Visiting Glovebox User Andrew Magenau at Drexel University

Andrew Magenau started as an assistant professor at Philadelphia's Drexel University in the fall of 2015. Specializing in polymer chemistry, he is currently the head of the Macromolecular Materials Group (MMG) focusing on development of innovative synthetic platforms to generate functional soft materials with complex macromolecular architectures. On the recommendation from a colleague he contacted the glovebox and gas management experts at Inert, as his research can be extremely air and moisture sensitive. "The sales team at Inert was the most willing to accommodate our needs compared to other vendors," said Dr. Magenau. He chose Inert as a glovebox supplier and procured a two glove I-Lab model for his facility at Drexel.

Down the road when his group started having difficulties achieving low oxygen levels after regenerating the glovebox, Inert's service department was there to make sure his system was working at top notch. "Many of our chemical reactions and polymerization are sensitive to oxygen and water.  Without an inert atmosphere glovebox, the process of carrying out many of our reactions became challenging and the results from our experiments were more prone to error.  Research progress was greatly slowed," he said.

Kevin Michael, Inert's Service Manager, visited the lab at Drexel and determined their copper catalyst was the issue. After replacement, the I-Lab was able to maintain typical O₂ and H₂O levels. "Kevin not only solved our glovebox issue but he was down to earth and was willing to explain each of the steps he had to take to resolve the problem," said Dr. Magenau, "He came to our lab and restored the glovebox to optimal conditions, and worked with us to make sure that these issues were resolved smoothly. We have not had an issue since his visit!"

About the MMG

Research in the Macromolecular Materials Group is focused on developing innovative polymerization platforms that generate functional soft materials addressing needs at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science. Structurally complex materials exhibiting unique physical properties are designed and fabricated using an assortment of methodologies involving directed self-assembly, externally applied stimuli, structure-function correlation, and applied engineering principles suited for technologies in regenerative medicine, biological interfacing, catalytic, electronic, and optical applications.