Undergraduate Research Projects

Dr. Kevin D. Crawford
The Citadel
171 Moultrie Street
Charleston, SC 29418
(843) 953-7787
crawfordk@citadel.edu

The Project Areas:

Visible-light mediated photodegradation of polymers - investigation of the laser-mediated photochemistry of polymer materials, including determination of the ability to produce novel fluorescent polymers.
Isolation and identification of marine biotoxins - using HPLC and SPE (bioassay guided) to separate the toxins from the cell matrix, then structural identification using LC-MS/MS, NMR, and FTIR in collaboration with the National Ocean Service (Peter Moeller).
Investigation of the photofading processes in dried flowers and leaves - development of an in-situ colorimetric method for chlorophylls and anthocyanins, determination of methods of delaying or preventing the photofading.
Quantitation of environmental contaminants by GC-MS, including phthalate esters and brominated diphenyl ethers.

Project:	The Tools:
Polymer Photochemistry	Pulsed Nitrogen Dye Laser as source of degradation radiation and fluorescence excitation. Monochromator and Detector for analysis of fluorescence signals. Hot water bath and fume hood for controlled temperature synthesis of mixed polymer microparticles. Access to an NMR for analysis of copolymers and mixed polymer microparticles. Gel Permeation Chromatograph for analysis and purification of polymers.
Marine Biotoxins	HPLC system, several columns, fraction collector for separation of biotoxins from cell extract. Access to bioassay tests to confirm toxicity of HPLC fractions. FTIR for analysis of functional groups in the isolated toxins. Access to NMR, LC-MS/MS for additional structural information on the isolated toxins.
Plant Pigment Photochemistry	Broadband light source for photofading studies of dried flowers and leaves. Reflection colorimeter (L-a-b) for analysis of changes in leaf color. HPLC system with variable wavelength detector for analysis of pigment concentrations extracted from samples.
Environmental GC-MS	Ion-trap GC-MS for separation, identification, and quantitation of low-level environmental contaminants including phthalates and brominated diphenyl ethers.

Status: (as of 9/2006)
After conducting a sabbatical in the area of marine biotoxin isolation, I will be presenting a poster at the Southeast Regional ACS Meeting in November 2006. In addition, one student (Bydairk) has submitted an abstract for a poster presentation of her senior research on this project at the Pittcon Analytical Chemistry conference in Spring 2007. The Polymer Photochemistry project resulted in a presentation (Crawford) at the Southeast Regional ACS meeting in Fall of 1999. Two students (Philpott, Browning) participated in the Marine Biotoxins work during the 2000-2001 school year, resulting in two undergraduate theses. One student (Ellisor) spent the summer of 2002 working on isolating maitotoxin from Gambierdiscus toxicus and continued this work for his senior thesis. He presented his work at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in November 2002 and at the Pittcon Analytical Chemistry Conference in Orlando in March of 2003. Another student (Llhamlak) continued the G. toxicus work as a summer and senior thesis project during the 2004-2005 school year. The Plant Pigment Photochemistry project has been funded by the Citadel Foundation for three years, and several undergraduate students (Philpott, Browning, Nickles, Williams, Caldwell, Ybarra) have participated in this project during the summer and school year, resulting in presentation at local and regional meetings. Brian Williams spent the 2003-2004 school year quantitating the ability of protein skimmers to remove metal ions from saltwater. This work resulted in a publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research.

Previous Publications:

K. D. Crawford, B. L. Williams (Student), N. Andryszak (SC Aquarium), Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research, 4, 155-160 (2004).

K. D. Crawford and M. B. Ellisor, The Chemical Educator, 8, 195-198 (2003).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 101, 864-870 (1997).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Physical Chemistry B., 102, 2325 (1998).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Polymer Science Part B, Polymer Physics Edition, 36, 999 (1998).

Produced by Kevin D. Crawford, edited 9/2006