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linear polyacrylamide) and a higher applied voltage (800 V/cm) contributed to ME’s better performance, Hestekin says. However, the primary reason was the narrow, well-defined injection zone of the commercial plastic chip used: It yielded a highly compact layer of starting sample, permitting DNA species to separate over shorter distances. The researchers used both singlestranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and heteroduplex analysis, which Barron’s team had previously combined (Anal. Chem. 2002, 74, 2565–2572). A simple two-color fluorescent labeling scheme distinguished single- and double-stranded DNA. Different colors indicated the forward and reverse DNA strands, and wild-type versus mutant
were distinguished on the basis of mobility differences. A novel, hydrophilic coating of the microchannel walls with adsorbed polyN-hydroxyethylacrylamide performed substantially better for high-resolution SSCP separations than a standard, covalently bound linear polyacrylamide coating. “SSCP analysis is very challenging to a microchannel wall coating, since singlestranded DNA must be separated under non-denaturing conditions,” says Barron. Barron envisions a future microfluidic device that would integrate sample preparation, DNA extraction, purification, PCR amplification, and electrophoretic detection to screen for p53 mutations. Even if this screening step were followed by DNA sequencing to
confirm the results, however, her group estimates that analysis would cost ~$24/exon, compared with $39/exon for customized DNA microarray chip technology, which does not necessarily identify insertion or deletion mutations. “This will definitely be an important technology for lab-on-a-chip devices,” says Richard Mathies of the University of California, Berkeley. “While the analysis part of the overall process is important, the hard part is developing methods for doing sample preparation on a chip and coupling that to the analyzer. When we integrate those steps at the nanoliter scale, we will achieve a dramatic advancement in our ability to lower costs and improve reliability and efficiency—all in one step.”
PEOPLE New Advisory Board members
From left to right: Steven Choquette, Daniel Figeys, Curtis Marcott, Mark Meyerhoff, Staffan Nilsson, and Fred Regnier.
Six new members have been selected to serve three-year terms on Analytical Chemistry’s Editorial Advisory Board. Established in the 1940s, the board is a vital link between the journal editors and the analytical chemistry community, providing guidance and advice on editorial content and policy. Steven Choquette, research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, received his B.S. in chemistry from Santa Clara University and his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His current research involves the development of performance validation standards for near-IR and
Raman instrumentation, analytical applications of vibrational spectroscopy, and the development of instrument-independent spectral libraries. Daniel Figeys, senior vice-president, Systems Biology at MDS-Proteomics, received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in chemistry from the Université de Montréal and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Alberta (both in Canada). His research interests are in applying bioanalytical approaches in proteomics, as well as integrating proteomics with other “omics” technologies to study biological processes. Curtis Marcott, a research fellow in the Corporate Research Division of the
Procter & Gamble Co., received his B.A. from Concordia College (Minn.) and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include IR spectroscopy of adsorbed species, timeresolved IR linear dichroism spectroscopy of polymers under small-amplitude strain, vibrational circular dichroism, applications of IR spectroscopy in phase science, Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopic imaging, and chemometrics. Mark Meyerhoff, a professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan, received his B.A. from Lehman College, City University of New York, and his Ph.D. from the State University of New
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PEOPLE York, Buffalo. His research interests include ion-selective electrodes, gas sensors, in vivo chemical sensors, electrochemical immunoassays, metalloporphyrin-based stationary phases for separations, and the development of NO-releasing polymers for biomedical applications. Staffan Nilsson is a professor of technical analytical chemistry at the Lund Institute of Technology, Lund Universi-
ty (Sweden). He received his B.Sc. in chemistry/psychology, his M.Sc. in chemical engineering, and his Ph.D. in medical science at Lund. His research interest is in bioanalytical chemistry, leaning toward cell biology, single cell, cell organelle, cell–cell communication, and membrane–protein crystallization utilizing airborne analysis systems. His group also develops nanoparticle-based pseudostationary phases in
electrodriven separation systems in combination with MS detection. Fred Regnier, professor of biochemistry and analytical chemistry at Purdue University, received his B.S. from Nebraska State College and his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. His current research activities are directed toward proteomics and microfabricated separation systems.
New A-Page Advisory Panel members
Top row from left: Nancy Allbritton, Annelise Barron, Mathias Brust, Richard Crooks. Bottom row from left: Chris Hendrickson, Marie-Claire Hennion, Christian Huber, Owe Orwar.
Analytical Chemistry has also chosen eight new members to serve on its A-Page Advisory Panel. The panel provides feedback on the A-page editorial content and proposes appropriate topics and authors for feature articles. Nancy Allbritton, an associate professor in the department of physiology and the department of biophysics and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine, received her B.S. in physics from Louisiana State University and her Ph.D. in medical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also received an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of 16 A
Medicine. Her research interests are cell biology and bioanalytical chemistry, including the areas of cellular analyses, cell-based biosensors, protein and peptide assays, and miniaturized separations. Annelise Barron is an associate professor in the departments of chemical engineering, chemistry, and bioengineering at Northwestern University. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington and her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research group is developing novel materials and strategies for the microscale electrophoretic analysis of DNA and proteins
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and is working to design, synthesize, and characterize novel peptide mimics with biomedical applications. Mathias Brust, a reader in the chemistry department at the University of Liverpool (U.K.), received his degree in chemistry from the University of Hamburg (Germany) and his Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool. He then was a postdoc in Allen Bard’s group at the University of Texas, Austin. His research interests include the synthesis of clusters and colloids, nanostructure self-assembly, and, in particular, recent developments at the interface between nanoscale and biological sciences.
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Richard Crooks, a professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at Texas A&M University, received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and his Ph.D. in electrochemistry from the University of Texas, Austin. His research interests include chemical and biological sensors, integrated microfluidic systems, nanomaterials/catalysis, and physical electrochemistry. Chris Hendrickson, an associate director of the ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) program at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and courtesy professor of chemistry at Florida State University, received his B.A. in chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin. His research interests are instrumentation, technique development, and applications of analytical FTICR MS.
Marie-Claire Hennion, a professor of analytical chemistry at the City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution, received her Ph.D. from the Pierre and Marie Curie University of Paris. Her research interests include the mechanisms of separation and development of new stationary phases and extraction materials for sample preparation, multidimensional chromatographies, miniaturization, the development of bioelements for sensors and separation sciences, and the application of separation concepts to environmental and biological problems. Christian Huber, a professor of analytical chemistry at Saarland University, Saarbrücken (Germany), received his M.S. and Ph.D. from Leopold-Franzens-University, Innsbruck (Austria). His research focuses on the development and application of
high-performance methods for analyzing biomolecules, especially biopolymers; the hyphenation of HPLC and CE/MS; the synthesis of stationary phases and development of phase systems suitable for interfacing with MS; and the application of such methods in bioanalysis, proteomics, genomics, forensics, and medical diagnostics. Owe Orwar, a professor of physical chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology, obtained his Ph.D. in bioanalytical chemistry at Göteborg University (both in Sweden). His research interests include the development of cell- and organelle-based sensors and high-resolution probing techniques for monitoring chemistry in biological microenvironments; nanofabrication in soft materials; nanofluidics; self-organization; ion channels; single-molecule reactions; and reaction dynamics in confined systems.
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