Steven Lancaster,a Ngaio Richardsb and Anthony Gachanjac
aFoundation for Analytical Science & Technology in Africa, 49 Swanland Road, Hessle, HU13 0NN, UK
bDepartment of Forensic Science, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
cChemistry Department, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, PO Box 62000, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Introduction to the Foundation for Analytical Science & Technology in Africa
The Foundation for Analytical Science & Technology in Africa (FASTA) is a charitable company that was established in 2005 in response to a request to provide a GC-MS to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT) in Nairobi, Kenya. FASTA was founded by Steve Lancaster of BP and Barrie Nixon of Mass Spec UK Ltd. The objectives of the organisation are to support scientific education, analytical research and the preservation of the environment in Africa via capacity-building and technology transfer.
Several organisations, including The Royal Society of Chemistry, The British Mass Spectrometry Society, Mass Spec UK, Pfizer, BP, PerkinElmer and Dionex, amongst others, have provided generous grants and donated equipment. Their support has been critical in allowing FASTA to set up the first GC-MS laboratory at JKUAT. The aims and objectives of FASTA are to:
- facilitate research and teaching into chemical systems and processes;
- facilitate research and teaching of environmental processes;
- enable/facilitate the provision of environmental monitoring services at the local and national level;
- promote and encourage food analysis in order to facilitate the import and export of foodstuffs.
To achieve these aims and to ensure that they are sustainable, FASTA is now collaborating with the Pan Africa Chemistry Network (PACN), an organisation managed by the Royal Society of Chemistry with funding by Syngenta. The goal of the PACN is to create a critical mass of local scientists with expertise in advanced analytical technology that can react rapidly to the demand for high quality analysis in the preservation of the environment and this goal is one which is shared by FASTA. Over the last two years FASTA has installed and currently maintains two GC-MS systems in the Chemistry Department at JKUAT. These instruments are currently being used for postgraduate research and analysis of a wide range of samples including water and air samples. FASTA has also introduced thermal desorption equipment to be interfaced with one of the GC-MS instruments to facilitate air analysis. As a result of this work, JKUAT is now recognised by the Kenyan government as a centre of excellence in environmental research and analytical chemistry.
FASTA is collaborating with Professor Anthony Gachanja of JKUAT and continually widening the scope of the laboratory’s research initiatives. Additionally, FASTA is now working closely with the PACN to enable JKUAT and other Universities in Nairobi to become a hub for analytical science in East Africa, offering technical excellence and high-level analytical equipment which can be used for analysis and training throughout the region.
