New instruments help Waynesburg chemistry, forensic science departments
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Waynesburg University无毛视频檚 chemistry and forensic science departments have benefited from a donation of top-of-the-line equipment.
An anonymous donor gifted the department a liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (LCMS), a gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GCMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The NMR is expected to arrive in the summer, while the other instruments are in use at the school.
To best explain the instruments, the NMR helps the chemist understand what a molecule 无毛视频渓ooks like,无毛视频� while the LCMS and the GCMS enable the finding of trace amounts of important molecules.
Mike Cipoletti, forensic science program director, said the donor hasn无毛视频檛 provided many details about why he wanted to donate the instruments, but he did say he talked with the donor about the struggles small schools have in securing updated equipment.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 commented several times that he likes the good work that we无毛视频檙e doing, likes the way that we无毛视频檙e doing it, loves the fact that we无毛视频檙e a small school but wants to give students opportunities they can get at larger schools with deeper pockets,无毛视频� Cipoletti said. 无毛视频淗e saw something in us that he wanted to support and obviously, we无毛视频檙e very grateful to receive it.无毛视频�
Waynesburg will be the first small school in the region to have this caliber of NMR when it arrives.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 the newest on the market at this company for this particular type,无毛视频� said Dr. Evonne Baldauff, chair of the department of chemistry and forensics science. 无毛视频淪o, we无毛视频檙e really excited to have many of the newest things out there that students could possibly work on here in little old Greene County. I think it无毛视频檚 something kind of special.无毛视频�
The new equipment provides students the chance to work with the quality of equipment in use at the professional level and can give them a big advantage as they seek jobs. Plus, more students are able to use the equipment at the same time than was the case with old equipment.
无毛视频淚 always had to split (students) them up into smaller groups, bring them in at different times,无毛视频� Cipoletti said. 无毛视频淣ow they无毛视频檙e able to collaborate because they can all sit at a microscope at the same time. That无毛视频檚 a small thing, but it无毛视频檚 a big deal. It really helps us instruct these students with a lot more continuity. It makes the training process a lot more efficient.无毛视频�
Senior Andrew Gordon, a biochemistry major from Strongsville, Ohio, who plans to go to medical school, has used the equipment for research and his instrumental chemistry class.
无毛视频淭hese instruments help me because a lot of the stuff that is done in a hospital, a lot of that lab work, is done mainly through instruments like these,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 preparing me because I get to work with these instruments first-hand. Not a lot of physicians might have an extensive knowledge of how these instruments work or care. I无毛视频檝e developed an appreciation for it. Everything that happens in lab work in a hospital is so key, and a lot of that lab work is done with instruments like these.无毛视频�
Also, the chemistry department will be able to collaborate with the state police crime lab for analysis of illicit opioid samples using two undergraduate researchers.
无毛视频淲hat we无毛视频檙e finding is the illicit drug users are always coming up with little tweaks to the molecular structures of these things,无毛视频� Cipoletti said. 无毛视频淣MR is a tool that allows you to identify these molecular changes before you have standards to compare them to.无毛视频�
The hope is that eventually the college will be able to provide a service to the crime lab.
无毛视频淏eing one of the only NMRs in the region, we not only want to just help out our students, but we无毛视频檙e trying to help the community. It also gives our students a chance to collaborate with professionals in some of the jobs they无毛视频檙e seeking,无毛视频� Cipoletti said.
The new LCMS is being used as part of an undergraduate research project to detect the presence of herbicides as a service to local growers of organic produce.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a way for local growers to tell potential purchasers that what they无毛视频檙e saying about their produce is legit, that it无毛视频檚 gone through screening,无毛视频� Baldauff said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e able to give assurance that what we无毛视频檙e telling you is true.无毛视频�
In addition to undergraduate students, the new equipment will be available for high school students throughout outreach activities with local schools as well as events such as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) camp.
无毛视频淲e definitely want to work with high school teachers, middle school teachers, even ambitious elementary school teachers that want to expose their students to more science,无毛视频� Baldauff said. 无毛视频淚 think we无毛视频檙e pretty good at reaching out to students at different levels to give them exciting reasons why science might be a great career and why they should try in their math and science classes.无毛视频�