This year's Best Paper Award for outstanding work published in the Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) goes to the German chemist Eberhard Denk (31). Denk's paper "Labeling the human skeleton with 41Ca to assess changes in bone calcium metabolism" discusses a technique which could be used to develop better strategies for osteoporosis prevention. Denk conducted his work at ETH Zurich as part of a multinational, interdisciplinary EU-funded project (OSTEODIET) led by Thomas Walczyk at the Laboratory of Human Nutrition ETHZ. The Award is accompanied by EUR 1,000, sponsored by Springer. In addition, the winning paper will receive special prominence on an ABC cover.
The paper evaluates a novel isotopic technique for osteoporosis research. By labeling calcium in the bone matrix isotopically, changes in bone metabolism could be detected directly via changes in urinary excretion of the tracer. This became possible by using 41Ca, an extremely long-living radioisotope which is virtually non-existent in nature and which can be detected at the ultra-trace level using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RIMS).
The entire methodology has the potential to become a major breakthrough in bone research. Changes in bone calcium metabolism can be detected both directly and on a short-term scale which to date cannot be achieved to the same extent by any other technique. The new technique could potentially be used to evaluate the influence of diet, drugs and life-style on Ca metabolism in bone and to develop better strategies for osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Eberhard Denk continued his work at ETH in Zurich as a post-doctorate scientist, further developing the 41Ca methodology.
Klaus G. Heumann, Editor of ABC, said, "Denk's pioneering work is truly new and innovative, meeting ABC's high standards for excellent research publications. The paper presents interdisciplinary and innovative research results which combine the ultra-trace methods of RIMS and AMS with extremely important biomedical applications."
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry is an international journal dealing with all aspects of analytical and bioanalytical sciences. The journal covers all fields of pure and applied analytical chemistry and bioanalysis, including topics at their interfaces with life and health sciences, engineering and materials sciences, environmental science, earth sciences, and others. The Best Paper Award was created to encourage exceptional, young scientists in establishing their research careers. This Award is presented annually to a scientist up to 40 years of age who is the lead author of a paper published in ABC during the calendar year.
Springer (www.springer.com) is the second-largest publisher worldwide in the science, technology, and medicine (STM) sector. Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media, one of the world's leading suppliers of scientific and specialist literature.
The article is freely available online on SpringerLink at http://springerlink.com/content/j4n42m0372r1004k/?p=bbbc3a302c23474389cd8f64f3a4bd16&pi=5 or can be supplied as a pdf.