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Joseph Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, and a fellow colleague assumed the task of publishing the very first book on the use of Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) for chiral separations and analysis. The volume, which came out in June, is part of the Chromatographic Science Series published by CRC Press.
TLC is a fast, easy, and economical method that quickly separates the different components in a mixture and allows their identification and quantitative analysis. It is an ideal method for separations of enantiomers in research, analysis, and large-scale preparative applications. Sherma’s book, Thin Layer Chromatography in Chiral Separations and Analysis, is the first dedicated solely to the theory, techniques, equipment, and applications of TLC for direct and indirect enantioseparations.
Sherma and his colleague Teresa Kowalska, a professor in the Department of General Chemistry and Chromatography at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, are the editors of the publication. Sherma and Kowalska coauthored the preface and chapter one, which consists of an overview of the field of chiral TLC and the organization of the book. Sherma alone authored the third chapter, titled “Commercial Stationary Phases for Enantioseparations,” which “describes the types and properties of the pre-coated thin layers that are available for chiral separations and analysis and some selected applications to particular compounds,” Sherma explains.
An enantiomer is one of a pair of non-superimposable mirror image molecules. Two molecules are enantiomers if they are mirror images of each other that cannot be superimposed by any rotation or translation. Physical and chemical properties of the two enantiomers constituting a pair are very similar, but their bioactivities can be different. For example, one enantiomer of a drug compound can exert a positive therapeutic effect while the other can be ineffective or even harmful. Because of their similarity, the separation and analysis of enantiomers is quite difficult; TLC is one of the primary methods for accomplishing these tasks. This book covers all aspects of TLC for chiral separations and analyses in chapters written by international experts.”
Thin Layer Chromatography in Chiral Separations and Analysis presents a unified perspective of the theory and experimental details underlying the collective developments in the field. The book offers scientists in a variety of disciplines and levels of expertise a complete guide to understanding the current and potential applications of chiral TLC.
Sherma has spent much of his career advancing the field of separation science, especially TLC. He received the American Chemical Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution sponsored by Research Corporation in 1995 and has received three $20,000 awards from the Dreyfus Foundation’s Senior Scientist Mentor Program in 2001, 2004, and 2007 to continue his research with Lafayette students. He is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of over 60 books.
He initiated a student research program in analytical science when he arrived at Lafayette in 1958, publishing his first student-coauthored research paper three years later. Since then, he has involved 153 different students as coauthors for 244 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. This summer, he mentored three EXCEL projects.
He is a past recipient of Lafayette’s Van Artsdalen Prize, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture Award, Jones Award for Superior Teaching, and Delta Upsilon Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award. He also was honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award by Upsala College and an E. Emmet Reid Award for Excellence in Teaching Chemistry by the Middle Atlantic Region of the American Chemical Society.