The Realm of Organic Synthesis

Across my department, more and more people are listening to mp3 players.  My quasi-cynical side seems to think it’s to subconsciously drown out the noise of perpetual University bureaucracy that hinders the creative processes.  A recent postdoc from Germany lashed out at colleague of mine over maintaining focus and composure in the lab; this person was listening to their headphones while running a flash column.  True, many accidents are due to distractions (e.g. talking on the phone while driving, listening to an mp3 player while working in the lab, gossiping when you should be paying attention—a recent infuriating pet peeve of mine). 

I try to stress the importance of concentration in my undergraduate labs.  Specifically, my syllabus/course objectives state that personal items (i.e. cell phones, mp3 players, food) are unwelcome in my lab for safety reasons.  I don’t want my kids accidentally getting sprayed with 6 M H2SO4 by their hoodmate who’s stuck in a rare live track from Dave Matthews Band.  Of course, many of my colleagues both at UA and across the country feel the same way: University of Colorado, California Polytechnic State University and even St. Olaf College in Minnesota. 

In a brief literature search, I’ve found little information about modern laboratory safety (specifically covering distractions).  Is the banning of headphones (or even music) in the lab a common sense issue?  Is it something we just take for granted?  What if there’s substantial downtime (you’re caught up, but waiting for something to finish refluxing)?

Fundamentally, the postdoc’s comment makes sense.  However, (and I’ll speak for myself) my yields are usually better (by >15% in some cases) when I’m in my own world of music and chemistry—two seemingly unrelated things that connect at a higher level.  Synthetic chemistry really is an art (I’ve sat through several total synthesis seminars that overly emphasize this notion), and I know many artists who rely on music as their motivation and inspiration.  So, if your lab bench is (somewhat) tidy, you’ve eliminated clutter around your work area and are habitually safe, why not plug in?

True, most of what inspires me would probably piss my labmates off if commonly audible (Sevendust, Disturbed, POD, etc.).  For the time being, I guess I’ll resort to my little 1 GB mp3 player to get me though a flash column or reagent preparation or TLC work.  However, I will often be in silence when I write in my notebook or when I’m reading a paper—stuff that typically requires thinking.  A lot of times, I’ll just listen to old Opie and Anthony clips (particularly the ones that feature Andrew Dice Clay), just because it makes work a little more bearable.  Do you listen to an mp3 player at work?  What’s on your playlist? 

Changing gears for a second, how about those Red Sox?  Definitely a nail biter late in the game last night (I almost lost it when Okey gave up the two-run shot to Atkins in the bottom of the 8th).  Truthfully though, part of me is glad for the World Series to be over because the commentary by the Fox network has been awful at best.  My wife and I have been making fun of the “cancer music” they play going into and coming out of commercial for the better part of a week.  Plus, everyone seems to find Joe Buck and Tim McCarver annoying on a good day.

On a side note, it’s been reported that Alex Rodriguez is opting out of his contract with the Yankees.  Does this mean the Red Sox’ll pursue A-Rod by dropping Ramirez?  It’s going to be an interesting offseason. 

P.S. Here’s a couple choice selections from my playlist:

From Chaos – 311; Rain Song – Cold; Don’t Tread on Me – Metallica; Metalingus – Altar Bridge; Face to Face – Sevendust; Ugly - Sevendust; Just Stop – Disturbed; Wildfire – P.O.D.; Stillborn – Black Label Society; Valentine’s Day – Linkin Park; Chasing After - Tantric; Won’t Back Down – Fuel (*my ringtone); Shinedown – Godsmack; Given to Fly – Pearl Jam; Crop Duster – Pearl Jam; On the Sea (Recorded at the 9:30 Club in DC, c. 2005) – Vertical Horizon 

Truth be told, I have 3 blog entries sitting on my desktop, but so much has gone on in the past month or two, it’s been tough to keep up to date.  Thank you to whomever just posted a comment (KRP) the other day in response to my Facile Iodination rant from a few months back.  Ironically, I was just discussing this concept the other day with a friend of mine who’s currently searching for an ORP idea; I recommended devising a method using a low-valent heteroatom that would wash out on workup (specifically, sulfur).  At any rate, my recent commentator has provided me with a reference that bears mentioning (Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2004, 25, 1143-1146).  The article features excellent yields in impressive times using cerium(III), microwave irradiation and sodium iodide as the halide source.  As someone who’s investigated green chemistry as a hobby (and also during my ORP), I’ll note that microwave chemistry still has a long way to go, but recent developments make the technology promising.  Since our group microwave is currently situated in the office side of the lab, and should probably be labeled as a biohazard given its current state, I’ll probably just stick to I2 and PPh3.

Our paper was submitted almost 2 weeks ago, and we’re hoping for a response from the editor by next week.  In actuality, the paper, itself, was finished 4 weeks ago, but we had significant problems with the template formatting.  As such, I became an instant expert using the style settings in Word.  I’ve also become addicted to using the editing characters.  At any rate, I’ll keep you up to speed with the (hopeful) success of the paper.