First Research Papers from Canadian Light Source Published

London, ON – The Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan recently marked an important science achievement with the publication of the first research papers resulting from experiments performed at Canada’s national synchrotron facility. The research groups, whose papers appeared online the same day, are from the two universities generally credited with leading the quest for a Canadian synchrotron: the U of S and The University of Western Ontario. “This is an important milestone for the CLS,” says Research Director Thomas Ellis. “High quality science is always exciting. These two success stories in particular will always have a special meaning for us.” T.K. Sham, a Chemistry professor and Canada Research Chair at Western, Western colleague Franziskus Heigl and Western graduate student Simone Lam were using the CLS as a giant strobe light to study the behaviour of a chemical used in organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The technique, called time-resolved X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence, required that the synchrotron produce flashes of light spaced 10 millionths of a second apart. This made it possible to excite the chemical’s molecular structure and observe how it changed between flashes. This kind of imaging is a first for the CLS, and has been performed at only a couple of synchrotrons in the world. “This experiment took a lot of hard work and dedication by the scientists and engineers at the CLS,” says long-time synchrotron researcher Sham, who pioneered the technique. “Not many places in the world can do this kind of experiment at present. Now this [the CLS] is the place.” The U of S paper, from the research group of Canada Research Chair Alex Moewes, documents the work of graduate student Regan Wilks on the movement of electrons along peptide molecules. “Everything came together,” says Wilks, who is starting his Ph.D. with Moewes. “I’m working with a great group and a great machine [the CLS]. I grew up here in Saskatoon and it’s wonderful to be able to stay here and do work that can’t be done anywhere else in Canada.” Understanding how electrons move between atoms within peptide molecules (the building blocks of proteins) is important to learning how processes essential to life work. By adding metal atoms to these peptide chains, electrons can be made to move across the peptides like tiny wires, raising the possibility of creating molecular wires for new kinds of computers and nanotechnology devices. “This is very substantial work,” says Moewes. “This project has both experimental and theoretical significance in biology and materials science.” The results of both groups’ research will be featured at the CLS Annual User Meeting, to be held in Saskatoon June 16 and 17, 2006. The U of S paper appears in the Journal of Physical Chemistry; the Western paper appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Located on the U of S campus in Saskatoon, the Canadian Light Source synchrotron is one of Canada’s largest science projects in a generation. Synchrotron light is used to determine the chemical nature and molecular structure of materials, with applications in a wide variety of scientific fields. For more information contact: T.K. Sham, The University of Western Ontario, (519) 661-2111 ext. 86431, tsham@uwo.ca Alex Moewes and Regan Wilks, University of Saskatchewan, (306) 966-6431, moewes@usask.ca, regan.wilks@usask.ca Douglas Keddy, Research Communications Coordinator, The University of Western Ontario, (519)661-2111 ext. 87485, dkeddy@uwo.ca