Dr. Philip Jessop is a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and a Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He recieved his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of British Columbia in 1991 under the supervision of Dr. B. R. James. For more information on Dr. Jessop, please visit his
website. Dr. Jessop will be giving a keynote address at this year's APICS ChemCon 2008 entitled
CO2: A Green and Renewable Feedstock and Process Aid.
Abstract: Every cloud has a silver lining. Enormous amounts of CO2 are going to be collected as a consequence of efforts to combat global warming, making CO2 a VERY inexpensive, available and renewable material! Other than the well-known use of CO2 as a supercritical solvent, what else can CO2 be used for?
• As a feedstock for the synthesis of an increasing number of organic products
• In combination with water, ionic liquids or liquid polymers, as a biphasic medium for chemical reactions
• When dissolved in liquids, as a modifier of the liquid’s properties (often to great practical advantage)
• In combination with alcoholic solvents, as an acid catalyst for reactions
• As a trigger for switchable solvents (solvents that can reversibly change their properties when desired)
• As a trigger for switchable surfactants (surfactants that can switch on and off when desired).
Recent research and future prospects in these areas will be described.
Dr. Warren Piers is a Professor and the S. Robert Blair Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta. He recieved his Ph.D. in 1988 at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr. Michael Fryzuk. For more information on Dr. Piers, please visit his
website. Dr. Piers will be giving a keynote address at this year's APICS ChemCon 2008 entitled
Piers Group Synthesis and Catalysis Research Concentrates.
Abstract: This talk will present brief overviews of three areas of research going on in the Piers group at the University of Calgary. Broadly speaking, we are synthetic chemists with interests in developing new catalysts and materials for applications in diverse areas ranging from fine chemical and polymer synthesis to new organic semiconducting materials for use in photovoltaic cells. The nature of our work will be highlighted by descriptions of our work in the organometallic chemistry of the group 3 metals, highlighting principles of ligand design for stabilization of scandium nitrogen double bonds. Second, the development of a new family of rapidly initiating ruthenium olefin metathesis catalysts will be described, highlighting the importance of detailed mechanistic studies for catalyst evolution. Finally, a brief description of a new multidisciplinary project aimed at preparing next generation materials for solar cell applications will be presented.
Dr. Janusz Pawliszyn is a Professor and the Canada Research Chair as well as the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in New Analytical Methods and Technologies at the Univeristy of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. He recieved his Ph.D. in 1982 at Southern Illinois University. For more information on Dr. Pawliszyn, please visit his
website. Dr. Pawliszyn will be giving a keynote address at this year's APICS ChemCon 2008 entitled
Bioanalytical Applications Of Solid Phase Microextraction Coupled To LC/MS.
Abstract: Several examples of in vivo and on-site investigations based on Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) will be discussed. In the presentation we will emphasize the successful application of fast microextraction during a pharmacokinetic study of diazepam and its metabolites. Two calibration strategies - external and standard on the fiber - are employed to correlate the amount extracted with the in vivo concentration. When the standard on the fiber calibration approach is applied, accurate concentration values can be obtained even for sampling times as short as 30 seconds. The new method is validated by comparison with conventional plasma analysis, and a correlation factor of 0.99 is obtained. Our results demonstrate the unique advantages of this technique and highlight its utility as a valuable new tool for fast bioanalysis. This approach can be used not only for drugs, but for any other endogenous or exogenous compounds. We expect fast in vivo microextraction to become a method of choice for investigating living systems, as there is no need for pumps or tubes attached to the extraction system.
