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Analytical
Services Laboratory I.a.
“Enhancing Economic Opportunities of Tobacco Impacted
Communities Through Alternative Agricultural Enterprises and Business
Management”, P.I. Dr. M.
Ray McKinnie, Co-P.I.’s Dr. Anthony Yeboah and Dr. Vestel B. Shirley,.
Tobacco farmers are given financial assistance and training for
alternative cash crop startups since their quotas are shrinking on a
yearly basis. The heaviest
ASL involvement is with the plants group and analyses will fall into two
categories – herbicide and pesticide screening and medicinal herb
extract quality. The protocols for medicinal herb analysis use gradient-HPLC
almost exclusively and PDA for their commercially available or custom
built spectral libraries and the PDA ability to detect chemical
homologues. I.b.
Use of immobilized Bifidobacterium bifidum to produce value-added
products Shahbazi, A. and S. Ibrahim, A bioreactor consisting of a
spirally wound sheet of polymeric material is being utilized for the
production of lactic acid from the lactose in cheese whey. This
byproduct of cheese production contains proteins with antimicrobial
activity. One goal of this project is to characterize these proteins.
ASL will separate the proteins and render their structure and/or
genealogy with NMR and LC/ESI/MS at an off-campus site.
I.c.
Use of Constructed Wetlands to Treat Swine Waste and Organic
Pollutants for Water Quality, P.I. Reddy, G.B.: ASL performs TKN-Nitrogen,
inorganic ammonium, orthophosphate, total and available copper and zinc
analysis for the wetlands project.
A microcosm wetlands has recently been constructed to test the
effectiveness of a wetlands for remediating select pesticides and
herbicides. ASL will
perform these analyses by GC/NPD, GC/ECD, and GC/MS (general scan and
selected ion monitoring). I.d.
Novel Approach to produce lactose-free dairy Products, P.I.
Ibrahim, S., Co-I Shahbazi, A., Co-I Shirley, V., This project will
utilize the Spiral Sheet Bioreactor operating at 4oC to
convert lactose - contrary to current methods that require ambient and
supra-ambient temperatures. Many of the glycoproteins in milk, such as
lactoferrin, beta-casein, and glycomacropeptide, have health benefits to
humans. What is not known
is whether these glycoproteins with health benefits retain their
structural integrity in this bacterial conversion of lactose. To that
end, ASL will make NMR comparisons of proteins undergoing the
experimental (microbial
lactose transformation) and control (no transformation) processes.
I.e.
Upscale Pork Markets for Small Scale Hog Producers, P.I., Dr. C.W.
Talbott (NCATSU), Carolyn Prince (NC Coalition of Farms and Rural
Families - NCCFRF), S. Muntz, (Heifer Project International), The goal
of this project is to assist small scale, limited resource tobacco
farmers into producing upscale pork for niche markets - meat flavor
enhancement through diet, genetics, management systems, as well as
environment. Diet changes are reflected in phospholipid and fatty acid
differences. Gas chromatographic analysis (FAME) will be done by ASL on
these meats nourished by different diets.
I.f.
Chemical Quality of Commercial Margarines and Cardiovascular
Health. P.I., Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME)
analysis by GC/FID after ester derivitization of commercially available
margarines. ASL is training
the graduate and undergraduate students participating in these projects
and performing the analyses when time and/or analytical degree of
difficulty does not permit the students to complete the task. I.h.
IGM Receptor – Fc Receptor Gene Expression and Regulation in
Cows. P.I., Dr. Worku, M., ASL will aid IGM Receptor site
characterization by NMR analysis. I.i.
Edible And Medicinal Mushroom Farming In North Carolina – A Cash
Crop For The Future, P.I. Isikhuemhen, O.,
Many mushroom species have been shown to boost heart health;
lower the risk of cancer, promote immune function; ward off viruses,
bacteria, and reduce inflammation. This project is to conduct further
research on mushroom production techniques, work with North Carolina
tobacco farmers. This is a new project.
Expectations of ASL have not as yet been determined. I.k.
Methodology in Soil, Plant and Water Analysis. SLSC-717.
Credit(0-6). A study of principles involved in the analysis of soil,
plants, and water. Experiments vary according to instructor’s needs.
I.n.
Agricultural Chemicals. NARS-603. Credit 3(2-2). Natural
Resources and Environmental Design (SAES). This course is a study of the
important chemical pesticides and growth regulators used in the
production of economic plants. Herbicide and pesticide extraction and
analysis are performed by the students.
Extractions are typically done by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)
and instrumental analysis by GC/ECD, GC/NPD or GC/MS/SIM. I.o.
EASC 622: Waste
Management: Metals analysis by ICP/AES and Organic analysis by GC/MS. I.p.
EASC 621: Soil Microbiology Lab: ammonia & nitrite/nitrate
analysis by FIA. I.q.
EASC 717:
Soil Science Lab(methodology in soil, plant and water analysis):
Elemental analysis with drinking water and runoff water using ICP/AES and
Metolachlor extraction & analysis of soil and water by GC/MS.
In addition to these courses, ASL
staff taught a GC/MS lab for the undergraduate instrumental analysis
course in the Chemistry
Department while their lab was closed for renovations. Return to the Analytical Services Laboratory Web Site
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