Current Events

In the year 2009, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, will celebrate 50th anniversary of its foundation. This is the very occasion to contemplate current trends in macromolecular science from the view of challenges of science and technology for the 21st century. The meeting shall bring together a diverse group of researchers to discuss general physical, chemical and biological issues of macromolecular systems and let them to evaluate the current role and future prospects of macromolecular science. Starting from macromolecular concepts that can contribute to understanding of processes occurring in living matter, following with principles, on which new bio-inspired materials might be designed, to analysis of physical processes governing molecular and supramolecular organization in macromolecular systems and to new concepts for development of polymers for technology advancement. The meeting will focus on the state of the art theoretical and methodological developments in macromolecular science, however, it will be opened to new hypotheses, emerging ideas and new approaches to experimental methods and design as well. It will provide a unique opportunity for meeting researchers and colleagues in interdisciplinary fields of macromolecular science, and enjoy the exchange of ideas in the inspiring environment of Prague.

This is the major international forum for the discussion of technical aspects of scale-up at the chemistry/chemical engineering interface. Topics include: the scale up of batch and semi-batch processes, continuous processing and reaction engineering, microreactor technology, safety and thermochemistry, scale up of potentially hazardous chemistry, green chemistry, quality assurance and regulatory concerns, solid form control (crystallisation and polymorphism), separation and purification techniques, and new technologies and equipment for large scale manufacture.

This course is designed for beginning- and intermediate-level users in HPLC who want practical laboratory experience. The lectures, supplemented by problems sets, slides, and video presentations, provide the fundamentals needed to understand the techniques and instrumentation involved in this powerful analytical tool. Key topics include: basic instrumentation for HPLC; detectors, including UV/VIS, photo diode array, mass spectrometer, and fluorescence; column selection and optimization, qualitative and quantitative analysis; and troubleshooting HPLC systems.

Learn best practices to minimize personal injury, health impairment, property loss, fines, and liability in your laboratory. This course gives you an overview of the practical and latest regulatory measures for the prevention of accidents, incidents, or exposures that may cause health impairment, injury, fire, or interference with laboratory operations. It includes the OSHA training requirements for a Chemical Hygiene Officer.

This course will help technical managers improve their skills by teaching effective management techniques, how to motivate staff for more creative output and participation, how to improve problem-solving abilities, and how to create a positive work atmosphere. For supervisors of scientists, engineers, and other technical staff members who want to strengthen their leadership skills.

This course is an intensive review of fundamentals of polyolefins, polymers that are used in innumerable products essential to modern life. Practical aspects are emphasized, answering questions such as: What are polyolefins and how do they differ? How are they manufactured and processed into the myriad products we encounter everyday? and What are the markets for polyolefins?

Learn the fundamentals of quality assurance, quality control, and analytical methods validation and how to improve your FDA, WHO and OECD regulatory compliance directives for analytical data submissions. Key topics covered include: conformity assessment; analytical method optimization during development; case studies in the improvement of validation characteristics; data integrity and statistical evaluation of analytical data; and more.

This course will focus on how to use "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" to meet CWA-SDWA regulations. Topics will include the chemical reactions utilized for analyte detection, the development of SOPs utilizing sections of Standard Methods, troubleshooting analyte analysis methods, and preparing for a State, Federal, or NELAC-TNI audit. This class will utilize examples from the environmental industry and the current edition of Standard Methods.

Master the fundamentals of laboratory data treatment to solve data analysis problems. Through a combination of lectures and problem-solving sessions, this course will teach statistical techniques that can be put to immediate use in the workplace. Participants will learn how to understand the strengths and weaknesses of data, recognize and reduce different types of errors, carry out significance tests, correctly use outlier tests, and more.

This course is designed for beginners and intermediate-level practitioners who want practical laboratory experience in gas chromatography (GC). The lectures—supplemented by problem sets, slides, and video presentations—provide the fundamentals needed to understand the technique and instrumentation involved in this powerful analytical tool. At the end of the class, you will have mastered the fundamentals of GC, participated in five hands-on laboratory sessions, performed reference and literature searches, and learned specialized techniques based on your specific interests.

Understand the process for design, installation, operation and performance (DQ, IQ, OQ, PQ) in the analytical laboratory. Learn what regulatory and quality systems requirements are for compliance and conformity, how to implement qualification and validation systems and keep them current to meet business needs, how to perform necessary maintenance through PM, and how to adapt your current GLP system to meet changing requirements.

Understand the process for design, installation, operation and performance (DQ, IQ, OQ, PQ) in the analytical laboratory. Learn what regulatory and quality systems requirements are for compliance and conformity, how to implement qualification and validation systems and keep them current to meet business needs, how to perform necessary maintenance through PM, and how to adapt your current GLP system to meet changing requirements.

IUPAC 2009, the 42nd IUPAC Congress, is one of the most important international chemistry events. The programme includes more than 50 symposia, reflecting the breadth if the chemical sciences. Themes will overlap in several places and the programme has been designed to be accessible and relevant to all.

This six-day course is taught by five Virginia Tech professors and is designed for all education levels. Students can expect to learn about polymer synthesis, molecular weight determination, characterization of rheological and viscoelastic behavior; gain a better understanding of polymer structure and morphology, and mechanical testing; study elastomers, plastics, and fibers; learn from practical examples from fields of adhesion and composites; and understand the measurement of properties of polymers, which are then discussed as functions of chemical composition, molecular weight, topology, morphology, etc.

CHI’s Next Generation Dx Summit, to be held August 10-12, 2009 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, will be comprised of four different tracks. Conference tracks include: Enabling Point-of-Care Diagnostics, Trends in Cancer Diagnostics, Clinical Adoption of Next Generation Diagnostics, and Molecular Diagnostics for Infectious Disease.

The range of utility of point-of-care testing is broad, and ranges from influenza, HIV, emerging pathogens, cardiology, stroke, even cancer applications. The demand for automated and integrated systems and the number of players in the field is growing exponentially. This meeting will showcase technology development with the clinical perspective on where the tests are needed and how they are being used. Case studies to illustrate the impact on patient management and quality of care will show striking examples of the new paradigm in medicine. This meeting will answer what the dominant technologies will be for POC, and how to influence the commercialization and adoption of tests.

Tremendous progress is being made in cancer diagnostics, and the proliferation of novel tests is truly historic. Gene expression panels from microarray data and next-generation sequencing are being used for the early detection and prognosis of cancer. Tumor aggressiveness and therapy selection are being determined by these technologies, and the number of companies competing in this space is growing rapidly. Plan to attend to learn key factors in implementation and adoption, and gather intelligence about the types of assays from experts in the field.

Attend this conference to get an insight into how molecular technologies are advancing the development of clinically useful diagnostic tests for infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants both in developed and developing worlds. Hear from leading edge companies who have successfully launched products in this area, from research lab oratories developing cutting edge science in support of this area, smaller companies launching novel tests, the FDAs guidelines on developing products in this area and feedback from Clinical Directors at reference, specialty, service, or central laboratories who ultimately use these tests.

Clinical adoption of molecular diagnostic by the medical community is vital to the success of novel tests. The process by which new testing protocols become accepted and get incorporated will be explored. Experts from the medical and regulatory community will be speaking on a diverse range of issues. Find out what factors influence the adoption and acceptance of your diagnostic test, and how to navigate the changing regulatory requirements.

Capillary electrophoresis is increasingly employed to replace labor intensive slab-gel methods. This two (2) day short course is designed for those new to CE although experienced users who wish to broaden their background will especially benefit. The course begins with an extensive review describing that factors that influence the electrophoretic migration of molecules in fluid solution. A phenomological approach is employed that enables the student to take home a thorough understanding of electrophoretic processes. The instructor uses examples ranging from the simple to the complex to explain the movement of ions in fluid solution under the influence of the applied field. Because of this, by the end of this two-day course, you will gain an in-depth understanding of electrophoretic events and methods development and troubleshooting will rapidly become an intuitive process. Key Topics * How to implement capillary electrophoresis to replace and/or complement slab-gel electrophoresis * The mechanisms of capillary electrophoretic separations from a phenomenological viewpoint * How to optimize the background electrolyte for problem separations * Where to locate the best sources of technical information * How to prepare samples that are optimized for capillary electrophoresis * Considerations for method transfer and validation