain interactions arealso mediated by co-crystallized water.There are also a large number of van derWaals interactions. Unlike the oligosaccha-ride, the peptide does not bind deeply withina pocket in the groove-shaped binding site,and the excess space between the peptideand the bottom of the pocket is filled withthree water molecules (compare Figures 2cand 2d). There are overall 14 watermolecules associated with peptide bindingand only two involved with carbohydratebinding in the respective crystal structures.

Cathleen Crudden, MCIC,is an associate professor at

Queen’s University in Kingston, ON

Chemical Shifts

Figure 2

Figure 1

Crystal structures of the Fab fragment of theSYA/J6 antibody with bound octapeptide andoligosaccharide. (a) The backbone trace withthe bound octapeptide (VL and VH = lightand heavy variable domains). For the peptide,carbon is shown in green, nitrogen in blue,oxygen in red, and sulfur in yellow. (b) Thesame structure with the electrostatic surfacepotential colour coded: –10 kT is shown in red;neutral in white; and +10 kT in blue. Thebinding of the peptide (c) is compared with thesaccharide (d). The atom types for the sugarare: C, yellow; N, blue; O, red; and for thepeptide, C is green, N blue, and O red. The threewater molecules are shown as red spheres (c).



Section head

Chemputing

Don’t be duped! Your empty ink cartridges might still be …

Fit to PrintMarvin D. Silbert, FCIC

Ink jet printers have revolutionized theway we use computers. We can producea high-quality document with a

machine that costs almost nothing.Unfortunately, we get hooked and it’s hardto believe, but a replacement set of colourand black ink cartridges can often costmore than the printer. Sure they have abuilt-in printed circuit board and ultra-precise printing nozzles, but how can itcost more than a few bucks to produceone. I learned many years ago when Ibought my first HP DeskJet printer that allit took to re-ink those cartridges was ahypodermic syringe with a long needle anda bottle of Sheaffer Jet Black ink. Just put10–15 mL in the syringe; stick the needlethrough the vent hole and push theplunger. Reinstall the cartridge and it’sback in business. If it’s in reasonable shapeit might take half a dozen refills.

Obviously, HP didn’t like this and theyfought back with a new high-capacitycartridge. You filled these at your own perilas pushing the needle through the venthole punctured a bladder and ink wenteverywhere. Not to be outdone, the nextseries of refilling kits included a rubberplug and told you where to drill a hole.Since then refilling kits have taken off withnew ones appearing almost as fast as theprinter and manufacturers could come outwith new cartridge designs. Some are verygood; others are not. I have had varyingdegrees of success. I always succeededwith black, but experienced severaldisasters with colour cartridges. If you planto do any photo-quality colour printing youreally want to be able to refill those colourcartridges as that photo mode sprays ink sofast you can almost see the level droppingin front of you.

This time I decided to go for a qualitykit from a reputable manufacturer. I choseIsland Ink-Jet in British Columbia(www.islandinkjet.com), a Canadiancompany with kiosks across the country,including one in a neighbourhood plaza.My printer is a Lexmark Z35 that uses a10N0016 black cartridge and a 10N0026colour cartridge. I had recently purchaseda Z33 on special for $39.95 just for the

cartridges and gave the printer away. Thatgave me a spare pair to fall back on if Iwent wrong. I started by re-inking the pairmyself. My kits had enough ink for threerefills and hypodermic syringes for eachcolour. The black kit also included a drillto expand the vent hole to accommodatethe hypodermic needle.

I started with the black cartridge andadded 10 mL of black ink; wiped it cleanwith a damp paper towel and in a coupleminutes it was reinstalled. It kept going for afew months until it needed another refill. It’shad five now and is working so well Ibought a bigger bottle of ink. The colour ismuch more difficult as the top must comeoff. I used a box cutter. Be very careful asyou can do some serious damage to yourselfif that cutter slips. When you get it off,

… it’s hard to believe,

but a replacement set

of colour and black

ink cartridges can

often cost more

than the printerthere are six holes and the diagram showswhich colour goes into which. I put 4 mLinto each and reattached the top with someelectrical tape. I got three more lives from it.When I installed the replacement, I decidedI would take it to the kiosk for refilling justto see how the pros do it. The gentleman onduty was kind enough to let me watch andexplain what he was doing. He sure got thattop off a lot faster than I did. His fillingmethod was essentially the same as mine.Instead of a bit of tape to hold the cover, heused a glue gun. It was a lot neater and theentire job took less than five minutes.Whether they did it or I did it, the printquality was as good as the original.

The Island Ink-Jet kiosk was locatedbetween Canadian Tire and Grand & Toy.That day, Canadian Tire had a special onLexmark Z35LE (watch the “LE” as itcomes with the smaller cartridges)printers for $49.99 and Grand & Toy wasselling Lexmark colour cartridges for$49.99. My refill cost $18.95, about 40percent of the cost for a new cartridge. ADIY refill kit, capable of doing eight refill-s, is $39.95. That’s $5.00 a refill or 10percent of the cost of a new one. You wineither way. It costs more for the serviceand some of you may prefer to go thatway. I’ll continue doing them myself andending up with magenta, cyan and yellowstains all over my fingers. I’m a chemist.I know it comes off with a bitof hypochlorite.

A few words of caution: Stop using theprinter at the first sign of a cartridgegoing dry. Once they do, they’re garbage.If you plan to refill it yourself, don’t waittoo long. If you are going to the kiosk,store it in a small sealed bag with a bit ofmoist paper towel. They’ll give you one,if you drop by. Try to print somethingevery day. If you can’t, run themaintenance program occasionally toprevent the printhead from drying out. Ifthe printhead looks all caked up with ink,wipe it carefully with a moist papertowel. If the jets are clogged, you cansometimes unclog them by soaking theprinthead (not the whole cartridge) inwater, or even better, the pros use 50:50water and Windex. Don’t experimentwith inks. Those 2400 dpi jets plug veryeasily. With a little care, you should beable to cut your ink costs by a factor ofthree or more. What about the warranty?Forget it. You’ve saved more than enoughto toss it out and by a new one.

You can reach our Chemputing editorMarvin D. Silbert, FCIC, at Marvin Silbert

and Associates, 23 Glenelia Avenue,Toronto, ON M2M 2K6;

tel. 416 225-0226fax 416 225-2227

e-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.silbert.org.


Ilove chemists. And right now I’m goingto eat one. He’s fully cooked, but I expectwould taste pretty bland without the

added natural and artificial flavours. For mydining pleasure, he has been encased inhardened maltitol syrup and coloured withyellow #5 and blue #1. Rigor mortis has nowset in, but in his heyday this guy was prettyadept at carrying out some amazing chemicalreactions. Like converting plant extracts intoaphrodisiacs.

And no, if you’re wondering, I haven’ttaken leave of my senses. Actually, I’m usingthem. I’m sucking on some “worm candy,”which looks like a regular lollipop except forthe clearly visible “worm,” smack in themiddle. In reality, it is about an inch-long in-sect larva that the candy-maker, exercisingsome literary license for shock value, hascalled a worm. And why am I doing this?Because it allows me to call attention to theremarkable chemistry of insects.

Let’s start with the salt marsh moth. Thisis not the insect that dines on the woolies inyour closet. The larvae of this moth preferplants, especially those that containnaturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids.Plants, of course, are veritable chemicalfactories and convert carbon dioxide, water,and nutrients from the soil into thousands ofcompounds. All the proteins, fats, carbohy-drates, and vitamins we need to sustain lifeoriginate in plants, which we either eatdirectly or through animal intermediaries.Plants, however, are not always keen tosacrifice themselves as food for others andhave evolved various protective mecha-nisms. Insects are among the most notoriousplant predators and therefore it comes as nosurprise that many plants produce a varietyof natural insecticides.

Have you ever wondered, for example,why tobacco plants produce nicotine, or whythe coca plant synthesizes cocaine? Bothchemicals deter insects. Nicotine is actuallyused as a commercial insecticide and re-searchers have shown that cocaine may beeven more effective. They sprayed cocainesolution on the leaves of tomato plants andthen put moth caterpillars on the leaves. Theinsects reared up, began to shake and turnedaway from the cocaine, apparently showinggreater intelligence than some humans.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a class ofnatural toxins that plants use to wagechemical warfare against insects. With a fewexceptions, they are not found in plantsnormally consumed by humans—which iswise, since a sufficient dose of these

The development

of resistance to toxins

is quite common

in the insect world …compounds are toxic to the liver. Comfreyis one of the plants that containspyrrolizidines, and curiously, is sometimesrecommended by herbalists in the form of atea for improved health. Admittedly, it takeslarge amounts of comfrey to cause livertoxicity, but it has happened.

So how is it then that the caterpillar of thesalt marsh moth frolics on the leaves ofpyrrolizidine alkaloid producing plants andeven makes a meal of them? The develop-ment of resistance to toxins is quite commonin the insect world, as farmers who routinelyface this problem with commercialinsecticides well know. It seems that saltmarsh moths have not only developed aresistance to pyrrolizidine alkaloids, but haveturned them to an evolutionary advantage.They convert the toxins to a compoundcalled hydroxydanaidal, which has sometruly fascinating effects and may welldeserve to be called a “moth aphrodisiac.”

The male salt marsh moth has littleinflatable organs on its belly, called“coremata.” These tube-like appendages arecovered with scent scales that project outlike tiny hairs. Their purpose is to provide alarge surface area through which the scentof hydroxydanaidal can be wafted into theair. When the female senses this chemical,she comes running, and mating ensues. Themore effective this chemical release, thegreater the chance that the suitor will attracta mate. And amazingly, the male canincrease his chances of romance just by

eating right. When scientists put salt marshmoth larvae on diets with different amountsof pyrrolizidine alkaloids (believe it or not“salt marsh caterpillar diet” is commerciallyavailable from Bioserv, Inc. of Frenchtown,NJ) they were able to show that adult malesfed the largest amounts of the hydroxy-danaidal precursors developed the largestcoremata. When fully erect, the coremata ofthe high-dose males reached an impressivetwo centimetres, whereas the pyrrolizidine-deprived moths barely managed to musterup half a centimetre. Just wait till thosespam e-mailers get hold of this information!Not satisfied with the size of your coremata?We’ve got the answer! Pyrrolizidinealkaloids. All natural. Clinically proven!

Now let’s turn to the scarlet-bodied waspmoth. He doesn’t use alkaloids to attract thefemale, but he does offer up a nuptial presentof these chemicals that may save her life! Dogfennel is a plant eschewed by herbivoresbecause of its pyrollizidine content. It makesit very bitter. But the scarlet-bodied waspmoth just loves it. He ingests the plant’sjuices and stores some in tiny pouches underhis abdomen. When the moth engages inamorous activities with the female, hetransfers some of the juice to her, making herinstantly taste awful to predators. Whenresearchers mated virgin females with malesthat were bred on the alkaloids and with onesthat were not, and then left the unfortunatemoths at the mercy of a notorious mothpredator, the golden silk spider, they foundthat the unprotected insects were quicklyeaten. The noxious males and theirchemically protected concubines escaped.

Frankly, I don’t know what sort of caterpil-lar is in my lollipop. It is just identified as“insect larva.” You see what happens whenyou have poor labelling laws? But I’ve nowconsumed most of the candy and I’m almostdown to the “worm.” OK. Here we go.Crunch! Not bitter at all. Not a hint of anypyrrolizidine alkaloids. Kind of tasty, actually.Best little chemist I’ve ever eaten. High inprotein. Low in fat. You should try one.

Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, is the director of McGillUniversity’s Office for Science and Society.

You can contact him [email protected].

The Natural Chemistry of InsectsJoe Schwarcz, MCIC

Chemfusion


Section headPAGSE Report

Rapport du PFST

Foreword

Through its active participation inboth the Partnership Group forScience and Engineering (PAGSE)

and the Canadian Consortium for Research(CCR), the CIC/Constituent Societiescommunicate key messages to the federaland provincial governments. TheCIC/Constituent Society Boards and theCIC National Office are continuouslyinvolved in the development and delivery ofkey chemical science and engineering field

Research and

innovation are of

genuine value in

enhancing our

knowledge-based

economy and in

assuring Canada’s

future

competitiveness.

related messages to federal MPs, seniorgovernment bureaucrats, and otherrelevant organizations on behalf of itsmembership. The PAGSE Brief below wasdelivered on September 25, 2003.

Introduction

The Partnership Group for Science andEngineering (PAGSE) is a cooperativeassociation of more than 20 national

organizations in Science and Engineering,formed in June 1995, at the invitation ofthe Academy of Science of the RoyalSociety of Canada. The nationalorganizations that comprise PAGSEinclude thousands of individuals fromindustry, academia, and governmentsectors. PAGSE works together, and inpartnership with, government to advanceresearch and innovation for the benefit ofCanadians.

Organizations of PAGSE provide coresupport for its meetings and activities.These include defining the economicbenefits of research in Canada and theeffects of research budgets, analyzingintellectual property issues and otherpotential impediments to improvingacademic-industry symbiosis, showcasingthe international dimensions of researchprojects and associations, and informingdecision makers about science and engi-neering and their importance to Canada.

PAGSE represents an extensive resourcethat, through contracts and agreements,can hold events and undertake studies andassessments of benefit to governmentdepartments and agencies, to non-government organizations, and to thegeneral public. The Royal Society ofCanada acts as the agent for PAGSE forany contracts or agreements involvingPAGSE projects. PAGSE has theCommittee to Advance Research, a univer-sity-industry committee, which addressesissues of considerable importance such asthe study on “Setting Priorities forResearch in Canada.” In addition, inpartnership with NSERC, a monthlybreakfast meeting is held on ParliamentHill known as “Bacon and Eggheads,” toinform parliamentarians about recentadvances in science and engineering.There are also presentations co-hosted byIndustry Canada and PAGSE, on trends inscience and technology policy, by keydecision makers from different countries.Each fall an event is organized on scienceand engineering issues—for 2003 it willspotlight our “Leaders of Tomorrow.”

General Comments

Research and innovation are of genuinevalue in enhancing our knowledge-basedeconomy and in assuring Canada’s futurecompetitiveness. Research is a continuumfrom basic to applied, with developmentalwork raising new issues, which need to beaddressed by creative, basic research. Theoutcomes of these investigations stimulateeconomic development and health care,thus raising the quality of life for Canadians.

PAGSE applauds the portfolio of Govern-ment of Canada programs established inthe past six years including, amongst them,the Canada Foundation for Innovation,Canada Research Chairs, Genome Canada,Sustainable Development TechnologyFund, Canada Graduate Scholarships, andthe significant contributions to the coverageof Indirect Costs. We also appreciate theincreased funding that was provided to theGranting Agencies.

Issues and Recommendations

PAGSE considers the following to beimportant issues meriting consideration bythe Government of Canada.

1. PMO Office of Scienceand Innovation

Within the Prime Minister’s or President’s Of-fices of G8 (e.g. U.S., U.K., Japan) and othercountries (e.g. Australia) is an office of Sci-ence and Innovation (or Technology). Suchoffices provide a coordinated and cohesiveapproach to issues relevant to research andinnovation. The staff interact on an ongoingbasis with Parliament, Diet, or Congress(such as in Canada, this would include theHouse of Commons Standing Committee onIndustry, Science, and Technology). Theoffice also takes responsibility for thecoordination of “Big Science” projects,amongst other matters. Addressing this gap ingovernance in Canada would make a majorimpact on our society, and on increasing ourglobal competitiveness.

CIC Recommendationsto the Federal GovernmentPAGSE prepares for the new Martin government by submitting its annual Brief to the House ofCommons Standing Committee on Finance

Foreword by Roland Andersson, MCIC


2. Setting Prioritiesfor Research

Having created an impressive number ofnew tools (such as Canada Foundation forInnovation (CFI), Canada Research Chairs(CRC), Indirect Costs, Genome Canada,Canadian Foundation for Climate andAtmospheric Sciences, Canada GraduateScholarships, and the Sustainable Develop-ment Technology Fund), and supportedinitiatives established by others (such asMaRS - Medicine and Related Sciences) inthe past six years, it is now appropriate to

Given the foregoing,

it is an ideal time in

Canadian history, to

determine what the

priorities are for

research in Canada

for the next five

to seven years.“take stock” and consider how these newinstruments fit with existing programs(such as Granting Agencies, NCEs, NRC)in addressing research and innovationin Canada.

In like manner, these organizations, incollaboration with government depart-ments, have launched highly promisingnew initiatives that require fullharmonization with existing supportstructures.

Given the foregoing, it is an ideal timein Canadian history, to determine whatthe priorities are for research in Canadafor the next five to seven years. Such anexercise would be of enormous value toour society. It would demonstrate areinvigorated, coordinated, and cohesiveapproach across all sectors (academia,government, industry) of the researchand innovation portfolio.

To accomplish these tasks, it isrecommended that Government createtwo panels, one to examine the relationshipbetween the new tools summarizedabove and longer standing programs for

research and innovation support, and asecond to deal with priorities. Regardingthe latter, the panel should be providedwith, amongst other material, the PAGSEstudy on “Setting Priorities for Researchin Canada.” These panels could report tothe proposed new PMO Office of Scienceand Innovation.

3. Commercializationof Research

Technology transfer and business enter-prise are now important elements of theoutcomes of university-based research.Universities need to markedly buildcapacity for the commercialization ofuniversity research, including the trainingand employment of individuals with skillsets in intellectual property, contractsmanagement, patents and licensing, ven-ture capital negotiation and management.

Likewise, the business sector urgentlyrequires new instruments to assure greatersuccess in transforming new inventionsand discoveries into products andprocesses of substantial commercial value.Start-ups, and SMEs, need a markedlyincreased supply of venture capital.

PAGSE recommends that the Canadiangovernment allocate new resources to thedifferent elements of the commercializa-tion of university research (e.g. venturecapital, early procurement of innovativeproducts). Support could involvethe creation of a CommercializationOffice/Secretariat either reporting toIndustry Canada, or created as a non-government organization. Such an entitywould be responsible for working withuniversities, companies, and governmenton different elements in thecommercialization process. In additionPAGSE highly recommends the creation ofa Canadian analog of the U.S. policydirected to minimizing barriers to industryuniversity partnerships.

To accelerate the commercializationof research PAGSE also recommends that:• Government support research and

innovation by graduate students andpostdoctoral fellows working in SMEs.These researchers must be paid regularemployee wages (not co-op orpostdoctoral level stipends);

• NRC’s Industrial Research AssistanceProgram (IRAP) provide support forpersonnel to SMEs;

• Government increase the eligibility ofthe SR & ED Tax Credit Program toinclude funding to companies thathave not attained profitability, inaddition to those that are profitable.

4. International DimensionResearch is global, and Canadians can profitsignificantly by collaborating withresearchers in other countries. Canadacontributes approximately 4 percent to thetotal global research capacity and thus, byengaging in collaborations, alliances, etc.,with those elsewhere, researchers can buildupon their own programs for maximumbenefit to Canadians. Furthermore, accessto facilities not available in Canada can leadto rapid accomplishments in researchand innovation.

PAGSE recommends that the Governmentof Canada create an International InnovationFund (IIF) of thirty million dollars per year tosupport research partnerships, involving re-searchers in academia, industry, orgovernment, in areas of priority to Canada.PAGSE recommends that the Royal Society ofCanada (in collaboration with the CanadianAcademy of Engineering and the CanadianInstitute of Academic Medicine) administerthe IIF program, an arrangementsimilar to that in the U.K. where the RoyalSociety has been, for many years,responsible for a considerable proportion ofgovernment supported international researchprograms.

5. Granting Agencies andCluster Development

The three Granting Agencies (NSERC, CIHR,SSHRC) have been the recipients of newinvestments by the Government of Canadain the last several years. PAGSE congratu-lates the Government on these investments.

Major challenges exist for the threeagencies. These include:a) The enormous pressure created by theunexpectedly large numbers of newapplicants; and b) The requirement for appreciably higherlevels of support, in order that our currenttrailblazers, and our “leaders of tomor-row,” can compete effectively on a globalbasis.

The agencies, we believe, should have avaluable role, with industry in the lead(such as Chairs of committees) and NRC asa partner, in building new clusters to serveas springboards for economic development.

PAGSE recommends:

• Government create a new industry-driven Triagency Cluster Developmentprogram;

• In addition, that Government increaseoverall support to the three agencies,taking account of the genuine needs ofeach agency.

Section headPAGSE Report

Rapport du PFST


Feature ArticleArticle de fond

By combining the best of large-scaleindustrial biotechnology withchemical processing, Cargill Dow LLC

is providing food companies the opportu-nity to offer the complete package with its100 percent corn-based food packagingmaterial. This new material is known asNatureWorks™ PLA. The technology used tocreate it allows abundant, annually renew-able resources such as ordinary field corn toreplace finite ones, such as petroleum. Thetechnology is being used in food packaging,fibres, and many other applications.

Natural packaging gives foodfresh appeal

NatureWorks PLA is changing the wayshoppers think about food packaging byoffering all the convenience of traditional plas-tic packaging while helping reduceenvironmental impact.

“NatureWorks PLA packaging looks, acts,and feels like the packaging we areaccustomed to buying, but with the importantdifference of sustainability,” says Lisa Owen,global business leader for rigid packaging withCargill Dow LLC. “This holds a specialemotional appeal for consumers, especiallyamong those already interested in natural ororganic foods.”

Owen sees the most immediate potential forNatureWorks PLA in rigid food containerssuch as berry packs, clamshells, drinkingcups, and film applications like food wrap andcontainer lids. Nature-based packaging offersgreat point-of-sale differentiation for freshfoods like produce, and deli and bakery items.Several leading grocery retailers in NorthAmerica and Europe are currently usingNatureWorks PLA to draw customer attentionto their fresh food offerings. Natural foodsretailer Wild Oats Natural Marketplace isusing clear containers made from Nature-Works PLA in its deli and salad bar sections.Italian hypermarket chain IPER sells a broadrange of foods packaged in NatureWorks PLA,

including produce, fresh pasta and salads, anddeli meats and cheeses. IPER also uses paperbread bags with NatureWorks PLA filmwindows.

With its favourable environmental qualities,NatureWorks PLA is also finding a fit withorganics, as a way to extend these foods’ all-natural appeal to the entire product offering.Biorigin S.p.A., Italy’s leading organic pastamanufacturer, is packaging its fresh organicpasta specialties in containers and film fromNatureWorks PLA. Pennsylvania candycompany JoEl Inc. is also wrapping each pieceof its new College Farm organic hard candiesin clear film of NatureWorks PLA.

In addition to food packaging, NatureWorksPLA can be used for other plastic packagingitems, ranging from floral wrap to disposableservice ware and cutlery.

Bringing NatureWorks PLAto market

Cargill Dow’s proprietary process forcreating PLA is based on the fermentation,distillation, and polymerization of a simpleplant sugar, corn dextrose. The companyessentially harvests the carbon stored in

the sugars and makes a polymer withsimilar characteristics to traditionalthermoplastics.

The potential to make plastics from plantsugars was first discovered it in the 1920sby Wallace Corothers, the scientist whoinvented nylon. But it was only recentlythat a commercially viable method wasdeveloped to produce polymers with thecost and performance necessary tocompete with traditional fibres andpackaging materials. The breakthroughwas the use of fermentation as a cost-effective way to produce PLA on alarge-scale basis.

To produce PLA, the carbohydrates incorn are enzymatically hydrolyzed to sugarand then fermented to lactic acid. Lacticacid is polymerized through a condensationreaction to low molecular weight PLA,which is then depolymerized to formlactide, the cyclic dimer of lactic acid. Highmolecular weight linear PLA is producedby ring-opening polymerization.

Lactic acid exists as d and l stero-isomers.The lactide dimers exist as three forms:D lactide (a dimer of two d-lactic acid units),L lactide (a dimer of two l-lactic acid units)

That’s a Wrap!Corn yields a natural solution for sustainable food packaging

Prepared exclusively for ACCN by Cargill Dow LLC



and meso lactide (a dimer of one l- andone d- lactic acid units.) The d-lactic acidcontent is controlled to adjust the polymerproperties. Most notably, the d-lactic acidcontent affects the crystallinity potentialand the melting point.

Cargill Dow operates a global-scale facilitycapable of producing more than 140,000metric tons (300 million pounds) ofNatureWorks PLA per year. The manufac-turing plant requires 40,000 bushels offield corn per day and is making commer-cial-grade resin that is being shippedaround the world for use in a wide rangeof consumer goods.

Initially, Cargill Dow is using sugarsderived from corn. While the processdoesn’t distinguish between plant sugars,an abundant, cost-effective raw material isrequired to be economically viable. Today,corn is one of the best sources. In thefuture, NatureWorks PLA will likely be

made using other sourcesof cellulosic biomass,such as the stalksand leaves, as feed-stock. Harnessingthese plant partsas the rawm a t e r i a lwould essen-tially allowfarmers tocreate a newrevenue stream fortheir crops—onefor the grain, andone for the waste.

“What Cargill Dow isdoing is taking a renewable,abundant crop (corn) and using it asthe raw material for a range of consumergoods. This process is a step-change in envi-ronmental stewardship,” Owen says.

The fact that NatureWorks PLA fitsall disposal options differentiates thepolymer from competitive materials is. Itis fully compostable in industrial facilities,where it breaks down like other matterderived from plants. With the properinfrastructure, products made ofNatureWorks PLA can be recycled back toa monomer and into polymers.

Performance withoutsacrifice

While environmentally sound products arehighly desired by consumers, performanceis the ante for even being considered.What makes NatureWorks PLA such anattractive option is that it offersperformance that is on par with existingpackaging materials, such as cellophane ororiented plypropylene. Some of theinherent physical properties that the resinprovides include high gloss, superiorclarity, superb twist retention, excellentoptics, strong deadfold, heat-seal ability,and flavour and aroma barrier.

“NatureWorks PLA offers a moresustainable future,” says Owen. “Itsatisfies consumers’ needs to feel goodabout the entire product they purchase, notjust the food. Consumers want to do theirpart in protecting the environment, andpurchasing fresh food packaged in Nature-Works PLA gives them a way to contributedirectly.”

NatureWorks, the NatureWorks logoand the EcoPLA design are trademarks of

Cargill Dow LLC.

How NatureWorks™ PLA is Made … and Unmade

Annually Renewable Resource A renewable resource such as corn is milled to separate(Unrefined dextrose) starch from the raw material. Unrefined dextrose is

processed from the starch. Future technology enhancementsmay eliminate the milling step and allow for utilization ofeven more abundant agricultural by-products.

Fermentation Cargill Dow turns dextrose into lactic acid using a (Lactic acid) fermentation process similar to that used by beer and wine

producers. This is the same lactic acid that’s used as a foodadditive and is found in muscle tissue in the human body.

Intermediate Production Through a special condensation process, a cyclic(Lactide) intermediate dimer, referred to as a lactide, is formed.

Polymer Production This monomer lactide is purified through vacuum distillation. (Polylactides) Ring-opening polymerization of the lactide is

accomplished with a solvent-free melt process.

Polymer Modification A wide range of products that vary in molecular weight for Customers. and crystallinity can be produced, allowing Cargill Dow to

modify PLA for a large number of applications.

How it’s Unmade NatureWorks PLA fits all disposal systems. It iscompostable. Products made of NatureWorks PLA can berecycled back to a monomer and into polymers. It is inertin a landfill, producing no leachate or toxins. At the end ofits lifecycle, a product made from NatureWorks PLA canbe broken down into its simplest parts so that no sign ofit remains.

Reduced Fossil Resource Use Because NatureWorks PLA is derived from annuallyrenewable resources, it uses 20 to 50 percent less fossilresources than comparable petroleum-based plastics.

Reduced CO2 Emissions Because NatureWorks PLA recycles the earth’s carbon, itpotentially reduces the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere whengrowing the feed stock crop and is returned to the earthwhen NatureWorks PLA degrades.


In 1998, Health Canada proposed thedefinition of a functional food to besimilar in appearance to a conven-

tional food, consumed as part of theusual diet, with demonstrated physiologicalbenefits, and/or to reduce the risk ofchronic disease beyond basic nutritionalfunctions. In the same proposal, HealthCanada defined “nutraceuticals” asproducts sold in dosage form and whichhave been shown to exhibit a physiologicalbenefit or provide protection againstchronic disease. Natural health products(NHP) in Canada include homeopathicpreparations, substances used intraditional medicine, a mineral or traceelement, a vitamin, an amino acid, anessential fatty acid or other botanical,animal or microorganism-derivedsubstance. These products are generallysold in a medicinal or “dosage” form andhave encompassed the product areaof “nutraceuticals.”

The functional foods and NHP indus-tries have garnered a great deal ofattention and enthusiasm on the part ofgovernments, the agri-food sector, andthe research community globally. Mostrecently, Canada has taken notice.

Canadian production

Canadian companies produce a widerange of functional food and NHP prod-ucts. Canada’s prairie and forestedregions offer an abundant source of wildplants and large areas of fertile land thatmake the country an ideal location forthe cultivation of a wide variety ofcommodity, specialty and medicinalcrops. Along with enhancing thenutritive value and functional propertiesof common crops, there has been a trendin Canada towards value-added processingand the extraction of nutritionally valuableconstituents.

Grains such as wheat, oats, and barleyare mainstays of the North Americandiet. These products are high sources ofdietary fibre, carbohydrate, and vita-mins. Canadian companies such asSaskatoon-based InfraReady Productsand Edmonton-based Cevean BioTech,

have developed specialized fractionationtechnologies for the processing of rawmaterials such as legumes, oats andother cereals into starch, protein andfibre, which are used as functional foodadditives. In addition, specialty cropssuch as fenugreek produced by Regina-based company Emerald Seed Productsare increasingly being cultivated to meetthe demands of manufacturers seekingspecific raw materials for functional foodand NHP products.

The range of herbs producedby Canadian companies is diverse.Saskatchewan growers, for example,reported production of over70 different herbs and spices, princi-pally—echinacea, ginseng, garlic, milkthistle, feverfew, goldenseal, St. John'swort, valerian, ginseng, astragalus, andcayenne. Other herbs include seabuck-thorn, anise, fireweed, senega root,sarsasparilla, milk thistle, chamomile,yarrow, calendula, and stinging nettle.These herbs are also common across

Canada has

valuable expertise

in several aspects of

functional food and

natural health

products market

Canada. Canadian companies specializein the standardization of herb and plantextracts and have developed theextraction, isolation, and purificationexpertise necessary to manufactureherbal products to pharmaceutical stan-dards. Also, companies have developedand refined analytical methods to verifythe potency and bio-activity of herbalextracts and other compounds.

Spice and fruit crops under productionacross the country include caraway,coriander, mustard, dill, peppermint,cumin, seabuckthorn, blueberry,Saskatoon berry, chokecherry, and buf-falo berry. Canadian companiesincluding New Bruswick’s VacciniumTechnologies Inc., have developedtechnologies and expertise in theextraction, characterization, stabiliza-tion, modification, and enhancement ofthe flavonoid constituents of fruits.

Canadian companies such as Montréal-based Institut Rosell-Lallemand producemicroorganisms for the dairy, meat, andbrewing industries. Microorganisms arealso being manufactured as sources ofpre and probiotic supplements and foodingredients. NHP and cosmetics derivedfrom elk antler such as elk velvetcapsules, powders, and tinctures as wellas emu oil, are produced and processedin various parts of Canada.

Expertise in the formulation andmanufacturing of single and complexvitamins, minerals, and antioxidants isavailable from a number of Canadianmanufacturers. In addition to consumerbrands, Canadian companies also offerfull-service contract manufacturing ofprivate label vitamin and mineral supple-ments as well as herbals, specialty, andcombination products.

The Canadian industry is a leader inthe development and manufacturing ofessential fatty acid (EFA) products fromplant and marine sources includingevening primrose oil, flaxseed, borage,hemp, and marine animal oils as wellas herbal/EFA condition-specific combina-tion products. Companies such asSaskatoon’s Bioriginal Food and ScienceCorp. and Halifax’s Ocean Nutrition areproducing EFA oils for the global market.Further, Canadian companies havedeveloped specialized encapsulation andother packaging technologies thatpreserve the integrity and bio-activity ofEFA products. Canola, tall and soy sterolsand stanols produced by Vancouver-based Forbes Medi-Tech, and flaxseedlignans from Winnipeg-based Pizzey’sMilling, are also sold into the health food


Au NaturelCanadian industry looks toward a global opportunityin the functional food and natural health products market.

Kelley Fitzpatrick

market in the form of capsules, blendedwith oil or as part of foods.

The advent of biotechnology hasresulted in the development ofinnovative manufacturing technologies.Canadian companies manufacturerecombinant proteins using both plantand animal transgenic expressionsystems. These systems are used toproduce food processing enzymes, seedmeal enhancers, and NHP. Recombinantprotein technology offers significantpotential for the future development ofvalue-added functional food and NHPproducts.

The food and food ingredient sector isalso a very important part of theCanadian nutrition industry. The typesof food and food ingredient productsproduced by Canadian companies arequite diverse and include milk and eggswith increased levels of omega-3 fattyacids, cereals and grains includingwheat, oat, barley, and fenugreekproducts with enhanced amounts ofdietary fibre (soluble and insoluble),modified fatty acid vegetable oils,vegetable proteins from soy, canola,hemp, legumes, and fruit products.

The Global market

Current world consumption of NHPs(or dietary supplements in other jurisdic-tions) and functional foods is estimatedto be between $70 and $250 billion

annually depending upon the productcategories that are included in thestatistics. In 2001, the U.S. industryjournal Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ)estimated the global market to beapproximately $150 billion U.S. NBJ hasidentified the primary markets for NHPand functional foods as the U.S., Europe,Japan, and Asia which represent 90percent of global sales. These countriesalso represent the principal exportmarkets for Canadian products. Since theU.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner,it is the easiest market for Canadian nu-tritional companies to penetrate.

Generally, the largest markets forNHPs and functional foods are countriesor regions with greater levels ofeconomic development or moresophisticated economies. These areasare characterized by higher levels ofeducation and greater personal wealth.But the traditional use of herbalremedies is also a factor that impactsconsumption by region. Asian countriesare large consumers of NHPs and func-tional foods for cultural reasons, andmany of the products we use today havetheir roots in ancient Chinese medicine.

The Canadian market

Canadian sales figures for functionalfoods and NHPs are difficult to interpretas much of it is extrapolated from U.S.sales and adjusted downwards. Inaddition, strict regulations have forcedcompanies to label products either asfoods or drugs. Functional food andNHPs may not be accounted for sincethey overlap into the food processing orpharmaceutical industries. Estimates arethat Canadians purchased approximatelyUS$4.2B worth of dietary supplements(defined as NHPs in Canada) and func-tional food products in 2001. Thistranslates into nearly $140 per capitaspending, a 130 percent increase in onlyfour years. Additional data show thatwhile functional food sales in the U.S.represent approximately 4.5 percent oftotal food sales, Canada’s portion of totalfood sales is only 2.2 percent, representinga significant growth potential for thedomestic industry.

In regard to dietary supplements,Canadian sales figures in 2001 wereapproximately US$0.8B. Whereas supple-ments account for almost half of theglobal nutrition industry, within Canadaretails sales account for 21 percent of

total industry sales. Lower figures arebelieved to be due to stricter regulationsthat have historically been present inCanada. Compared to the U.S., Canada is


Section headFeature ArticleArticle de fond

Nutraceuticals in anutshellThe term “nutraceutical” is used to describemedicinally or nutritionally functional foods.Nutraceuticals have also been called medicalfoods, designer foods, phytochemicals,functional foods, and nutritional supplements.They include such everyday products as “bio”yogurts and fortified breakfast cereals, as well asvitamins, herbal remedies, and even geneticallymodified foods and supplements. Many differentterms and definitions are used in differentcountries—which can result in confusion.

The term “nutraceutical” was coined in 1989by Stephen De Felice, founder and Chair of theFoundation for Innovation in Medicine, anAmerican organization that encourages medicalhealth research. He defined a nutraceutical as a“food, or parts of a food, that provides medicalor health benefits, including the prevention andtreatment of disease.”

In Canada, a nutraceutical is “a productproduced from foods but sold in pills, powders(potions), and other medicinal forms notgenerally associated with food.” By comparison,a functional food has been defined as being“similar in appearance to conventional foods …consumed as part of a usual diet.”

In Britain, the Ministry of Agriculture,Fisheries and Food has developed a definition ofa functional food as “a food that has a componentincorporated into it to give it a specific medicalor physiological benefit, other than purelynutritional benefit.”

Hence, in both Canada and in Britain, afunctional food is essentially a food, but anutraceutical is an isolated or concentratedform. In America, “medical foods” and “dietarysupplements” are regulatory terms, however“nutraceuticals,” “functional foods,” and othersuch terms are determined by consultants andmarketers, based on consumer trends.

Many of these new products that are beingpromoted to treat various disease states findtheir origins in the plant kingdom. This is anobvious choice as many plants produce secondarycompounds such as alkaloids to protect them-selves from infection and these constituents maybe useful in the treatment of human infection.There is also a long history of plant use in manycultures which can be used to identify plantswith activity in the treatment of disease.

Pharmaceutical Journal

generally considered to be between 12 to18 months behind in launching new NHPproducts, again believed to be due toa more restrictive regulatory climate.

The Canadian industry

Globally, Canada’s participation in thefunctional food and NHP (includingnutraceuticals) industry is growing andis demonstrated through:• Increasing agricultural crop production

and development of varieties targetedat enhanced human health;

• Development of new technologiesthat allow for the processing ofsupplements and ingredients thatprovide a health benefit;

• The increasing emphasis on clinicalvalidation of functional foods andNHPs;

• The upsurge in entrepreneurialactivity establishing new and innovativecompanies throughout Canada.

The substantial growth of theCanadian functional food and NHPsector reflects the demand for nutritionalproducts based on increasing scientificevidence linking diet to the quality ofhealth. Consumer interest in self-careand alternative medicine is on the rise.According to a recent study conductedfor Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada(AAFC), it is estimated that up to CAN1Bof farm production value is devoted tosupplying the functional foods and NHPsector. This estimate does not include themarine industry, which contributes tothe sector through the production ofomega-3 fatty acids and other marine-based products.

A significant opportunity exists inCanada for functional food and NHPproducts to positively impact health carecosts. In another study conducted forAAFC, it was noted that lifestyle-relatedchronic disorders are a majorcomponent of increasing health careexpenditures in this country. Theproportion of disease onset attributableto diet is estimated to be approximately40 to 50 percent for cardiovasculardisorders and diabetes, while 35 to 50percent of all cancers are directly relatedto dietary factors. Approximately 20percent of osteoporosis is diet-related.Strong evidence supports the role offunctional foods and NHPs in reducing

the prevalence of chronic disease inCanada and providing impressive savingsin health care costs without significantoverall dietary changes. Based on thedegree to which various chronicdisorders are diet-related, and using thecurrent direct medical costs of thesedisorders, the author estimated potentialannual savings to the health care systemcould be in the magnitude of $20 billionper year. Canadian companies arefocusing their product researchand development, production andwholesaling in the areas of (by priority):general well-being; immune system;vascular and heart health; energy;diabetes and weight control.

There is a growing trend towardsmarketing NHPs as ingredients in foods.Several recent studies have identified therapid growth of the industry and thesignificant potential of functional foodsand NHPs to enhance value-addedagriculture in the Western Canadianprovinces.

Canadian opportunities

The growing demand for functionalfoods and NHPs to meet consumers’desire to lead healthier lifestyles presentsignificant opportunities for Canadianagricultural and marine-based industries.Canada faces the ongoing challenge ofhaving an abundance of naturalresources, but a fragmented regionalizedindustry spread across a vast border withthe U.S. Having the U.S. as our largesttrading partner, and we theirs, is both astrength and a weakness when trying todevelop more value-added opportunitiesand to sustain an economically viableindustry, under free trade. The relativelyhigh growth rate of various segments ofthe nutritional market is attractingpharmaceutical, chemical, and foodprocessing companies, whichincreasingly require good sources of rawmaterials and ingredients. Globalcompanies are interested in sourcinginnovative products. Developing andsupplying such products represents asignificant opportunity for Canadiancompanies. Additionally, this countryhas valuable expertise in several aspectsof functional food and NHP research,which provides a foundation to buildingan industry.

In short, Canada has the potential ofbeing recognized as a global leader in theproduction and exportation of functionalfood ands NHP ingredients and productsas well as being a model to the world ofa healthy nation driven by a philosophythat fosters health and nutrition.

Kelley Fitzpatrick, MSc, is themarketing and research development

manager for the Richardson Centre forFunctional Foods and Nutraceuticals atthe University of Manitoba. She is the

founding president of the SaskatchewanNutraceutical Network (SNN), an

organization that she established inearly 1998. Under her direction, theSNN, the first network of its kind in

Canada, became recognized nationallyand internationally as a superior

information resource for the Canadiannutraceutical and functional food

sector and a leader in industryrepresentation. For more information

specific to Canadian companies,visit ats-sea.agr.gc.ca/supply/e3312.htm.


Feature AticleArticle de fondFeature ArticleArticle de fond

As we begin the new year, as Canadi-ans and citizens of the world, we arebeing buffeted by winds of change

that are both wonderful and strange. Themost notorious way in which the world haschanged is of course the much clichédSeptember 11th atrocity, and as the threat ofa prolonged war on terrorism looms on thehorizon, other drivers of change in the worldmay go relatively unnoticed. Of course, theKyoto Accord has received much oppositionin Alberta, due to the threats that it maypose to our lucrative oil and gas industry.Clearly, people the world over are becomingmore concerned about the environmentalimpact of our way of life and livelihood, andthe European Union seems to be leading theway in endorsing such plans as the KyotoAccord. Economies like ours which dependso heavily on oil and gas reserves are pru-dent to take a more measured, though notnecessarily less environmentally sound, ap-proach to such accords. At the same time, itis important for Alberta and Canada to beginto think about the fact that our fossil fuelreserves, while still comparatively vast, arefinite. We will need to begin to lay founda-tional plans for the days ahead when theseresources begin to dwindle. Based on re-cent usage trends versus the rate ofdiscovery, the rate of utilization of fossilfuels will be greater than the rate of dis-covery by 2010. Figure 1 shows thechanging sources of feedstock for thechemical industry.

What is important for us to realize, isthat by clever exploitation of our impressiveinfrastructure in the oil and gas and petro-chemical industries, and our immenseagricultural industry, we can begin toaddress issues of dwindling fossilresources, environmental impact, andeconomic sustainability. These are large,grandiose times, when the future, not justenvironmentally, but economically, may bewritten by the choices we make now.

A not-so-small subset of the changesthat can be made to our economic andenvironmental benefit is the production ofplastics from renewable agriculturalsources. Almost all of the plastics currentlyproduced are from fossil fuel derived feed-stock. Clearly, as oil and gas reservesdwindle, the cost and availability of suchfeed stock will be severely affected.

Furthermore, a very large percentage of theplastics produced from fossil fuel feed-stock are non-biodegradable. Manypotential plastics from agricultural feed-stock have much more improvedbiodegradability properties.

Consequently, much attention has beenfocused lately on the use of agriculturalfeedstock to produce plastics and otherindustrial materials. Perhaps the mostvisible of many efforts in this direction hasbeen the Dow-Cargill joint venture toproduce biodegradable plastics from PolyLactic Acid (PLA). However, there hasbeen a steady, growing increase in theamount of research and commercializationactivities related to the production ofindustrial materials from vegetable oils.Given the space allocated for this short

article, it is not possible to cover the use ofoilseed fibres in industrial materials.

It is important to realize that at the heartof energy and materials utilization byhumans, is the humble carbon-carbonbond. The substitution of agricultural andforestry biomass for petroleum products issimply a difference of the amount of timethe carbon-carbon bonds, generatedultimately out of photosynthesis, are

stored … and some clever applications ofphysics and biotechnology, and chemistry.

Production ofAgricultural Biomass

Of the daily energy from sun ofapproximately 1.5 x 1022 J, only 4 x 1018 Jare used to build up biomass. Onlyapproximately 7 percent of the biomass isused by mankind. Furthermore, the buildupof biomass worldwide (~200 billion tons) isapproximately 1000 larger than the amountof plastics produced worldwide(~180 million tons). Accepting that this bio-mass is renewable if sustainable agriculturalmethods are used, there exists an opportu-nity to substitute agricultural feedstock forthat derived from petroleum, from an avail-

ability perspective. The research challengebecomes the need to match bothfunctionality and price targets set by petro-leum-derived plastics. Of the farmedbiomass, starch sources are by far the mostutilized currently for the production of plas-tics. However, an exciting development thathas occurred over the past few years is therising utilization of oilseeds as a source forplastics. Figure 2 shows the average produc-



Seeds of ChangeThe growing trend of producing biodegradable polymers from oilseed crops

Suresh S. Narine

Figure 1

tion of vegetable oils worldwide, and thatprojected for the near future. It is clear thatvegetable oil production is on the increase.

The exploitation of soybean oil for newindustrial purposes has by far outstrippedthe similar utilization of canola andflaxseed oils (the majority of flaxseed oilthat is processed in Canada goes towards

industrial usage, particularly as a dryingoil in paints, varnishes, etc.). However, thisarticle also reports on work with canolaand flaxseed oils that is taking place at theUniversity of Alberta. More on these effortsappear below.

Canola is Canada’s predominant oilseedcrop. Saskatchewan produces approxi-mately 50 percent of Canada’s canolaproduction, with Alberta and Manitobaalso being major production regions.Canada produces approximately 20 percentof the world’s edible oil supply. Net rev-enues per acre is the single largest factor indetermining the amount of canola grownin Canada’s western provinces, and canolaprices are at the mercy of a marketplacewhich is governed by world oilseed prices.Major increases in soybean oil productionin Brazil and China, as well as similar in-creases in palm oil production in Malaysia,have depressed overall price levels. Conse-quently, the relative profitability of canolaproduction in Western Canada has beenadversely affected, resulting in significantreduction in canola production acreagesince 2000. In a report prepared by the Al-berta BioPlastics Network, an analysis ofthe 2002 canola area grown relative to thehighest number of hectares grown withinthe previous 10 years suggests that West-ern Canada could easily produce an

additional 3.987 million metric tonnes. Al-berta alone could produce an additional1.835 million metric tonnes.

Flaxseed is the first oilseed to be widelygrown in Western Canada. An ancient cropwith a wide variety of uses, flax productionis small compared to canola in WesternCanada, with 20 percent of the area de-

voted to growing canola being devoted togrowing flax. In addition, although inEurope a major use of Flax is in the uti-lization of its fibres, in Western Canada,the varieties normally grown are the shortfibre oilseed varieties. Manitoba andSaskatchewan are by far the largest pro-ducers of flaxseed in Canada, with Albertabeing a very minor producer. In the samereport prepared by the Alberta BioPlasticsNetwork, the 10 year production history offlax in Western Canada illustrates that thecurrent cropping system is capable of con-siderably more production than what wasthe case in 2002. If flax cultivation returnto peak historical levels, the total addi-tional capacity relative to 2002 productionis an additional 345,005 tonnes.

What seems clear, however, from ananalysis of the production patterns andpressures facing the Canadian oilseedindustry, is that if a lucrative industrialalternative to edible utilization isdeveloped, there is ample oilseed acreagethat will be devoted to this demand.Clearly, increases in production of edibleoils are not going to be fuelled by increasesin the demand for edible oil, given theproduction capacity of countries likeBrazil, China, Malaysia, and India.Furthermore, given the use of edible oils invegetable shortenings and margarines, and

growing concerns over both trans fattyacid content as well as with high-carbohy-drate diets in North America, edible usesof vegetable oils are currently beingthreatened.

Plastics

It is interesting to contemplate what ourwinter holidays would have been like ifsuddenly all of the items made fromplastic were absent. For plastics are soubiquitous in our environment, it is nearlyimpossible to find a room in everyday life,much less during the holiday season,where some form of plastic is notcontained. If you are like me and havesmall children who absolutely love havinga tree and presents under it to tear apart,then a plastic-free holiday season is asignificant challenge (we have 3-year-oldtriplets—try telling them that this yearmom and dad decided plastic is not earth-friendly). If you have an artificial tree, it ismade almost entirely of plastic. 99 percentof most toys are plastic. The carpet onwhich the tree sits is plastic. A significantpercentage of the clothes we wear is plastic.Most homes are made from upwards of 75percent plastic material, etc. In fact, theworld consumes approximately 180 milliontons of plastics every year. This is a stag-gering amount, and to put it in context ofthe oil reserves that are used to make thisamount of plastic, it takes approximately141 MJ/kg of energy to produce Nylon and76 MJ/kg of energy to produce amorphousPET, so that millions of tons of fossil fuelsare required to make the 180 million tonsof plastic annually—and this accounts onlyfor the primary processing of the plastic,not for the millions of tons of fossil fuelthat are used to further process the plasticsinto toys, Christmas trees, carpets, housesiding, insulation, car panels, and a host ofother commonplace items that we take forgranted. Primary plastic production con-sumes approximately 4 percent of theglobal production of petroleum—2 percentas feedstock for actual plastic production,and 2 percent as the energy source to fuelthe process. There exists wonderful marketopportunity here! If Canada is able to man-ufacture plastics which are competitive ona performance, price, and biodegradabilitybasis, there is a great opportunity to marryour petrochemical expertise with our agri-cultural expertise to create an industry ofagricultural plastics. It is important forreaders to understand that despite the sizeof the opportunity, the state of art forproducing plastics from agricultural sources


Feature ArticleArticle de fondFeature ArticleArticle de fond

Figure 2

is not even close to being able to replaceentirely the amount and range of plasticsproduced from petroleum—particularlyfrom functionality and price perspectives. Itis misleading to suggest that modernscience has solved the problem of replacingpolyethylene, with its various forms andtheir wide physical functionality, as it is tosuggest that we are on the verge of replac-ing petroleum as a source for the range ofmodern plastics produced and utilized. Thecurrent solutions that have been offered upby researchers which can compete on aprice and functionality basis represent anextremely small percentage of the volumeof plastics produced annually. However, theopportunity does exist, is growing, and isincreasingly being considered analternative by petrochemical industries. Forexample, Dupont has indicated that theyintend to derive 25 percent of theirrevenue from non-depletable resources by2010. This goal will require that they searchfor novel and innovative methods that willproduce chemicals that consumers demandfrom renewable resources. In addition toDuPont’s goals, other chemical companiessuch as Dow, Cargill, BASF have initiatedprograms that will improve the sustainabilityof the chemicals industry.

Plastics market

Information from the American PlasticsCouncil indicates that the overall productionand sale of plastics within North America isin the order of 45 million tonnes. This maybe broadly divided in to the sales shown inTable 1 below.

The opportunities for oil-based plastics liemostly in the polyols and polyurethane seg-ment of the market. This does not take intoconsideration the use of oils as drying oils,industrial solvents, biodiesel, etc. Accordingto a market summary published by theUnited Soybean Board in February 2000,vegetable oil based polyurethanes are mostsuited to three markets: polyurethane foams,polyurethane binders, and agricultural film(the last not necessarily being apolyurethane). The total U.S. market size forpolyurethane foams is currently approxi-mately 3,000 million pounds, and forpolyurethane binders and fillers, approxi-mately 400 million pounds, per annum.Some of the more aggressive market seg-ments include the transportation industry(automotive bumpers, moulded plastic partslike dashboards, etc.), packaging for boththe food and retail industry, moulded plasticparts for appliances (including medical de-vices), the construction industry (withapplications in insulation as well as in any-thing requiring rigid moulded plastic), incarpeting (applications include flexible foamcarpet backing, and binders for carpet fibres-), and applications related to tanks andpipes (insulation, sealants, etc.). Interestingwork being done at the University ofAlberta has also shown that elastomericpolyurethanes from vegetable oils may besuitable for medical and laboratory tubing,sealants, and other uses. The estimatedmarket is believed to be greatly understatedhere, as only the areas where the marketentrance should be relatively easy havebeen discussed.

Vegetable oil polyurethanes can also beused as a binder in fibre-reinforced

composites. Utilization of fibre-reinforced,thermoset and thermoplastic, compositeswas 3.5 billion pounds in 1997. Vegetableoil derived binders would be suitable forthermoset resins, with major end marketsin automotive panels and other mouldedparts, deck planking and other construc-tion uses such as laminates, etc.

Currently, agricultural film consistsmainly of low-density polyethylene. Thetotal world demand for agricultural film isapproximately 1.3 billion pounds perannum. This is an area where biodegrad-ability is very important: it has beenestimated that the removal and disposal ofagricultural film can be as much as$125 per acre.

Biodegradability

In cases where, as in agricultural films,biodegradability is important, it is difficultto use traditional plastics derived frompetroleum, although plastics such as poly-caprolactone are biodegradable. It is oftenmisconstrued, however, that plastics fromrenewable sources are always biodegrad-able. This is certainly not the case, and inmany instances, the end use demands thatthe plastic is not naturally biodegradable.Automotive panelling or construction ma-terials are end uses which require thematerials not to naturally biodegrade. Infact, the biodegradable plastics market isrelatively small, and many of the opportu-nities for plastics from renewable sourcesare in the non-biodegradable plastics sector.

In a report by the Alberta BioplasticsNetwork, the North American demand forbiodegradable plastics in 2000 was esti-mated at 25 million pounds, and wasforecasted to increase to 35 million poundsby 2005. The different market segmentswere loose fill packaging, compost bags,agricultural films, hygiene products, papercoatings, etc. In the same report, the med-ical plastics markets were estimated at 2billion pounds in 2000, and was projectedto increase at an annual rate of 6 percent toan estimated 2.6 billion pounds by the year2006. It should be noted that in the case ofthe medical industry, in those instanceswhere the plastic product must be dis-carded, biodegradability is required, butonly on a “triggered” basis—that is, onedoes not want ones medical tubing to begindeteriorating while it is in use. In instanceslike these, polyurethanes from vegetableoils are well suited as an ingredient, for theyare biodegradable once they are “triggered.”



Table 1

Resin

PP (Polypropylene)

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)

LLPDE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene)

LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene)

Total Thermosets:

Thermoplastic Polyester

Other Styrenics, Nylon, Polysuphone

All others (includes polyurethanes,polyols, isocyanates)

Total

Millions of tonnessold in 2001

7.5

6.7

5.1

4.9

3.5

3.4

3.2

4.4

5.8

44.6

ChemistryThe use of vegetable oils such as linseed(flaxseed), tung, lunaria, lesquerella,crambe, rapeseed, castor, veronia, etc., toproduce polymers is not new. Plastics arecreated from these oils by exploiting natu-rally-occurring epoxide, hydroxyl, anddouble bond functionality. In cases wherehydroxyl and epoxide functionality isrequired, the double bond has beenexploited as a reactive site for chemicalreactions to produce such functional groups.

Among the oils that are exploited asdrying oils due to their carbon-carbondouble bond functionality, linseed and tungare the most significant. These oils are usedmostly in paints and coatings, as well as ininks and resins. They have iodine valuesgreater than or equal to 150. Soybean oil,sunflower oil and canola oil are semi-dryingoils with iodine values between 110 and 150.The major constituents of linseed oil arelinolenic acid, linoleic acid and oleic acid.The major constituent of tung oil iseleostearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid.The structures of these major fatty acids oftung and linseed oils are shown in Figure 3.

The drying power of these oils aredirectly related to the chemical reactivityconferred on the triglyceride molecules bythe carbon-carbon double bonds of theunsaturated acids, which allows them toreact with atmospheric oxygen, thus leadingto the process of polymerization to form anetwork. Linseed oil is a non-conjugated oil,rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (approxi-mate linolenic acid content of 60 percent).These polyunsaturated fatty acids containdouble bonds separated by at least twosingle bonds. These oils dry via a process ofautoxidation followed by polymerization.A summary of this is shown in Figure 4.

For tung oil, with mostly conjugateddouble bonds from eleostearic acid(~77-82 percent eleostearic acid), therate of autoxidation is much higher thanthat observed in linolenic acid, due to theconjugation. As a result, the polymerizationproducts from tung oil are highly resistantto water and alkalis, and it dries sorapidly that often a highly wrinkled

surface is developed in a short amount oftime. Figure 5 shows the relative rate ofthe drying process for non-conjugated oils.

Some vegetable oils contain naturallyoccurring specialized functional groups,such as epoxy and hydroxyl groups,which make them candidates for cross-linking with various chemicalcross-linkers, to form polymericnetworks. Castor oil and lesquerella oil(also called pop weed) contain hydroxylgroups in addition to double bonds.Veronia oil contains naturally occurringepoxide functional groups. The struc-tures of the dominant fatty acids ofcastor, lesquerella, and veronia areshown in Figure 6. Triacylglycerides ofricinoleic and lesquerellic acid bothcontain three hydroxyl functionalgroups, and are therefore referred to astriols. The presence of these hydroxylgroups permits cross-linking with suchchemical cross-linkers as sebacic acid toform polyesters, or with diisocyanates toform polyurethanes. The epoxidefunctional group in veronia oil is

typically cross-linked with such dibasicacids as sebacic acid, to form cross-linked polyesters. These groups can alsobe reacted with various acrylic acids inthe presence of a tertiary amine, tocreate a variety of acrylates, the resultingester being highly UV active, andtherefore easily polymerized throughacrylate vinyl moieties.


Feature ArticleArticle de fondFeature ArticleArticle de fond

Figure 4

Figure 3

Figure 5



In cases where hydroxyl and epoxidefunctionality do not naturally exist, but aredesired, these functional groups can becreated by exploiting the existence ofdouble bond functionality. The doublebonds can easily be epoxidized, and ifhydroxyl groups are required, the epoxida-tion procedure is usually followed byalcoholysis to form the polyols. Alterna-tively, the double bonds can be firstconverted to aldehydes by hydroformylationwith either rhodium or cobalt as the cata-lyst, followed by hydrogenation to hydroxylgroups by hydrogenation with nickel. Anexample of the double bonds in a soybeanoil triacylglyceride being converted tohydroxyl groups is shown in Figure 7.

Researchunderway

Research conducted at theUniversity of Alberta hasproduced a number ofelastomer and flexible,semi-rigid and rigid foamsfrom canola and flaxseedoils. This research wasperformed by the AlbertaBioPlastics Network, andsignificant efforts arecurrently underway tocommercialize the technol-ogy that has been created.

AcknowledgementsThe author would like to thank AVAC Ltd.,the Alberta Crop Industry DevelopmentFund, the Alberta Agricultural ResearchInstitute, the Agriculture and Food Council,the Alberta Canola Producers Commission,and NSERC, for financial support for theAlberta BioPlastics Network’s research intovegetable oil based plastics. The aid ofDr. Peter Sporns in proofreading this manus-cript is also gratefully acknowledged.

ReferencesMarket Opportunity Summary, Soy-basedPlastics, February 2000, United SoybeanBoard.

Lynn Crandall, Bioplastics: A burgeoning in-dustry, Inform, 13, 626–628, 2003.

“Biodegradable Polymers from BASF,” apresentation on November 29, 2002, byScherzer, Freyer, and Kunkel, BASF Plant,Mannheim, Germany.

Assessment of Western oilseeds as a feed-stock for a bioplastics industry, JerryBouma, Alberta BioPlastics Network, May2003.

Dharma Kodali, Biobased Lubricants, Infor-m, 14, 121–123, 2003

L.H. Sperling and J.H. Manson, J. Am. OilChem. Soc., 60, 1887–1892 (1983).

L.W. Barrett, G.S. Ferguson and L.H.Sperling, J. Polym. Sci.(Polym. Chem.), 31,1287–1299, 1993.

L.W. Barrett, O.L. Shaffer, and L.H. Sperling,J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 48, 953–968, 1993.

L.W. Barrett and L.H. Sperling, Polym. Eng.Sci., 33, 913–922, 1993.

Z.S. Petrovic, A. Guo and I. Javni, U.S. Pat.6,107,433, August 22, 2000.

A.Guo, Y. Cho, and Z. S. Petrovic, J. Polym.Sci. (Polym. Chem.), 38, 3900–3910, 2000.

A.Guo, I. Javni, and Z. Petrovic, J. Appl.Polym. Sci., 77, 467–473, 2000.

To learn more about Dupont’s plans toutilize non-depletable resources, visit thediscussions entitled, “Sustainability andIntegrated Science for the 21st Century” atwww.dupont.com/NASApp/dpuontglobal/corp/index.jsp?page=/content/US/en_US/news/releases/2003/nr02_17_03.html

Suresh S. Narine of the University ofAlberta is the director of the AlbertaBioplastics Network and chair of the

Fundamental Science focus area.

The Alberta BioPlastics Network(ABN) is a multi-institutional researchnetwork. Its mandate is to engage inactivties to promote the use of Alberta'sagricultural commodities as feedstockfor the production of specialtychemicals and polymers, andsignificant efforts are currentlyunderway to commercialize thetechnology that has been created.

The institutions that participate inthe ABN are:

University of AlbertaAlberta Agriculture, Food and Rural

DevelopmentAlberta Research CouncilAgriculture and Agri-Food CanadaAlberta Economic DevelopmentEnvironment CanadaAlberta Canola Producers Commission

For a full list of the members of thenetwork, or for additional information,please contact business manager RekhaSingh at the Alberta BioplasticsNetwork, 410 Agriculture ForestryCentre, Agri-Food Materials ScienceCentre, University of Alberta, Edmonton,AB T6G 2P5. Or call 780-492-9081, [email protected].

Figure 6

Figure 7


The stunningly beautiful Kananaskisregion of the Rocky Mountains, nearBanff, AB, was the setting for an Interna-tional Conference on the Periodic Tableheld from July 14 to 20, 2003. Titled“The Periodic Table: Into the 21stCentury,” this week-long event focusedon current challenges related to thetable. The Conference was the secondHarry Wiener International MemorialConference, each conference taking aunique theme but with an emphasis on

quantitative aspects of chemistry.Presentations were almost all by invita-tion only, which accounted for the very

high standard of the lectures and thesmooth way in which the topics meshedtogether. The speakers came from as faraway as Japan, South Africa, Finland,Russia, Colombia, Hungary, and France.

Many chemists seem to assume theperiodic table is “carved in stone.” Theintroductory presentations provided theattendees with an overview of therichness of the history of the table andthe fact that the common wall chart formwas only devised in 1923.

The next pair of presentations looked atsome of the relationships other thangroups and periods, such as the diagonal

relationship, the (n) and (n+10)relationship, the Knight’s move relationship,isoelectronic patterns, relationships amongthe lanthanoids and actinoids, and theconcepts of “combo” and pseudo elements.Relativistic effects on the properties of theheavier elements and their compoundswere described. These were followed by adetour into nuclear chemistry and theprospects for extending the number ofknown elements. The atom and itsconstituent particles were the focus of apair of presentations on group theoreticalapproaches to the periodic table.

The Madelung Rule for orbital filling wasdiscussed. A discourse on chemicaltopology was generally agreed to be amongthe most exciting advances in the study ofelement relationships. In this particularpresentation, physical and chemical datawere compiled, relationship treesdeveloped, and then matched to theperiodic arrangement. Novel connectionsbetween elements in different groupsbecame apparent, while other elementsappeared to be “orphans.”

Though we usually think of theperiodic table as referring to the classifi-cation of elements, the term “periodictable” can be more broadly interpreted asan arrangement of chemical species suchas to manifest regularities for a variety ofproperties of species. Using this broaderdefinition, the patterns in diatomicmolecules and in di-, tri-, and tetratomicspecies were discussed. The point wasmade that there is an astonishing lack ofknowledge about many of thetheoretically possible diatomic molecules.

CIC Bulletin ICC

At their November 26, 2003 meeting,the CIC Board of Directorsapproved the three-year appoint-

ment of Terrance Rummery, FCIC, toserve as Chair of the ACCN Editorial Board,effective January 1, 2004. Retired now,Rummery was the former president of

AECL Research. He received both his BScin engineering chemistry and his PhD inphysical chemistry from Queen’s University.Rummery is a Fellow of The ChemicalInstitute of Canada, the CanadianAcademy of Engineering and the CanadianNuclear Society, and a member of theAssociation of Professional Engineers ofOntario. Rummery served for three yearson the CIC Board of Directors including his1998–1999 term as Chair.

Passing the torch. Former ACCN EditorialBoard Chair, Nam F. Han, FCIC, (at right)welcomes Terrance E. Rummery, FCIC, tothe helm.

Participants in the International Conference on the Periodic Table

New ACCN Editorial Board Chair

An International Conference on the Periodic Table

Phot

o by

Fer

nand

o D

ufou

r


The focus then turned to organic chemistry withdiscourses on a periodic table for alicyclichydrocarbons. That section concluded with adiscussion on the use of a periodic table to deducea logical system of organic nomenclature.

An eclectic set of presentations concluded theforma presentations at the Conference. CanadianFernando Dufour provided each of the attendees witha model of his three-dimensional periodic table.

The conference closed with a session that focusedon the future of the periodic table. The wide-rangingdiscussion included a lengthy debate on whether thetable should be considered as a bearer of truth(whatever that may be) of one agreed format, orwhether it should be designed for utilitarian purposes,in which case there should be a variety of designsdepending upon the needs of the field of chemistry.The debate was not resolved even though it continuedinformally until departure time.

Being in an isolated environment proved to be oneof the great advantages of the Conference. Theparticipants ate together and socialized between andafter sessions. This enabled some fascinating insightsto be developed by employing the combinedknowledge bases of individuals from widely differentspecialties. The Proceedings of the Conference are tobe published in 2004. To obtain at copy, contactconference co-organizer, R. Bruce King [email protected].

Submitted by Geoff Rayner-Canham, FCIC

CSC Bulletin SCC

Tree-mendous ingenuity. Fernando Dufour introducedhis three-dimensional periodic table, ElemenTree.

Phot

o by

C

hris

tine

Smea

ton


Division NewsNouvelles des divisions

Distinguished VisitorThe president of the Société françaisede chimie, Armand Lattes, visitedCanada in November 2003. His tripprovided him with an occasion to meetwith representatives of the CSC todiscuss topics of common interest toboth societies. During his visit, theemeritus professor from UniversitéPaul Sabatier (Toulouse III) attendedthe 4th International Forum on Scienceand Society at Cégep Limoilou inQuébec City, QC. The annual event,organized by ACFAS, the French-Cana-dian association for the advancementof sciences, brings together 250 youthswith scientists from Europe andCanada. Lattes also presented aconference entitled, “The Chemical Origins of Life” to thestudents of Stanislas College, a French lycée located in Montréal,QC during his stay.

Watch for an article by Lattes in the March 2004 issue of ACCN.

Visiteur distinguéLe président de la Société française dechimie, Armand Lattes, a visité leCanada en novembre 2003. Ce voyagefut prétexte à une rencontre avec desreprésentants de la Société canadiennede chimie afin de discuter de sujetsd’intérêt commun aux deux sociétés.Pendant sa visite, le professeur éméritede l’Université Paul Sabatier (ToulouseIII) a participé au 4e Foruminternational Science et Société auCégep de Limoilou dans la ville deQuébec. L’événement annuel, organisépar l’Association canadienne-françaisepour l’avancement des sciences(ACFAS) réunit 250 jeunes avec desscientifiques d’Europe et du Canada.

Le professeur Lattes a aussi présenté une conférence intitulée« L’origine chimique de la vie » aux étudiants du Collège Stanislas,un lycée français situé à Montréal, QC, pendant son séjour.

Annonce d’un article écrit par Lattes à paraître dans le numérod’ACCN de mars 2004.

President of the Société française de chimie, ArmandLattes, stands with René Fuchs, headmaster ofCollège Stanislas, a French lycée in Montréal, QC.

Metal- and Metalloid-Containing MacromoleculesSymposiumOrganized by Alaa S. Abd-El-Aziz, FCIC, IanManners, FCIC, Hiroshi Nishihara, and MartelZeldin.

39th IUPAC Congress and86th CSC Conference in Ottawa

This symposium was spread over four half-day sessions andgenerated great interest with numerous Canadian andinternational speakers. Based on their lectures, 30 presenterswrote reviews that were recently published in an issue ofMacromolecular Symposia (2003, volume 196).

The Monday morning program included presentations on super-sized metallocenyl dendrimers, ferrocenyl-peptide-cystamines, thering-opening of organoiron metallocycles, self-assembling water-soluble polyferrocenylsilanes (PFSs), the polymerization of neutraland cationic organoiron complexes, nanolithographic applicationsof PFS block copolymers, and the development of polychromicdisplays composed of silica microspheres in a PFS gel matrix.

The Monday afternoon session focussed on chain extenders forpolyesters and nylon-6, novel poly(methylenephosphine)s andpoly(p-phenylenephosphaalkenes, fluorescent materials based onphosphaoligothiophenes, linear and hyperbranched polymers bear-ing 1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilolyl groups, hybrid resins containingpolyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes, the use of Wilkinson’scatalyst in silane dehydrocoupling reactions, Lewis acidicorganoboron derivatives of polystyrene, and ruthenium macrocycles.

The Tuesday morning session covered ruthenium-based metallo-supramolecular block copolymers, ring-opening routes to polymerscontaining precious metals, organophosphine dendrimers, super-exchange interactions in conjugated metallopolymers,organometallic and nanoporous coordination polymers, andbranched functional 3-D polymers.

The Tuesday afternoon session focussed on π-conjugated polymetallacyclopentadienes, supramolecular organomanganesecoordination polymers, cationic iron azobenzene-substitutedpolymers, highly metallized PFSs containing cobalt clusters aslithographic resists, the electrochemical behaviour of organoironand ruthenium polymers, oligo-phenylazomethine derivatives asmultidentate ligands, dizinc 1,3-dicarboxylate clusters with nitrogencoordinating ligands, conjugated metallopolymers as chemicallytunable electrical conductors and luminescent materials andiridium polymers as oxygen sensors.

Submitted by Alaa S. Abd-El-Aziz, FCIC


Division NewsNouvelles des divisions

MSED Recognizes StudentsAt the IUPAC/CSC 2003 conference in Ottawa, ON, the Macro-molecular Science and Engineering Division (MSED) selectedthe poster entitled, “Structure and Mechanical Properties ofPolyelectrolyte Multilayer Films Studied by AMF,” by OzzyMermut of McGill University (supervisor: Christopher J. Barrett,MCIC), for this year’s Xerox-CSC graduate StudentAward ($500).

Two MSED poster awards ($250 each) were given at theconference. One award was received by Xun Sun of CarletonUniversity (supervisor: Wayne Z. Y, Wang, FCIC) for his work on“Organic Template-Based Soft Processing: A New Strategy for

Fabrication of Microstructured Metals on Substrates.”The second award went to the students from Mike Brook’s groupat McMaster University: Stefanie Mortimer, an undergraduatestudent, who has completed year 3 and Amro Ragheb, a PhDstudent, who presented their work related to the interactions ofsilicones and proteins and the uses of these materials.

Ozzy Mermut, winner of the Xerox-CSC graduate Student Award, infront of her poster with Tim Bender, MCIC, Xerox Research Centreof Canada, one of three award selection committee members.

The MSED poster award winners with the award selection committeemembers. From left to right: Tim Bender, MCIC, Xerox ResearchCentre of Canada, Xun Sun, Stefanie Mortimer, Even J. Lemieux,FCIC, EJL Consulting, and Harald Stöver, MCIC, McMaster University.

The Canadian

Society for

Chemical

Technology

offers

certification as

one of its

membership

benefits! To learn

more, contact

Membership

Services at

1-888-542-2242.


Local Section NewsNouvelles des sections locales

Manitoba StudentAwards Night

Michael Eze, MCIC, Chair of theManitoba Local Section, was master ofceremonies for the Manitoba CIC StudentAwards Night, and introduced the guestspeaker and Manitoba Chemist of theYear, Helene Perreault, MCIC. An audien-ce of over 100 students and faculty fromthe University of Manitoba, University ofWinnipeg, and University of Brandon,and members of the public attended thisevent at the University of Winnipeg. Theylistened intently to Perreault’s talk “Scan-ning M/Z from the FAB-3 to 2003”; areflection on her career in, and love for,chemistry.

Melissa Dowd, Jason Lamontage,Alison Foster, Christina Lang, AngelaPaulson, Todd Kruk, and ChristaHomenick travelled to the University ofWinnipeg to receive recognition for theiracademic achievements during the2002–2003 academic year.

Investing their Time

Over 25 members of the Vancouver CICLocal Section enjoyed a presentation on“The Chemistry of Investing” by DavidChalmers, a senior financial advisor withRogers Financial Group. The seminar wasaccompanied by a wine-and-cheesebuffet and was held at the DiamondUniversity Centre at Simon FraserUniversity. The lecture first highlightedgeneral themes of risk vs. reward ininvesting and covered the pros and consof mutual funds, stocks, and fixed-in-come investments. He then focused onchemistry-related investments, particu-larly with regard to several high-techcompanies in the Vancouver area. Theissues of patent rights and insider tradingwere also raised in the discussionafterwards. Both investment neophytesand sophisticated market players gainedsome insight into their possible futureactivities. The lecture was generallyinformative and appreciated by all whoattended.

Submitted by Daniel Leznoff, MCIC,Vancouver CIC Local Section Chair

Toronto Section Book Prizes

The Toronto CIC Local Section hosted itsannual Awards Night on October 24 atUniversity of Toronto. Scott Mabury fromthe University of Toronto, department ofchemistry was the speaker for theevening, speaking on “Finding FluorineFascinating.”

The Section presented silver medals tostudents from local universities andcolleges. (The list of 2003 medallists fromacross Canada will be published in theApril 2004 issue of ACCN).

The Toronto Local Section alsosponsors book prizes, awarded to studentswho have shown the greatestimprovement in their academic standingin a chemistry-related program. They arepresented for work completed in thepenultimate year of a four-year universityprogram or the final year of a collegeprogram. The winners include: Julie Kangfrom Centennial College, biologicaltechnology program; Wesam Al-Baik,Durham College, chemical engineeringtechnology; Amelia Deschamps, DurhamCollege, environmental technology;Angella Ormsby, Durham College, foodand drug technology; Melanie A. Fisher,Humber College, chemical technology;Andrew Rencius, Humber College,chemical laboratory technician; AuraLeah Balan, Ryerson University, chemicalengineering; Kseniya Troyan, RyersonUniversity, chemistry and biology;

Prempal Bhatti, Sheridan College,chemical engineering technology; TanyaVuksic, Sheridan College, chemicalengineering technology—environmental;Neil James MacKinnon, University ofToronto at Mississauga, chemistry; AlyssaBlair Hall, University of Toronto atSt. George, chemical engineering; CathyYu, University of Toronto at St. George,chemistry; Catherine Oyiliagu, Universityof Toronto at Scarborough, chemistry;and Mona Abboud, York University,chemistry.

High school students also attended thisevent to receive awards for theInternational Chemistry Olympiad andthe National High School ChemistryExam. Arjun Bharioke (Marc GarneauCollegiate Institute) and Jordan Winnick(Northern Secondary School) werewinners of the 2003 InternationalChemistry Olympiad. Don Mills Colle-giate Institute’s Dongbo Yu was thewinner of the 2003 CIC National HighSchool Chemistry Exam.

The Section would like to thank itssponsors for the evening: Acerna Inc.,Crompton Co., Dalton Chemical Labora-tories, Dominion Colour Corporation,ERCO Worldwide, Fielding ChemicalTechnologies, Hatch Associates Limited,Innovation Canada In, Maxxam AnalyticsInc., National Silicates, Rhodia CanadaInc., Torcan Chemical Ltd., and VWRInternational.

Vancouver CIC Local Section members at the “Chemistry of Investing” seminar.


Recognizing Canada’sStudent Clubs

Students from the CSC, CSChE, and CSCTcompete annually to show how hard theirchapter/club executives work to put on topquality technical and social events for theirpeers. Each year the top two Chapters ineach Society are recognized with plaquesand certificates. • The Canadian Society for Chemistry

First Place: University of BritishColumbia, Undergraduate ChemistrySocietyHonourable Mention: Universityof Calgary’s Chemistry Student Chapter

• The Canadian Society for ChemicalEngineeringFirst Place: McGill University StudentChapterHonorable Mention: LakeheadUniversity Student Chapter

• The Canadian Society for ChemicalTechnologyFirst Place: Mohawk College StudentChapter

For details on student activities, visitthe student awards on the Web atwww.cheminst.ca/awards.html.

Student Chapters’ Merit Award,Terms of Reference

The Student Chapters’ Merit Awards areoffered as a means of recognizing andencouraging initiative and originality inStudent Chapter programming in the areasof chemistry, chemical technology, andchemical engineering.

Each Student Chapter shall submit tothe manager of Outreach by March 31(CSCT) and by May 30 (CSC andCSChE) of each year, a report concerningthe activities of the Chapter up to thatdate. These reports will be used by theSelection Committee as a basis for choos-ing the winning Chapter. Therefore, it isimportant that the application do justiceto the activities of the Chapter. Giveindications of both scientific and socialevents over the entire 12-month periodand elaborate on the most importantactivities.

The Awards shall be engraved plaquesto be retained by the winning Chapterand lapel pins for executive members ofthe Chapter. Also, where appropriate,Honourable Mentions may be given toother Student Chapters by the SelectionCommittee.

Send your report to: Manager, Outreachand Career Services, The ChemicalInstitute of Canada, 130 Slater Street, Suite550, Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 or [email protected].

Conditions du prix,prix du mérite

Les prix du mérite des chapitresd’étudiants sont offerts afin de reconnaîtreet d’encourager l’esprit d’initiative et decréativité dans la programmation desactivités des chapitres d’étudiants, que cesoit dans les domaines de la chimie, dugénie chimique ou de la technologieschimique.

Chaque chapitre d’étudiants doitsoumettre au plus tard le 31 mars(SCTC) et le 30 mai de chaque année, unrapport à jour des activitiés du chapitred’étudiants. Le comité de sélection sebasera sur les rapports présentés pourchoisir le chapitre gagnant. Parconséquent, il importe que le formulairerende justice aux activités de la section.Dressez la liste des activités scientifiqueset sociales qui se sont tenues au cours des12 derniers mois et expliquez lesquelles deces activités sont considérées plusimportantes.

Les prix consisteront d’une plaque queconservera le chapitre gagnant et d’épin-gles de revers pour les membres exécutifsdu chapitre étudiants. De plus, le comitéde sélection décernera, s’il y a lieu, desmentions honorables aux autres chapitresétudiants.

Envoyer votre rapport à : Directrice,Rayonnement et services d’emploi,l’Institut de chimie du Canada, 130, rueSlater, bureau 550, Ottawa (ON) K1P 6E2ou par courriel à : [email protected].

2004 CSC Student Conferences

• March 20: Southwestern OntarioUndergraduate Student ChemistryConference (SOUSCC), Trent Univer-sity, Peterborough, ON. Contact:Andrew Vregdenhil [email protected] or visitwww.trentu.ca/chemistry/souscc2004/

• May 6–8: Western UndergraduateStudent Chemistry Conference,University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,MB. Contact: Meghan Gallant at [email protected]

• May 13–15: ChemCon2004 (CIC-APICSAtlantic Student Chemistry Confer-

ence), Saint Mary’s University,Halifax, NS. Contact: Kathy Singfieldat [email protected] or ChrisCorbeil at [email protected]

• Octobre : Colloque annuel desétudiants et étudiantes de 1er cycleen chimie, Université de SherbrookeSherbrooke, QC. Contactez : PierreHarvey à [email protected]

Visit www.chemistry.ca/stuconf.html formore information as it becomes available.

2004 CSCT Student Symposium

The next CSCT Student Symposium willtentatively take place at the BritishColumbia Institute of Technology onMarch 3, 2004. For more details as theybecome available visit www.chem-tech.ca.

First National UndergraduateChemistry Conference

The first annual National UndergraduateChemistry Conference (NUCC) was heldat the University of Ottawa on October 3and 4, 2003. Almost 70 participants fromall provinces attended and gavepresentations and posters onundergraduate research projects. Theconference provided 21 travel grants,totalling almost $8,000 to help studentsattend the meeting. Over the two days ofthe conference, 21 oral and 20 posterpresentations were given. A total of$3,500 was available to be won in thepresentation competition. Prizes wereawarded for the best presentations inorganic, inorganic, physical, and analyti-cal chemistry. An overall first prize of$500 cash was also given. The conferenceprize winners were Jonathan Hudon(McGill) 1st Organic; Timothy Kelly(Memorial) 1st Inorganic; HeatherFoucault (Ottawa) 2nd Inorganic. Frontrow, left to right: Craig Wilson (Acadia)1st Analytical; Robert Webster(Saskatchewan) 2nd Organic; PaulBoutros (Waterloo) Overall 1st Place;Matthew Graham (Toronto) 1st Physical;Qinzheng Tian (Queen’s) 2nd Physical.Absent: Patrick Beaudette (UBC) 1stAnalytical. Keep an eye out for theannouncement for the 2nd meeting to beheld on October 1–2, 2004!

Student NewsNouvelle des étudiants


Student NewsNouvelle des étudiants

Canada-Wide Science Fair Highlights Top HighSchool Students

The Canada-Wide Science Fair is the largest extra-curricular youthactivity related to science and technology in Canada, gathering ourbest young minds together. Each year, some 450 top young scientistsare chosen to compete from the ranks of some 25,000 competitionsat nearly 100 regional science and technology fairs staged across thecountry. The Youth Science Foundation administers a regionalsupport program, which helps affiliated regional fairs to send the topcompetitors to this championship.• The winner of the CIC award for top senior student was Frédéric-

Picard-Jean and Marie-Hélène Germain from Quebec for theirproject, “Nos conifers contre le cancer.”

• Johanna Johnston from Ontario was awarded the CIC’s topintermediate award for her project, “Now You ‘C’ It, Now YouDon’t—The Oxidation of Vitamin C.”

• The 2004 regional science fairs will be taking place in March andApril. For more information on dates, locations, and contacts,visit www.ysf.ca.

Celebrating Brandon Night!

CIC “Brandon Night” was attended by over 30 participants, including13 student and faculty representatives from the University of Winnipegand the University of Manitoba. Following the meal, Chris Kingstongave a presentation on “Carbon Nanotubes: Tiny Materials withEnormous Potential” and Michael Sowa gave a presentation on“Optical Spectroscopy Meets Medicine: In-vivo Spectroscopy at theInstitute for Biodiagnostics.”

The Octet Rule

“The octet rule is likely the most useful way in explaining bonding whenlearning chemistry. It looks trivial, yet it is unbelievably important; it is easyto learn, yet even easier to be used wrongly, especially in face of numerousheadache-causing exceptions. However, there is one thing about this rulethat no one can deny. Without it, the field of chemistry would not be what itis today.

The basic ‘formula’ of the octet rule is straight forward: each atom tries tohave four pairs (8 electrons) around it in order to assume the stable state ofthe noble gases. For instance, U has seven e-s, so it tries (desperately!) tograb one extra e- from other atoms. Mg, on the other hand, is more thanhappy to get rid of its two out-shell e-s, in order to become stable.

During this process, if one atom needs to have extra electrons whileothers want to have less, these atoms interact by forming ionic bonds.However, if it happens that both atoms need to have more e- in order to filltheir outer-most shell, a competition for e- occurs, and the result is acovalent bond between the two atoms. Each atom donates one electron,and this pair of electrons serve to fill the electron shells of both atoms …”.

Dongbo Yu Shows Excellence in Chemistry

The 2004 annual Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) National High SchoolChemistry Examination will be written on Tuesday, April 27, 2004. Theexamination is intended for the best students (first ten percent) and isdesigned to promote interest in chemistry and to allow students to measurethemselves against a national standard.

Dongbo Yu of Don Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto achieved thehighest in Canada on the exam in 2003. The following is an excerpt fromDongbo Yu’s essay portion of the exam, which shows the quality of the workfrom the high school students:

Next Up: London!Join the CSC for Canada’s nextchemistry conference themed,Strong Roots/New Branches,in London, ON, at the LondonConvention Centre from May 29to June 1, 2004. Deadline forabstracts is February 9, 2004.For more information go towww.csc2004.ca.


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MSc in Chemical Engineering, BSc (honours) in EngineeringChemistry with 3.9 GPA and professional internship withCelestica International Inc. Experience in chemical analysis,process set-up, trouble-shooting, identification of root cause,problem solving, design and implementation of correctiveaction, and quality improvement. 2+ years research experi-ence in product development in biochemical and plasticsindustry. Practical knowledge of modern analytical instru-mentation and techniques (NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, GC,HPLC, GPC, CHDF and ELISA). Contact Marcus Lin [email protected] or call 604-715-0581.

Bachelor Chemical Engineer (Honours) with 14 years in theetholylates/propoxylates business is looking for a productionand/or commercial development engineer position in a similarfield. Has experience with PEG, PPG, ethoxylates propoxylatesand alcoxylates. Has worked as a production engineer for 9years and as a commercial development engineer for 5 years.Contact Peter at 416-614-6603 or [email protected]

MSc in Chemistry from Queen’s (also BSc in ChemicalEngineering with many computer certificates) seeking full-ti-me entry/middle level employment in chemistry (analyticalor organic) or related areas at any location in Canada startingfrom this September. Extensive experience in R&D. Proficientin modern analytical techniques (GC, HPLC, MS, FTIR).Contact me at 613-539-6775 or [email protected].

Bachelor Chemical Engineering (Honours) with 14 years inthe etholylates/propoxylates business is looking for a produc-tion and/or commercial development engineer position in asimilar field. Has experience with PEG, PPG, ethoxylates,propoxylates and alcoxylates. Has worked as a productionengineer for 9 years and as a commercial developmentengineer for 5 years. Contact Peter at 416-614-6603 [email protected].

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Available at no charge:Bound copies of Analytical Chemistry, 1937–1984E-mail [email protected] for further information



C. Lloyd Sarginson B.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Philip C. Mendes da Costa B.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Michael E. Charles B.Eng.Sci. (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.Micheline Gravelle B.Sc., M.Sc. (Immunology)Andrew I. McIntosh B.Sc. (Chem.), J.D., LL.B.Anita Nador B.A. (Molec. Biophys./Biochem.), LL.B.Noel Courage B.Sc. (Biochem.), LL.B.Patricia Power B.Sc., Ph.D. (Chem.)Meredith Brill B.Sc., (Chem. Eng.), LL.B.

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CanadaSeminars and CoursesJanuary 19, 2004. Fluid Flow, Mixing, and Heat Transfer,CSChE/EPIC, Toronto, ON. Contact: Educational ProgramsInnovations Centre (EPIC); Tel.: 1-888-374-2338;Fax: 1-800-866-6343; E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.epic-edu.com.

January 20, 2004. Chemical Engineering Process Design,CSChE/EPIC, Toronto, ON. Contact: Educational ProgramsInnovations Centre (EPIC); Tel.: 1-888-374-2338;Fax: 1-800-866-6343; E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.epic-edu.com.

ConferencesMay 16–19, 2004. 18th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis,Montréal. QC. Contact: Jitka Kirchnerova; Tel. 514-340-4711;E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.polymtl.ca/18CSC2004.

May 29–June 2, 2004. Strong Roots/New Branches—87thCanadian Society for Chemistry Conference and Exhibition,London, ON. Web site: www.csc2004.ca.

July 10–14, 2004. 15th Canadian Symposium onTheoretical Chemistry (CSTC 2004), Sainte-Adele, QC.Web site: www.chem.queensu.ca/cstc2004.

October 3–6, 2004. Energy for the Future—54th CanadianChemical Engineering Conference, Calgary, AB, CanadianSociety for Chemical Engineering (CSChE); Tel.: 613-232-6252;Web site: www.csche2004.ca.

U.S. and overseasMarch 28–April 1, 2004. ACS Spring Meeting (227th),Anaheim, CA; Tel.: 800-227-5558; E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.acs.org.

April 18–24, 2004. 9th World Filtration Congress, New Orleans,LA, American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS). Contact:Wallace Leung; Tel.: 703-538-1000; Fax: 703-538-6305; E-mail:[email protected]; Web site: www.wfc9.org.

April 25–29, 2004. AIChE Spring National Meeting, NewOrleans, LA; Tel.: 212-591-7330; Web site: www.aiche.org.

May 11–14, 2004. The Global Analysis Fair – Analytica 2004,Munich, Germany. Web site: www.canada-unlimited.com.

August 22–26, 2004. ACS Fall Meeting (2287th), Philadelphia,PA; Tel.: 800-227-5558; E-mail: [email protected];Web site: www.acs.org.

November 7–12, 2004. AIChE Annual Meeting, Austin, TX;Tel.: 212-591-7330; Web site: www.aiche.org.

July 10–15, 2005. 7th World Congress on Chemical Engineering(WCCE7), IchemE and the European Federation, Glasgow,Scotland. Contact: Sarah Fitzpatrick;E-mail: [email protected].

August 13–21, 2005. IUPAC 43rd General Assembly, Beijing,China. Contact: IUPAC Secretariat; Tel.: +1 919-485-8700;Fax: +1 919-485-8706; E-mail: [email protected].

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Jan 2004: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News