Visiting Professor
B.Sc. 1974, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (Formerly known as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science), Ph.D. 1977, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Procter & Gamble (retired)
Academic/Industrial Collaborative Research, Drug Development, Industrial Analytical Chemistry, Trace Organic Analysis
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Principal Research Interests Academic/Industrial Research Collaboration
 Research collaboration between academia and industry often results in innovation that benefits both institutions and the greater general population. There are many examples. Collaborative efforts between Florida State University and Bristol-Myers Squibb led to a more efficient production route of the breast cancer drug, Taxol®. Northwestern University and Lilly collaborated to bring Lyrica® to the market for the treatment of various neurological disorders. Researchers at Oxford University worked with scientists at Procter & Gamble over many years to elucidate the mysterious mechanism behind bone mass increase in osteoporotic patients undergoing bisphosphonate therapy. Effective collaborative research begins with trust and must address the needs of both partners in terms of intellectual property ownership rights, publication rights, output timelines, and commercialization needs and parameters.
Industrial Analytical Chemistry
Most Analytical Chemists produced by today's academic institutions take up careers in either industry or government laboratories. This occurs to a large extent because the discipline demands sophisticated and expensive instrumentation which can be more readily acquired in the private or government sectors. Also, much of the historical evolution of Analytical Chemistry has occurred in the industrial environment. Because graduate research is focused, students enter the industrial workforce as specialists. Acquiring generalist skills or learning how to effectively interface with generalists becomes an immediate critical need of young Analytical Chemists in the industry if they are to successfully solve problems.
An excellent approach to training students how to think like a generalist is through critically analyzing real case studies. Case studies should be selected that 1) demonstrate a significant technical accomplishment, 2) illustrate an important aspect of the problem solving process, and 3) entertain the student.
Correlating capillary GC/MS and flavor panel score data to predict peanut butter flavor acceptance
Learning discussions on the general aspects of problem solving should be punctuated with relevant and in some cases unusual short stories. Detailed case studies should also be supplied that not only stress a particular problem solving aspect but also to strengthen the student's technical knowledge of a particular technique to provide a more realistic impression of the quantity and quality of Analytical research expected in the work force.
Research Interests
Novel Flavor Compounds – Earlier work has established that trace unsaturated lactones are important to the authentic flavor of butter and other dairy products. Their isolation and identification are difficult due to the fact that they are present in trace quantities and numerous structural possibilities exist with respect to double bond position, geometry and optical orientation that challenge even the most sophisticated chromatographic/mass spectroscopic techniques in the absence of standards. Research here focuses on identifying likely target structures from literature research followed by preparing target structures for organoleptic evaluation and confirming their presence in natural products. Laboratory preparation involves collaboration with Prof. Schnarr's laboratory whereby compounds can be prepared either by chemical synthesis or by novel microbial enzyme system production. Ultra-fast Nano-chromatography - Professor Thayumanavan has developed proprietary porous membranes for selective filtration. These pores are approximately 60 microns in length with inner diameters of 20 to 50 nanometers. Selectivity is accomplished by chemical modification of the inner walls of the pores. Interest here lies in observing the ability of these pores to carry out chromatographic processes. Calculations estimate the resolution of these pores to be as high as five to ten thousand theoretical plates with residence times of 1 to 2 seconds and peak widths on the order of 100 microseconds. Research involves designing novel micro or nano devices to load sample and detect eluting analytes in consultation with Prof. Thayumanavan and Prof. Carl Seliskar at the University of Cincinnati. Pulsed-flow chromatography - Resolution in gas chromatography depends on longitudinal diffusion, resistance to mass transfer and eddy diffusion. Simple but accurate devices are under consideration for the pulse flow of carrier gas to evaluate if a beneficial differential effect on the van Deemeter constants can be achieved by improving mass transfer to a greater extent than increasing longitudinal diffusion. Research involves looking at theoretical considerations and generating novel ideas for devices to accomplish well controlled variable flow pulsing at the head of the chromatographic column as well as detection devices insensitive to flow distruption.
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F. H. Ebetino, J. J. Benedict, C. Perkins, C. R. Degenhardt, R. P. D’Alonzo, S. M. Dansereau, M. D. Francis, R. Graham, G. Russell, R. Phipps, R. Barnett, “The Evolution of Bispphosphonates”, CINTACS, Newsletter of the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 44, No. 5, February, 2007, p. 1, 4, 8.
R. P. D’Alonzo, “Contents under Pressure: One Man’s Triumph Over Chiari Syndrone”, October 2005, http://www.lulu.com/content/174364
S. H. Gehlbach, S. May, M. Heimisdottir, and R. P. D'Alonzo, "Unrecognized Costs of Osteoporosis-related Vertebral Fracture", Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Vol. 12, Supplement 1, p. S366, August, 1997.
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