Recent work showed that fructose is far more susceptible to oxidation than glucose, which is surprising when one considers that glucose is an aldehyde and fructose is a ketone. Some of the products identified include alpha-dicarbonyls, such as glyoxal and methyl glyoxal (which are quite toxic), as well as formaldehyde (a suspected carcinogen) [G.D. Lawrence, A. Mavi and K. Meral in Publications]. Research continues on oxidation mechanisms for carbohydrates, especially fructose.
Earlier work on oxygen radical reactions yielded papers on free radical mediated production of benzene (a supposed carcinogen, although most studies failed to show it to be carcinogenic) from benzoic acid (a common food preservative that is usually added as the sodium salt, sodium benzoate) [L. Gardner and G.D. Lawrence in Publications] and free radical mediated production of benzaldehyde (a common flavoring agent for foods) from the artificial sweetener, aspartame [G.D. Lawrence and D. Yuan in Publications]. The work on products of aspartame attack by oxy radicals was terminated after an extraordinary review of a manuscript submitted for publication was rejected. That paper identified products that may be potentially toxic, especially to the nervous system.
Work in the area of biomedical analysis centered around development of improved methods for analysis of drugs in biological fluids or in complex dosage forms. The development of an improved method for atropine analysis [G. Lehr, S. Yuan and G.D. Lawrence in Publications] proved beneficial to the FDA when it was called upon to analyze stockpiled autoinjectors that were being distributed as antidotes for chemical warfare agents that were suspected of being in the Iraqi arsenal in the 1991 Gulf War. There was never any evidence that neurotoxins were deliberately used by Iraq in that war, although the U.S. military bombed a site that is believed to have contained chemical warfare agents.
A major goal of these research projects has been to train students in performing research as well as learning modern and useful analytical techniques.