Our research involves fundamental studies in analytical chemistry as well as the development and application of new methods (chemical, instrumental and mathematical), for analytical measurements.  The overall goal of these studies is to provide improved methodology for the analyses of complex systems.  Although the primary focus is the general area of analytical chemistry, many of our studies emphasize the more specific area of environmental analyses.

Several current ongoing research projects involve varying degrees of chemical, instrumental, and data reduction strategies for the analyses of complex systems.  Selected examples of these projects include:

•    development of chiral separation procedures using novel chiral polymers;

•    development of novel analytical schemes for environmental measurements;

•    characterization of human atherosclerotic plaque; and

•    studies of the influence of guest/host chemistry, e.g., organized media ,on chemical systems of analytical interests.

A number of our projects are funded in the general area of organized media.  One type of organized media that we utilize in our separation studies are polymeric surfactants.  Polymeric surfactants have many advantages over conventional micelles.  They are stable below the CMC (critical micelle concentration), to high concentrations of organic solvents, and stable in the presence of molecules such as cyclodextrins. Cyclodextrins, which exist as the a, b, and g forms, are cyclic oligosaccharides whose torus shaped structure allow size selective binding of hydrophobic molecules.  One project has utilized b-cyclodextrin for the chiral separation of 1,1’-binaphthyl-2’2-diamine (BNA) (Figure 1).  Another project uses monomeric and polymeric surfactants for the separation of environmentally important compounds such as PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and pesticides.  We have achieved baseline separation of all 16 PAHs on the EPA priority pollution list.

Figure 1.  Reversal of enantiomeric order observed for chiral separation of BNA using D-ala and a) 0 mM b-CD, b) 3mM b-CD, c) 5mM b-CD.

Another project in our research laboratory involves the characterization of human athero­sclerotic plaque. This project is in collaboration with Dr. James W. Robinson.  Cardiovascular diseases continue to be major causes of death in the developed world and to some extent, in developing countries, despite the great advances in understanding the factors that contribute to heart disease samples.  Previous studies have revealed that, in later years, atherosclerotic plaques are complex lipid deposits, which are large quantities of cholesterol and cholesterol esters. This is illustrated in Figure 2 with data from our laboratory.

Figure 2.   CEC separation of crude extracts from atherosclerotic plaque of human aorta.

A number of other projects are being initiated in the general area of environmental analysis. Briefly, one of these projects will include air pollution monitoring using portable FTIR instrumentation and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.  Other studies will focus on the use of solid phase cyclodextrins to reduce the volatility and oxidation of pollutants, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which are adsorbed on glass filters during air sampling.