Acquisition of Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Countercurrent Chromatography Equipment for the Development of a "Green" Natural Products Isolation Laboratory

Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction CO

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Mesa State College will acquire preparative scale supercritical fluid (SCF) extraction equipment, preparative scale centrifugal countercurrent chromatography (CCC) equipment with UV detector, and accessories . This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas: a) plant secondary metabolites as mediators of trophic interactions in a tropical forest community; b) phytochemical investigation of cryptobiotic crusts and their alleged allelopathic interaction with non-native grasses; c) phytochemistry of neotropical piper species related to piper cenocladum and their role in defense against attine ant species; d) caterpillars of the Costa Rican rain forest; e) chemical mediation of trophic cascades in alfalfa and implications for biological control; and f) development of methodologies utilizing supercritical CO2 as a reaction solvent. The green approach to natural products isolation that will be developed with this equipment is timely and will benefit students in their future employment. In addition, these techniques could be of great value to scientists in the developing nations of Latin America whose immense biodiversity represents a wealth of undiscovered natural products of enormous potential. Therefore, scientists from Latin America who would otherwise not have access to SCF and CCC equipment will collaborate with the PI.