Direct drug analysis from oral fluid using medical swab touch spray mass spectrometry

Fourteen common drugs of abuse were identified in spiked oral fluid (ng mL⁻¹ levels), analyzed directly from medical swabs using touch spray mass spectrometry (TS-MS), exemplifying a rapid test for drug detection. Multiple stages of mass analysis (MS² and MS³) provided identification and detection limits sought by international forensic and toxicological societies, Δ⁹-THC and buprenorphine excluded. The measurements were made using a medical swab as both the sampling probe and means of ionization. The adaptation of medical swabs for TS-MS analysis allows non-invasive and direct sampling of neat oral fluid. Data acquisition was rapid, seconds per drug, and MS³ ensured reliable identification of illicit drugs. The reported data were acquired to investigate (i) ionization of common drugs from commercial swabs, (ii) ion intensity over spray duration, and (iii) dynamic range, all as initial steps in development of a quantitative method. The approach outlined is intended for point-of-care drug testing using oral fluid in clinical applications as well as in situ settings, viz. in forensic applications. The proof-of-concept results presented will require extension to other controlled substances and refinement in analytical procedures to meet clinical/legal requirements.     

Metabolism of human insulin after subcutaneous administration: A possible means to uncover insulin misuse

The misuse of insulin for performance enhancement in sport or as toxic agent has frequently been reported in the past. In contrast to synthetic insulin analogues, the administration of recombinant human insulin is hardly recognized by mass spectrometry. The present study was designed to uncover the misuse of recombinant human insulin for doping control purposes as well as for forensic applications. It is hypothesized that an altered metabolite profile of circulating insulin prevails after subcutaneous administration due to exposure of insulin to epidermal proteases.     

Infrared thermographic evaluation of large composite grid parts subjected to axial loading

Many composite parts, such as laminated panels and grid-like shells, operate under high mechanical loading. Evaluation of their structural integrity is crucial to ensure the long-lasting operation of critical components. Since testing a structure under full or “proof” load might be dangerous for personnel, it would be preferable to use a remote, rapid inspection technique. This paper describes a practical application of IR thermography to the inspection of large composite parts used in the aerospace industry. This work has used just one cycle of increasing load from zero load to failure, and this was done for both for tensile and compressive loads. It is shown that, during the formation of micro-defects in polymeric composites, about 40 % of the total dissipated energy is expended for material heating, while about 60 % is related to material damage accompanied by an increase in the defect concentration. Non-uniform composite deformation causes temperature anomalies, whose amplitude may reach 1.5–2.5 °C at a load of about 50–60 % of the limit load.     

Micromechanical properties of one-step and sequentially crosslinked UHMWPEs for total joint replacements

Microindentation hardness testing was applied to five types of highly-crosslinked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylenes (UHMWPEs) for total joint replacements. UHMWPE's were crosslinked using the same total radiation dose (75 kGy; γ-radiation) either by the standard, single-step irradiation (one-step crosslinking) or by the newer, several-step irradiation (sequential crosslinking). Each irradiation step was followed by thermal treatment (annealing at 110 °C or remelting at 150 °C) in an inert atmosphere. We showed that: (i) the micromechanical properties were determined by the last thermal treatment step, while the number of irradiation cycles was insignificant and (ii) the values of microhardness, microcreep and microplasticity from the microindentation experiments were in excellent agreement with the changes of UHMWPE structure, characterized by IR and DSC. Statistical evaluation of the results, the agreement with theoretical predictions and the comparison with previous studies on similar systems demonstrated that microindentation was a reliable and sensitive method of UHMWPE characterization.     

Dependency of dynamic interlaminar shear strength of composites on test technique used

Studies are presented on dependency of dynamic interlaminar shear (ILS) strength on the experimental technique used for a typical plain weave E-glass/epoxy composite. Dynamic ILS strength was determined based on two experimental techniques, namely torsional split Hopkinson bar (TSHB) apparatus using thin walled tubular specimens and compressive split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus using single lap specimens. The results obtained from these techniques are compared. In general, it is observed that dynamic ILS strength for composites obtained by TSHB testing using thin walled tubular specimens is lower than the dynamic ILS strength obtained using single lap specimens in compressive SHPB. The issues involved in TSHB testing of thin walled tubular specimens made of composites are discussed and the reasons for reduced dynamic ILS strength using thin walled tubular specimens are highlighted. Finite element analysis (FEA) of thin walled tubular specimens made of composite and resin subjected to quasi-static torsional loading is presented. Using FEA results, the reasons for lower ILS strength of composite thin walled tubular specimens are substantiated.     

Bipolar Electrode-based Electrochromic Devices for Analytical Applications – A Review

Bipolar electrode-based (BPE-based) electrochromic devices have garnered increasing attention in the past decade. These BPE-based electrochromic devices have been used for analytical health monitoring, point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, and chemical sensing. In this review, we highlight recent progress made regarding BPE-based electrochromic devices constructed for these analytical applications. Various, available electrochromic materials are summarized in the first section, after which the different device types (e. g., paper-based and self-powered) are discussed. Biological- and chemical-based analytical demonstrations of these devices are then reviewed. Finally, we conclude this review with a perspective on the future developments of BPE-based electrochromic devices in analytical applications.     

An Overview of Wearable and Implantable Electrochemical Glucose Sensors

Electrochemical glucose sensors have garnered considerable attention because of their attractive prospect in point-of-care testing (POCT). In this review, we firstly introduce the principles and challenges of electrochemical glucose sensors. Subsequently, we present an overview of the application of electrochemical glucose sensors and discuss their advantages and drawbacks. Wearable and implantable devices based on diverse target biofluid and platforms provide a considerable prospect of accurate and continuous monitoring. Thus, we believe that the future development direction of electrochemical glucose sensors is non-invasive, wearable devices and implantable devices with minimally invasive for continuous glucose monitoring in real time.     

A near-infrared phosphor doped with Cr3+ towards zero-thermal-quenching for high-power LEDs

Cr³⁺-doped phosphors show significant application potential in near-infrared (NIR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, the development of thermally stable and efficient NIR phosphors still faces enormous challenges. Herein, NIR phosphors K₂NaMF₆:Cr³⁺ (M³⁺ = Al³⁺, Ga³⁺, and In³⁺) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The represented K₂NaAlF₆:Cr³⁺ phosphor can be effectively excited by blue light (～430 nm) to present broadband emission at half a maximum of 96 nm peaking at ～ 728 nm. Meanwhile, the K₂NaAlF₆:Cr³⁺ phosphor exhibits excellent internal quantum efficiency (IQE = 68.08%) and nearly zero-thermal-quenching behavior, which is able to maintain 96.5% emission intensity at 150 °C of the initial value at 25 °C. The NIR phosphor-converted LED was fabricated based on K₂NaAlF₆:Cr³⁺ phosphor and a blue LED chip, showing a NIR output power of 394.39 mW at 300 mA with a high photoelectric conversion efficiency of 10.9% at 20 mA. Using the high-power NIR LED as a lighting source, transparent and quick veins imaging as well as non-destructive testing were demonstrated, suggesting the NIR phosphor has a wide range of practical applications.     

Recent advances in the development of colorimetric analysis and testing based on aggregation-induced nanozymes

Colorimetric sensing strategies as a powerful point-of-care testing(POCT) tool have attracted significant interest in various chem/biosensing applications.Taking the excellent bare-eye-detectable signaling feature,nanozymes-based colorimetric sensors enable more potential applications and have been a new forefront in the colorimetric POCT analysis toward different target analytes.However,the low catalytic activity of nanozymes in most cases limits their practical application.Recent efforts demonstrate that the aggregation-induced nanozymes provide a general means to modulate nanozymes activity and enhance colorimetric sensing performances of some nanozymes-based colorimetric sensors.But there are few reports are explored to discuss and review such aggregation-induced nanozymes and their colorimetric sensing applications.To highlight the advances and progress in aggregation-induced nanozymes based colorimetric assays,we herein summary the fundamentals,classify and applications of this newlydeveloping field,focusing on the aggregation-induced activity enhancement of nanozymes(AIAEnanozymes) with a significant "signal-on" feature and aggregation-induced activity inhibition of nanozymes(AIAI-nanozymes) with a dramatical "signal-of" characteristics.Finally,we also propose the current challenges and the future prospects on both AIAE-nanozymes and AIAI-nanozymes.     

土壤中重金属元素检测的质量认证

探讨了土壤中重金属检测能力验证的质量控制措施,为确保能力验证结果的准确性及不断提高实验室的检测技术水平提供参考.