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Contact Details:Tel: 028 7032 4425 Fax: 028 7032 4375 Email: wf.smyth@ulster.ac.uk
Brief Biography:Professor Franklin Smyth is Professor of Bio-analytical Chemistry whose research interests lie in the general area of identification and determination of low molecular mass organic molecules of biological importance, such as natural products in plants and synthetic drugs in biological matrices. Main Research Interests:Professor Smyth’s main research interests are: metabolomic investigations of natural products, biological activity-testing and structural characterisation of plant substances with potential medicinal significance, particularly those that have antibacterial potential; and the development of mass spectrometric assays for psycho-active drugs in hair and saliva samples. Main Technologies Employed:Professor Smyth is utilizing LC-ESI-ion trap mass spectrometry and LC-ESI-QToF mass spectrometry in metabolomic investigations of natural products and the development of mass spectrometric assays for psycho-active drugs. Research Collaborations:Professor Smyth has developed a research link with Dr Peter Brooks (Uniiversity of The Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia) to investigate the isolation and characterisation of local natural product pharmaceuticals, from which technology transfer could arise in the discovery of a new anti-MRSA antibacterial, for example. Bioassay-led separation of the active crude fractions is currently being refined using LC-ESI-MS to lead to the characterisation of individual compounds with antibacterial activity. Suicide in Northern Ireland is the highest in the UK and it has been suggested that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are the most widely used antidepressant drugs, are associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviour and self-harm. Professor Smyth , Dr S McClean, Dr B Doherty, Dr V Rodriguez (together with Professor J Leslie in the School of Psychology), have developed a technique based on LC-ESI-MS that can detect earlier anti-depressant and other drug use in hair samples. This will then be used in a pilot study using hair samples from at-risk young people in North and West Belfast. This will ultimately allow for an investigation into the possible association between self-harm/suicide and such drugs in these regions. Further details of this study can be found at the following URL: http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2008/3691.html Professor Smyth is a co-applicant on a successful grant application by principal investigator Dr James Dooley on a study of the effects of surface active molecules produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis. Technology & Knowledge Transfer Activities:UUTech is currently considering IP protection of anti-MRSA substances and plant extracts resulting from Professor Smyth’s joint research programme with The University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. It is intended that the development of this Ulster-Australian research programme, together with funding support from Invest Northern Ireland, will lead to a UU spin-out company. Selection of Research Publications (since 2000):Doherty B, O’Donnell F, Smyth WF, Leslie JC, Ramachandran VN, Boyd NS, Hack CJ, O’Kane E and McClean S; A Study of the Analytical Behaviour of Selected Psycho-active Drugs using Liquid Chromatography, Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry, Gas Chromatography and Polarography and the Construction of an Appropriate Database for Drug Characterisation; Talanta, 72: 755–761, 2007 Doherty B, Rodriguez V, Leslie JC, McClean S and Smyth WF; An ESI- MS/MS investigation of selected psychoactive pharmaceuticals and its application in drug and metabolite profiling by LC-ESI-MS/MS; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 21: 2031-2038, 2007 Smyth WF and Rodriguez V; Recent studies of the electrospray ionisation behaviour of selected drugs and their application in capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; Journal of Chromatography A, 1159: 159-174, 2007 Smyth TJ, Ramachandran VN, McGuigan A, Hopps J and Smyth WF; The Characterisation of Nicotine and Related Compounds using Electrospray Ionisation with Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry and with Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and their Detection by LC-ESI-MS; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 21: 557-566, 2007 O’Donnell F, Smyth WF, Ramachandran VN, Hack CJ, Patton E; A Study of the ESI-MSn, HPLC and GLC Behaviour of Selected Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Quinolines and the Construction of an Appropriate Database for Quinoline Characterisation; Analytica Chimica Acta, 572: 63-76, 2006 Smyth WF, Ramachandran VN, Hack CJ, Joyce CE, O’Kane E; A Study of the Analytical Behaviour of Selected Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Coumarins using Liquid Chromatography, Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry, Gas Chromatography and Polarography and the Construction of an Appropriate Database for Coumarin Characterisation; Analytica Chimica Acta, 564: 201-210, 2006 Smyth WF; Recent Applications of CE-ESI-MS in Drug Analysis, Electrophoresis, 27: 2051-2062, 2006 Smyth WF; Electrospray Ionisation - Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) and Liquid Chromatography - Electrospray Ionisation - Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) of Selected Pharmaceuticals; Current Pharmaceutical Analysis, 2: 299-312, 2006 Smyth WF, Leslie JC, McClean S, Hannigan B, McKenna HP, Doherty B, Joyce CE, O’Kane E; The Characterisation of Selected Antidepressant Drugs using Electrospray Ionisation with Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry and with Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and their Determination by HPLC-ESI- MS2; Rapid Communications in Mass.Spectrometry, 20: 1637-1642, 2006 Smyth WF, McClean S, Hack CJ, Ramachandran VN, Doherty B, Joyce CE, O’Donnell F, Smyth TJ, O’Kane E; The Characterisation of Synthetic and Natural Product Pharmaceuticals by Electrospray Ionisation-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) and Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionisation-Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS; Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 25: 572-582, 2006 Smyth WF; Recent Applications of CE-ESI-MS in Drug Analysis; Electrophoresis, 26: 1334-1357, 2005 Smyth WF; Recent Studies on the Electrospray Ionisation Mass Spectrometric Behaviour of Selected N-Containing Drug Molecules and its Application to Drug Analysis using Liquid Chromatography - Electrospray Ionisation Mass Spectrometry; Journal of Chromatography.B (Biomedical Sciences and Applications), 824: 1-20, 2005 Joyce C, Smyth WF, Ramachandran VN, O’Kane E and Coulrter DJ; The Characterisation of Selected Hypnotic Drugs and their Metabolites using Electrospray(ES) Ionisation with Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry and with Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and their Determination; Analytica Chimica Acta, 506: 203-214, 2004 Joyce C, Smyth WF, Ramachandran VN, O’Kane E, Coulter DJ; The characterisation of selected drugs with amine-containing side chains using ESI and ITMS and their determination by HPLC-ESI-MS; Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 36: 465-476, 2004 Smyth WF, Ramachandran VN, O’Kane E and Coulrter DJ; The Characterisation of Selected Drugs with Nitrogen-Containing Saturated Ring Structures using Electrospray Ionisation and Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry; Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 378: 1305-1312, 2004 Smyth WF, Brooks P; A Critical Evaluation of HPLC-ESI-MS and CE-ESI-MS for the Detection and Determination of Small Molecules of Significance in Clinical and Forensic Science; Electrophoresis, 25: 1413-1446, 2004 Smyth WF; Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometric behaviour of selected drugs and their metabolites; Analytica Chimica Acta, 492: 1-16, 2003 Conneely A, Smyth WF and McMullan G; Study of the white-rot fungal degradatioin of selected phthalocyanine dyes by CE and LC; Analytica Chimica Acta; 451: 259-270, 2002 McClean S, Robinson RC, Shaw C and Smyth WF; The characterisation and determination of indole alkaloids in frog skin secretions by ESI-ion trap MS; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 16: 346-354, 2002 Conneely A, McClean S, Smyth WF and McMullan G; Study of the MS behaviour of phthalocyanine and azo dyes using ESI and MALDI; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 15: 2076-2084, 2001 McMullan G; Meehan C, Conneely A, Kirby N, Robinson T, Nigam P, Banat IM, Marchant R and Smyth WF; Microbial decolourisation and degradation of textile dyes; Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 56: 81-87, 2001 Concannon S, Ramachandran VN and Smyth WF; A study of the electrospray ionisation of selected coumarin derivatives and their subsequent fragmentation using an ion trap mass spectrometer; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 14: 1157-1166, 2000 Concannon S, Ramachandran VN and Smyth WF; A study of the electrospray ionisation and ion trap fragmentation of hemiterpenoid and dimeric coumarin derivatives; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry; 14: 2260-2270, 2000 Concannon S, Ramachandran VN and Smyth WF; A study of the homonuclear Diels-Alder dimerisations of hydroxybutenyl and pentadienyl coumarins; Tetrahedron Letters, 41: 9909-9915, 2000 McClean S, O ’ Kane E and Smyth WF; The identification and determination of selected 1,4-benzodiazepines by an optimised CE-ESMS method; Electrophoresis, 21: 1381-1389, 2000 McClean S, O ’ Kane E and Smyth WF; ESI-MS characterisation of selected anti-psychotic drugs and their detection and determination in human hair samples by LC-Tandem MS; Journal of Chromatography B, 740: 141-157, 2000 Meehan C, Banat IM, McMullan G, Nigam P, Smyth WF and Marchant R; Decolorization of Remazol Black-B using a thermotolerant yeast, Kluyveromyces marxianus IMB3; Environment International, 26: 75-79, 2000 Smyth WF, McClean S and Ramachandran VN; A study of the electrospray ionisation of pharmacologically significant 1,4-benzodiazepines and their subsequent fragmentation using an ion-trap mass spectrometer; Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 14: 2061-2069, 2000 For further information please contact: |
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