Last updated: January 12, 2005 @ 03:32PM
Chemistry
Chair
Jeffrey K. Atkinson
Professors Emeriti
Martin S. Gibson, Richard R. Hiatt, David C. Moule
Professors
Ian D. Brindle, J. Stephen Hartman, Tomas Hudlicky, Jack M. Miller, Andrew G. Reynolds, Mary Frances Richardson, Stuart M. Rothstein
Associate Professors
Jeffrey K. Atkinson, Heather Gordon, Melanie Pilkington, Art van der Est
Assistant Professor
Travis Dudding, Costa Metallinos
Adjunct Professor
Katrina Brudzynski
Senior Demonstrators
Gail Neff, Donna Vukmanic
Co-ordinator, Analytical Services
T.R.B. Jones
Master of Science Program
Administrative Assistant
Chris Skorski
905-688-5550, extension 3406
Mackenzie Chown E206
http://www.brocku.ca/chemistry/etc/gradchem.html
The department provides facilities for students intending to work toward their master's degree in Chemistry. Faculty members specialize in organic/bio-organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and physical/theoretical chemistry. The department also supports the master's and doctoral degrees in Biotechnology.
Admission Requirements
Students will be admissible to the MSc program if they have completed a 4-year Honours undergraduate program in Chemistry or a cognate discipline such as biotechnology or biochemistry, with at least an upper B average. Applicants who do not meet these requirements will be considered for admission to a qualifying year.
Program Requirements
Candidates with an honours degree or who have completed a qualifying year, require a minimum of one year of full-time study. The program must include CHEM 5F90; three 5(alpha)00 level half credits; one half credit (or one credit) which may be at either the 4(alpha)00 or 5(alpha)00 level; and one seminar on a topic approved by the candidate's Supervisor. Additional credits may be required of candidates with insufficient preparation in their area of research specialization. As part of CHEM 5F90 every MSc candidate must prepare and defend a thesis which demonstrates a capacity for independent work of acceptable scientific calibre.
Doctoral Studies
Students with MSc degrees in Chemistry with a background in biological applications of chemistry may apply for admission into Brock's PhD program in Biotechnology.
Research Fields
The following research fields are currently represented, described in detail on our website: http://www.brocku.ca/chemistry/etclgradchem.html
Inorganic chemistry
Ligand design and crystal engineering aimed at self-assembly of novel molecule-based materials, including incorporation of large macrocycles as building blocks; molecular magnetism studies involving three-dimensional network architectures self-assembled from cyanide ligands and metallic centres; high spin clusters; the influence of paramagnetic transition metal ions such as Cu2+ and VO2+ on the excited state dynamics of porphyrin-based photosynthesis model systems; high-resolution solid-state nmr studies of inorganic solids including silicon carbide, silicate minerals, and fluorides; mass spectroscopy of organometallic and inorganic compounds, including fast atom bombardment and electrospray methods.
Organic chemistry
Synthesis of heterocyclic, aromatic and aliphatic systems; enantoselective synthesis and catalysis; new approaches to natural product synthesis; alkaloids; carbohydrates; cycloaddition reactions; chemoenzymatic asymmetric synthesis; biotransformations; chiral synthon production; isotopically labelled compounds; fluorescent molecules and affinity labels, and bioconjugates.
Physical and theoretical chemistry
Rovibronic analysis of electronic band spectra of polyatomic molecules; Franck-Condon calculation of geometry changes on electronic excitation; quantum mechanical methods; atomic and molecular structure, applied statistics; photophysics of biologically relevant probes. Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations of biological molecules. Quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR). Electron spin resonance for the study of photosynthetic reaction centres.
Analytical chemistry
Trace and ultra-trace determination of elements in complex matrices. Applications of FAB mass spectrometry in analytical chemistry. Development of analytical methods for pesticides and their degradation compounds. Development of techniques for the determination of natural products in wines and insects. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance applied to environmental problems.
Facilities
The equipment available in the Mackenzie Chown Complex is actively used for both teaching and research. Graduate students gain hands-on experience in operating modern equipment for separating complex mixtures, determining molecular structures, and making quantitative measurements. Newer equipment is computer-controlled and many systems are connected to the University's Ethernet backbone. The department also has a variety of computers and UNIX workstations and access to a Beowolf cluster for advanced computation, data interpretation, and molecular modelling.
Specific instrumentation includes x-ray diffractometer, 200, 300 and 600 MHz NMR cryospectrometers for solution and high resolution solid studies with offline data processing stations. In addition there are 9 GHz and 35 GHz time resolved EPR spectrometers. The mass spectrometry facility is equipped with a high resolution mass spectrometer capable of dual polarity EI, CI and FAB experiments, an ion trap LC/MS system with electrosparay and APCI capability, MSLDI-TOF, and two dedicated quadropole GC/MS systems. The instrumentation laboratories also include UV/visible, fluorescence and FTIR spectrophotometers; gas and liquid chromatography systems; autopolarimeters; AA's; ICP and ICP/MS systems.
Undergraduate Courses
One fourth-year course can be taken for credit by graduate students. The year 4 courses are listed in the undergraduate calendar.
Course Descriptions
The following, all but one of which are half credit courses, are available in the department. A selection of these, determined in part by students' interests, will be offered each year. Further information about the courses to be offered in any year may be obtained from the Chair of the Department.
CHEM 5F90
MSc Research and Thesis
Theoretical and/or experimental research. An external examiner will participate in the evaluation of the student's performance in this course.
CHEM 5P00
Quantum Chemistry: Theory
(also offered as PHYS 5P00)
Self-consistent-field (SCF) method; configuration interaction; basis functions; electron correlation; physical properties of atoms, diatomic and polyatomic molecules.
CHEM 5P01
Quantum Chemistry: Applications
Application of ab initio molecular orbital theories to problems in atomic and molecular structure, to intermolecular forces and to chemical reactivity.
CHEM 5P02
Chemistry in Cyberspace
The use of the personal computer and workstation as a tool for organic and inorganic chemistry. Topics include the use of the internet as a source of basic information, interactive computation, and software; the use of molecular mechanics/modeling packages; and a comparison of the use of semi-empirical and ab initio computational chemistry packages designed for the experimental chemist to supplement, interpret or predict lab data. The ease of use and accuracy of results of various programs will be explored.
CHEM 5P05
Molecular Spectroscopy: Theory
Selected topics in advanced molecular spectroscopy, such as rotational-vibrational Hamiltonian, Coriolis coupling, Herzberg- Teller, Renner, Jahn-Teller effects, inversion dynamics, overtone spectra, infrared and Raman intensities, molecular structure and conformation.
CHEM 5P06
Molecular Spectroscopy: Applications
Design of grating instruments; calibration and operation of Raman, infrared and ultraviolet spectrophotometers; analysis of spectra.
CHEM 5P11
Special Topics in Physical Chemistry
Topics may include aspects of chemical dynamics, molecular spectroscopy, statistical mechanics and quantum theory.
CHEM 5P13
Biophysical Photochemistry
(also offered as BTEC 5P13)
The principles of light-induced processes such as electron, energy, and signal transfer and their role in biological systems. Marcus theory, Dexter and Foerster mechanisms of energy transfer. The optical and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of excited states.
CHEM 5P14
Computational Chemistry: Applications in Biotechnology
(also offered as BTEC 5P14)
Structure-based drug design; molecular modelling; conformational search techniques; secondary and tertiary protein structure prediction; quantitative structure-activity relationships; bioinformatics.
CHEM 5P15
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy
Applications of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy to chemical systems. Theory of chemical shifts, coupling constants and relaxation times; instrumentation, including an introduction to pulse and Fourier Transform techniques and two-dimensional NMR; structure determination by NMR; chemical exchange effects.
CHEM 5P16
Mass Spectroscopy
The theory and practice of modern mass spectroscopy applied to organic, inorganic and organometallic systems; systematic interpretation of organic mass spectra; high resolution mass spectra GC/MS; metastable ions; computerized mass spectrometry.
CHEM 5P17
Special Topics in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy
Selected topics in advanced NMR spectroscopy, emphasizing recent applications in areas such as two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution NMR of solids. A continuation of CHEM 5P15.
Prerequisite: CHEM 5P15.
CHEM 5P18
Special Topics in Mass Spectroscopy
Selected topics in advanced mass spectrometry emphasizing instrumentation development, ionization techniques and applications. A continuation of CHEM 5P16.
Prerequisite: CHEM 5P16.
CHEM 5P19
Organic Reaction Mechanisms
The critical study of papers of mechanistic and/or synthetic interest in the recent literature drawing attention to the ways in which mechanisms are established and applied as well as to the mechanisms themselves.
CHEM 5P20
Special Topics in Organic Chemistry
Topics may include organic photochemistry, biotransformation, free radical chemistry, symmetry and stereochemistry and a further study of mechanistic or synthetic organic chemistry.
CHEM 5P21
Advanced Organic Synthesis
Strategies in the design of organic syntheses; examples from the current literature will be used to illustrate new trends in synthetic methodology and approaches to the synthesis of complex or organic molecules and natural products; new reagents in organic synthesis including an examination of organometallics and enzymes.
CHEM 5P22
Special Topics in Chemical Biology
(also offered as BTEC 5P22)
Focuses on the chemical-biology of select biologically active compounds of current interest in the literature. The occurrence, biosynthesis and biological activity, including structure-activity correlations, will be studied. Strategies toward the chemical synthesis of these important compounds will also be investigated.
CHEM 5P23
Enantioselective Syntheses
A survey of the methods available for achieving stereoselectivity including chiral catalysis, asymmetric induction via a substrate-and reagent-based strategies and the "chiral pool" approach. The application of the methods to the synthesis of complex organic molecules and natural products will be examined using examples from current literature.
CHEM 5P24
Natural Products Chemistry
A study of the structural features, synthesis and biosynthesis of natural products selected from the acetogenin, alkaloid, steroid and terpene and other areas.
CHEM 5P25
Medicinal Chemistry
Structure and activity of biologically active organic compounds.Introduction to pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, and receptor theory as a background for a more detailed study of chemistry of drugs such as enzyme inhibitors and receptor antagonists. Rational drug design, combinatorial libraries, screening, and general routes of metabolism.
Prerequisite: CHEM 3P20 and 3P21 or permission of the instructor.
CHEM 5P27
Advanced Enzyme and Co-enzyme Mechanisms
(also offered as BTEC 5P27)
Hydrolytic and other processes catalyzed by enzymes lacking non-protein prosthetic groups; transferase reactions involving biotin, pyridoxal phosphate, thiamine pyrophosphate, folic acid and cobalamin; oxidation mechanisms involving pyridine nucleotides, flavoenzymes, hydroperoxidases and oxygenases.
Prerequisite: CHEM 4P27 or permission of the instructor.
CHEM 5P31
Special topics in Inorganic Chemistry
A directed reading course in advanced inorganic chemistry based on a critical approach to the original literature. Topics are to be arranged between the student and instructor.
CHEM 5P33
Chemistry of Organometallic and Co-ordination Compounds
A study of main group and transition metal organometallic and co-ordination compounds with emphasis on synthesis, reactivity, structure and biological properties.
CHEM 5P41
Special Topics in Analytical Chemistry
The course will include topics such as pesticide and residue analysis, advanced chromatographic techniques, chemical analysis applied to environmental and agricultural problems, preconcentration techniques and new analytical techniques.
CHEM 5P44
Directed Readings in Chemistry
An investigation of a specific area or group of related topics in contemporary chemistry. Candidates for graduate degrees may present one such special topic course. Approval of the departmental graduate studies committee is required prior to registration.
CHEM 5P45
Atomic Spectrometry
Arcs, sparks, ICP, DCP, AA, will be investigated. Evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of excitation sources and sample introduction techniques. Particular concentration in this course will be the sample and how it is analyzed and some discussion will centre on sample preparation, matrix elimination or minimization. Solid sampling methods such as laser ablation and glow discharge will be reviewed.
CHEM 5P67
Biophysical Techniques
(also offered as BIOL 5P67 and BTEC 5P67)
An advanced seminar/lecture course on experimental techniques in biochemistry. The focus is on understanding the theory, applications and limitations of a variety of techniques students will encounter during their graduate studies. Techniques will range from advanced spectroscopy (absorption, fluorescence, NMR, X-ray diffraction) to molecular biochemistry (DNA and protein sequencing, gel electrophoresis, radioisotope labelling).