A Rose by Any Other Name (or Enzyme) Would Smell as Sweet (or Sweeter!)

By Jim Schmidt
Sr. Scientific Advisor
ABC Laboratories
www.abclabs.com

Summer is here - and while every season has its own pleasures, perhaps no time of the year treats all of our senses as well as the summer months do…and behind those sights, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes is some interesting chemistry (and even some new discoveries)!

Stop and smell the roses - as the advice goes - and you'll get a whiff of...geraniol.  Hundreds of individual compounds, in varying amounts, constitute rose oil, but geraniol - a monoterpenoid alcohol - is a significant contributor to the plant's signature scent (and contributes to the scent of other oils as well, such as geranium and lemon).

A report in the esteemed journal, Science, published just over two weeks ago, sheds new light on how the plant manufactures the chemical.  In most plants, the enzyme "geraniol synthase" converts the precursor, geranyl diphosphate, to geraniol. Using genetic mapping, the researchers found that highly-scented roses expressed a particular gene (RhNUDX1) at higher levels than less fragrant plants.  The gene codes an enzyme that facilitates the biosynthesis of geraniol. It turns out that roses are often bred more for color or longevity, rather than scent.  By using the “Nudix” gene as a biomarker, breeders may be able to cultivate more fragrant roses for us to stop and smell.

Few places in the home offer more lessons in chemistry than the kitchen.  During the summer, the kitchen often moves to the outdoors – especially at the grill – which produces some interesting chemistry as well!  One of my favorite parts of reading Chemical & Engineering News each week is the regular “PeriodicGraphics” feature, a collaborative effort with Andy Brunning, author of the popular Compound Interest blog.  A recent installment described the “Chemistry of Barbecue,” with explanations of the compounds that contribute to the smoky aroma and taste of charcoal and the Maillard Reaction that is responsible for the delicious flavors and colors of barbecued meats.

Add in the pleasant sight of the bioluminescence of fireflies in the evening or the less-than-pleasant venom of a stinging insect, and you can see that summer presents a wonderful (if sometimes painful) laboratory.

Enjoy the season – and the interesting chemistry that attends to it - until the "last rose of summer."

Visit www.abclabs.com for more on our Product Chemistry, Environmental Fate, and Metabolism services, and ABC Laboratories' other services.

Global Albedo Relation to Hot Summers: Is 100 PPM Critical to Climate or Not?

By Harley Everett Wilcox, MBA

Senior Scientific Advisor

ABC Laboratories
www.abclabs.com

With recent EU mandates on carbon emissions and the current discussions in the US, I find interest in the science and conclusions of climate scientist and others. Usually climate thoughts come to me in the middle of July or mid-February and today it is 95F.  I know this is complex and often debated topic but I think there are several interesting facts that may not be generally discussed. I often wonder, how is global temperature, CO2 levels measured, and what are all the greenhouse gases? Also, how does the bad actor CO2 with levels of ~310ppm in 1950 to ~400 today use a 100ppm increase to warm the atmosphere? How do plowed fields, asphalt roofs, and burning ~40 million barrels of oil a day figure? A quick read provided some interesting positions and facts.

Confounding arguments based on modeling such as ‘if we totally deforested the earth’ would mean global temperature rise or decline”?  The first answer that comes to mind would be “an increase in temperature” as we lost a carbon sink and may change Albedo.  The response provided from one source (disputed by other models) and based on Albedo, is that the mean temperature is predicted to decrease as grass and desert have a higher albedo than a forest.  Albedo is the reflectance from a planet of external electromagnetic energy where the earth is roughly 0.35 and 1 would represent total reflectance. Ice, snow, clouds, and vegetation type all affect albedo. Air pollution, volcanic ash, also reduces radiation reaching the surface and has a cooling effect.  Artic ice cap is shrinking since 1979 and Antarctica sea ice is increasing to near record.

The number one green-house gas by atmospheric quantity is water vapor and represents more than 99% of potential green-house gases.

Some argue that CO2 IR absorption is saturated in the first 10 miters of the atmosphere based on the incoming wavelength and also for up radiation. Whilst, other exclaim reflective radiation is trapped by CO2 from a change in IR wavelength from surface emission.  Or, water swamps any reasonable IR absorption by CO2.

NOAH graphs depict a negative USA temperature anomaly from ~1880 to 1930 and a positive anomaly to 2010 especially starting in 1980.  Is CO2 the primary entity responsible for increase in global temperatures?  I would probably need a degree in atmospheric science to make that call. A simple correlation of increased temperature and increased CO2 lacks definition as one can similarly correlate many other items related to population growth.  Clearly evaluation of data from the next 10-20 years will be critical.

For more information, visit: www.abclabs.com

EAG, Inc. Acquires ABC Laboratories, Inc., a Leading Analytical Lab Serving Agricultural Chemical and Pharmaceutical Companies

World Leader in Analytical Testing Services Adds New Capabilities for the Agricultural Chemical Industry and Expands Into the Pharmaceutical/Biopharmaceutical Industry

Sunnyvale, California - 07/08/15 EAG, Inc. (Evans Analytical Group), the world's leading, fully integrated, independent laboratory network, providing high value expert analytical and testing services to a broad base of customers in the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, announced that it has acquired Analytical Bio-Chemistry Laboratories, Inc., of Columbia, Missouri ("ABC Laboratories"). EAG is private company, majority owned by Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

ABC is a leading Contract Research Organization providing product development and analytical testing services for the Agrochemical and Pharma/Biopharma markets. The company offers a complete range of agricultural product development and GLP-compliant environmental testing services for the Agrochemical industry through its Environmental Services division, as well as a comprehensive suite of development and CGMP and GLP-compliant testing capabilities for small and large molecule therapies and medical devices through its Pharmaceutical Services division.

Click here for the rest of this story.

Unknown Identification - Not as easy as TV leads on

By Wayland Rushing, Ph.D.

Senior Scientific Advisor

ABC Laboratories

www.abclabs.com

As an analytical chemist one portion of crime dramas which has always frustrated is the ease at which they make the analytical chemistry seem. If you have ever watched the program CSI (or other related TV show/movie), you could easily get the impression that identifying an unknown is an easy and straightforward process that any lab tech can accomplish.   Here is the scenario:  The victim was poisoned via their herbal supplements.  Their prime suspect is about to leave the country in a few hours. The investigator takes a sample of the supplement, dissolves it and preps the sample.  Switch to the inevitable scene of the GC autosampler arm picking up the vial and transferring it for injection.  30 seconds later a nice chromatogram is printed off with all the peaks identified. The poison is quickly identified with name and structure.  They greet the bad guy at the airport and he goes to jail……If only it were so easy.

Unfortunately, the real world is much more complicated.  Let’s take a more realistic journey using the same scenario.

1)      The analyst, using a method from the supplier of the supplement, preps the sample and analyzes it to look for any potential unknown peaks.  We will assume that an unknown is observed in the supplement method via HPLC.

2)      An evaluation of the method is performed: is it mass spec compatible?  One of the challenges is that many HPLC methods used for analysis of products are not compatible with MS.  If the method is not compatible then a new compatible method will need to be developed.  This method luckily is MS friendly.

3)      Analysis by MS occurs, but by which MS system?  There are a multitude of systems available today which all give slightly different information: single-Quad MS, Ion-trap, MS/MS, QTof, Orbitrap, etc. The key is to ensure that the right system is chosen to provide the best data.  Since we have limited time in the episode I will skip the discussion on the possible different sources used in the various MS systems.

4)      The analyst choses well and analyzes via Orbitrap-MS.  Unfortunately, the unknown does not give a great response in the MS system, so no good structural data is collected.

5)      Enter the isolation montage, semi-prep equipment is used to isolate the unknown, injection after injection and then it is carefully concentrated.

6)      Re-analysis of the sample yields good structural data.  I.e. high resolution mass and fragmentation data.  No nice printout yet with the name and structure.

7)      Concurrently the sample is analyzed by NMR.

8)      Deconvolution of the MS and NMR data is performed by a highly skilled scientist, piecing together the various masses and fragments to build the structure of the molecule used.

9)      We now have identified the poison used after 2 weeks of hard work.

Unfortunately, our bad guy is now sitting on a beach in a tropical island since he boarded the plane two weeks earlier.

Unknown identification is a complicated and time intensive process that requires the correct combination of the right equipment and highly trained scientists.  While I find the real world scenario to be more scientifically interesting it doesn’t translate as well for modern TV.  But we need to give credit where credit is due, the experts performing the work.  Unfortunately it appears that the public doesn’t find this work as enthralling as I do.

Analytical Method Transfer Delays Not Part of Your Game Plan? (Upcoming ABC Webinar - July 23rd, 2pm EST)

Upcoming Webinar:

Analytical Method Transfers: Practice and Pitfalls

Thursday, July 23rd, 2 pm EST

When planning your development timeline, the transfer of analytical methods is rarely more than a blip on your radar. But when a method doesn’t perform as expected, it can take precious days of investigative work to find the problem, and even more to correct it. Learn about common pitfalls that cause method transfer failures, how to decide what type of method transfer makes sense for your study, and how to implement a fail-safe communication plan that will help put your outsourcing relationship on the right course.

Speaker:

 
Wayland Rushing, Ph.D. 
Senior Scientific Advisor
ABC Laboratories 

Dr. Wayland Rushing is a technical expert in Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) program design, analytical development and regulatory submissions. Over his career, he has led CMC development programs for a wide array of biopharmaceuticals, including parenterals, inhalation drugs, and other pharmaceuticals with complex delivery systems. Dr. Rushing is a subject matter expert in HPLC and GC method development and validation, extractables and leachables program design and regulatory submission requirements; has drafted multiple IND and NDA submissions; and assists ABC clients in responding to FDA deficiency letters. He currently serves on Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) advisory committees for Technology Transfer and Elastomeric Closures and Seals Defects and was a co-author of the PDA Technical Report No. 65 – Technology Transfer.

Sponsored by:  Established in 1968, Analytical Bio-Chemistry (ABC) Laboratories, Inc. is a Contract Research Organization that delivers a broad array of product development and analytical testing services to the pharmaceutical, biotech, animal health, and chemical industries. The company supports all stages of large and small molecule drug development with expert analytical support, custom synthesis and radiolabeling, environmental assessments and drug development consulting services.

Visit the Event Page for this ABC Webinar to get more info and find out how to sign up!