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Monthly Meeting Jointly with BAGIM Prof. Gregory Petsko on “Structure-Guided in the Age of Genomics”

From the 2006 Chair By Pam Mabrouk

Connections to Chemistry 2005 By Ruth Tanner

Nanotechnology Catalysts By Martin Freier What smart laboratory scientists will be wearing next March.

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Mark your calendar for March 12-17, 2006. And pack your walking shoes for your most productive week all year. The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. Contents Office: Marilou Cashman, 23 Cottage St., Natick, MA 01760. 1-800-872-2054 (Voice or FAX) or 508-653-6329. Statement from the 2006 Chair______4 e-mail: [email protected] Any Section business may be conducted By Pam Mabrouk via the business office above. NESACS Homepage: January Meeting-Jointly with BAGIM 5 http://www.NESACS.org ______Sathish Rangarajan, Webmaster Structure-Guided Drug Discovery in the Age of Genomics ACS Hotline, Washington, D.C.: By Professor Gregory Petsko 1-800-227-5558 Officers 2005 First Arno Heyn Memorial Book Prizes 6 Chair: ______Patricia Mabrouk First Two Prizes Awarded to Sam Kounaves and Mark Spitler. Chemistry Department, Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115 Grants-in-Aid Awarded to Undergraduates 6 617 373 2845; [email protected] ______Chair-Elect: Mukund Chorghade Connections to Chemistry 2005 ______7 14 Carlson Circle, Natick, MA 01760-4205 By Ruth Tanner (Photos by Morton Z. Hoffman) 508-651-7809 and 508-308-3891 Chorghade(at)comcast.net Immediate Past Chair: An Article by Martin Freier ______8 Amy Tapper Nanotechnology as an Approach to Reducing Dependence on Platinum Peptimmune 64 Sidney Street, Suite 380, Catalysts. Cambridge, MA 02139 617-715-8005; [email protected] Note from the Editor ______10 Secretary: Michael Singer Sigma RBI National Chemistry Week ______11 3 Strathmore Rd. Natick, MA 01760-2447 By Christine Jaworek-Lopes 508-651-8151x291 [email protected] Treasurer: James Piper Historical Notes ______13 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451 Oscar Levine, Joseph P. Martin and Arthur R. Olson 978-456-3155 [email protected] Auditor: Anthony Rosner Cover: Professor Gregory Petsko (Photo: Provided by Prof. Petsko) Archivist: Myron S. Simon Deadlines: March Issue: January 13, 2006 20 Somerset Rd. Newton, MA 02465; 617-332-5273 April Issue: February 10, 2006 [email protected] Trustees: Joseph A. Lima, Esther A.H. Hopkins, Michael E. Strem, Councilors: Alternate Councilors: Term Ends 12/31/2006 Michaeline F. Chen Wallace J. Gleekman Catherine E. Costello Howard R. Mayne The Nucleus is distributed to the members of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Patricia A. Mabrouk Alfred Viola Society, to the secretaries of the Local Sections, and to editors of all local A.C.S. Section publications. Julia H. Miwa Barbara G. Wood Forms close for advertising on the 1st of the month of the preceding issue. Text must be received by the Dorothy J. Phillips Michael Singer editor six weeks before the date of issue. Term Ends 12/31/2007 Editor: Michael P. Filosa, Ph.D., ZINK Imaging Incorporated, 1265 Main Street, Thomas R. Gilbert Arlene W. Light Jean A. Fuller-Stanley Pamela M. Nagafuji Waltham, MA 02451 Email: Michael.Filosa(at)zink.com; Tel: 781-386-8479. Michael J. Hearn Timothy B. Frigo Associate Editors: Myron S. Simon, 20 Somerset Rd., W. Newton, MA 02465, Tel: 617-332-5273 Michael Singer Susan Chiri-Buta Nancy Simons, Analytical Chemist, Corporate R&D, Boston Scientific Corp., Term Ends 12/31/2008 1 Boston Scientific Place A4, Natick, MA 01760-1537. Doris I. Lewis Patrick M. Gordon Email: Nancy.Simons(at)bsci.com; Tel. 508-650-8603; Fax 508-647-2329 Morton Z. Hoffman Michael P. Filosa Sheila E Rodman, Malden, MA. Email:serodman(at)hotmail.com Christine Jaworak-Lopes Lawrence Scott Mary Burgess Liming Shao Tel: 781-771-4116. Donald O. Rickter S.B. Rajur Board of Publications: Vivian K. Walworth (Chair), Mary Mahaney, Martin Idelson, Business Manager: Karen Piper, 19 Mill Rd., Harvard, MA 01451, Tel: 978-456-8622 All Chairs of standing Advertising Manager: Vincent J. Gale, P.O. Box 1150, Marshfield, MA 02050, Committees, the editor Tel: 781-837-0424; FAX: 781-837-1453 of THE NUCLEUS, and Contributing Editors: Morton Hoffman, Feature Editor; Dennis Sardella, Book Reviews; the Trustees of Section Calendar Coordinator: Sheila Rodman, email: serodman(at)hotmail.com Funds are members of the Writers: Martin Freier, Sheila Cusolito Board of Directors. Any Councilor of the American Chemical Society Proofreaders: Donald O. Rickter, Myron S. Simon, Vivian K. Walworth residing within the section area is an ex officio Webpage: Webmaster: Sathish Rangarajan, sathish.rangan2(at)gmail.com member of the Board of Directors. Copyright 2005, Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc. The Nucleus January 2006 3 Statement from the 2006 Golf Tournament - Osmium Level Donor Chair IRIX By Pam Mabrouk Corporate Patrons and Golf Platinum AstraZeneca R&D Boston Happy New Year! I am really excited Cardinal Health to have the opportunity to serve you DSM this year as Chair of the Northeastern Genzyme Drug Discovery & Dev. Section of the ACS (NESACS). Hovione NESACS is a large section – over IBM 6000 members, according to National Lyophilization Service of New Eng- ACS. On average, about eighty mem - land bers attend monthly section meetings. Phasex Corporation These meetings usually take place Strem Chemicals Inc. somewhere in the Boston area on the Zone Enterprises second Thursday of each month fessional, student chemist, retiree, or Corporate Sponsors and Golf between September and May. In addi- are unemployed. May I suggest to Gold tion, the section has a vibrant Younger you, based on my own past experience, Aerodyne Research Inc. Chemists Committee (see URL: that volunteering with NESACS can Cambridge Isotope Laboratories www.nsycc.org), a very active medici- provide you with a way to network New England BioLabs, Inc. nal chemistry sub-group, and a with other chemists, to find employ- Pfizer dynamic Education Committee, which ment, obtain leadership training and/or Rhodia Pharma Solutions oversee a wide range of additional leadership experience that may Sigma-RBI activities. All of this happens, not enhance your career in chemistry Teledyne ISCO through the will or efforts of the cur- locally and at the national level, a way rent Chair, but through the continued to give something back through service Donors and Golf Silver goodwill of our active membership, a and/or mentorship, or simply a way to Consulting Resources Corp. very talented, hardworking and vibrant have fun and meet others who also Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chem- icals Limited group of individuals representing a enjoy chemistry. Houghton Chemical Company wide range of interests and back- It may also be that you simply are Organix Inc. grounds in the Boston area chemical not currently interested or able to take Peptimmune community. We are truly blessed as a a more active role due to family , Vertex section in which so many give so career, or other constraints. Tradition- freely of their time, skills, and interests ally, we have had one meeting each in service to the Section in many dif- month in our section in the greater tion has already taken a leadership role ferent capacities! To our Board and Boston area. I realize that for many of in this regard in obtaining an Innova- the active membership, I thank you for you the monthly meeting time and tive Section Grant in support of the your outstanding past service and I Boston area location aren’t logistically development of the NESACS website look forward to working with you and practical. This year,I would like to and a supporting discussion board. learning from you this year! explore the possibility of holding addi - (See URL: www.nesacs.org/discuss). While I am delighted that we have tional meetings at other times, at other I am eager to see more use of the elec - so many active members, I am eager to locations, and via other, perhaps less tronic medium and welcome your explore ways to involve more of you – traditional, venues so that we can bet- ideas and support in this area. after all more than 5900 of you are ter serve you, the broader membership. I have a number of other ideas I silent members – in the daily life of If you would like to see a meeting in would like to explore in terms of our section and its activities in ways your area at a different time from the expanding the active membership in that will be meaningful to you as you monthly section meeting, it will be NESACS-related activities. We have a study, work, and live your life. important for you to find a number of large number of strong colleges and I have a feeling that some of you other section members, identify a loca - universities in our Section. I would are not more active simply because it tion, and meeting speaker. The section like to explore ways to expand the is not clear to you what, if any, are the will then do the best it can to promote number of student affiliate chapters at benefits of a more active NESACS and support your proposed activity. these institutions and network them membership. I firmly believe we have Another way I believe we can reach with each other. We have a strong something to offer everyone, whether out to the broader membership is by cohort of retired chemists in our sec- you are an academic or industrial pro- embracing new technology. The sec- Continued on page 12

4 The Nucleus January 2006 Biography Monthly Meeting Gregory A. Petsko is currently the The 866th Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the American Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of and Chemistry at Bran- Chemical Society deis University. He was educated at Jointly with the Boston Area Group for Informatics and , where he majored Modeling (BAGIM) in classical literature and chemistry. He Thursday – January 26, 2006 then went to Oxford University, where he received his D. Phil. in Molecular Harvard Faculty Club, in 1973. Professor Petsko 20 Quincy St., Cambridge, MA. attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and did his dissertation work with the 5:30 pm Social Hour – Pfizer Reception late Sir David C. Phillips on the three- 6:30 pm Dinner dimensional structure of triosephos- phate isomerase, an important protein 8:00 pm Evening Meeting, Dr. Pam Mabrouk, Chair, presiding in human metabolism. After a brief Prof. Gregory Petsko, Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Bio- sojourn at the Institute de Biologie chemistry and Chemistry, : Physico-Chimique in Paris, where he Structure-Guided Drug Discovery in the Age of Genomics worked on cryobiochemistry with Prof. Pierre Douzou, he accepted a position Dinner reservations should be made no later than noon, Thursday, January 19, as Instructor at Wayne State University 2006. Please call or fax Marilou Cashman at 800-872-2054 or e-mail at School of Medicine in Detroit where Mcash0953(at)aol.com. Please specify vegetarian. Reservations not cancelled at he was promoted to Assistant Professor least 24 hours in advance must be paid. Members, $28; Non-members, $30; in 1975. In 1979 he moved to M.I.T. Retirees, $15; Students, $10. as Associate Professor in the Depart- THE PUBLIC IS INVITED ment of Chemistry. He became full Anyone who needs special services or transportation, please call Marilou Cash - Professor of Chemistry at M.I.T. in man a few days in advance so that suitable arrangements can be made. Free 1985. In 1990 he moved to Brandeis parking in the Broadway St. Garage (3rd level or higher), enter from Cambridge as the Lucille P. Markey Professor in Street via Felton, St. both the department of Chemistry and the department of Biochemistry. He was appointed to the Tauber chair in 1997, succeeding its first holder, Prof. still very difficult. Combinatorial William Jencks. Professor Petsko is chemistry is providing a plethora of Abstract also a member of the Rosenstiel Basic molecules, but it is uncertain how Medical Sciences Research Center at Structure-Guided Drug diverse chemical libraries really need Brandeis, and assumed the position of to be and whether making many mole - Discovery in the Age of Director of the Center in January of cules or a selected subset is the better Genomics 1994, succeeding Prof. Hugh Huxley. approach. And no one understands Professor Petsko’s research inter- By Gregory A. Petsko and Dagmar toxicology and pharmacokinetics well ests are the determination of protein Ringe enough to solve the bottlenecks inher- three-dimensional structure and the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences ent in the clinical trials stage. One relationship of that structure to biologi- Research Center hope is that structure-based approaches cal function. Most of his work has Brandeis University, Waltham MA may offer at least a partial solution to been, and continues to be, done in col - 02454-9110 USA all of these problems. In this talk I will laboration with his friend and Brandeis review the history and current state of colleague Prof. Dagmar Ringe. The One of the hardest things that humans drug discovery, including structure- tools he uses include X-ray crystallog- have ever tried to do is to make a drug. guided methods. I will discuss ways in raphy, genetic engineering, and molec- Reasons for this include a paucity of which genomics may be combined with ular dynamics simulations. He is chemical candidates, incomplete num- combinatorial chemistry and structural currently focussing on several specific bers of validated tar gets, and an biology in a more eficient manner for problems: enzymatic catalysis of extremely high failure rate in the later drug discovery. And I will offer some hydrogen ion transfer, the role of metal stages of the development process. new methods and heretical ideas for an ions in bridged bimetallic and Genomics is providing potential targets improved approach to structure-based ◆ therelationship of protein flexibility to in abundance, but their validation is pharmaceutical research. continued on page 12

The Nucleus January 2006 5 First Arno Heyn Memorial Grants-in-Aid Book Prize Awards to Awarded to Kounaves and Spitler Under-

The Arno Heyn Memor- over many years, and the ial Committee has estab- chosen book, identified graduates lished the Arno Heyn by a beautifully inscribed Book Prize Award, which memorial book plate, is The Education Committee has awarded will be awarded periodi- presented at a meeting of Grants-in-Aid of $250 each to four cally to NESACS mem- the section members. undergraduates at colleges and universi- 1918 - 2004 ties within the Northeastern Section to bers who have performed THE ARNO HEYN MEMORIAL BOOK PRIZE The first two is Awarded to enable them to attend the ACS National distinguished service to ______awardees were recently on Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia to present a publications of this Sec- ______honored at the 864th for Distinguished Service to paper at the Undergraduate Research tion. These awards will Publications of the Northeastern Section meeting of the North- of the Poster Session in the Division of Chem- honor the memory of our American Chemical Society eastern Section on and to ical Education on Monday, March 27, distinguished Nucleus Honor the Memory of November 17, 2005. The ARNO H.A. HEYN Chairman, Councillor, Nucleus Editor 2006. Matching funds have been com - editor, Arno Heyn, who An Outstanding Member of this Section recipients are Mark nurtured its publication Spitler, who succeeded mitted by the institutions to support the for fifteen years. During that time he Arno as Editor of The Nucleus, and students’ travel. The recipients are also improved both the appearance and the Samuel Kounaves, who served as the required to participate in the Northeast content of our newsletter, so that it has NESACS Webmaster for a number of Student Chemistry Research Confer- been recognized nationally as a model years. Both Mark and Sam have con- ence (NSCRC) in April 2006. for other sections. tributed greatly to the success of our The awardees, their research super- Each recipient of an Arno Heyn publications, and the Arno Heyn visors, and the titles of the papers are as Memorial Book Prize is asked to iden - Memorial Committee is pleased to follows: tify a book that he or she will treasure honor them. ◆ Jessica DeMott, Brandeis Univer- sity, (Prof. Oleg Ozerov) Hypercoordi- nate Main Gr oup PNP Pincer Complexes Jessica Falco, Stonehill College (Prof. Louis Liotta) The Synthesis of Vinyl Pyrrolidine and Subsequent Syn- thesis of Polyhydroxylated Pyrrolidines from Commercially Available Sugars Tania Cabrera, Simmons College (Prof. Richard Gurney) Controlling the Size, Orientation, Density, and Nucle- ation of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate Crystals Using Self-Assembled Mono- layers James Hummel, Stonehill College, (Prof. Louis Liotta) The Synthesis of Vinyl and Polyhydroxylated Pyrro- lidines and Subsequent Purification Using High Performance Liquid Chro- matography Applications for the travel stipend are accepted from students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engi- neering, or majors who are in good standing with at least junior status, and are currently engaged in undergraduate research. ◆

6 The Nucleus January 2006 Connections to Chemistry 2005 By Ruth Tanner photos by Morton Z. Hoffman The sixth Connections to Chemistry program was held at a workshop on nuclear power and radioactive sources, Burlington (MA) High School on Wednesday, October 19th. (Gilbert Brown, UMASS Lowell; and David Barr, Seabrook This program is designed to connect high school chemistry Power Station). teachers with the numerous education resources that are The keynote address Do We Have a Future, or What? available from the American Chemical Society. We again Wild Guesses What Chemical Education Will Be Like in had an exceptionally good response to the program and continued on page 16 closed the registration at 150 registrants. The 2005 President of the ACS, Dr. William Carroll, was at the opening session to welcome the participants to the program, and to encour - age them to utilize the ACS resources and to consider af fili- ate membership in the Division of Chemical Education via the new Chemistry Teacher Connection (CTC) program. In addition to the welcome, Dr. Carroll also presented one of the workshops for the program Why Don’t You Just Make All the Plastic Alike? In addition to this workshop, four other workshops were given: Toying with Chemistry, the National Chemistry Week workshop (John Mauch, Chemistry teacher, Belmont High School), It’s a Small, Small World, a nanotechnology workshop (Arthur Watter- son, UMASS Lowell), Seeing the Unseeable, a technology workshop for enhancing demonstrations (Walter Rohr, (l-r) Martin Isaks, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Ruth Tanner, Eastchester High School, NY), and Power from the Nucleus, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Bill Carroll, ACS President; Amy Tapper, NESACS Chair

(center) John Mauch, Belmont (MA) High School Bill Carroll, ACS President

(l-r) David Barr, Seabrook Power Station; Gilbert Brown, University of Arthur Watterson, University of Massachusetts Lowell Massachusetts Lowell The Nucleus January 2006 7 Nanotechnology as an Approach To Reducing Dependence on Platinum Catalysts by Martin Freier Pre-Columbian Indians were aware of high temperature resistance, stable QuantumSphere, Inc., has just platinum’s value as early as 1557, but electrical properties, catalytic proper- earned the 2005 Technology Innova- it was the extravagant French King ties, and others. Those properties have tion of the Year Award for its metallic Louis XV who recognized it as a metal made this element practically indispen- nano-powder technologies for good fit for a king. Not surprisingly, plat- sable for chemists. In fact, so vital is reason. The company has been making inum diamond rings have become a platinum today that the global market progress in developing a nanotechnol- favorite symbol of committed love for for platinum group metal catalysts is ogy process for metallic elements and prospective brides. Ultimately, it is the between ten and twelve billion US alloys that should reduce America’s chemists who gained an appreciation dollars per year. The market is grow- dependence on platinum and poten- for platinum’s unique physical and ing, while the sources of platinum are tially, foreign oil, in the next few years. chemical properties, such as wear and both unstable and drying up. To get a better insight into this new tarnish resistance, corrosion resistance, As a result, unless we innovate, technology, I interviewed three execu- resistance to chemical attack, excellent we may be facing a serious platinum tives from QuantumSphere: Kevin scarcity in the not-too-distant future. Maloney, President, Chief Executive Martin Freier is a consultant specializing The use of platinum needs to be sub- Officer & Co-Founder; R. Douglas in technical management, technical, and stantially reduced before there is an Carpenter, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Offi- training strategies. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Brooklyn College and an impact on chemical output and the cer & Co-Founder; and Kimberly M. MS degree in Engineering and Manage- global economy. That means chemists McGrath, Ph.D., Director of Fuel Cell ment Science from Worcester Polytechnic must develop alternatives. New alloys Research. QuantumSphere is a com- Institute. He is a member of the ACS, created by the nanotechnology industry pany that develops, manufactures, and Northeastern Section. may offer effective solutions. sells metallic nano-powder products and is located in Santa Ana, California. Maloney is a seasoned investment, GATEWAY CHEMICAL managerial, sales and marketing exec- utive. He has been awarded two U.S. TECHNOLOGY patents and earned his B.A. from the University of California, Irvine and an MBA from Pepperdine University. His CUSTOM SYNTHESIS strength is identifying and developing • Pharmaceuticals new business opportunities. He had the • Agrichemicals good fortune of becoming a fishing • Combinatorial Platforms and barbecue buddy of Dr. Carpenter, a • Competitor's Products scientist who is brimming with new • Intermediates technology ideas. Dr. Carpenter’s • Analytical Standards background includes over 30 years of • Metabolites senior technology and business leader- ship positions servicing military, indus- PROCESS DEVELOPMENT try and government research • Process Evaluation institutions. Armed with an MS in • New Route Development Organic Chemistry from University of the Pacific, received in 1974, Dr. Car- SPECTROSCOPIC SERVICES penter decided that a couple of decades • LCMS (APCI and API-ES) in organic chemistry were enough. He • NMR (300 MHz) • GCMS (EI) decided that he would like to try his hand in material engineering, so he 11810 Borman Dr • Saint Louis, Missouri 63146 enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the Uni- 314.220.2691 (office) • 314.991.2834 (fax) versity of California. In 2000 he www.gatewaychemical.com • [email protected] Continued on page 9

8 The Nucleus January 2006 Nanotechnology which included chemical vapor deposi- metal flux, chamber pressure, tempera- tion, physical vapor deposition, reac- ture and gas flow, nano-powders hav- Continued from page 8 tive sputtering, laser pyrolysis, plasma ing the desired size and particle earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science gun spray conversion, mechanical distribution can easily be made at any and Engineering, with research con- alloying, grinding, and sol gel. He real- production rate desired. In short, the centrating on fracture testing and fabri- ized that the existing processes were resistance-heated vapor condensation cation of functionally graded titanium/ too expensive, requiring sophisticated method provides the best quality pow- titanium-monoboride materials. equipment, intensive labor, and fre- der having the lowest level of agglom - At one time in his career Dr. Car- quent maintenance, and would not eration and fewest impurities. Products penter had developed nano-scale alu- scale well. In addition, the size and such as a nano-nickel/cobalt alloy, may minum that exhibited some unique shape of particles created through these be provided as compressed disks or in characteristics that made it suitable for methods could be inconsistent at best. powder form. The material is fabri- rocket propulsion. He had also been Dr. Carpenter found a way to cated in bulk inside a two-part involved in developing a nano-nickel adapt gas phase condensation into a machine. The nano-particles created in that could be used as a catalyst for continuous, fully automated 24/7 man- the upper cylinder are collected in the hydrogenation. Dr. Carpenter had ufacturing process. In this process, the lower one. The nano-powder is then observed that, unlike typical nickel, the metal is fed into the vacuum chamber conveyed into metal containers for nano-nickel was not poisonous, yet and melted on intermetallic composite packaging in inert gas. much more effective as a catalyst. boats, heated by electricity to a very Technicians can manipulate the Therefore, he saw nano-nickel as, high temperature. The metal is resist- size of the nano-particles by control- potentially, an excellent catalyst and ance heated to a temperature beyond ling the laminar flow region around the substitute for platinum. the boiling point of the material until a chaotic metal vapor zone. This bottom- It was Maloney who became more sufficient rate of vaporization is up process allows the technician to fully aware of the market potential of achieved. The vapor is cooled by inert grow the nano-particles to the desired such a substitute or supplement for gas and condensed into droplets of liq - diameters prior to gas quenching. The platinum, when he looked at the sales uid metal that further cool to solid result is a uniform distribution of con - numbers. Therefore, in 2002 he and Dr. nanospheres. Oxygen is then added to trolled particle sizes. By multiplying Carpenter formed a venture to develop, the gas stream containing the spheres the number of controlled laminar manufacture, and sell nano-type prod- to develop controlled oxide shells. quench zones around the heating ele- ucts. Maloney prepared a business plan By means of computer control of Continued on page 10 and assembled a team to develop a process for a number of nano elements that could be used in various applica- tions. In October of that year, Maloney succeeded in raising the capital required and co-founded Quantum- Sphere with Dr . Carpenter, who became Chief Scientist. Oddly enough, this venture allowed Dr. Carpenter to return to chemistry as an inorganic chemist. When I asked Dr. Carpenter why he decided to return to his chemical roots, his response was: “I realized that there isn’t that much dif ference between chemistry and engineering. At some point, the two disciplines do meet and cross over. What is more important is the nature of the project.” In reality, Carpenter saw this ven- ture as an opportunity and a challenge he couldn’t afford to pass up. He invented a chemical vapor deposition process that allowed him to produce metallic particles at nano scale much more efficiently than the dozen or so existing predominant processes,

The Nucleus January 2006 9 potential applications for nickel nano- Note from the Editor: particles. According to Dr. Carpenter, by With the publication of the January entries should be sent to Sheila at developing nano-nickel, Quantum- issue it will be one year that I have serodman(at)hotmail.com. I want to Sphere plans to reduce significantly been editor of the Nucleus. There has thank Don for all his service to the the amount of platinum and related been a learning curve, but I hope the Nucleus and I certainly hope he metals required in conventional cat- quality of the Nucleus established by remains involved. alytic processes. In fact, he has been previous editors has been maintained. I My own contact information has able to use nano-nickel very success- have very much enjoyed working with also changed. Polaroid’s Instant Digital fully in hydrogenation without the typ - the Editorial team, the Board of Publi - Printing Division has been spun-off as ical concern about the poisonous cations and the NESACS board in this a separate company, Zink Imaging nature of nickel because of the unique endeavor. I view the Nucleus as a criti - Incorporated. My contact information characteristics of nano-nickel. cal communication tool of the North- is substantially the same and is listed When I asked Maloney what other eastern Section and a vital part of its on page 3. My email does formally products are now being considered for mission. change to Michael.Filosa(at)zink.com. full production, he named nano-cop- I want to thank departed Associate I look forward to any comments or per, nano-cobalt, and nano-iron. Nano- Editor, Ao Zhang, for his efforts in lay- suggestions concerning the Nucleus. I copper and nano-iron are already being ing out issues of the Nucleus under am also particularly fond of publishing marketed by the company and bringing tight time lines. I also want to wel- reports and pictures from members in some income. Nano-copper is widely come Sheila Rodman as a new Associ- covering the activities within the used in inks, and nano-iron is used in ate Editor. Sheila not only helps with Northeastern Section and appreciate polymers and magnetics. layout and copy editing; she has also any and all submissions on NESACS Dr. McGrath, who joined the two volunteered to replace Don Rickter as activities. founders in the company as director of the calendar editor. All future calendar MPF ◆ the fuel cell research ef fort, has assumed responsibility for the major effort to develop nano materials for Nanotechnology How can we account for the fuel cell and battery applications, with tremendous catalytic power of nano- an emphasis on cells for small, Continued from page 9 metal as compared to the traditional portable devices. She has over five ments within the vacuum chamber, the metal? years experience in the design of cata - process can be scaled to meet the out - Dr. Carpenter said, “One way to lysts, membranes, and components for put demand. As a result, the process increase the catalytic power of a mate - direct oxidation fuel cells. In addition, can produce spheres of metal that are rial is to increase the overall surface she has extensive knowledge of fuel incredibly small. For certain applica- area exposed to the reactants. That cell performance evaluation and elec- tions, QuantumSphere has already pro- means the greatest catalytic power can trochemical characterization of anode duced particles that are a mere two be obtained by making powdered cata - and cathode catalysts. nanometers across and consist of just a lysts of exceedingly small diameter.” Dr. McGrath received a B.S. in few hundred atoms. These nickel nano-particles have Chemistry from the University of Cali- By means of QuantumSphere’s much greater catalytic power than fornia, Santa Cruz, and a Ph.D. in unique process, the nano-particles pro- ordinary plate nickel. QuantumSphere Chemistry from the University of duced are small enough to allow virtu - is investigating a wide variety of Southern California, where she studied ally every atom in the particle to react, nanometals and alloys to reduce or composite proton exchange mem- thus making them good catalyst candi - replace platinum as a catalyst in proton branes and new binary cathode cata- dates. Nano-nickel and other nano-par- exchange membrane fuel cells, such as lysts with increased activity and ticles made by the company must be the direct methanol fuel cell and the methanol tolerance for direct methanol specially treated and stored in airtight hydrogen fuel cell. This kind of shift to fuel cells. containers to prevent them from oxi- nanometals and alloys could result in a Dr. McGrath indicated that she dizing. reduction in the cost of fuel cell cata- hopes to use nano-cobalt as a potential What about personnel safety in the lysts by more than 80 percent, based Continued on page 11 manufacturing process? on current prices. Replacing platinum “The whole process is self-con- with non-precious nanometal particles tained in a closed vacuum system, pro - would also have an impact on the cost viding no access to the technician”, of internal combustion engines. Plat- said Dr. Carpenter. “However, during inum is found in lean-burn diesel maintenance, the technicians are engine catalytic materials and in cat- directed to wear masks.” alytic emissions controls; these are

10 The Nucleus January 2006 Nanotechnology a commercial catalyst. “If the nano nickel-cobalt alloy National Continued from page 10 can supplement the platinum catalyst, replacement or supplement for plat- does that mean that fuel cell technol- inum in the near future. ogy will be completely revolution- Chemistry “Are you planning to use nano- ized?” I asked. cobalt alone or in the form of an “Definitely. Of course, I am talk- Week alloy?” I asked McGrath. ing about fuel cells for small electronic She replied, “We plan to use devices, such as laptops and cell By Christine Jaworek-Lopes cobalt in the form of a nano nickel- phones, where once we add the cost of cobalt alloy. The nano nickel-cobalt platinum, the fuel cell costs are just too The National Chemistry Week Kick- alloy exhibits a mixture of the proper - prohibitive. This is where there could Off event was held at Wellesley Col- ties of the individual elements, which be wider application in direct methanol lege on October 16, 2005. More than seems to increase its effectiveness as a type of fuel cells because it can make 40 volunteers from the Brauner Com- catalyst. These materials are known to use of the nano nickel-cobalt alloy’s mittee, Bridgewater State College, enhance the kinetics of oxygen reduc- more reasonable cost. I am not so sure Clark University, Emmanuel College, tion when combined with platinum, that this would be equally effective in Simmons College, Suffolk University, and we are currently investigating if the large type of hydrogen fuel cells.” Tufts University and Wellesley College they can accomplish this alone at the What Pien was referring to was ensured the day ran smoothly for the nanoscale level. In addition, they may that, once the engineering is done, fuel 325+ individuals that attended the day- provide methanol tolerance to the cath- cells in laptops could be filled in a long event. Both Phyllis A. Brauner ode, which can improve performance matter of minutes from a methanol car- Memorial Lectures were filled to of the direct methanol fuel cell.” tridge and last for eight hours or more, capacity. Visitors throughout the day “In fact, we are much further as compared with a conventional bat- enjoyed making slime, super balls, along on this project than a lot of our tery, which has to be recharged every nature prints, bunny copters, and customers realize,” she continued. two to three hours of use. The recharge marker butterflies as well as learned “Quite recently, DoppStein Enterprises process of a conventional laptop bat- how to elicit a reversible color change conducted a validation that provided tery can run into hours. in Barbie’s hair. independent scientific data to validate When I asked Maloney about the The increased attendance at this the effectiveness of QuantumSphere’s progress his company was making year’s kick-off event could be attrib- oxygen reduction catalysis on cathode toward his goal to replace or supple- uted to a concerted effort by the NCW electrodes. The data confirmed that the ment platinum, he was very hopeful and Brauner committees to increase nano nickel-cobalt alloy material com- and pleased. publicity. Information was posted on pared favorably with platinum in a “At QuantumSphere we have a the NEACT, MAST, WGBH Calendar zinc/air battery, especially considering highly motivated technical team in and NESACS websites. Notices were platinum is five times more expensive place. This company has barely started sent to Parents & Kids, Boston Parents than the nano nickel-cobalt alloy.” and we are already selling some of our Paper, several CNC weeklies, and the When I spoke to Dr. Michael Pien, products,” Maloney said. “Our com- Boston Globe. A WBUR radio ad was a Senior Research Engineer/Chemical pany is working on ramping up the purchased as well. Engineer with ElectroChem, Inc., since process developed (now in the pilot The Northeastern Section is par- 1986 a leading-edge research and stage) to full production, possibly as development company of fuel cells ticipating in the unifying theme of a early as the end of 2006. We also based in Woburn, Massachusetts, he toy drive. Hundreds of toys were col- would like to add more nano products was very pleased that a nano nickel- lected at the kick-off event and the cobalt alloy might soon be available as and continue to file IP on end-use Suffolk University Student Affiliates applications. Note that currently there Chapter will coordinate sending of the are 20 elements on the periodic table toys to Louisiana to assist with the Have you checked available for conversion to nanomateri- Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The the NESACS website? als. And that also means we will need section is also participating in the to expand our facilities and add more NCW K-12 poster competition. Dead- Updated frequently chemists and scientists with various line for poster submission was October Consult for late-breaking news, skill sets.” 30th. Members of the NCW commit- position postings In summary, there is a great future tee will serve as judges. Latest meeting and event information for nanotechnology in catalysis. If we Preliminary discussions regarding can maintain the pace of replacing having a second hands-on activity day WWW.NESACS.org platinum, in the near future it will no in addition to the kick-off event for longer be the indispensable catalyst. ◆ NCW 2006 have begun. ◆

The Nucleus January 2006 11 2006 Chair mail. We will be posting a listing of section committees, their function, and Biography Continued from page 4 current membership, including contact Continued from page 5 tion who have had amazing careers and information for the chair of each com - protein function. who could serve as a powerful teach- mittee, on the NESACS website so that In the Fall of 1995, his research ing and mentoring resource for you can identify opportunities to plug activities expanded when he did a younger section members – student in. year’s sabbatical work in yeast genet- affiliates, Younger Chemists, and mid- If you are interested in any of the ics in the laboratory of Professor Ira career scientists – through the creation above ideas, remember that I can do Herskowitz at UCSF. As a result, Prof. of a senior chemists circle. I would little without you, as ACS is a volun- Petsko now has a budding yeast genet- also love to see the section develop a teer organization. This is your ACS! ics program (pun intended), which is vibrant women’s chemist committee If you think there is something that our concerned with the biology of station- that promotes and advances the careers section should be doing or something ary phase. For the past few years he in our section. In this regard I would that we shouldn’t do, I would really has worked on the biochemistry and like to explore the level of interest for love to hear about it. If you would like structural biology of neurodegenera- this activity in our section by sponsor - to become (more) active in the life of tive diseases, particularly Parkinson’s ing a series of breakfasts for women in the Section and aren’t sure where to Disease. In 2005 he co-founded the our section this spring. plug in, again, I would be happy to Structural Neurology Laboratory in the If you can commit to coming into help. Please feel free to e-mail me at Center for Neurologic Diseases at Har- Boston once a month to attend board [email protected]. I wish you the vard Medical School, where he is meetings and would like to take a more best this year and I look forward to Adjunct Professor of Neurology. active role in the Section, then speak to meeting you at an upcoming NESACS Professor Petsko’s work has me about how you might become a event. received numerous awards, including member of a committee, with an eye Respectfully, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow- toward Board membership. If you ship, a U.S. Public Health Service can’t attend regularly, there are a num- Patricia Ann (Pam J) Mabrouk Research Career Development Award, ber of committees that meet infre- [email protected] ◆ the Siddhu Award of the American quently or that accomplish their Crystallographic Association, an committee work via mail and/or e- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Award, and the Pfizer Award in Enzymology from the Ameri- can Chemical Society. In 1991 he shared the Max Planck Prize with Pro - fessor Roger Goody of Heidelberg for their studies of proteins involved in causing cancer. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1995 and was awarded the Lynen Medal in 2001. In 1995 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2001 he was elected to the Institute of Medi- cine. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002. In 2004 he and Prof. Ringe shared the McKnight Award in Neuro- science. In addition to his academic pur- suits, Professor Petsko is one of the four founding scientists of ArQule, Inc., of Woburn, Massachusetts, one of the world’s leading companies in com- binatorial chemistry. Professor Petsko describes himself as overweight, out-of-shape, and fre- quently grouchy, conclusions largely unsupported by peer review. While Continued on page 13

12 The Nucleus January 2006 DIRECTORY

“calm, warm person who always SERVICES Historical looked for humor in life.” He is sur- vived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Notes Joseph P. Martin Joseph P. Martin died on October Oscar Levine 15, 2004 at the age of 87. He was born Oscar Levine died December 20, in Waltham , MA the son of the late Chemical Solutions for 2004 at 81 years of age. He had been a Joseph and Albina (Perodeau) Martin. the Life Science Industry 50+ year member of the American He graduated from St. Mary’s High l Custom Organic Synthesis Chemical Society. School and earned a chemistry degree l Process Development He graduated from City College at Boston College in 1939. l Contract R & D of New York in 1943, enlisted and He was employed as a research l Pharmaceutical Intermediates fought in Germany in WWII, then chemist at the Waltham Watch Com- l Medicinal Chemistry Support earned a master’s degree in 1948 at pany, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- l Biotechnology Specialty Reagents Columbia. He worked at the National nology and the National Research l Solid Support Reactions Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Company, retiring from Factory Mutual l Process Validation in Cleveland, then the Naval Research Research in Norwood, MA in 1983. He l Gram to Multi-Kilogram Synthesis Laboratory while earning his doctorate had been a member of the American from Georgetown in 1958. Chemical Society for 61 years. He accepted a job with Gillette He was the husband of Elizabeth Safety Razor Company and spent the M. (Gibson) Martin for 56 years and next 27 years in its Research Division the father of a son and three daughters in South Boston, developing coatings and grandfather of six. for razor blades. Retirement was short, as he co- Arthur R. Olson PolyOrg Inc. founded and co-owned a company, Arthur R. Olson died February 19, 10 Powers Street, Leominster, MA 01453 RO-59, Inc., in Stoughton. There he 2005 in Norwood, MA. He was 86. He Phone: 978-466-7978 1-866-PolyOrg developed bonded lubricant coatings to was born in Lawrence, MA., graduated Fax: 978-466-8084 [email protected] decrease friction on metals, plastics from Johnson High School in North www.polyorginc.com and ceramics. Attuned to the needs of Andover in 1935 and from Massachu- the future, Dr. Levine tutored students setts Institute of Technology in Cam- at a Quincy elementary school in math bridge in 1939 with a degree in and science. chemistry, He was described by Emma Stick- He was an Army veteran of World gold in the Boston Globe (12/30/04) as War II, rising to the rank of captain and being “chipper and witty , with a serving in federal laboratories. propensity for humming show tunes”, He was a manager of the Research and by his wife, Betty (Palais) as a and Development Division of the Kendall Mill Co. in Walpole for more than 30 years, retiring in 1982. Biography He was a member of the American Continued from page 12 Chemical Society and the MIT Alumni Association. teaching, research, and communicating Mr. Olson is survived by his wife, the importance of basic scientific Caroline E. (Brownlow), two daugh- research to general audiences take up ters, two sons, five grandchildren; and increasing amounts of his time as he five great-grandchildren. grows chronologically older, Professor MSS Petsko continues to enjoy good writ- ing; movies; bushwalking in Africa, Historical Notes is an ongoing Australia, New Hampshire and the series of short biographies of recently American Southwest; 12-year old sin- deceased chemists and chemical engi- gle malt scotch, and high-performance neers whose deaths have been reported cars. (He usually drives, however, a to us during the past year. We thank Jeep Cherokee.) Professor Petsko members of the Northeastern Section states that his greatest achievement is, who have sent us obituary notices and always will be, the young scien- appearing in community newspapers tists he has helped to train.. ◆ we do not see. ◆

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The Nucleus January 2006 15 Sheila E Rodman 250 Kennedy Drive Unit #403, Malden, MA 02148. E-MAIL: serodman(at)hotmail.com Jan 26 Prof. Mark Ratner (Northwestern Univ.) “Molecular Conductance Junctions: Models and Mechanisms” Boston College, Merkert 130, 4:00 pm Jan 30 Cal. Berkeley) A. Ellman (Univ. Prof. Jonathan Lecks Bldg., Edison Brandeis Univ., Gerstenzang 122, 3:45 pm Jan 31 Prof. John Frost (Michigan State Univ.) Manipulation, and Creation of "Discovery, Biosynthetic Pathways" Chemical Biology Seminar Boston College, Merkert 130, 4:00 pm NOTE- Notices for the Nucleus Calendar FOR MARCH 2006 AND THE FOLLOWING MONTHS should be sent to: .html 3:45 pm Jan 18 Prof. Lamartine Meda (Kennesaw State Univ.. Atlanta, GA) Speaker, Alumni Award Distinguished Thin-Film Electrolyte "Preparation of a Stable Lithium-ion Application in Rechargeable for Batteries" 129 Hurtig Hall, Northeastern Univ., 12 noon Jan 23 of Illinois) Prof. Peter Beak (Univ. "Lessons Learned from Physical Organic Carbanion Chemistry" Edison Lecks Bldg., Brandeis Univ., Gerstenzang 122, Check the NESACS Homepage for late additions: http://www.NESACS.org Note also the Chemistry Department web pages for and updates. travel directions These include: http://chemserv.bc.edu/seminar http://www.bu.edu/chemistry/events/ http://www.chem.brandeis.edu/colloquium.shtml http://www-chem.harvard.edu/events/ http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/ /www.chem.neu.edu/web/calendar/index.html http://chem.tufts.edu/seminars.html http://www.chem.umb.edu/ www.umassd.edu/cas/chemistry/seminars.cfm www.uml.edu/Dept/Chemistry/speakers.html http://www.unh.edu/chemistry/seminars.html Calendar - J

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Harvard, MA 01451 The March 2006. ofessional Develop ofessional Pr , affiliate memberships in affiliate , was also given by Dr. Carroll. Fol- was also given by Dr. of High School Chemistry T An abstract has been submitted to Walter Rohr, Formerly from Eastchester (NY) Formerly from Rohr, Walter High School lowing his address, door prizes were lowing given which included subscriptions to Educ Chem CHED, educational materials, ACS title of the presentation is: 2015 Connections to Chemistry for High Connections Teachers School Chemistry Continued from page 7 Continued from Connections to Chemistry 2005 ware, and ACS logo merchandise as ACS and ware, as certificates for professional well sub- development credits and a year’s scription to ChemMatters. session on the ment to be presented at the ACSbe presented at the to National Atlanta, Meeting in