Experimental - Spectroscopy

12 Spectroscopy 26(6) June 2011 www.spectroscopyonline.com
three key science agencies in 2012.
The National Science Foundation,
the Department of Energy’s Office of
Science, and the National Institute
of Standards and Technology
Laboratories would benefit from the
proposed additional funding, which
amounts to $13.9 billion in total
funding for the three agencies.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke, who said that government
spending on research and development
can help boost economic growth,
recently backed Obama.
“The primary economic rationale
for a government role in R&D is that,
absent such intervention, the private
market would not adequately supply
certain types of research,” Bernanke
said at a Georgetown University
conference in May.
For past coverage of this topic,
please see, “Ongoing Battle over 2011
U.S. Budget May Affect President’s
Plan for Additional Science
Investment in 2012” at
www.chromatographyonline.com
Mass Spectrometry
Provides New Insight in
Stroke Research
New research conducted using
mass spectrometers has provided
insight into key areas of stroke
evaluation and treatment. Led by
MingMing Ning, a clinical neurologist
and researcher at the Clinical
Proteomics Research Center at
Massachusetts General Hospital
(Boston, Massachusetts), the research
provides potentially significant new insight
into patent foramen ovale (PFO) and its
connection with strokes. PFO refers to a
congenital heart abnormality, which leaves
open a passage between the left and right
sides of the heart, enabling blood clots to
travel from the leg to the brain.
Strokes are the leading cause of
serious long-term disability in the
United States, and with PFO affecting
25% of the worldwide population,
the potential health impacts are
significant. Identification of potential
biomarkers in mass spectrometry
data derived from the collaborative
research provides scientists with
new insights into how PFO can be
related to strokes. If confirmed,
these insights may be important in
helping doctors to select the most
appropriate treatment for individual
PFO stroke patients.
The research, conducted
by Thermo Fisher Scientific’s
Biomarker Research Initiatives
in Mass Spectrometry Center in
collaboration with Massachusetts
General Hospital, Harvard University,
has also led to potential insights
in the understanding of tissue
plasminogen activator (tPA) in
stroke treatment. tPA is a drug
that can be safely administered
only within a very short window
of time after stroke symptoms
occur. The treatment, which
works by dissolving blood clots,
has proven highly effective, but
involves significant risks. Only 5%
of patients fit the timeframe criteria
within which it is safe to administer
tPA. Through the use of mass
spectrometry–based proteomics
workflows, data from the research
may help scientists identify a wider
scope of patients who might benefit
from tPA.
Raman Spectroscopy May
Enable Rapid Diagnosis of
Skin Cancers
A new diagnostic device based on
Raman spectroscopy could assist
physicians with the early detection
of skin cancers. The system is being
studied by Harvey Lui, a professor
of dermatology and chair of the
department of dermatology and
skin science at the University of
British Columbia (Vancouver, British
Colombia). Lui is the coinventor of
the device, which he has licensed to
Verisante (Vancouver).
In preliminary data published in
2008, Lui and colleagues observed
289 skin cancers and benign lesions,
and found that skin cancers could
be distinguished from benign skin
lesions with a sensitivity of 91%
and specificity of 75%. Malignant
melanoma could be distinguished
from benign pigmented lesions with
a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity
of 78%.
Lui says the new device overcomes
one of the key limitations of using
Raman spectroscopy in medicine,
which is the amount of time needed
to acquire data.
“In the past, to collect Raman data
from the skin, the patient would have
to sit still for 20 minutes, and that
is not practical,” Lui said in a May 1
article in Dermatology Times. “But
now it’s possible to acquire this signal
within seconds, and that’s been the
breakthrough.”
Another advantage of the system, Lui
says, is that it is user-friendly and can
be used easily by technicians, and this
does not require the extensive training
that confocal microscopy does.
The device, called the Verisante
Aura, has been approved for use in
Canada and Europe, but US approval
is not expected until next year.
X-ray and AFM Study
of Volcanic Ash
Particles Produces
Risk-Assessment Protocol
A paper published by a joint Icelandic
and Danish team in the journal,
Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (April 25, 2011), provides
evidence that a move to ground
European aircraft was justified
after an April 14, 2010, volcanic
event allowed meltwaters from the
Eyjafjallaökull glacier to mix with
hot magma from the volcanic site,
sending fine ash into the jet stream.
The team used X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy and atomic force
microscopy to assess toxicity risk and
to determine the composition of the
individual ash particles.
The study involved taking a unique
set of dry ash samples collected
immediately after the explosive event
and comparing the samples with
fresh ash from a later, more typical
eruption. Using nanotechniques
custom-designed for studying natural
materials, the team explored the
physical and chemical nature of the
ash to determine if fears about health
and safety were justified. Additionally,
they developed a protocol that will
serve for assessing risks during a
future event. ◾