Computers & Technology

NEWS - Computers & Technology

SBJ.com Special Report

 

You might not think of business security services, as a “woman’s domain,” but Erica Lumpert is proving that generalization wrong with her company Saber Security & Investigation, LLC, one of Georgia’s leading full-service security company with offices in Savannah and Atlanta.

 

Saber Security offers a wide range of customized security solutions for companies of every size.

 

“We know that security is a serious issue, but we understand that every client has unique needs,” said company president Erica A. Lumpert, who has more than 15 years of experience in the security industry. “We tailor each job to the client, but we always make security a priority.”

 

Saber Security opened an office in Savannah in May of 2009, and is already serving a wide range of clients ranging from the City of Savannah to various fraternities and sororities at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, to IHOP Restaurants and the Newell Recycling Plant.

 

A member of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, the company provides 24-hour protection services with fully qualified and state-certified security officers throughout Georgia.

 

In addition to providing a well-trained workforce of security officers and roving patrols who are available for short-term or long-term client needs, Saber Security excels at developing innovative security strategies for local companies.

 

The company also offers executive protection, air and freight security and high-value escorts. By using the latest security technology, Saber Security conducts background checks, pre-employment screenings, investigations and asset checks and also installs and monitors state-of-the-art security systems.

 

“Security should be the first thing on a company’s budget, because it can prevent significant losses,” said Lumpert. “Security pays for itself because it stops loss and keeps workers and products safe.”

 

Saber Security has provided security in many different industry sectors, from universities to industrial plants, and maintains strict OSHA safety standards. In the wake of 9/11, the company understands the important role that security plays on a local, corporate and national level.

 

Over the years, the company’s principals have provided top-notch security for leading clients like British Airways, Lane Bryant, the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the American Idol auditions. Saber Security currently oversees and staffs security initiatives for City of Savannah, IHOP Restaurant, the Newell Recycling Plant and many other local companies.

 

In recent months, Saber Security has formed several strategic alliances, expanding its services and offering an even broader menu of security-related solutions for clients.

 

The company has partnered with RGP Attorney Services LLC, Robinson Security Consultancy and FocusGears to provide total solutions for customers. From legal support to operations analysis, Saber Security can handle a wide range of client needs and offer streamlined, full-service security solutions.

 

To build her company, she has developed several key strategic partnerships.  “We partner with certified consultants to ensure operational excellence and to foster a long-term working relationship with our customers,” said Lumpert. “The customer is always our focus. We pride ourselves on providing innovative solutions that fit each client’s budget and needs.”

 

 

NEWS - Computers & Technology

The Savannah Economic Development Authority is teaming with the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute to offer help to industrial companies with fewer than 100 employees on how to get the most value for the dollar with their Web site expenses.

Organizers  of the Feb. 25 seminar say companies will learn how to apply “lean thinking” and receive tips on finding their Web site's "value stream” and thus eliminate wasteful activities while adding value for customers.

The seminar will offer instruction on applying “lean principles” on using the Web for targeting dealers, distributors and wholesalers or allowing consumers to purchase products. 

Jack Burnett of Twin Engines in Atlanta  (www.twinengines.com)  is the seminar leader. Twin Engine is offering a free evaluation of company Web sites. Companies wanting a site evaluation are asked to email Burnett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before the seminar so he can do a review and prepare a report to go over with individual companies after the seminar.

The seminar is from 8a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Georgia Tech Savannah Campus, 210 Technology Circle, PARB building, Room 126.

Companies are asked to RSVP to Lee Grimes at SEDA, 912-447-8450 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NEWS - Computers & Technology

By Will Lynch, Delana Nivens and George C. Shields
Armstrong Atlantic State University

Feb. 8, 2010 – Nanotechnology, or nanotech, is the study of controlling the size of particles on the nanometer scale.  A nanometer is one billionth of a meter and is roughly the size of a marble in comparison to the Earth. Nano means small.  The first hint at the future of “small” was given by Richard Feynman in a 1959 lecture at the American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of Technology, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom."   In this seminal presentation on the topic, Feynman predicted we would learn to manipulate particles on an atom-by-atom basis and that many of the optical and electronic properties would change in this regime.

Nanotech is big business.  The United States National Science Foundation has predicted that the global market for nanotechnologies will reach $1 trillion by 2015.  Current trends indicate a rapidly growing market for nanoparticles in our consumer goods and technology areas, including energy, communications and medicine.  Nanoparticles have been found in Roman pottery as well as medieval stained glass windows.  The technology and ability of scientists to control and fabricate reproducible nanoparticles, however, has just emerged in the past 10 to 15 years.

So, what is the point?  The point is two-fold. In the nanoregime, the fundamental properties of materials all change compared to their bulk counterparts.  For example, copper is a noble metal and can be used in building materials such as water pipes.  On the nanoscale, copper becomes very “hot” and reactive, decomposing in microseconds.  Everyone is familiar with the properties of gold, including its beautiful color and its use in jewelry; yet, on the nanoscale, gold becomes an elegant maroon color.  The other fundamental concept that small enhances is the surface area of structures.  As you get smaller, the relative surface area increases exponentially.  This makes nanoparticles ideal to help design new catalysts, which are molecules that speed up chemical reactions.

When semi-conductors and metal oxides are prepared in the nanoregime, they acquire new properties as a direct result of quantum confinement effects.  These effects begin at sizes smaller than 100 nanometers in diameter.  Human eyes cannot see anything this small, even with the best visible light microscope.  These nanoparticles have increased reactivity, coupled with an increased surface area, resulting in nanoparticle catalysts that are more efficient than conventional catalysts. 

Chemistry students at Armstrong Atlantic State University are being exposed to the latest in high technology science through a project that infuses nanotechnology with the environment.  The project, led by chemistry professors Will Lynch and Delana Nivens, is focused on using the power of light to remediate environmental pollutants.  The pollutants of interest in this study are halogenated hydrocarbons or phenols recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as priority or “emerging” pollutants.  These compounds are used in pesticides, wood preservatives, and flame-retardants and are known to cause cancer.  Breakdown of these pollutants by direct sunlight in the environment is inherently slow because the compounds’ absorbance spectrum does not overlap well with the solar spectrum.  This slow degradation often results in both bioaccumulation of these compounds and widespread distribution of the compounds in the environment.  Size-controlled nanoparticle catalysts allow for better absorption of the solar spectrum (i.e., visible light) and the potential for fast destruction of these compounds.

Our goals in investigating the photochemistry of nanoparticles are to determine which systems are most efficient for the degradation processes.  We collected data on the dechlorination of two organochlorine compounds, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and pentachlorophenol (PCP).

Our data shows that dechlorination of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide is achieved through 24 hours of visible light using nanoparticles.  PCP is destroyed on zinc sulfide nanoparticles also through 24 hours of exposure to light.
An effective sunlight harvesting photoremediation catalyst must be able to function in complex natural waters containing greater than 20 parts per thousand of chloride and lower concentrations of numerous other ions such as sulfate, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and carbonate to achieve remediation. Dr. Nivens and Dr. Lynch have extended their studies to investigate the effects of salt solutions on our nanoparticle catalysts.  In summary, their studies have shown that nanoparticles can use visible light sources to degrade environmental pollutants with the potential to operate in real world systems.

George Shields is the dean of the College of Science and Technology at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Will Lynch is professor of chemistry and department head in the Department of Chemistry & Physics, in the College of Science and Technology, at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Delana Nivens is an associate professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry & Physics, in the College of Science and Technology, at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NEWS - Computers & Technology

SBJ Staff Report

11/23/2009 - On a Thursday night in early November, some of Savannah’s leading couples enjoyed wine and cheese at an auction preview party hosted by Everard & Company, one of the Savannah and the South Carolina Lowcountry’s antiques and auction companies.

But there was no auctioneer standing on a stage, hammering a gavel or yelling, “Sold!”  Instead, bidders were looking over items before the auction company’s online auction of antiques and art from the estate of Ron Strahan of Savannah was set to begin. The auction also featured items from other local sellers, assembled by the firm.

The estate of Strahan, being handled by Franklin Williams of Celia Dunn Realty, which is also handling the sale of his home in Savannah’s Historic District, featured furniture, art and an array of a life’s love of collecting.

According to Amanda Everard, president of the firm which was founded in Savannah in 2003, approximately 87 percent of the items and lots sold during the auction period which ended Nov. 19. “We had bidders from across the U.S., as well as China, Canada and France,” she said.  “But there were items with reserves as low as $25,” she was quick to add.

The start bid, or reserve, is set by the Everards – her husband Chris is CFO and also works in the firm. “We relisted a handful of items for an additional day with new starts bids,” she added, and “we are conservative to begin with,” in setting reserves, she added.

Everard auctions have always been an online strategy, never an actual live auction. But they how have a showroom where items can be viewed in advance for local and regional buyers, located at 2436 Waters Ave. at the corner of 42nd St., in what many would consider a “tough” neighborhood.

And, while there may be paper over the windows, with the entrance around the back, the interior of the showroom was chock full of beautiful antiques and objects d’art on which to bid at the preview party.

They run a quarterly auction, planned months in advance. “It allows us to live in Savannah and reach a global marketplace.  We get the quality of life and do what we’ve been trained to do,” she explained.

“We have a huge photography auction coming next spring, which will sell one of the largest collections of photography equipment in the U.S,” Everard added.

The firm also does some estate tax, insurance appraisals and charitable donations appraisals, “but the core of our business is auctions,”she said.

She is a graduate of Trinity College with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Art History and Studio Art, and worked at Sotheby’s for 11 years as a coordinator in the Trust and Estate Department, head of the Arcade Furniture Department and most recently as Vice President in the English Furniture Department, and is continuing to work towards her certification as an antiques appraiser, she states.

The Everards use igaval.com for their online auctiosn, which along with proxibid.com, are the equivalent of ebay.com on the Web for antique dealers and auction houses. They set up a link to igavel.com from their company Web site at www.everardandcompany.com, and ran the Strahan auction from Oct.30 through Nov. 19.

The Web is a growing part of the antiques, auction and appraisal business, allowing such businesses to reach a much broader national and even international audience of potential buyers, and is a methodology being used by a number of local antique appraisers and dealers.

Savannah’s only certified antique and residential contents appraiser, Beth Kinstler, president of Avalon Appraisals, has used the Web for years to help her reach new clients and to sell their valuable items. She often uses proxibid.com, linking a sale or auction from her Web site at www.avalonantiques.com, and just completed an online auction that ran from Nov. 8 through Nov. 21.

Unsold items can still be seen online, and Kinstler can be contacted about a specific item at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Avalon Appraisals is the leading appraisal and estate sale company in Savannah, founded in 1997, which also offers “clean out” services, and has handled a number of estate sales for families at The Landings. She is also an active member of the Savannah Estate Planning Council.

In many cases, even after a successful estate sale, items are left, according to Kinstler.

“I might use an auction house; I might use a jobber – somebody who takes the remainders and pays cash on the spot, and then takes it all away – or I might donate the remainders to gain a tax donation for my client,” Kinstler explained. “It all depends on the clients’ wishes and the value of the items left. But the Internet is gaining as another option to help sell items when there is no local buyer,” she said.

“My strength is doing the appraisal of each item, and then finding the venue to help them liquidate assets. Once people have decided what to keep and what to part with, I help them understand the actual value of various items,” she said, “which can vary depending on a number of variables.”

“In many instances, a client will believe that their personal effects are worth far more than they really are, or hold the belief that because they purchased something 20 years ago, it now has more value. But items fluctuate both up and down, and it’s critical to study constantly,” said Kinstler.

“Right now, prices across the board are very depressed on everything except the rarest and the very best.  That segment of the market has generally held its value, and almost always will – though even there, there has been downward pressure for more than a year,” she added.

Certified appraisers are members of one of the three respected, national appraisal associations, and are required to engage in continuing education and to recertify every five years.

Kinstler just returned from the Tuscaloosa Antiques Symposium, for example, a continuing education event where Wendell Garrett was the keynote speaker. He was formerly head of Sothebys furniture department, and is editor emeritus of Antiques Magazine, the bible of the industry. “It was thrilling,” she said.

Certified appraisals are often needed for other purposes, including insurance valuations, divorces, estate taxes, donations, bankruptcies, loan collateralization and general buying and selling. It’s a professional designation she takes very seriously, as a certified member of the International Society of Appraisers, and serves on ISA’s Designation and Review Committee, making decisions on whether other appraisers around the U.S. should be certified.

Of course, if local buyers want to go to a traditional auction, there are still options in Savannah. Bull Street Auctions holds onsite auction events throughout the year; the company’s next auction will be held on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 2819 Bull St.  Previews are available on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m, and before the auction on Sunday.

Co-owner Lisa Arcos uses the Web to promote her auctions and to provide information on the items in the auction on the company’s Web site at www.bullstreetauctions. Information on the auction is also available through e-mail. The firm accepts quality consignments for the auctions, and helps sellers set their minimums. 

Another brand new young firm in the Savannah area that is using the Web to build an auction business is Alex and Megan Sullivan of The Sullivan House of Pooler.  “But there is no house!” explained Megan. “Our business is all on the Web,” she explained.

The couple uses an online store site at www.rubylane.com, to sell antiques and other items that they have purchased for re-sell or are selling on consignment for customers. 

Both have full-time jobs, but are augmenting their earnings for now, and building a business for the future, they explained, using their professional training and experience in the antiques and sales fields. “We’re being tutored by one of the finest antique dealers in the South, with over 40 years of experience,” said Megan.

It’s a sign of the times, and the changing antiques business...and another example of how technology is changing the face of an industry to reach a larger customer base.

NEWS - Computers & Technology

Armstrong Atlantic State University

11/23/2009 - Intellectual property laws were devised to protect products of human intellect that have some economic value.  The Founding Fathers recognized that it would be beneficial if creative people were encouraged to create intellectual and artistic endeavors and allotted for such protection when the U.S. Constitution was framed in 1787. The primary purpose of intellectual property (IP) as gleaned by the framers of the constitution is “to promote the progress of science and the useful arts.” The forms of IP include copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets.  However, the first step in obtaining protection is to understand which form is needed and how to go about it. The emphasis of this brief article is on patent protection; however, a cursory definition of each is in order.

Copyrights protect the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas. Examples include originally written material, illustrative artwork, music and recordable media. Trademark laws protect the product or service name and any slogans used in branding and/or advertising. Under trademark laws, a manufacturer or merchant or group associated with a product or service can obtain IP protection for a word, phrase, logo or other symbol used to distinguish the product or service from others. A well known example would be the cursive writing insignia known worldwide for the Coca-Cola mark.

Trade secrets are often used by large corporations to protect information or know-how that is not generally known that provides its owner with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. These could include an idea, written words, a formula, a process procedure, a technical design, a list, a marketing plan or any other secret that gives the owner an economic advantage. One famous example would be the ingredients for competitive soft drink formulations such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

Patents protect the functional features of a machine, process, manufactured item, method of doing business, composition of matter, ornamental design or an asexually reproduced plant. Also, a patent protects new uses or improvements on such items. Once a patent is granted, an inventor is given a monopoly on the use and commercial exploitation of the invention over a limited time.

Unlike trade secrets, patents provide protection in the public domain with a published patent document, which can be accessed and searched via multiple databases (one example is Google Patents). Furthermore, regarding a basic difference between patents and copyrights, the patent protects the ideas expressed in an invention, be it a machine or process of some type; whereas a copyright only protects the words an author uses to express an idea, not the idea itself.

There are three types of patents: utility, design and plant patents. A utility patent protects functional aspects of an invention and, once issued, usually lasts for 20 years from its filing date. A design patent protects the decorative aspects of an invention for a term of 14 years. Design patents should be pursued if the essence of an invention is its appearance, or if the final version has a unique look. A plant patent protects the rights of an individual who is first to appreciate the distinctive qualities of a plant and reproduces it asexually (by means other than seeds). What cannot be patented are laws of nature, physical phenomena and abstract ideas. Also, inventions that are not useful or possible, such as perpetual motion machines, can't be patented.

The process of applying for a U.S. patent can be a costly, time-consuming and difficult procedure, usually taking years. First, a written description of the invention (along with any illustrations or images) created by the inventor is often called a "disclosure document."  It is confidentially disclosed to a patent law professional to begin the application process.  Next, a patentability search is the research conducted on the invention to determine if the invention already exists and/or is publicly disclosed in any form.  A patent search also reveals inventions related to the new invention, referred to in the patent documents as “prior art.”

Patent professionals are trained to help inventors analyze the elements of their inventions and correctly identify the novel, non-obvious components before applying for a patent.  The patent laws require the invention to be described clearly in a written specification along with any accompanying formal drawings. Both the analysis to identify the invention and crafting the words to describe it can be completed efficiently when the inventor and patent professional work together.  The patent professional may then file the completed patent application on behalf of the inventor. 
To learn more about protecting your intellectual property and filing for a patent, visit the Web site below, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 912-373-7464.

George Shields is the dean of the College of Science and Technology at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Sonya C. Harris is a U.S. registered patent agent with over 17 years of experience including working as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent Office. For more information, visit www. InventionServices.net. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NEWS - Computers & Technology

11/09/2009 - Congressman John Barrow (Ga.-12) announced last week that the Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $500,000 in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the Savannah-based Energy Resources Division of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority for industrial energy efficiency projects.

“Energy efficiency is good for the environment and good for the bottom line for businesses in our area,” said Barrow.  “Businesses that save money can hire more employees, and that’s our biggest concern right now – getting folks back to work.”

“To remain globally competitive, American industry needs to be energy efficient. The funding for industrial energy efficiency technologies announced today will support a robust American industrial sector and help to usher in a clean energy economy,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “Many companies already realize that improving efficiency saves money while helping the environment.  These projects will make energy efficiency technologies more widely available, cutting energy use and reducing carbon pollution across the country.”

NEWS - Computers & Technology

SBJ Staff

It’s been a busy fall for PureSpectrum, Inc (PSPM), the Savannah lighting technology firm that is one of the city’s few companies headquartered here and also traded on a public stock market. 

The business combination transaction between PureSpectrum, Inc. and International Medical Staffing, Inc. (OTCBB: IMSG) is nearing completion. The record date for share exchange has been announced as Nov. 3, which means that current PSPM shareholders will hold free trading shares of the new successor entity following a share exchange on that date. PureSpectrum is merging with IMSG to seek additional revenue streams. The deal will also move the company off the “pink sheets” to the over-the-counter stock exchange.  The company has a number of local investors.  

PureSpectrum’s CEO, Lee Vanatta, has been attending the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair as a founding member of the Asia Lighting Compact this past week, an organization established to promote quality control for CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), and which includes national lighting associations in Asia and most influential lighting manufacturers in the world.

As the pace of sales efforts continues to accelerate, PureSpectrum, Inc.has completed an internal product development plan for 2010 that represents an expansion of the company’s corporate vision, according to Vanatta.

The company has been working aggressively through a number of marketing channels to spread the word on its dimmable CFL light bulbs.
In September, the company exhibited at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Washington, D.C., introducing its dimming, high-power factor energy efficient lighting products “to key energy efficiency and energy management audiences,” according to the company.

In early October, PureSpectrum announced that national distributor Service Concepts, the energy cooperative that provides power to 42 million people in 47 states had agreed to direct mail PureSpectrum product samples to Service Concepts’ entire customer base of the more than 900 power cooperatives that make up the Service Concepts network.

And products from PureSpectrum have also been made available to consumers through the online retailed Microlamp, particularly the company’s 20-watt dimmable compact fluorescent bulb.

All of this news and more will be outlined at PureSpectrum’s first public “update meeting” on Nov. 12 in Savannah for stockholders and the media. 

The informational meeting to discuss the company’s progress will be held at 9 a.m. at the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum at 460 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

NEWS - Computers & Technology

Armstrong Atlantic State University

10/26/2009 - Chemistry students at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) are engaged in biocatalysis research thanks to Brent Feske, AASU assistant professor of chemistry, and recent funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Biocatalysis, a subfield of bioengineering that uses nature’s catalysts to advance the production of useful pharmaceuticals, is experiencing rapid growth. This column presents a brief history of biocatalysis and its role in drug development.

Catalysts are specialized molecules that speed up the rate of chemical reactions. Most catalysts in living organisms are enzymes, or large proteins. Without enzyme catalysts in our bodies, we would never be able to digest our food quick enough to survive. Enzymes are essential to all living organisms, from the smallest bacteria to the largest whale.

Small molecules derived from living organisms are referred to as “natural products” in the scientific community. Natural products are most popular and significant because of their pharmacological activity. As of 2002, more than 50 percent of all drugs ever used were natural products or derived from a natural product. Drug discovery has often focused on naturally occurring compounds. In 1960, the National Cancer Institute established a program that purified natural products from biological samples collected from the rainforest and other parts of the world and screened the compounds for their pharmaceutical activity. This program was accelerated by the early success of the antileukemic agents vinblastine and vincristine, which were both extracted from periwinkle leaves found in Madagascar. Throughout this program’s 22-year tenure, two more compounds were found, Taxol and camptothecin, which showed medicinal potential in the fight against cancer.

Taxol was isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree and shown to have anti-tumor activity in 1962. Though promising, Taxol was a relatively large compound that was highly insoluble in water, which made it nearly impossible to deliver to patients. In addition, as laboratory testing continued on Taxol, the supply of Pacific yew trees, a very slow-growing tree, was diminishing.  As a result, the hope that Taxol would be an effective and administrable cancer drug diminished.

Nearly 15 years later, Dr. Susan Horwitz of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine completed a series of detailed studies on this potential drug. She found that Taxol’s mode of action was completely different than any other cancer drug thus it had the potential to revolutionize chemotherapy. These exciting results propelled Taxol through clinical trials. In 1992 it was approved for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer. This led to a fundamental problem: because of harvesting to extract Taxol, the Pacific yew trees were on the brink of extinction.

Chemists were given the task of developing what would soon become the largest selling cancer drug ever placed on the pharmaceutical market, yielding sales in the billions of dollars. It would be up to chemists to use synthesis, which is the technique of cleverly combining smaller molecules in a series of steps to create larger ones.

Fortunately, chemists were paying attention to the discovery of this new drug, and total synthesis began in the 1980s. Unfortunately, total synthesis from scratch was a daunting task because of the large and complicated structure of Taxol. So, a new approach had to be found.

Interestingly, Dr. Pierre Potier of the French School of Natural Products and colleagues discovered the complex ring structure of Taxol in the Pacific yew bush. This was attractive because one would only need to attach the Taxol “side chain” to this ring structure to produce the drug.More importantly, this compound was renewable because it is found in the leaves of the Pacific yew bush, which can be harvested without killing the plant. This novel strategy resulted in a new synthetic challenge to synthesize the Taxol side chain in the most economical and efficient way.

Chemists have been creative in answering this call by developing a variety of approaches to the Taxol side chain. Andrew Greene of the University of Science, Technology and Medicine at Grenoble, France, and colleagues developed the first side chain synthesis in 1986, but it did not meet the FDA's purity standards. Soon after, Robert Holton at Florida State University (FSU) patented his synthesis in 1989 with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and production began in the early 1990s. Since this patent date, Holton and FSU have earned over $200 million combined.

Further, in 2005, Brent Feske and colleagues at the University of Florida developed one of the shortest overall routes to the Taxol side chain using biocatalysis as the key step.

There are two fundamental advantages to biocatalysis, which both lead to financial gain. First, enzymes are very efficient; thus they yield a very pure and specific product, minimizing waste. Second, since enzymes are proteins, they are very safe to work with, and it is affordable to dispose of the water/protein reaction solution once the reaction is finished.
So the logical question is: Why aren’t pharmaceuticals more commonly synthesized by biocatalysis? The simple answer is that historically, obtaining large amounts of pure enzyme was very difficult and expensive. However, with recent advancements in the technology of molecular biology and our ability to engineer organisms, this has become a more viable approach.

Feske moved to AASU in 2005, where the NSF has funded his biocatalysis research, enabling him to continue to investigate ways to utilize these systems towards pharmaceuticals. In 2007, he reported how this system can be used to make Prozac and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors by means of biocatalysis. He is currently having success in the synthesis of the antibiotic Fosfomycin. AASU undergraduate students working in Feske’s laboratory have the exciting opportunity to work on this NSF-funded project.

George Shields is the dean of the College of Science and Technology at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Brent Feske is an assistant professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry & Physics, in the College of Science and Technology, at Armstrong Atlantic State University.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .