Ian.H. Mutton - 2003 Silver Jubilee Medal (Joint Winner)

Ian Mutton spent his school years in Birmingham and Bromsgrove, and gained a chemistry degree from Bristol University. A final year project involving glc analysis with SCOT columns, combined with a vacation job purifying solvents for use by a team preparing to analyse rock samples from the first NASA lunar landings, helped to make a career in analysis seem almost inevitable.

After graduation in 1970 Ian joined the Analytical Department of what was then Glaxo Laboratories at Greenford in West London, where he spent the first three years of his career gaining general analytical experience by characterising compounds produced by R&D synthetic teams.  Subsequently he specialised in gas chromatography, using the technique for assays and trace toxin analysis, introducing capillary glc into the company and promoting it for measuring impurities and solvents in drug substances.  After a period spent developing hplc methods, in particular for chiral resolution, he became extensively involved in Glaxo’s initial explorations of sfc and ce, and along with Chris Bevan developed and patented the technique of freeze-thaw switching for the management of electrically driven micro-flow systems.

Ian now runs a chiral analytical resource in GSK’s Analytical Sciences at Stevenage, and is the author or co-author of 20 publications and patents.  He presents frequently at internal and external meetings and was for several years a tutor on the University of York's  Short Course in Capillary Electrophoresis.

Current research interests include fast-gradient hplc, chiral analysis, detector technologies, and hplc column and system evaluations. The main objective of this work is to facilitate design of rapid generic separation systems that deliver maximum business value, enabling promotion of rational method development strategies and preferred chromatographic practices.

Publications:

Investigations into the Manzamine alkaloid biosynthetic hypothesis. JE Baldwin, TDW Claridge, AJ Culshaw, FA Heupel, V Lee, DR Spring, RC Whitehead, RJ Boughtflower, IM Mutton, and RJ Upton, Angewante Chemie, International Edition 37 (19) 2661-2663 (1998).

Use of short columns and high flow rates for rapid gradient reversed-phase chromatography. IM Mutton, Chromatographia 47 (5/6) 291-298 (1998).

High throughput determination of drug-protein binding using immobilized HSA and LC-MS. PR Tiller, IM Mutton, SJ Lane and CD Bevan, in "Methodological Surveys in Bioanalysis of Drugs in Biochemistry and Analysis", 24 329 - 332 (1996) E Reid, HM Hill and ID Wilson (eds), Royal Society of Chemistry.

Novel nano-switching technology for multidimensional electrophoresis and chromatography. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, in "Methodological Surveys in Bioanalysis of Drugs in Biochemistry and Analysis", 24 299 (1996) E Reid, HM Hill and ID Wilson (eds), Royal Society of Chemistry.

Freeze-thaw flow management: a novel concept for high-performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, electrochromatography and associated techniques. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, J. Chromatogr. A, 697 541-548 (1995).

Appliction of a comparative evaluation of several reversed-phases columns to the automated analysis of candidate pharmaceuticals. IM Mutton, J. Chromatogr. A, 697 191-201 (1995).

Use of freeze-thaw flow management for controlling and switching fluid flow in capillary tubes. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, Analytical Chemistry, 67 (8) 1470-1473 (1995).

Immobilized human serum albumin: liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry as a method of determining drug-protein binding. PR Tiller, IM Mutton, SJ Lane and CD Bevan, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 9 261-263 (1995).

Chiral HPLC in the pharmaceutical industry. IM Mutton, Chapter 11 in "Chiral Separations by Liquid Chromatography", G Subramanian (ed), VCH, (1994).

Resolution of diastereomeric phosphoramidate bridged unnatural oligonucleotides by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. CD Bevan, IM Mutton and AJ Pipe, J. Chromatogr., 636 113-123 (1993).

Ultra-low flow preparative chiral high-performance liquid chromatography on cellulose triacetate. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, Analytical Proceedings, 29 240-242 (1992).

The separated enantiomers of 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine (BCH189) both inhibit human immunodeficiency virus replication in vitro. JAV Coates, N Cammack, HJ Jenkinson, IM Mutton, BA Pearson, R Storer, JM Cameron and CR Penn, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 36 (1) 202-205 (1992).

Capillary gas chromatography of the isomeric dimethylnaphthalenes and of some additional aromatic compounds. IM Mutton, J. Chromatogr., 172 438-440 (1979).

Trace analysis of 1,2-ethanediol by gas-liquid chromatography of its cyclic n-butylboronate.

IM Mutton, J. Chromatogr., 172 435-437 (1979).

Awards:

Second Prize in the First Desty Memorial Lecture Prize for Innovation in Separation Science, 1996. (CD Bevan and IM Mutton).

First Prize in the 1994 Perkin-Elmer International Capillary Electrophoresis Technical Paper Award. (CD Bevan and IM Mutton).

Award winner (with CD Bevan) in the GGR Chemistry Division Scientific Awards Scheme, 1994.

Patents:

International Application No. PCT/EP 94/01790  "Liquid Flow Control Means", CD Bevan and IM Mutton. Published December 1994, granting in Europe and USA  and pending in Japan.

International Application No. PCT/GB91/00706, "1,3-Oxathiolane Nucleoside Analogues", JAV Coates, IM Mutton, CR Penn, R Storer and C Williamson. Published 14th November 1991, granted in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Taiwan, South Africa and other African nations, pending elsewhere.

Contributions to Surveys:

"Chiral Separations" - A Chromatographic Society Literature Survey. ID Wilson (ed), compiled by RJ Collicott, IM Mutton and D Stevenson. 1st Edn. 1990, 2nd Edn 1992.

Abstractor for "Gas and Liquid Chromatography Abstracts" (published by The Chromatographic Society). 1975-1986.

Posters:

Immobilized human serum albumin: liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry as a method of determining drug-protein binding. PR Tiller, IM Mutton, SJ Lane and CD Bevan, 11th International Bioanalytical Forum, Guildford, 29 Aug-1 Sept 1995.

Novel nano-switching technology for multidimensional electrophoresis and chromatography. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, 19th International Symposium on Column Liquid Chromatography and related techniques, Innsbruck, 28 May-2 June 1995, and 11th International Bioanalytical Forum, Guildford, 29 Aug-1 Sept 1995.

Automated chromatographic analysis of candidate pharmaceuticals: a comparative study of several reversed-phases columns. IM Mutton, 20th International Symposium on Chromatography, Bournemouth, 20-24 June 1994.

On-line sampling methods for capillary electrophoresis. L Licklider, IM Mutton, CD Bevan and WG Kuhr, 6th International Symposium on High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis, San Diego, 31 January-3 February 1994.

Ultra-low flow preparative chiral HPLC on cellulose triacetate. CD Bevan and IM Mutton, RSC Annual Symposium, University of York, 24-26 September 1991. 

Supporting chemical research with CZE. IM Mutton, International Symposium on Capillary Electrophoresis, University of York, 22-24 August 1990.

Teaching:

Course Tutor and Demonstrator, Short Course on Capillary Electrophoresis, University of York. Each August since 1991.

External Oral Presentations Since 1990:

Combination of short columns, fast gradients and high flow-rates for rapid information generation. 21st International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and related techniques, Birmingham, 27 June 1997.

Small column dimensions + steep gradients = rapid information generation. The Chromatographic Society AGM and Spring Symposium on Advances in Micro and Mega Separation Science, Harlow, 13th May 1997.

Novel nano-switching technology for multidimensional electrophoresis and chromatography. The Chromatographic Society AGM and Spring Symposium on Novel Developments in Separation Science, London, 4th May 1995. (Work with CD Bevan).

Making sense of anti-sense - MEKC of diastereomeric phosphoramidate oligonucleutides. ABI Users Group, Wurzburg, 1995. (Work with CD Bevan and AJ Pipe).

Automated determination of volatile organic solvents in primary drug substances by capillary gas chromatography. East Anglian Region and Chromatography and Electrophoresis Group of the Analytical Division of the RSC, Stevenage, 17th April 1991.

Chemical research support using capillary electrophoresis. ABI Users Group, Windlesham, 30th September 1991.

Refereeing:

I have refereed a number of papers for the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, the Journal of Chromatography, Analytical Chemistry and Chromatographia.