Feb. 2010: ACCN, the Canadian Chemical News

l’actualité chimique canadienne canadian chemical news ACCN

february|février • 2010 • Vol. 62, No./n o 2

They’re here!

How Chemists and Chemical Engineers Helped Forge the

Olympics

AChemical Publication of the Chemical Institute of Canada and Constituent Societies / Une publication de l’institut de chimie du canada et ses sociétés constituantes Institute of Canada

february|février • 2010 • Vol. 62, No./n o 2

Contents

Photos by: left top and bottom, Metropolis Studios, right ©VANOC/COVAN

Features

Test of Our Engineering Metal 12 ACreating the Games’ coveted prizes

Pour obtenir la version française de cet article, écrivez-nous à magazine@accn.ca

17 13 Departments 5

From the editor De la rédactrice en chef

7

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité

25 Sample Bloodhounds 20 Blood A team of chemical technicians sleuth out the cheaters

Pour obtenir la version française de cet article, écrivez-nous à magazine@accn.ca

By Darren Stefanyshyn

8

Chemical News Actualité chimique

Society News 27 Nouvelles des sociétés

30

Chemfusion

By Joe Schwarcz

You for Not Smoking 24 Thank How a Montréal company tackled the torch

By Tim Lougheed

On the cover: photo by ©VANOC/COVAN

From the editor De la rédactrice en chef

ACCN Executive Director/Directeur général Roland Andersson, MCIC Editor/Rédactrice en chef Jodi Di Menna, MCIC Graphic Designer/Infographiste Krista Leroux Communications manager/ Directrice des communications Lucie Frigon Marketing Manager/ Directrice du marketing Bernadette Dacey

T

he Olympic Games have a way of bringing people together, from all over the globe and from all disciplines. From the construction crews who build the facilities, to the fashion designers who sketch the athletes’ uniforms to the marketing wizards behind the hype and the incredible logistical minds orchestrating the torch relay, there is a place for every occupation in the making of the Games.

Chemists and chemical engineers are no exception, their direct influence evident throughout the event. Excellence seems to be the common thread for every profession involved: shortcuts and second-rate performances don’t cut it in the behind-the-scenes achievements anymore than they do on the fields of competition. In this issue we feature three stories of how chemists and chemical engineers are going for the gold in these Winter Games: in the making of the medals, the policing of the dopers and the perfecting of the iconic torch. In our Guest Column, Darren Stefanyshyn of the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Lab defends the merits of using science to give athletes a leg-up and on our back page, Joe Schwarcz ponders how doping has evolved over the decades.

I hope you enjoy the read! ACCN

Awards and Local Sections Manager/ Directrice des prix et des sections locales Gale Thirlwall Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président Cathleen Crudden, MCIC Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC Editorial Office/ Bureau de la rédaction 130, rue Slater Street, Suite/bureau 550 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 T. 613-232-6252 • F./Téléc. 613-232-5862 magazine@accn.ca • www.accn.ca Advertising/Publicité advertising@accn.ca Subscription Rates/Tarifs d’abonnement Non CIC members/Non-membres de l’ICC : in/au Canada CAN$60; outside/à l’extérieur du Canada US$60. Single copy/Un exemplaire CAN$10 or US$10.

ACCN (L’Actualité chimique canadienne/Canadian Chemical News) is published 10 times a year by the Chemical Institute of Canada / est publié 10 fois par année par l’Institut de chimie du Canada. www.cheminst.ca.

Recommended by the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC), the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE), and the Canadian Society for Chemical Technology (CSCT). Views expressed do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute or of the societies that recommend the magazine.

Write to the editor at magazine@accn.ca

Recommandé par l’Institut de chimie du Canada, la Société canadienne de chimie, la Société canadienne de génie chimique et la Société canadienne de technologie chimique.

Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’Institut ou des sociétés qui soutiennent le magazine.

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ISSN 0823-5228

www.accn.ca

Guest Column Chroniqueur invité

Engineering Pit Crew

A

s I write this, anticipation for the 2010 Winter Games is rapidly building. Television commercials are popping up with patriotic sporting themes for virtually every product imaginable, from beer to banking, and Olympic sports stories dominate the media. All the hype is leading up to approximately four weeks in February and March when the world will focus on Vancouver for one of the greatest sporting events ever, the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The athletes have been preparing for years for this competition; less known is that countless sport engineers, researchers and scientists have also been preparing at least as long. From the design of innovative friction reducing materials for speed skate blades to the development of new cross country ski wax, chemical engineers have contributed to critical advancements in sports technology.

One defining attribute of each of the various events in the Winter Olympics is that each sport relies heavily on athletic equipment: speed skates, bobsleds, skin suits, hockey sticks, luges, skis, curling brooms, figure skates, biathlon rifles, snowboards, paralympic ice hockey sledges and on and on.

These days, to be competitive, athletes must be more than physically prepared, they must be technologically prepared. It is undeniable that an athlete’s equipment plays a vital role in their ultimate performance.

Just look at long track speed skating. World record times have been systematically decreasing over the past 40 years. Within this period there were three specific time points when uncharacteristic, almost instantaneous decreases in world record times, and a corresponding atypical increase in the number of world records occurred: 1975, 1987 and 1996-1997. Each of these dramatic advancements in performance can be directly linked to changes in equipment: the introduction of the aerodynamic skin suits in 1975; the opening of the first indoor skating oval in Calgary in 1987; and the introduction of the klapskate at the elite athlete level in 1996-1997.

It is not unreasonable for small modifications in equipment to influence an athlete’s performance by one to two per cent, and more radical changes such as the introduction of the klapskate, for example, to account for up to a five per cent improvement. At an Olympic level one per cent can often be the difference between a first and fourth place finish, a

By Darren Stefanyshyn medal or no medal. Undoubtedly, there will be several such instances where equipment and technology will play a role in Vancouver.

With such a critical role being played by equipment, ethical debate around what constitutes an unfair advantage will continue. Rules are often introduced in an attempt to level the playing field. for example, all bobsledders are required to use identical metals for their runners.

One could go so far as to suggest that all bobsled teams should use the exact same bob, one sled that is returned to the top of the run for each team. But what if the chosen sled is configured in such a way as to confer an unfair advantage to a particular team; a team whose driver performs better with a tight versus a loose steering mechanism? Also, what about events where one piece of equipment is simply not practical, the same size and shape speed skates, for example?

It is interesting that the moral stigma attached to sport equipment technology is often not apparent in other aspects of sport. Is it unethical if one athlete has a better coach or one nation has a better coaching system? If an athlete grew up in a family or within a country with additional resources for sport, would that be seen as unethical? What about access to better training equipment or facilities? Or even better nutrition or medical support? I have yet to hear any ethical discussions centered around an athlete who was able to return to training after an injury sooner than another athlete who may not have been able to receive the same medical care.

Ultimately, isn’t helping each athlete achieve his or her best performance­ what we all want? If this means providing a different piece of equipment to an athlete to maximize their specific potential, is this different than providing a specific training or injury rehabilitation program to that same athlete? Not unlike coaches and medical professionals, sport engineers are becoming an important component of any athlete’s support team. For this reason, I am proud to be involved in the research and development of various pieces of equipment which will help our Canadian athletes in Vancouver. ACCN Darren Stefanyshyn is a researcher in the Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary where he is an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology. He is one of the world’s leading sport gear engineers.

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february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 7

Chemical News Actualité chimique

Think Technology, Not Targets

CO2 Wrongfully Convicted?

Oil Sands Red-Handed

In an article that appeared in the December 3, 2009 issue of the science journal Nature, professor Christopher Green of McGill’s School of Environment and Department of Economics and doctoral student Isabel Galiana make the case for abandoning emission reduction targets in favor of a technology-led climate policy.

“Let the global technology race begin,” sets out an alternative route to emission reductions, one that, unlike the emission-reduction target approach, really has the capability of eventually stabilizing climate.

According to Galiana and Green, “The fixation on near-term targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the climate meeting in Copenhagen has resulted in insufficient attention towards the technological means of achieving them.” Instead of making emission reduction targets and commitments to them the centerpiece of climate policy, Galiana and Green suggest an alternative “technology-led” approach.

A technology-led climate policy would “replace emissions targets with credible longterm global commitments to invest in energy R&D.” These commitments would be financed by a low, $5 per tonne charge on emitted carbon dioxide. Over time the charge would gradually rise, doubling, say, every ten years, thereby providing inducements to deploy and diffuse low-carbon technologies when they are ready.

Galiana and Green argue that a technologyled climate policy is needed because “stabilizing climate is a huge technological challenge” and “the solution of ready-to-deploy, scalable lowcarbon technologies is far from being a reality.”

An energy technology revolution, which would transform our energy and energy-using systems, is required in order to eliminate the threat to the global climate system of increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon.

If the road from Copenhagen is to be paved with success, something very different than impossible-to-keep commitments to emissions reductions targets are needed, suggest Green and Galiana. “The race to solve the climate problem will be won by Aesop’s tortoise, not the hare.”

Cosmic rays and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), both already implicated in depleting the Earth’s ozone layer, are also responsible for changes in the global climate, a University of Waterloo scientist reports in a new peerreviewed paper.

In his paper, Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy, shows how CFCs and cosmic rays are mostly to blame for climate change, rather than carbon dioxide emissions.

His paper, derived from observations of satellite, ground-based and balloon measurements as well as an innovative use of an established mechanism, was published online in the journal Physics Reports.

“My findings do not agree with the climate models that conventionally thought that greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, are the major culprits for the global warming seen in the late 20th century,” Lu said. “Instead, the observed data show that CFCs conspiring with cosmic rays most likely caused both the Antarctic ozone hole and global warming.

These findings are totally unexpected and striking, as I was focused on studying the mechanism for the formation of the ozone hole, rather than global warming.”

His conclusions are based on observations that from 1950 up to now, the climate in the Arctic and Antarctic atmospheres has been completely controlled by CFCs and cosmic rays, with no CO2 impact.

“Most remarkably, the total amount of CFCs, ozone-depleting molecules that are well-known greenhouse gases, has decreased around 2000,” Lu said. “Correspondingly, the global surface temperature has also dropped. In striking contrast, the CO2 level has kept rising since 1850 and now is at its largest growth rate.”

In his research, Lu discovers that while there was global warming from 1950 to 2000, there has been global cooling since 2002. The cooling trend will continue for the next 50 years, according to his new research observations.

A scientific team has made startling findi n g s w h i c h d i re c t l y l i n k p o l l u t i o n o f Alberta’s Athabasca River to the nearby oil sands operations. For more than a decade, industry/government monitoring programs have attributed this pollution to naturally-occurring sources.

The study was headed by biologists Erin Kelly and David Schindler from the University of Alberta.

“Industry studies and monitoring have grossly under-reported the extent of the pollution problem in the Athabasca for many years,” says Queen’s University environmental studies and biology professor Peter Hodson who is part of the research team. “Our findings show alarming levels of airborne bitumen (a mixture of hydrocarbons and other substances, similar to exhaust from a diesel engine) within 50 kilometres of two tar sands upgrading facilities near the Athabasca. The amount of bitumen released was equivalent to a major oil spill every year.”

In one case, the airborne emissions were five times higher than estimated through the current voluntary monitoring system.

The research team recommends that monitoring­ of emissions be critically evaluated and redesigned. The scientists also call on Alberta to focus on rigorous measuring of the impacts of contamination from the oil sands, guided by an independent board of experts.

“This study has shown that pollution from the tar sands operations has the potential to affect fish reproduction,” continues Hodson.

“Further studies will be required to determine where the pollution goes after the snowmelt, or if there are implications for human health.”

McGill University

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University of Waterloo

Queen’s University

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Chemical News Actualité chimique

Molecular Roadblock

Industrial Briefs

Carleton University professor Patrice Smith, along with her colleagues at Harvard University, Fang Sun and Zhigang He, discovered that a specific molecule in the central nervous system (CNS) suppresses our ability to repair injured neurons.

The work has major implications for regeneration and repair of damaged nerves. The research was published in the journal Neuron in December.

“It appears that this molecule, known as Socs3, prevents people from responding to naturally released proteins that help repair nerve damage,” says Smith. “Our research shows that, by inhibiting this molecule, we can promote repair of the injured nervous system. I am hoping that my research will lead to more effective therapies for people like Rick Hansen, who suffer from spinal cord injury, as well as those with brain injury and optic nerve injury.”

Smith is among several researchers at Carleton’s Institute of Neuroscience who are exploring behavioural and neurological mechanisms underlying depression, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and brain/spinal cord injury.

Carleton University

Spreading the Word Last December, Memorial University of Newfoundland launched a new online resource — called Yaffle — aimed at providing greater accessibility to the university’s research expertise and research projects. It allows users to find an expert, query research being done by the university in their geographic region, and even suggest research ideas.

It contains nearly 1,000 lay summaries on various projects being carried out by the university, everything from marine transportation options for the Strait of Belle Isle to financial sustainability plans for not-for-profit provincial museums. In addition, Yaffle provides a portal on over 400 experts in a range of fields.

Rob Greenwood, director of the University’s Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development noted that Yaffle is getting national attention as a unique and effective tool. “There are knowledge mobilization experts around the country who are looking to Memorial and Yaffle as an example of what could become the Canadian vehicle for knowledge sharing.”

David Phipps, director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange at York University, is one expert who’s watching Yaffle’s success very closely.

“Yaffle is a compelling experiment on how to identify, develop and manage community-university partnerships. It has the potential to do for knowledge mobilization and communitybased research what online dating services have done for interpersonal relationships — enhanced access to opportunities for relationships.”

Memorial University

The long-deliberated Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline should go forward, the Joint Review Panel on the project concluded late last December. The Panel says the project would provide lasting benefit and could avoid significant environmental damage if the pace of resulting northern development is deliberately slowed so as not to be suddenly overwhelming to the natural landscape or to northern people. The report produced by the panel presses the federal government to take measures to ensure the natural gas doesn’t make its way to projects like the Alberta oil sands. The National Energy Board is expected to rule in September on whether the project is formally approved.

Ontario’s Hydro One will be using composite poles produced by Calgary’s Resin Systems Inc. to replace monopole, H-frame and lattice tower structures. The company specializes in composite products for infrastructure markets and uses polyurethane resins combined with E-glass fibre to make the poles which are 10 times stronger than steel. The poles will be manufactured in Tilbury, Ont. The Quebec government announced stringent controls on auto-emissions last December, making it the first Canadian province to mimic California’s standards.

At least four other provinces are considering doing the same.

Fourteen major airlines, including Air Canada, signed an unprecedented agreement to purchase up to 750 million gallons of renewable jet fuel and diesel last December. Seattle-based AltAir Fuels will produce the fuel, which is derived from camelina plants. The amount purchased would replace about 10 per cent of the petroleum fuel consumed annually at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and would reduce carbon emissions by about 14 billion pounds over 10 years.

Pfizer, one of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies, announced last December that it will work with the BC Cancer Agency and the Vancouver Prostate Centre in a three-year, $9-million research collaboration to find new treatments for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. The project focuses on identifying new biomarkers and treatment targets for breast and ovarian cancer and testing new agents to delay the progression and improve survival in prostate cancer patients.

Air Products, one of the world’s largest hydrogen providers, received regulatory approval last December to build a hydrogen pipeline through Alberta’s industrial heartland. The 30-mile long pipeline will move hydrogen from the company’s two operating facilities near Edmonton to refiners, upgraders, chemical processors and other industries in the region. The company has begun construction and expects to be onstream in 2010.

Two years after Canada became the first country to formally declare bisphenol A hazardous to human health, this country will play host to a meeting of the World Health Organization to discuss the chemical. Scheduled to take place in Ottawa in October of 2010, the meeting will include health experts from around the world.

Biosphere Technologies Inc., a Canadian company that has developed a thermal hydrolysis process for destroying bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions, is planning a commercial scale biorefining demonstration facility for disposing of animal carcasses in Lacombe, Alta. The technology uses high temperature saturated steam and pressure to denature the infectious proteins and other microorganic disease agents. The process refines the raw materials into fatty acids, amino acids, minerals and other digestible elements of value and is an environmentally beneficial alternative to incineration, landfilling or processing with alkaline chemicals. The new biorefinery will serve the cattle, horse, pork, elk, bison and poultry industries in the Edmonton-Calgary corridor. ACCN

february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 9

 Continuing

Education for Chemical Professionals

Laboratory Safety course Canada

2010 Schedule

May 31– June 1, 2010

2010 SCI Canada Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner Day and Time Thursday, March 25, 2010

Networking Reception at 18:00, Dinner and Presentations­ at 19:00

Location

Toronto, ON

October 4 –5, 2010

Calgary, AB

Registration fees $550 CIC members $750 non-members $150 student members

T

he Chemical Institute of Canada and the Canadian Society

for Chemical Technology are

presenting a two-day course designed

Hyatt Regency Toronto, 370 King Street West, Toronto,

to enhance the knowledge and working

Awards and Winners

chemists. All course participants receive

Canada Medal: David Dolphin, O.C. International Award: Gerry Sullivan Kalev Pugi Medal: Elizabeth Edwards Purvis Memorial Award: Joe Schwarcz Julia Levy Award: Paul Santerre

experience of chemical technologists and the CIC’s Laboratory Health and Safety Guidelines, 4th edition. This course is intended for those whose responsibilities include improving the operational safety of chemical laboratories, managing laboratories, chemical plants or research facilities, conducting safety audits of laboratories and chemical plants. During

Visit www.cheminst.ca/sci_awards to attend the event and for more information.

the course, participants are provided with an integrated overview of current best practices in laboratory safety.

For more information about the course and locations, and to access the registration form, visit:

www.cheminst.ca/profdev

 10 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

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Chemical News Actualité chimique

International Wire Protein Shake Up

Making the most of its waste water, a geothermal power plant in California plans to begin extracting lithium from the hot effluent. With the rise of the electric car and energy storage in the electrical grid, there is a growing demand for the metal for use in high-density batteries. Lithium is normally extracted from soil or brines dried in salt ponds. The power plant is near the Salton Sea, which sits on top of the San Andreas fault, an environment that creates geothermal waters rich in lithium. In the past, the high levels of silicates in the water would clog equipment, but the company has employed a technique that precipitates and filters the silicates. Lithium ions are pulled from the remaining salty solution as it is flowed over a chemical resin, making lithium chloride, which is then mixed with sodium carbonate to form lithium carbonate which can be shipped.

Two of the strongest bonds in chemistry — in dinitrogen (N2) and carbon monoxide (CO) — have proven to be no match for chemists at Cornell University in New York. By activating the compound hafnocene (a complex of hafnium metal ions with cyclopentadiene and chlorine ligands) to react with N2 by switching the chlorine for iodine, the N2 becomes complexed between two hafnocenes, effectively reducing the triple bond to a single bond. Adding CO then breaks the final N-N bond and C-N bonds are formed. Varying the amount of CO added produces different organic compounds. The process, which works at room temperature, presents new possibilities for using abundant gas feedstocks of N2 and CO to make useful organic compounds such as fertilizers, without high pressure and temperature — a highly sought-after concept.

U.S. federal regulators made several moves in December towards regulating pharmaceuticals in the environment. Namely, some pharmaceuticals were listed as candidates for regulation in drinking water for the first time by the Environmental Protection Agency which also started a survey to check for drugs at several water treatment plants. In the meantime, the Food and Drug Administration updated its list of waste drugs that should be flushed down the toilet, at the same time declaring a goal of having all unused medicines returned. In addition, the National Toxicology Program is researching how human health may be harmed by drugs at low levels in the environment.

Chemical scientists may be at a higher risk of giving birth to babies with gastrointestinal, spinal and heart malformations, according to researchers at the New York State Department of Health. They examined the link between a woman’s occupation during her first trimester of pregnancy and her chances of having a baby with one of 45 non-genetic birth defects. Also on the high-risk list were janitors, biologists and pharmacists.

Using computation and NMR, researchers at Brandeis University in Boston showed, for the first time, the molecular pathway that a protein takes when it transitions from one shape to another. The work answers the question of how proteins are able to change shape without unfolding in the process. Both computationally and experimentally the team was able to observe transient states in which hydrogen bonds, which do not exists in the protein’s ground states, prevent the morphing protein from unfolding. ACCN

Researchers at McGill University have identified a protein that plays a key role in cell proliferation and is likely to promote cancer development. The work may lead to the development of new diagnostic tools adjusted for personalized treatments, the researchers said.

The researchers studied the DHX29, a helicase protein, which is required for translation initiation — a highly regulated early stage of protein synthesis. While studying the effects of depletion of this protein from living cells, the investigators found a significant decrease of cancer cell proliferation rates. Using tumor xenograft models, the team showed that the lack of the DHX29 protein leads to the formation of much smaller tumours. In other words, absence of this protein markedly diminished cancer cell growth.

“We were surprised to find yet another translation initiation factor that has a profound effect on the proliferation of cancerous cells,” said Armen Parsyan, a postdoctoral fellow, Department of Biochemistry.

“This is another clear indication of the key role that translation initiation factors play in the etiology and pathogenesis of cancer. It’s clear we’re on the right direction and must continue on this avenue of research.”

McGill University

See Change Diabetics may soon be able to wear contact lenses that continuously alert them to variations in their glucose levels by changing colours — replacing the need to routinely draw blood throughout the day.

The non-invasive technology, developed by chemical and biochemical engineering professor Jin Zhang at The University of Western Ontario, uses extremely small nanoparticles embedded into the hydrogel lenses. These engineered nanoparticles react with glucose molecules found in tears, causing a chemical reaction that changes their colour. ACCN The University of Western Ontario

february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 11

Chemical Engineering: Minting

A Test of Our Engineering Metal

Engineers at Canada’s mint pull out all the stops to create the Games’ coveted prizes

Olympic athletes play to win, and when they win this February, they’ll take home quite a prize: a medal that is both a one-of-a-kind artwork and an engineering coup. Designers Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel envisioned a Coast Salish-inspired killer whale and raven motif partitioned into 1014 unique medals. With an undulating design to represent the sea, mountains and snow of British Columbia, the undertaking truly tested the metal of the 34 engineers, machinists, engravers, die technicians and production experts at the Royal Canadian Mint who were tasked with developing the technology behind the concept. Here we take you through the process of how that vision was realized in gold, silver and bronze.

Louis Poitras a technician at the Mint, brings silver bars, which have been cold-rolled to the desired gauge, to blanking to be cut to the correct dimensions. The blanks are then mechanically burnished by tumbling with a mix of pickling agent and lubricant.

Photos by: Metropolis Studios

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A pure-copper blank is readied for stamping, a first step toward­ becoming a bronze medal. Engineers regard the process of endowing­the medals with their characteristic undulation as “giving­ the medals a heart.” Unlike minting coins, which are mostly flat, the two uneven dies used to strike the medals create tangential­force across the surface in addition to the force from above and below, a situation requiring precision control over how the material­ flows.

The specially-designed hydraulic press used to give the medals their characteristic undulation and engraving details can produce 2,500 tonnes of force, the highest tonnage in the minting world. The dies were made strong enough to withstand this force by a chromium-titanium-nitrite coating that is four times harder than steel. The process used to apply the super-hard ceramic layer — known as magnetron spattering coating, which uses nitrogen gas in a vacuum chamber — was developed by the Royal Canadian Mint about six years ago and is much greener than traditional chromium plating processes which involve a great deal of toxic chemicals. The polished blanks are struck between the upper and lower dies multiple times, and are annealed in a vacuum furnace in between. february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 13

Chemical Engineering: Minting

Machinist André Lauzon operates a computer numerical controlled machine used to trim the excess material from the edges, giving the Olympic medals their round shape and making the Paralympic medals rectangular.

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Lubrication and machining coolant are applied during trimming.

Designers wanted the ribbon that hangs around the athlete’s neck to appear to be “growing” out of the medal, which meant the hanger had to be hidden. Here a technician inserts the hanger into a slot at the top of the medal. The ribbon will be threaded through the horizontal slit which will be invisible once the medal is complete.

Once the hanger is in place, it is secured primarily by applying enough mechanical force to cause the metal to expand inside the slot. february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 15

Chemical Engineering: Minting

Any burrs around the edges are removed by hand using a very fine file.

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The silver and gold medals start out the same — as an alloy of 92.5 per cent silver­and 7.5 per cent copper — but after two and a half hours in an electroplating tank, a batch of medals comes out with a gleaming­pure gold finish, not an easy feat given the wavy shape. Meeting the minimum weight requirement set by the International Olympic­Committee also meant the gold plating had to be relatively­thick, making adhesion a challenge. Since early tests resulted in dull, hazy patches in the valleys of the undulations­, engineers tweaked the process by increasing the flow of the plating solution in localized areas, ensuring a uniform, shiny finish. Careful control over the current flow was also required­to avoid burning between the hanger and the medal.

A transparent polyurethane-type of coating is applied for protection against tarnish and wear. The electrophoretic process used was developed at the Royal Canadian Mint for collectible products.

A tray of finished gold medals displays the laser-etched, wood-grained artwork salient to the design. Laser-etching is done after striking for bronze and silver medals and after plating for gold medals. The sport name and discipline are also applied by laser to the reverse side. february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 17

Chemical Engineering: Minting

The final touch: a seamstress hand-sews each ribbon. ACCN Binder Khangura, quality control supervisor, prepares to apply over 200 pounds of pressure to the hanger of a gold medal in order to check its strength.

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Write to us at magazine@accn.ca february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 19

Chemistry: ANALYTICS

QA

Christiane Ayotte

Blood Sample Bloodhounds

A team of chemical technicians sleuth out the cheaters

Photos by: Nicolas Paquet

&

Q & A with

W

hile the world’s athletic elite compete on the rinks and slopes of the Winter Games, their blood and urine will be analyzed by another team of champions; one composed of 37 chemists and technicians toiling round the clock in the antidoping lab under the Richmond Olympic Oval. The lab, which was built from the ground up for the Games, is a high-stakes, high-security operation in which 2,425 samples will be analyzed for the complete roll of cheating methods. Organic chemist Christiane Ayotte (above left, on the left) of the Laval, Québec-based Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique — Institut Armand-Frappier (INRS), the antidoping lab established for the 1976 Montréal Games (above right), will lead the hustle. ACCN spoke with Ayotte for a sneak peak into the underground of the Olympic Games.

ACCN: What goes on in an anti-doping lab at the Olympic Games?

C.A.: We test for the entire list of prohibited methods and substances utilizing validated methods to do so. The goal was to establish a lab onsite, able to report results within 24 hours, and to make sure the lab is working with the same quality we have in Montréal and secondly to be accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

ACCN: Have you met these goals?

C.A.: Yes. But if there are new substances or new tests that are developed­ we sure would like to get them under the scope of accreditation. We are

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now currently trying to push in two or three more small techniques because we’ve incorporated some methods that were developed earlier this summer.

ACCN: Can you be specific?

C.A.: I wouldn’t like to give it as a clue to athletes, but it’s the latest EPO [Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone that controls red blood cell production], what we call third generation EPO but it’s in fact an activator of the receptor. We have completed the screening and confirmation assay just lately so we are including this in our scope of accreditation. Also, we have some new substances, what we call Selected Androgen Receptor Modulators that have not yet been marketed by Merck, but a few gurus in the United States are offering these substances to athletes already in so-called supplements.

ACCN: How often do new doping methods emerge?

C.A.: All the time. In our field, it’s like forensic science so we follow what’s coming out of the supplier of major analytic equipment because that gives us more sensitivity, more selectivity. We also have to consider the new substances and medications coming out of the pipelines of the pharmaceutical industry. So, as soon as a new medication is on the market, or coming on the market, it’s published in the scientific literature and we look at what is going to be made available. There is a committee at the World Anti-Doping Agency that is in charge of making sure if there’s a property in that medication that,

even if it’s a side effect, could be diverted to being viewed as performance enhancing or detrimental to the health of the athlete, it would be included on the list. It has never been the same for 25 years that I’ve worked in this field. There is always something new.

ACCN: How well does science keep up to the cheaters?

C.A.: There is a general perception that the cheaters are always a step ahead. The major labs have very sensitive, specific and selective methods applied to testing athletes’ samples. The counterbalance of this is that we are not there when the samples are collected from the athletes. So it doesn’t matter how good and sensitive we are in the lab if the samples are never collected at the right time or we’re just relying on chance to catch the dopers. We keep as close as we can to the athletes or the gurus proposing new doping agents to them, but at the same time we have to get the testing organization to realize that it has to be there all the time.

The reason for this is that the benefits could be there for athletes who would have doped six months before. The trace of the doping agents will not remain, but the benefits would certainly be there. We have to now switch to second gear in terms of collecting samples from athletes and that is why we’re getting the athlete passport, following blood and urine profiles so we can see on an individual basis if there would be modifications that would be more compatible with doping than to a physiological condition.

ACCN: Take me back to that lab at the Olympics. You get a sample from an athlete.

What happens next?

C.A.: The techniques we use are all based on mass spectrometry. The small molecules like the peptide hormones or protein hormones would be tested by molecular biology. The stimulants — steroids, anabolic agents — would be tested using techniques such as LC/MS/MS while the steroid profile will be acquired by gas chromatography, coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Using these techniques, we can reach a very low limit of detection. It’s the difference between seeing a trace of the use that was made two or three weeks before.

We would also use some automatic testing for the pregnancy hormone. hCG is being tested in males because some believe that it will boost their own secretion of testosterone. We will also use similar techniques to test for hexaethylstarch (HES), a plasma expander. This technique is used to mask blood doping when haematological parameters are tested by increasing your volume of plasma. With regards to glycoproteins, such as EPO, growth hormones (GHs) and homologous blood transfusions, the latter would be tested by methods based on the utilization of flow cytometry, while the first two would be tested by immunoassay and isoelectric focusing.

Then, the difficulty with EPO and with growth hormone and insulin is that these substances can be produced normally by the body so we have to show that what’s contained in the blood is the signature of the synthetic product and not of the human body production. The same approach is used for testosterone or other steroids metabolized to steroid-related products that could be used by athletes. We have to show that there is an anomaly, first when compared to the general population, that this anomaly is cued to a synthetic source of testosterone or EPO or GH that has been taken by athletes.

ACCN: The lab for the 2010 games is being described as state of the art. What makes it so?

C.A.: The IOC requires that a lab be built on the site of the Games. It is equipped with instruments that were selected for their high sensitivity and selectivity at affordable cost.

We’re comfortable in saying that what is there in Richmond is as good as it can be for 2010.

It may be that in five years from now we’ll get better tools and we’ll get more sensitive, but we’re convinced that no one could do better than what we have for the time being.

ACCN: There’s a high level of security for the anti-doping lab at the Olympics. Is that something that you’re used to?

C.A.: Not that level of security because most of the time people won’t even notice where we are. We’re inside a university so nobody would pay attention. The reason for this high security is, first, this is the first time an

Olympic lab will be on an Olympic venue. So we have the level of security that has been imposed on the Richmond Olympic Oval, the field of competition where athletes are going to be. This is the highest security. Then, they want to make sure that no reporters could be on the street and trying to see what is on our computer near the window. All of this is not what we are used to normally but we are most willing to get on with whatever needs to be done to ensure the correct environment for working peacefully and correctly.

ACCN: Does it make you nervous?

C.A.: No, not at all. We prefer it that way.

We’ve been doing this for so long. Our lab was established in 1976 for the Montréal Olympic Games and at the time there were only six labs in the world. Now we’re a network of 34 or 35 labs. So we’ve been there for so long, we’ve seen so much. We’ve been through Ben Johnson’s scandal, we’ve been through many types of athletes testing positive and the lab being assaulted by reporters trying to see what’s going on. I think we’ve seen it all. But I could be proven wrong.

ACCN: What happens if you do uncover a sample that shows an athlete to have been doping?

C.A.: The athlete gives one urine sample that will be separated into A and B bottles. Both are code numbered and they’re sent to the lab labelled A and B, so without any means for us to link this code to a given athlete. We work on the A sample, the B is kept frozen at minus 20. We apply a first screening to see if there is a sign of a prohibited substance or method. Based on that, we can say whether we have something suspicious, what we call a presumptive finding that would require a confirmation. If this is the case then we proceed to the full confirmation. So we go back into the A bottle and we take another portion of that sample and use a more precise technique, aimed really at confirming the substance that has been screened previously. So we would compare it to a blank, a negative control to show that it’s not there normally and we would compare it also to our reference material. Once this is complete we would issue a report to the International O l y m p i c C o m m i t t e e a n d a n Ad v e r s e Analytical Finding notification will be given february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 21

McMaster University

CHEMISTRY and CHEMICAL BIOLOGY

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Analytical Chemistry The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology solicits applications to fill a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of analytical chemistry, effective July 1, 2010. Applications are encouraged in all areas of analytical chemistry, particularly in bioanalytical chemistry.

Scientists with research interests that have applications in the biosciences, biointerfaces, environmental science and materials/nanoscience areas are encouraged to apply.

Our aim is to enhance interdisciplinary science at McMaster, a university with a longstanding history of collaborative research initiatives. Faculty members in this department have been key players in two recently funded Canada Foundation for Innovation infrastructure projects, each valued at ~$20M. The equipment and facilities in the Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology and the Biointerfaces Institute will be available, as befits the research interests and equipment needs of the successful candidate’s research program.

Applicants should clearly demonstrate potential to develop a prominent, externally funded research program and to be committed to excellence in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Candidates must have a doctoral degree in chemistry, or a closely related field, postdoctoral experience and a promising record of research scholarship and productivity. Application materials must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching interests, and detailed descriptions of at least three research projects that exemplify your proposed research program. Please include a listing of the major instrumentation and equipment necessary to pursue each project. Review of applications will begin after February 1, 2010 and will continue until the position is filled. Please send these materials and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to: Dr. Brian E. McCarry, Chair, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1 CANADA

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. McMaster University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community, and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, members of sexual minorities, and persons with disabilities.

93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition May 29-June 2, 2010 Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Undergraduate Student Poster Competition

Graduate Student Poster Competition

Open to: All current undergraduate students, or students who graduated­ within the last four months, in all branches of chemistry­ and related chemical sciences.

Open to: All current graduate students in all branches of chemistry and related chemical sciences.

Posters may be based on any research performed as an undergraduate­student.

Categories and Prizes: 1st Place: $150 and 2nd Place: $50 in each of the following categories: • Biological and Medicinal Chemistry • Chemical Education • Environment • Inorganic Chemistry • Organic Chemistry • Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry • Surface Science Submit Abstract: Deadline: Thursday, March 25, 2010.

Posters may be based on any research performed as a graduate student.

Categories and Prizes: 1st Place: $200 and 2nd Place: $100 in each of the following categories: • Biological and Medicinal Chemistry • Chemical Education • Environment • Inorganic Chemistry • Organic Chemistry • Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry • Surface Science Submit Abstract: Deadline: Thursday, March 25, 2010.

For more information: www.csc2010.ca/program/student_competitions.html

22 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

février 2010

Chemistry: ANAlytics from the IOC medical commission. Then, the athlete can accept the finding and be sanctioned, medals could be withdrawn. On the contrary, if the athlete is not ready to accept the consequences, he or she may request the analysis of the B sample. And that will be done very rapidly, within a few hours and he or she can be represented by an expert, a lawyer, and whomever they feel comfortable with. IOC would be represented there and the government of the country, should they wish to. If [the confirmation analysis] negates [what was originally found], then the athlete is clear. But if it confirms, as is the case 99.99 per cent of the time, then the athlete can still fight the interpretation. He or she has the right to say “Okay, this is the lab result, but I’m going to fight the interpretation ... The cocaine is not in my urine because I’ve taken cocaine, it’s because I’ve kissed a girl,” Then we need to find the girl...so you see the point.

This can go to the court of arbitration for sport. There will be a tribunal in Vancouver, ready to hear whatever will come up during the games.

ACCN: Do you expect something to come up? What’s typical for an Olympics?

C.A.:

You never know. There might be an athlete tempted to try his or her luck with trying to get as close as possible with a doping regiment and run the risk of not being detected, not knowing exactly what we can and cannot detect, not knowing the level of sensitivity. We can tell them we’re very sensitive, watch out, but they might not trust us or believe us. I have no a priori. We know that the World Anti-Doping Agency is going to plug in a few blind quality control samples to check that we’re doing the work correctly and not throwing the samples into the garbage, pretending to test. So we’ll be put to test as well.

ACCN: That’s a lot of pressure.

C.A.: Yes, but we’ve been through this before.

The pressure was to establish a lab at the other end of the continent. That was pressure! And to get it on time and to have it built according to our specifications, to negotiate, to have them realize that chemistry costs money.

ACCN: I’m just imagining that scenario where you have the athlete standing with his or her lawyer or expert, literally looking over your shoulder while you’re doing chemistry.

C.A.: Absolutely. I can tell you that we had big cases in our lab where there was tremendous pressure to not have this sample test positive again. Just the fact that somebody is behind your back and looking at you and asking questions, for the technician doing the manipulation if you see this athlete crying or being nervous or whatever, it’s a bit difficult to focus on your work. So there is this pressure, of course. So now we make sure that there’s a perimeter surrounding the technician where they cannot invade this section which is needed to work peacefully and correctly.

ACCN: This is the Olympic Games, an enviable post for many chemists.

C.A.: Yes, I’d say.

ACCN: Are you going to have a chance to watch any events?

C.A.:

Not at all! For security reasons and confidentiality reasons, we’ll have to watch everything on TV because if there is a chance that we can see who is going to be selected for the test, then we may be in a conflict of interest.

Which is really a shame because I do enjoy speed skating and they’ll be right over our heads and we won’t get a chance to see them.

ACCN: That is going to be frustrating!

C.A.: Frustrating, you say? Oh my god! I cannot believe it. I was in Beijing with the medical commission of the IOC. You get to see all the competitions, all the events, so that was just wonderful. Now I’ll have to stay in the lab, which is a bit frustrating, because it’s really something. Olympic Games are really an attraction. ACCN Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca

ACCN: What has this experience been like for you?

C.A.: The challenge was to get patient enough to negotiate. In general, people know what they'll get when negotiating for the food service, a highway, but putting $12 million for building a lab and its instrumentation, that has been something that we had to make them understand was important. This kind of negotiation has taken more time than I would have figured. But finally we came up, having people understand that this is technical and there cannot be any compromise. The rest of it for us, we were just so enthusiastic and so excited about these new techniques and changing everything. Some people are reluctant to change, but I can tell you that we’re very excited when something new is coming.

This challenge for us is just incredibly good.

ACCN: It’s just a few weeks away, are you getting excited?

C.A.: Yes, for sure.

february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 23

Industry: sponsorship

A

Thank You For Not Smoking How a Montréal Company Tackled the Torch

By Tim Lougheed

24 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

février 2010

mid the smoke and light of the Olympic Games, the aim of the creators of the event’s iconic torch was to have lots of light, not much smoke. That technical requirement became one of the driving forces for designers and engineers at Montréal-based Bombardier Inc. as they took on the task of creating the torch that has been travelling thousands of kilometres around the country in advance of the 2010 games in Vancouver.

Beyond a technical challenge, the assignment also presented the alluring prospect of having millions of people witness a tangible display of the company’s capabilities. But this would be no straightforward sponsorship agreement, simply trading money, goods, or services for an opportunity to attach the firm’s name to a high profile international event.

Instead, Bombardier became responsible for an entirely new product — not just designing and building it, but mass manufacturing it as well.

Major corporations typically sponsor the Olympics in a relatively limited way. Some simply pony up cash in exchange for seeing their logo prominently displayed on whatever white space may be available.

Others donate their own products, such as IBM providing communications hardware or software, or Coca-Cola providing beverages. In the same way, Bombardier has provided vehicles for use in past Olympics.

Designing and building the torch falls into an entirely different category, according to Ian Lee, director of the MBA program at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

“This instance was much more clever, and much more innovative, and that we don’t see enough of in this country,” he argues. “I’m a little bit surprised that companies haven’t done this in past Olympic sponsorships.”

The road to realizing the clever marketing opportunity started long before the torch began its cross-Canada tour last October. The work began near the end of 2007, when lead project engineer Bruno Comtois and his colleagues first met with members of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC). Officials said they wanted a torch that featured the bright colours seen in the torch used for the 2006 games in Torino, Italy, but without as much associated smoke.

The flame was integral, from the perspective of Olympic organizers.

The underlying concept of the torch relay is that a spark struck in Greece is to be carried around the world, transferred seamlessly without any relighting. The idea only goes back as far as the 1930s, but its execution has evolved significantly as new technology and artistic sensibilities have been brought to bear on the challenge.

“We wanted to make it visually accessible, something that Canadians would be proud of and would represent the games,” says Tim Fagan, who was senior designer with the company’s aerospace division. “But of course it’s got a job to do as well.”

One concern was the comfort and safety of the torch bearer. Modern materials have allowed practical torch casings to weigh less than two kilograms, but the source of fire itself has remained problematic.

Decades ago, some of the earliest incarnations of Olympic torches burned everything from olive oil to solid fuels such as magnesium.

At the 1948 London games the design included a perforated canister to burn tablets consisting primarily of hexamine, but with six per cent napthalene to provide a luminous flame. Organizers at the 1956 Melbourne games wanted an even brighter display, opting for a magnesium-based fuel that dropped hot residue onto the runner’s arm.

Solid fuels were still being used in the 1960s, when torches employed compressed mixtures of nitrates, sulphur, alkaline metal carbonates,

Photos by: ©VANOC/COVAN

resins, and silicon. However, after a few minor explosions occurred as the flame was being transferred from one torch to another, the safety of torch-bearers began to influence design. By the 1990s, liquid hydrocarbon fuels had become the standard, with the exact blend depending on other features, such as the burner design and the type of flame that was desired.

A casual observer may wonder what new solution Bombardier could muster. But Fagan notes that since Bombardier has expertise in vehicles of all types — be they in the air, on rails, or over snow — and since transportation revolves around fuel, the fit was a natural, even if the goal was converse.

“The airplane and train business is the business of keeping fire away and suppressing fire,” he says. A clean, safe burn, he notes, is generally an invisible one. Gone would be the dramatic imagery of a flame, the primary goal of the entire exercise.

The Bombardier staff turned to the fuel mix used in the Torino torch, which was a combination of propylene and butane. “Propylene was the reason it was so smokey,” says Comtois. “The butane gave it the orange and yellow colours.”

In principle, a torch running exclusively on butane would give the same colours with almost no smoke. But in practice, Comtois points out, such a flame would not necessarily hold up to cold. The Torino torch run had taken place under relatively mild conditions, but the planned Canadian route would include everything from soggy coastal gusts to frigid Arctic blasts.

The Bombardier team began working on a formula enabling the flame to hold up at -40˚C. They adopted a fuel mix of 80 per cent propane and 20 per cent isobutane. “This gave us temperature resistance, and at the same time a really nice coloured flame without the smoke,” explains Comtois. The fuel was pressurized with nitrogen to several atmospheres and dispersed across a vertical outlet 30 centimetres long, creating the highly visible tendrils that unfurl from the torch like a flag.

But while VANOC liked the idea of a long, flag-like flame, the extended opening for that flame would make it susceptible to being blown out. Bombardier designers therefore introduced a second burner to maintain a small pilot flame within the torch, which would re-ignite the external flame if it ever went out.

Bombardier tested the system in one of its own wind tunnels, using a specially adapted

rig to simulate the very worst weather the torch could ever see.

“Really, it’s all about the flame,” says Fagan.

“The big, yellow, luscious flame is coming out of the torch exactly the way it was meant to.”

Even so, other technical specifications also had to be respected. The torch weight was held to 1.6 kilograms, so that an individual could hold it up and carry it comfortably. Bombardier engineers actually turned away from the light materials the company typically uses in aerospace applications, opting instead for a sheet moulding compound similar to that found on automobile frames. Nor were the steel and aluminum alloy used in the casing like those used for aircraft construction — the former was ferro-magnetic and the latter much softer than usual, chosen for workability in accommodating the torch body’s soft lines Comtois points to two other crucial consider­ations that drove the design. First, the torches would have to be put together much more easily and quickly than its usual products. The company would turn out no fewer than 12,000 copies of the torch in one of its own assembly plants, completing the entire process in under two years so the torch run could begin in the fall of 2009. By way of contrast, the firm has only built around 6,000 aircraft over a 30-year period.

Second, as many as 200 torches would be ignited on every day of the tour. For safety reasons, fuel canisters for each torch would travel separately, which meant support staff would be kept busy installing them immediately before use. The design therefore featured a tool-free mechanism for opening and closing the torch body.

“You just pull on the locking mechanism with your hand and the torch opens in two,” says Comtois. “Just screw in the fuel canister, re­assemble everything, and push back the locking mechanism. In 25 seconds you could open, install the canister, close it, and it’s done.”

Trace amounts of methanethiol (methyl mercaptan) were also added to the fuel, giving it the distinctive rotten-egg smell that would reveal any significant leakage. Such details were significant, Comtois emphasizes; although each torch would burn for only 12-15 minutes, it would pump out some 25,000 btu, about the same as a modest-size barbeque.

In addition to the core team of about 80 people within Bombardier who were responsible for designing the torch, hundreds of volunteers carried out the final assembly work.

“A lot of the reality of the torch is not necessarily appreciated by the torch bearers themselves, as they hold it,” says Fagan. “The background work — the testing that’s done, selecting the right materials, reducing the weight — is the scaffolding that supports the end use. It’s meant to be a special experience of an object that is symbolic and representative of carrying the actual Olympic torch itself.”

That said, the torch also became an exceptional platform to showcase the innovative capacity of Canadian enterprise. “It makes concrete what commercialization is,” says Lee who has long studied Canada’s efforts to turn the inventions and discoveries of researchers into commercial successes. “People can see a very concrete product, as opposed to some abstraction.” ACCN Tim Lougheed is a freelance science writer.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca

february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 25

Society News Nouvelles des sociétés The Boards

Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Board of Directors Nominations/ Nominations pour le Conseil de direction de la Société canadienne de chimie (SCC) (2010 – 2011) The nominating Committee appointed under the terms of CSC By-law Article X nominations and elections has proposed the candidates listed below for election to the Board of Directors in 2010–2011. Members are reminded of the provision of By-law Article X, Section 3 (e) which states: “Further nominations for any officer posi­tion may be made in writing by any ten or more Voting Members of the corporation: each nomination must be accompanied by the candidate’s written agreement to serve if elected, a curriculum vitae and a recent photograph. The deadline for receipt of additional nominations is Monday, March 8, 2010. If any elections are required, ballots will be mailed in April. Those elected, whether by ballot or acclamation, will take office immediately following the annual general meeting of the Society on Monday, May 31, in Toronto, Ont. Le Comité des candidatures, nommé en vertu des dispositions du règlement X de la Société canadienne de chimie (SCC), propose la candidature des personnes lis­t ées ci-dessous aux postes de membres du conseil pour 2010-2011.

Il est rappelé aux membres que le règlement 3(e) précise ce qui suit : « Des candidatures addition­nelles pour les postes d’administrateurs peuvent être soumises par écrit par au moins dix membres votants de la Société. » Chaque candidature doit être accompag­née du consentement écrit et signé par le candidat, qui s’engage à remplir la charge s’il est élu, d’un curriculum vitae, ainsi que d’une photographie récente. Les membres auront jusqu’au lundi 8 mars 2010 pour faire parvenir de nouvelles candidatures.

Advenant qu’un scrutin soit nécessaire, les bulletins seront postés en avril. Les personnes élues par scrutin ou par accla­mation entreront en fonction immédiatement après l’assemblée générale annuelle de la Société qui aura lieu le lundi 31 mai 2010, à Toronto, Ont.

University from 1999–2004, and is currently its vice-president, research. Pinto is a pioneer in the field of chemical biology, having developed novel NMR/molecular modeling protocols for the study of bio­active ligand conformations when bound to proteins, the design and synthesis of bacterial vaccines, and enzyme inhibitors as agents against Type-2 diabetes, influenza viruses and mycobacteria and the validation of plant extracts for the treatment of Type-2 diabetes and cervical cancer. He is one of the founding members of the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), has published over 170 publications, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences.

He received the BC Innovation Council Frontiers in Research Award, the BC Sugar Achievement Award, CSC’s Bernard Belleau and Merck Frosst Awards, and the Horace S. Isbell Award from the American Chemical Society. He is a Fellow of the CIC and the Royal Society of Canada. Pinto has been involved extensively with the CSC, including: member of the Vancouver CIC Local Section

executive committee from 1988–1998, and chair in 1993; member of the CSC Board of Directors from 1993–1996; National Chemistry Week national coordinator 1993–1996; chair of the CSC conference in 1998; co-organizer of the Glycobiology Symposium at Pacifichem in 2000, and organizer of the Glycobiology/ Chemistry Symposium at the 85th CSC Conference in 2002. He has served on several NSERC, CIHR, and provincial and federal committees.

Pinto is a champion for multi-disciplinary approaches to global problems and for establishing national and international linkages in research, technology, and education. For example, he has been instrumental in facilitating India-Canada collaborations in the areas of infectious diseases and population and public health.

Karen A. Burke, MCIC Vice-President 2010–2011 Amgen Canada Inc. Karen Burke is the director of Regulatory Affairs, Drug Safety and Quality Assurance at

Mario Pinto, FCIC President 2010–2011 Vice-President, Research Simon Fraser University B. Mario Pinto was born in Sri Lanka and received his BSc degree and PhD in chemistry from Queen’s University. Pinto served as chair of the Department of Chemistry at Simon Fraser february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 27

Society News Nouvelles des sociétés Amgen Canada Inc. She is a member of the executive committee and the Research and Development Leadership Team of Amgen Canada, and the Global Regulatory Affairs Senior Management Team of Amgen Inc. Burke joined Amgen Canada in 2006.

Since obtaining her PhD in organometallic chemistry from McMaster University in 1990, she has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in several roles over a career of more than 19 years, including progressive roles in Operations and in Regulatory Affairs at Astra Pharma Inc. (later AstraZeneca Canada Inc.), culminating in the role of vice president, Regulatory Affairs, from 2001-2004. During 2005, Burke was staff lead of the Regulatory Affairs Committee for the industry association Rx&D, Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies.

Burke recently completed her tenure as vice-chair of the Regulatory Affairs Committee of Rx&D, and currently participates in the Health Advisory Board of BIOTECanada. For several years, Burke volunteered as a member of the Board of Directors for EthicsCentre CA, the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy, a non-profit organization with the mission to champion the application of ethical values in the decisionmaking process of business and other organizations.

Her professional affiliations include the CIC, the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) and the Drug Information Association.

Statement of Policy It is with great interest and enthusiasm that I stand as a candidate for the role of vice-president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.

Through my past participation and leadership of various industry

associations and committees, I have come to know that to reach a goal requires focus and determination. The CSC has set challenging yet attainable goals, and I commit to bringing my experience in working with diverse groups to the CSC. I have been a member of the CIC and the CSC since my days in graduate school at McMaster University over 20 years ago, and recognize the value in being a member of a strong association. For the CSC to grow, however, it is critical that each Society member can see benefit in being a member, in whichever way is most valuable to him or her. This value can take many different shapes: it may be in opportunities for enhanced education, in participation at conferences on leading-edge research — either as an attendee or as a presenter — in networking with other chemistry professionals, or simply in the chance to count themselves as part of a thriving community of people who conduct research, make discoveries, and translate those discoveries into benefits for society.

It is an exciting time to take a leadership role within the CSC. With a strong mission in place, it rests with us to implement the next steps towards the Society’s vision for the future. Certainly the outreach to young Canadians and promotion of the study of chemistry is one of our most important tools for building a strong future for chemistry and chemists in Canada. The achievements of the CSC on this initiative, along with those in their four other focus areas — support for local sections, recruitment and retention of members, career development, and recognition of the chemical profession — provide a solid base from which to springboard as we move towards 2011, the International Year of Chemistry.

I would be honoured to work with the Board of Directors and members of the CSC in driving the profession of chemistry forward in Canada.

Kenneth J. Schmidt, MCIC Director of Industrial Liaison 2010–2013 President, DK3 Scientific Ltd. Ken Schmidt is a professional chemist based out of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. He is the president of Wilson Analytical Services Inc., a chemical analysis and instrumentation company serving the oilfield industry. He divides his time between Wilson Analytical and his other enterprises of DK3 Scientific (scientific consulting and project management) and Canadian Tool (high-end machining for the wire and cable and oilfield industries). Under DK3, he led a project to determine the applicability of nanotechnology to the environmental industry in Alberta, and held executive and industrial science roles at the Alberta Synchrotron Institute.

Schmidt has also contributed to several projects on the spectroscopy of heavy hydrocarbons and sulphur compounds, as well as working on hightech ceramics and CVD coatings while with Sherritt International.

He holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Calgary (under Tristram Chivers, FCIC), and a combined honours BSc in chemistry/ biochemistry from McMaster University. He served for seven years on the board of the Association of the Chemical Profession of Alberta (ACPA), and has been on the board of the Calgary or the Edmonton CIC Local Sections for over 20 years. He is currently the chair of the Edmonton CIC Local Section, a position he also held in 2004. In 2009 the ACPA honoured him with the “Frank W. Bachelor Service to the Profession Award.”

He is the author or co-author of over 50 scientific publications and presentations, and has been involved in many outreach activities over the years aimed at highlighting the wonders of chemistry to students and the general public. ACCN

28 L’Actualité chimique canadienne

février 2010

Student Chapter Merit Awards Prix du mérite des chapitres étudiants Terms of Reference

Mandat

The Student Chapter Merit Awards are offered as a means of recognizing and encouraging­initiative and originality in Student Chapter programming in the areas of chemistry, chemical technology and chemical­ engineering.

Les prix du mérite des chapitres étudiants sont offerts pour reconnaître et encourager l’esprit d’initiative et la créativité des chapitres­ étudiants, que ce soit dans les domaines de la chimie, du génie chimique ou de la technologie­chimique.

Deadlines

Dates d’échéance

• April 2 for Canadian Society for Chemistry • April 2 for Canadian Society for Chemical­ Technology • June 1 for Canadian Society for Chemical­ Engineering

• Le 2 avril pour la Société canadienne­ de chimie • Le 2 avril pour la Société canadienne­ de technologie chimique • Le 1er juin pour la Société canadienne­ de génie chimique

Awards The awards consist of an engraved plaque for the winning Chapter and lapel pins for executive members of the Chapter. Also, where appropriate, Honourable Mentions may be given to other Student Chapters by the Selection Committees.

Nomination The Chapter should prepare its own nomination­and provide an electronic report that includes: • indication of both scientific and social events over the entire 12-month period; • elaboration on what are considered the most important activities; • chapter statistics, including the total number­of active members; • level of participation and interest in each activity; and • photos or other material may be included­.

Submit nominations electronically: To Gale Thirlwall at gthirlwall@cheminst.ca

Les prix Les prix seront constitués d’une plaque pour le chapitre gagnant et d’épinglettes pour les membres de la direction du chapitre étudiant. De plus, les comités de sélection décerneront, s’il y a lieu, des mentions honorables­à d’autres chapitres étudiants.

Mise en candidature Le chapitre étudiant devrait présenter sa propre candidature et fournir un rapport électronique comprenant les éléments suivants : • les événements à caractère scientifique et social qui se sont tenus au cours de la période de 12 mois; • présenter de façon détaillée les événements­considérés les plus importants­; • les données statistiques du chapitre, y compris le nombre de membres actifs; • le niveau d’intérêt et de participation pour chaque activité; • photos ou tout autre matériel jugé utile.

Nominate Your Faculty Advisor Soumettez la candidature de votre conseiller Has your faculty advisor taken an active role in working with your Student Chapter throughout the year?

Why not recognize him or her with one of the Faculty Advisor Awards?

Three awards are given annually, one per Society. Terms of Reference are available at www.cheminst.ca/ faculty_advisor. Nominations due March 30, 2010.

Votre conseiller aux étudiants a-t-il joué un rôle actif dans votre chapitre­ étudiant au cours de l’année?

Récompensez son travail en soumettant sa candidature pour le Prix du conseiller de l’année. Trois prix sont octroyés chaque année, un pour chaque société. Les conditions de mise en candidature se trouvent à www.cheminst.ca/faculty_advisor.

Les candidatures doivent nous parvenir le 30 mars 2010.

Envoyez votre mise en candidature : À Gale Thirlwall à gthirlwall@cheminst.ca

february 2010 Canadian Chemical News 29

Chemfusion Joe Schwarcz

Let the (Laboratory­?)

Games Begin!

O

h, I remember it well. The Olympics, Squaw Valley, 1960. The final game of the hockey tournament featured the U.S. against Czechoslovakia. Incredibly, the Americans had knocked off the favoured Canadians and the Russians and now only the Czechs stood between them and a gold medal.

But going into the third period, the group of unheralded college players trailed the skilled Czechs by a score of 4–3. That’s when Nikolai Sologubov, the Russians’ superb defenseman waltzed into the American dressing room and suggested that the players fortify themselves by inhaling some extra oxygen from tanks. His motive? If the Americans won, the Russians would end up with the bronze medal, if they lost, they would be going home emptyhanded. Amazingly, the Americans scored six times in the third period for their first “miracle on ice!” Was the extra oxygen responsible?

In the decades since, the Olympic motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” or “swifter, higher, stronger” has often, regrettably, been coupled with another word — “cheater.” Since then we have looked warily on the motto and have asked the question “with what?”

As I recall, the day after the 1960 U.S.Czech showdown the newspapers were filled with stories about the ingenuity of the oxygen boost. Nobody suggested that this was in any

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février 2010

way unfair. Performance enhancement by means other than training was not yet a big issue, even though “doping” in all likelihood had tainted the Olympics since 1936. Just a year earlier German scientists had isolated the male sex hormone testosterone and had shown that it increased muscle mass and aggression.

There is little doubt that German athletes used it in the 1936 Berlin Olympics along with amphetamines, stimulants which had been shown to ward off fatigue. By 1955 various analogues of testosterone, collectively referred to as “anabolic steroids,” had been synthesized and found their way into the bodies of athletes clamouring for glory. It is hard to know how extensive such doping was back in those days because urine tests for steroids were not introduced until 1973. Only in 1975 did the world’s governing sport bodies officially ban the use of anabolic steroids. That of course didn’t mean these drugs were not being used. Detection techniques were relatively primitive and as long as athletes didn’t use steroids just prior to competition, they got away with it.

I remember marveling at the physique of East German swimmer Kornelia Ender who took home an unprecedented four gold medals from the Montréal Olympics of 1976.

She was built more like a man and even had an unusually deep voice. Steroids? Probably.

Then in 1988 the lid was blown off when Ben Johnson was caught cheating with stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, in the 100 meters, one of the Olympics’ prime events.

It seems we have come a very long way since those American boys inhaled some extra oxygen. Now we ask if athletes have used growth hormone to bulk up, insulin to boost the body’s supply of the crucial muscle fuel, glycogen, or have injected themselves with erythropoietin (EPO) to increase their production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

Why the need for EPO? Why not just inhale some extra oxygen? Simple. It doesn’t work!

The romanticized story of the American victory at Squaw Valley notwithstanding, red blood cells are already saturated with oxygen and inhaling extra gas will be of no help. This was clearly shown in a landmark paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1989. Researchers studied professional soccer players who breathed either room air or pure oxygen in a double blind fashion before a period of exercise. There was no difference in performance and the subjects were unable to identify which gas they had inhaled.

To increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, the number of red blood cells needs to be increased. There are several ways to do this. Training at high altitude, where the air contains less oxygen, stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells. Living in dorms where nitrogen-rich air is pumped in to simulate the oxygen concentration of air at high altitude also works.

Then there are the short cuts. Like “blood doping.” Athletes withdraw a couple of pints of blood and reinfuse it months later before a major competition to increase their red blood cell count. Such blood doping is illegal and is detectible. Which is why athletes began to use EPO, a hormone synthesized by the kidneys that sends a signal to the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. EPO can be made via recombinant DNA technology and is widely used to treat anemia stemming from kidney disease, chemotherapy or blood loss. It didn’t take long for athletes to figure out that they could also avail themselves of this technology to boost performance. Neither did it take long for problems to crop up. Too many red blood cells increase the density of the blood, which in turn can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

When the deaths of over a dozen cyclists were associated with the use of EPO in the early 1990s, the Olympic Committee banned the drug. The problem though was that injected EPO was difficult to detect and only recently have reliable tests become available.

But some athletes may already be a step ahead. Pharmaceutical companies are working on a way to treat kidney patients by introducing the gene that codes for the production of EPO. Animal experiments are already underway. And I’m sure that there are athletes out there quite willing to become human guinea pigs.

By the way, about those six American goals against the Czechs in the third period back in 1960? None of the four players who did the scoring had inhaled any extra oxygen! Natural adrenalin was the chemical at work. ACCN Joe Schwarcz, is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.

He hosts the Dr. Joe Show on Montréal’s radio station CJAD and Toronto’s CFRB. The broadcast is available at www.CJAD.com.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Write to us at magazine@accn.ca

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