The Daily Bulletin

The Chemistry Department is hosting a graduate student seminar on Thursday, December 5, during Bengal Pause (12:15 pm to 1:30 pm) in SAMC 173. Our speaker will be Kaitlyn Ignaszak, a graduate student in the forensic science master's program. Coffee and donuts will be served.

Seminar Abstract

An increase in consumption of wild mushrooms has led to an interest in the study of mushroom toxins. Among these toxins are four of notability; gyromitrin, orellanine, phallotoxin, and amatoxin. This seminar will introduce each of these four toxins, including their chemical structure, a proposed mechanism of toxicity, symptoms of poisoning, and analytical techniques for identification. Mushroom poisonings often have long latent periods between symptoms that are common to other disorders, such as gastrointestinal issues or flu like symptoms. However, progression of these poisonings can lead to comas, organ failure, and even death. Advancements are being made for accurate and timely identification of toxic mushroom species to be used for possible treatment and prevention of organ failure. Although the mechanism of toxicity for these toxins is still being studied and not completely understood, that has not stopped analytical techniques from being created and modified to produce ideal results for identification purposes. Two techniques that have proven to be effective in accurately identifying these toxins are liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS technique utilizes supersonic molecular beams as a way to decrease fragmentation otherwise seen with traditional electron ionization techniques. This provides better and more reliable identification.