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HMWlWIIIIWtilWM Merrifield SECURITY Analysts have identified the chemical industry as a prime terrorist target. OBITUARY NOBEL LAUREATE MERRIFIELD DIES Rockefeller University biochemist 'revolutionized' peptide synthesis R OBERT BRUCE MERRIFIELD, A biochemist who won the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chem- istry for a method he named solid- phase peptide synthesis, died on May 14 following a long illness. He was 84. The Nobel committee that bestowed Merrifield's prize called his method "simple and ingenious" and noted that it has greatly ad- vanced research in biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and medicine. In recent years, the method has been adapted for oligonucleotides as well as carbohydrates and other organic molecules. Merrifield cut synthesis time from years to days by anchoring the first building block of the protein to a polymer. Previously, researchers synthesized proteins in liquids. In 2003, the Journal of the American Chemical Society listed Merrifield's classic 1963 paper, in which he first described the sol- id-phase-synthesis technique, as the fifth most cited paper in the journal's 125-year history "We can do things today that would be completely impossible without the solid phase," says Svet- lana Mojsov, a research associate professor at Rockefeller University who did her graduate work with Merrifield. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Merrifield grew up in California. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in chemistry in 1943 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1949. A year later, he moved to New York City to work as a research as- sistant at what became Rockefeller University. In 1957, Merrifield became an assistant professor; by 1966, he was a full professor. He was named John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor in 1983 and became emeritus nine years later. Equally devoted to science as to his large family, Merrifield is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a biologist who worked in his lab; one son and five daughters; and 16 grandchildren.—RACHEL PETKEWICH REPORT PLANT SECURITY Study calls for funding R&D on inherently safer chemicals and processes, safer storage A NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN- cil (NRC) report on vul- nerabilities in the chemical supply chain recommends that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) support research to beef up chemical storage and monitoring and promote the use of inherently safer chemicals and processes. The report was released by NRC on May 25 after delays because of DHS concerns about whether it should be classified. NRC spokesman Bill Kearny says, "Nothing was changed in the re- port based on DHS's review." The study was requested by DHS's Science & Technology Di- rectorate, which sought advice on the best way to invest in R&D to better secure the nation's chemical infrastructure against a terrorist attack or catastrophic accident. Security analysts have fingered the chemical industry as a prime terrorist target. The NRC report stresses that it is best to nip toxic releases at the source rather than control them after the fact. To that end, it sug- gests that DHS support R&D to encourage the industry's adoption of cost-effective inherently safer chemicals and processes. Examples of safer chemistries include process intensification and just-in-time manufacturing. Modi- fications to processes could include reducing the amount of hazardous material used, substituting a safer chemical for a more toxic one, and lowering the temperature and pres- sures required. The report finds that inherently safer chemicals and processes are used within the industry, but not widely. One reason: Many of the advances needed to develop prac- tical options to current practices are basic and therefore not pro- prietary. At present, there is little economic incentive for industry to fund such research, so the report suggests that government either invest in research or provide fi- nancial incentives to encourage industry to do so. On the storage of chemicals, the NRC study suggests that DHS invest in longer term research di- rected at improving the safety and security of chemicals stored at fixed facilities or in transport.— LOIS EMBER 8 C&EN / MAY 29, 2006 WWW.CEN-0NLINE.ORG
