"World cup" Chemists converge in SA
2005 Nobel prize winner part of first visit of coordination chemists to
Africa
More than 650 delegates from 60 countries across the world will meet in the
Cape Town International Convention Centre between 13 and 18 August 2006, to take
part in the 37th International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (ICCC). (See
below for "what is coordination chemistry") It
is the first time that an ICCC will be held in Africa since the inception of
this series of meetings in the United Kingdom in 1950.
Over the past five decades, the series of conferences has developed into one
of the larger and longest continuously running international meetings of
inorganic chemistry worldwide.
Topics such as metals in biology, metals, materials, nanostructures, devices
and solutions will be discussed along with aspects of coordination complexes in
precious metals and photochemistry.
Among the plenary speakers is Robert Grubbs, who together with Yves Chauvin and
Richard R. Schrock won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Chemistry last year. Grubbs is
the Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, and
his research focuses on developing the fundamental organometallic chemistry
required to develop new catalyst systems for applications in organic and polymer
chemistry.
According to conference organiser Prof Klaus Koch from Stellenbosch University's
Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science, this will be "the single
largest assembly of leading international specialists in coordination chemistry
in South African history, and will ensure unprecedented exposure to the latest
development in this core science to local students and academics."
"Although it is held on a smaller scale, for science in South Africa it
is as major an event as the 2010 Soccer World Cup", he explains.
He says that South Africa's richly endowed mineral wealth and the extraction of
metals such as gold and platinum from ore rely fundamentally on coordination
chemistry.
"The extraction of gold and the platinum metals would be inconceivable
without an understanding of the specific coordination chemistry of these metals.
The same goes for the numerous catalytic processes used by the unique
coal-to-liquid fuel process perfected by Sasol in South Africa." -
Stellenbosch University.
What is coordination chemistry?
" It studies the transition metal complex which forms when a metal is taken
into a solution, such as water. The resulting metal atom, which is usually
charged, is usually unstable unless it binds to other simple or poly-atomic
molecules. A new molecule is formed and regarded as a coordination complex.
Coordination chemistry is thus the study of all aspects of the large number of
metal complexes known to scientists.
" Examples: Coordination compounds are a very important class of chemicals,
because examples such as chlorophyll, haemoglobin and Vitamin B12 all play an
essential role in the biochemical processes of living beings. Many enzymes also
contain a metal ion. Many dyes and pigment, for instance the blue colour of
writing ink, are also metal complexes. It is used for medical diagnosis and
therapy as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the active
compounds in chemotherapy and in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of
cancer.
More information:
 Contact Prof Klaus Koch (082-496-3440) or Marlene Milani
(021-808 2732 or 072 687 5774) of Stellenbosch University.
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