Winner announced for Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Best Paper Award 2012

Written by Alice O'Hare, Future Science Group

Young chemist awarded the ‘best paper’ prize for her work on the analysis of peroxisomes.

In a recent press release, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry has announced the recipient of their ‘Best Paper Award’ for 2012. Yaohua Wang (University of Minnesota, MN, USA) has been awarded the honour, with her paper titled, ‘Analysis of the bioactivity of magnetically immunoisolated peroxisomes’ – co-authored by Thane Taylor and Edgar Arriaga.

In the paper, Wang and her fellow University of Minnesota colleagues describe the isolation of peroxisomes from rat cells using a combination of magnetic immunoisolation and capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection; demonstrating that the isolated sample was still biologically active. This process could allow improved investigation into drug biotransformation, for instance with the anticancer agent doxorubicin, whose metabolites are thought to accumulate in cells causing side effects such as cardiotoxicity.

The award, established in 2005, is accompanied by €1000 and aims to “honor exceptional young scientists and to stimulate their research careers”. The prize should help further the team’s work investigating doxorubicin metabolism in peroxisomes.

Editor of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Sylvia Daunert, commented on the news, “The elegant and innovative work of Dr. Wang and her mentor, Dr. Arriaga, focused on understanding the metabolism of DOX, is important in that it sheds light on the mechanism of toxicity of a very well-known widely used anticancer drug. Her discoveries will help in understanding how drug resistance and drug toxicity occur in cellular compartments. This, in turn, can lead to the design and preparation of new drugs with reduced toxicity. The work of Dr. Wang is not only of analytical significance, but is also a perfect example of how bioanalytical work can impact the field of medicine.”

Sources: Yaohua Wang receives Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Best Paper Award 2012; Wang Y, Taylor TH, Arriaga EA. Analysis of the bioactivity of magnetically immunoisolated peroxisomes. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 402, 41–49 (2012).