Jamie Hornock: Forensic Investigations Using HPLC
On Scholarship and Creative Arts Day, Jamie Hornock will reprise two presentations that she recently made at the 235th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, which was held in New Orleans. Both projects have implications for the field of forensic science. “Forensic science is a relatively new field of research, so there are many different directions to go with it,” Jamie explains. “I chose to focus my research on drug analysis and the aging of inks.”
For her first project, Jamie determined the amount of active ingredient in over-the-counter glucosamine dietary supplements. Her investigation not only could be used as a model for drug analysis, it also supported the need for more regulation of over-the-counter dietary supplements. Coincidentally, mid-way through her project, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tightened its regulations on these supplements.
Separately, with more and more of today’s crimes involving forged documents, Jamie decided to focus her second project on the development of a methodology using HPLC for determining the absolute age of ink used on a document. “If this method proves to be useful, I hope to continue this investigation at the graduate level,” Jamie says.
Although research “can be very frustrating and challenging,” Jamie says that her work on these projects has made her feel like she’s contributing to her field. “When I am doing work for my classes I feel as though I am the only one benefiting,” she reflects. “However, when I am working on my research projects, I feel as though the public is benefiting as well.”
To learn more about Jamie’s project, consider attending her Scholarship Day presentation…
Project Title: "Measurement of Glucosamine in OTC Dietary Supplements and Monitoring Ink Degradation for Forensic Investigations Using HPLC"
Date: Scholarship and Creative Arts Day 2008 – Tuesday, April 22
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Kristi Kneas
Jamie is one of several student scholars from Elizabethtown’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry who will present during Scholarship and Creative Arts Day 2008. A full schedule of this and other events featuring the creativity and scholarship of Elizabethtown students will be available in mid-April on the Scholarship and Creative Arts Day webpage.
