A Chemist in Profile - Dr. Raymond Urgel Lemieux

Dr. Lemieux was born in Lac La Biche, Alberta but grew up in Edmonton as the son of a carpenter. He attended the University of Alberta where he earned his B.Sc. in Honours Chemistry. While there he was influenced by Professor Reubin Sandin and decided to pursue graduate studies in organic chemistry. He obtained his Ph.D. at McGill University and then went on to establish his career during times at Ohio State University, University of Saskatchewan, National Research Council of Canada, University of Ottawa, and finally at the University of Alberta where he is presently University Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Lemieux, now 78, has made many important contributions to science over the course of his career. He first gained international recognition in 1953 when he became the first person to accomplish the total synthesis of sucrose (table sugar) This feat has been called the "Mount Everest of organic chemistry". He later made an important discovery known as the "anomeric effect", a phenomenon which accounts for the reactivity of certain organic molecules. These, and other breakthroughs, enabled Dr. Lemieux to undertake a study of how the molecules in our body are able to recognize each other and "fit" together, like a lock and key, during biological processes.

During the course of his career at the University of Alberta, Ray Lemieux has been involved in the establishment of a number of chemical companies. One of the companies was Chembiomed Ltd., located in Edmonton, which was started in order to find practical uses for the research that Dr. Lemieux has done on molecular recognition. The company quickly became a world leader in the production of biologically active carbohydrates, drugs which are used for various treatments in medicine.

As a result of Chembiomed’s research new products known as SYNSORBS were developed. SYNSORBS are synthetic sugar molecules that can be used to bind protein molecules such as toxins to porous particles. These binding interactions allow for the separation of certain proteins similar to the chromatographic separation also discussed in this issue of Discover Canadian Chemistry. One of Chembiomed’s developments is a carbohydrate molecule which may be used to prevent the rejection of organs by recipients who do not have the same blood type as the organ donor. Basically, this SYNSORB named Biosynsorb filters out antibodies in the recipient’s blood that would normally attack antigens in the donor’s blood. The active molecule is coated onto the surface of a bead made out of silica. Hundreds of thousands of these beads are then stored in a cartridge. When the recipient’s blood is passed through the cartridge, Biosynsorb acts like a decoy antigen and attracts the troublesome antibodies causing them to stick to the surface of the bead. The blood that leaves the filter is free of only those antibodies which would have led to the rejection of the donor organ.

And that’s not all! Techniques that were developed by Dr. Lemieux and his research team have led to the creation of drugs that can prevent hamburger disease and may eventually be used in the treatment of such notorious diseases as AIDS and cancer.

If you can find more information about Dr. Ray Lemieux by reading his autobiography entitled: "Explorations With Sugars. How Sweet It Was", published by the American Chemical Society in 1990.

You can also check out the following websites:
http://glyco2.chem.ualberta.ca/group/rul.html
http://www.nserc.ca/seng/lemieux.htm
http://www.pmac-acim.org/hrf/research/aubut/1992.html
http://fas.sfu.ca/css/gcs/scientists/Lemieux/lemieux.html