Articles by Sean
The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry in Reaction Design
The 12 principles of green chemistry were developed in the 1990s by chemists who wanted to address the impact of their activities in terms of safety and sustainability. These principles are still relevant today, with many laboratories and manufacturing facilities adopting them to improve safety and reduce the environmental impact of their chemical reactions. The best part is that green chemistry practices can be implemented anywhere, from small benchtop experiments to massive, industrial scales. […]
The Non-GMO Project is Actually Non-Science
GMO is an acronym for Genetically Modified Organism. You might have encountered this term at your local supermarket, where certain products exhibit a ‘Non-GMO Project Verified’ label with a butterfly graphic stamped onto their packaging. But what exactly are GMOs, and how are plants and animals classified as such? We explore the science behind genetic modification and the pseudoscience that has fueled the Non-GMO movement. […]
Lipitor: The World’s All-Time Best Selling Drug
Since the 1950s, pharmaceutical companies have raced to discover and develop billion-dollar blockbuster drugs. In the face of stiff competition, only a handful are able to remain relevant over the course of many years; Rituxan, Advair and Humira are several that come to mind. But which of these can lay claim to being the best selling drug of all time? With millions of prescriptions every year since 1996, Pfizer’s anti-cholesterol drug atorvastatin (Lipitor) is still going strong over 20 years later. […]
The Dielectric Constant in Solubility and Solvent Systems
‘If it dissolves, your problem is solved’—a simple adage many chemists live by. Identifying a solvent that can dissolve your substrates is a crucial step for any synthesis. In many reactions, solvents also play a significant role in forming the products. An understanding of the dielectric constant and solubility helps us better plan reactions, as well as improve on existing conditions and yields. […]
Alpha, Beta, Gamma: Types of Ionizing Radiation
Radiation is all around us. From radio waves transmitting information to the visible spectrum that gives our world color. Heck, even talking produces radiation in the form of sound. But what about the more dangerous forms of radiation: alpha and beta particles, gamma and X-rays? What makes these ‘ionizing’ forms of radiation so different from microwaves, for example, which we encounter in our lives on a daily basis? […]
Sean is a consultant for clients in the pharmaceutical industry and is a lecturer at a local university, where unfortunate undergrads are subject to his ramblings on chemistry and pharmacology.
