Susquehanna Valley Section

February 2009 Meeting

The three hundred and seventy-fourth meeting of the Susquehanna Valley Local Section will be held on Wednesday, 11 February 2009. The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in room G09 of the Heim Building on the campus of Lycoming College. After brief section announcements a talk entitled "Understanding Migration Dynamics for Nanoliter Volume In-Capillary Reactions with Small Ions" will be deliverd by the guest speaker, Dr. Timothy Strein of Bucknell University.

Dinner: 6:00 p.m. at the Jonas Room on the campus of Lycoming College. The entrée will be Chicken Francaise or Broccoli Scampi (a vegetarian entree) and will be $12.00. Please call or email reservations to Debbie Smith (570-321-4180 or smithdeb@lycoming.edu) by 4 February 2009.

Directions: (see below)

Tim Strein received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Textile Chemistry in 1988 from North Carolina State University, and received a Ph.D. in Chemistry, under the direction of Andrew G. Ewing, at The Pennsylvania State University in 1992. After two years as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral fellowship with Hans Veening at Bucknell, Strein accepted a tenure track appointment in chemistry at Bucknell, where he is currently a Professor of Analytical Chemistry. His research interests in bioanalytical chemistry include both fundemental and applied work with capiallry electrophoresis, NMR, and microvoltammetric electrodes.

Understanding Migration Dynamics for Nanoliter Volume In-Capillary Reactions with Small Ions

We are interested in understanding the dynamics of ionic migration during capillary electrophoresis analyses. In particular, we are studying how nanoloter volumes of ionic reagents can be mixed within a capillary tube using applied voltage - a technique known as electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA). The reagent mixing step relies on differential rates of migration that such that one reagent will migrate into a zone that contains a second reagent. We have been applying this technique to small molecule chemistry including the clinically relevant determination of creatinine in biofluids and more recently, the determination of antioxidant capacity in food and beverage samples. One of the pitfalls of EMMA analyses is that inaccurate prediction of conditions that will result in intimate reagent mixing results in low reaction yield. We have found that dramatic changes in the localized voltage field strength are sometimes encountered by sample ions when the ions reach a boundary between adjacent reagent zones, and these differences can result in widely different rates of migration as ions cross that boundary. By employing a combination of laboratory experiments and computer simulations using a program known as SIMUL, new understanding of the complicated dynamics of (i) reagent zone overlap and (ii) in-line stacking of reagents and/or products in EMMA has been gained. Armed with this knowledge, EMMA reagent overlap conditions and reagent stacking can be appropriately engineered into the system. Both experimental data and computer simulations will be presented showing how in-line small molecule EMMA analyses can be useful in clinical chemistry (Jaffe reaction for creatinine in blood serum) as well as in food chemistry (total antioxidant capacity in commercial beverages).

Directions:

Directions to the College: From I-80, take U. S. Route 15 north. Travel approximately 15 miles to Williamsport. Continue over the Market Street Bridge (stay in left lane) and follow the signs for the Business District. Go to the third traffic signal and turn right onto Little League Boulevard. Go 1 block east and turn left at the stop sign onto Mulberry Street. At the next traffic signal, turn right onto Washington Boulevard. The entrance to the Heim Building parking lot will be the first right (Park in the row closest to the building). We will provide campus maps for those needing direction to the dinner location.

From I-180/US-220, exit onto Market Street (Exit 27A) and follow the road north into the city (not across the bridge). Go to the third traffic signal and turn right onto Little League Boulevard. Go one block east and turn left at the stop sign onto Mulberry Street. At the next traffic signal, turn right onto Washington Boulevard. The entrance to the Heim Building parking lot will be the first right (Park in the row closest to the building). We will provide campus maps for those needing direction to the dinner location.

College website travel directions.