April Monthly Meeting Wednesday, April 19, 2000 Northern Kentucky University

INDEX

Program
 

Dinner reservations: Make reservations via e-mail cintacs.im@pg.com Include your name (complete with correct spelling), phone number and affiliation. Please specify if this is your first Cincinnati ACS meeting when making your reservation. All reservations must be received by noon, Monday, April 17, 2000. As a reminder, if you decide you must miss a meeting after you have made reservations, please call to cancel. If you do not cancel, the Section will have to charge you because it will have been charged by the food service. Payment will be received at the door. Guests are always welcome; emeritus, unemployed, new, and student members are half price.

Directions: From Downtown or Northern Cincinnati suburbs, take I-71 (or I-75 or I-275) to I-471 south. Approximately six miles from the Ohio River, I-471 highway ends as it merges with U.S. 27. At the second stop light, turn right onto Nunn Drive, the entrance to Northern Kentucky University. Follow Nunn Dr. straight through campus and park in lots G, K, or L. The University Center is across Nunn Dr. from Regent's Hall. Guests may park in any lot. Guests must have a handicapped parking sticker in order to park in a space for the handicapped.

The rapid development of forensic DNA typing using the polymeric chain reaction represents a major revolution in the scientific analysis of forensic evidence. As a result of the power of this silent witness to violent crime, efforts are underway to produce a national database of results for convicted offender DNA samples. In order to process the large numbers of samples collected through these efforts, efficient and automated procedures for analysis of DNA fragments must be developed. Capillary electrophoresis has great potential to fulfill this requirement. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an analytical technique that can produce rapid and efficient separations of DNA, due to the superior heat dissipation of the capillary when compared to standard slab gel methods. Additionally, the capillary can be easily manipulated for efficient and automated injections. Despite these advantages, it is only recently that dedicated commercial systems for PCR product analysis have begun to appear.

The reason for the slow development of CE systems for PCR analysis has been the scarcity of efficient methods for injection, separation and detection of DNA fragments. For example, the high ionic strength of the PCR reaction mixture is incompatible with CE injection methods. Gel based separations are difficult to implement in the capillary format, and commonly utilized ultraviolet (UV) detection techniques have poor sensitivity. These problems have been largely overcome as a result of better understanding of the nature of the CE procedure.

This presentation will introduce the concepts involved in forensic DNA typing and illustrate how capillary systems can be used in this type of analysis. Advancements in separation, sample preparation, and detection will be emphasized, and the talk will conclude with a discussion of future applications.

Bruce R. McCord joined the faculty of Ohio University as an Associate Professor in Fall of 1998. Dr. McCord received a BS in Chemistry with Honors from the College of William and Mary in 1981,and his Ph. D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Prior to joining the faculty at Ohio University, Dr McCord spent 9 years as a research chemist at the FBI’s Forensic Science Research and Training center.

His present interests involve the development of new separation systems for the analysis of DNA fragments by capillary electrophoresis and the application of this technology to problems in genetic typing. Because of the adversarial nature of forensic DNA typing, developing highly precise and robust analytical procedures are critical to the success of the procedure. For the past several years, Dr. McCord has utilized CE for the forensic analysis of microsatellite DNA, multiplexed STR systems, and rapid quantitation of PCR amplified mitochondrial DNA. Included in the results of this work were investigations into the nature of fluorescent detection of DNA and the interactions between DNA and soluble polymer buffers.

Other aspects of his work include the development of analytical systems used in the investigation of explosives residues and in forensic trace analyses. These procedures were utilized in a number of high profile investigations such as the bombing of the World Trade Center, and the O. J. Simpson trial. Dr. McCord is a current member of the editorial boards of Electrophoresis and the Journal of Capillary Electrophoresis.

Sign up now for the Local Section Party Night. To be held in conjunction with the 32nd Central Regional Meeting. Please note the registration deadline is April 20th. Come meet many of the CMACS 2000 participants as well as your local section colleagues!

Newport Aquarium Tour
4;00-6:00 PM
Thursday, May 18, 2000
Cost: $14/person, includes transportation from meeting site and back

Meeting Reception at Marriott Hotel, Covington, KY
6:00-8:00 PM
Thursday, May 18, 2000
Cost: $16/person, includes open bar and pasta station

Reservations:

E-mail your reservations to cintacs.im@pg.com Include your name (complete with correct spelling), phone number and affiliation. Please specify if this is your first Cincinnati ACS meeting when making your reservation. All reservations must be received by noon, April 20th, 2000. As a reminder, if you decide you must miss a meeting after you have made reservations, please call to cancel. If you do not cancel, the Section will have to charge you because it will have been charged by the hotel. Payment will be received at the door. Guests are always welcome; emeritus, unemployed, new, and student members are half price.

Formatted and uploaded 24 March 00 by cinacs@www.che.uc.edu