Flow-injection analysis with a small cylindrical wire type electrode

An amperometric detector with a small thin mercury film electrode is described. The device demonstrates advantageous operational characteristics such as small dispersion (D<2) and “memory effect” (me<0.6%), extensive maximum sample frequency (msf −200 samples/h), and high sensitivity. It has been proven useful in flow-injection analysis at a constant potential under hydrodynamic conditions.     

Case Study: Doping Substances in Equestrian Food Supplements

In the course of investigations on equestrian supplemental products for the presence of doping substances, two products were found to contain forbidden substances. As reported earlier a plant extract (Mexican cactus extract) named “Energy 5” contained the anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) stanozolol, 17β-hydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstane-3β-ol (3β,5α-THMT) as well as mestanolone not declared on the label. In the present study, a product called “Super Kalm Paste” was tested. Analysis by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that the preparation contained the class I anti-arrhythmics quinine (trade names Kinidin^TM, Durules) and cinchonine. The samples were prepared according to a sample preparation procedure established for anabolic steroids in nutritional supplements for humans. The sample treatment comprised the extraction and purification of the analytes as well as the chemical conversion with N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyl-trifluoracetamide (MSTFA) to yield the trimethylsilyl (TMS)-derivatives. To verify whether the administration of such products could lead to positive doping tests, a pilot excretion study on “Energy 5” was conducted with two geldings, and urine samples were collected. Gas chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) after solid phase extraction and mixed derivatisation has demonstrated the presence of the stanozolol metabolite 16β-hydroxy-stanozolol in urine samples after “Energy 5” application.     

Mitochondria-targeted ratiometric fluorescent probes for micropolarity and microviscosity and their applications

Two fluorescent "off-on" probes YYH1 and YYH2 were used for bioimaging mitochondrial polarity and viscosity.     

海口市正常儿童头发中四种微量元素含量

用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法（ＩＣＰ－ＡＥＳ），测定了海口市２６６例正常儿童头发中锌、铁、阵、铜四种微量元素的含量，计算出海口市儿童四各微量元素的正常范围。并与其它地区文献报道值进行了比较。     

Thermal analysis and X-ray studies of chiral ferroelectric liquid crystalline materials and their binary mixtures

Summary Thermal properties of a homologous series of ferroelectric liquid crystals S-(-)-[4-(2-n-alkoxy-propionyloxy)]biphenyl-4'-[n-alkoxy-(3,5-dimethyl)]benzoate have been investigated by polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The mesophases were identified and confirmed by X-ray too. Three binary mixtures were prepared from the individual homologues. In one of the mixtures (Mix1), the ferroelectric SmC* phase has broadened and became enantiotropic. This mesophase remained monotropic in the other two mixtures (Mix2, Mix3). The chiral nematic N* phase did not appear in Mix1, but remained monotropic for the other two mixtures. Two molecular parameters, the layer spacing and the average intermolecular distance have been calculated from the X-ray results for the homologues and their mixtures. An intercalated tail-to-tail packing of molecules was found both in the single compounds and their mixtures resulting in the layer spacing about half of the molecular length of the single compounds.     

Analytical Detectors Based on Microplasma Spectrometry

Miniaturizing all dimensions of apparatus, such as electronics and computers, is the current trend followed by scientists in various fields. The idea of Lab-on-a-Chip has significantly expanded and found its broad applications in analytical chemistry. Microplasmas can act as a sample excitation source and are the miniaturized versions of full-sized plasmas. These can be created in various forms, such as direct current, microwave induced, capacitively coupled and inductively coupled plasmas. Scaling down the size would reduce the amount of gases, liquids and consumables required, as well as the sample analysis time, which in turn would decrease the operating costs. Therefore, several research groups are involved in the development of microplasmas for utilisation in analytical instruments.     

Preparation and properties of polymer and quantum dot composites

Quantum dots (QDs) were prepared in an organic system through a simple and low-cost wet chemistry method. Polymer beads with a diameter of 60–70 nm and specific functional groups were synthesized by a particular seeded emulsion polymerization technique. QDs were embedded in the polymer beads with the specific functional groups through dissolving and swelling method, which provided the condition for the conjunction of biomolecules and QDs as fluorescent probes. The prepared composites were characterized with UV-Vis, PL, TEM, FTIR, CLSM and conductance titration etc. The results show that QDs are successfully embedded in polymer beads, which breaks the limitation that the conjunction of biomolecules and QDs can be achieved only for those synthesized in aqueous system. __________ Translated from Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2005, 39(1) (in Chinese)     

Dehydrogenation activities of highly dispersed transition metal oxides on NaY zeolite

Highly dispersed α-Fe_2O_3/NaY,NiO/NaY,and CuO/NaY catalyst systems were pre-pared by impregnation method.Dispersion thresholds of the transition metal oxides on NaY" zeolitewere determined by XRD phase analysis.The dispersion capacities of the transition metal oxides on NaYzeolite are much lower than that estimated on the basis of a closed packed monolayer in the micropores.The catalytic activity and selectivity of the highly dispersed oxide catalyst systems for ethylben-zene and cyclohexane dehydrogenation reactions were reported.