Buu Tran, Ph.D.
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Buu N. Tran, PhD

Organic and Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany
PhD, Claude Bernard University, France (1993)

Research Interests

Dr. Tran’s research at the Wadsworth Center involves the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) program of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences. His primary work focuses on the analysis of unknown chemicals in foods including toxic compounds and terrorist chemical agents to identify threats to the US food supply and provide national surveillance of food security. Contamination of food by toxic chemicals could be a severe concern for the safety of the human food supply. This work is important in evaluating and estimating the potential of chemical agents to affect human health, and in preventing a large-scale contamination or emergency.

Another area of research interest is establishing and validating methods for the analysis of toxic chemicals in the environment including aldehydes, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mycotoxins. Research is conducted on physical-chemistry methods for sample extraction, substance isolation and structural identification by analytical techniques such as gas and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, infrared, ultraviolet and nuclear magnetic resonance.

Dr. Tran also collaborates with other scientists at the Wadsworth Center for the analysis of POPs in human specimens.

Select Publications
Tran BN, Okoniewski R, Spink BC, LeMaster DM, Aldous KM, Spink DC. Androgenic steroids in Over-the-Counter dietary Supplements: Analysis for association with adverse health effects. Steroids. 2023; May (193): 109199. DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2023.109199
Pubmed Web Address
Okoniewski R, Neely S, Denn M, Djatsa A, Tran BN. Rapid method for the detection of rodenticides in contaminated foods. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2021; Dec 1 (1186): 123005. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2021.123005
Pubmed Web Address
Neely S, Martin J, da Cruz NF, Piester G, Robinson M, Okoniewski R, Tran BN. Application of dispersive solid phase extraction for trace analysis of toxic chemicals in foods. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2018; Aug 15 (1092): 65-71. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2018.05.043
Pubmed Web Address
Tran BN, Okoniewski R, Bucciferro A, Jansing R, Aldous K. Determination of trace amount of ethylene glycol and its analogs in water matrices by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of AOAC International. 2014; 97 (1): 232-237.
Pubmed Web Address
Tran BN, Okoniewski R, Storm R, Jansing R, Aldous KM. Use of methanol for the efficient extraction and analysis of melamine and cyanuric acid residues in dairy products and pet foods. Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. 2010; 58 (1): 101-7.
Pubmed Web Address Read More
Tran BN, Zhang L, Jansing R, Aldous K. Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum by gas chromatography-mass selective detection operating at high ion source temperature. Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical & Life Sciences. 2009; 877 (11-12): 1109-16.
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Lu S, Tran BN, Nelsen JL, Aldous K. Quantitative analysis of mitragynine in human urine by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. Journal of Chromatography B. 2009; 877 (24): 2499-2505.
Pubmed Web Address
Tran, BN, Force M, Briggs RG, Ferrisa JP, Persans P, Chera JJ. Titan's atmospheric chemistry: Photolysis of gas mixtures containing hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide at 185 and 254 nm. Icarus. 2008; 193 (1): 224-232.