Highly Selective Optical Detection of Fe3+ Ions in Aqueous Solution Using Label‐Free Silicon Nanocrystals

High brightness amine‐terminated silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) have been utilized in a simple and rapid assay for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Fe³⁺ via quenching of their strong blue luminescence, without the need for analyte‐specific labeling groups. Sensitive detection of Fe³⁺ is successfully demonstrated, with a linear relationship observed between luminescence quenching and Fe³⁺ concentration from 5 × 10^?6 to 900 × 10^?6m and a limit of detection of 1.3 × 10^?6m . The Si NCs show excellent selectivity toward Fe³⁺ ions, with no quenching of the luminescence signal induced by the presence of Fe²⁺ ions, allowing for solution phase discrimination between the ionic species in different charge states.     

Reactive jammer detection in OFDM with index modulation

Detection of jamming attacks is an important tool to improve the resource efficiency of jammer resilient communication networks. Detecting reactive jammers is especially difficult since the attacker is cognitive and focuses only on the used channels. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with index modulation (OFDM-IM) consists of active and passive subcarriers. Only active subcarriers carry modulated signals while passive subcarriers are left unused. In OFDM-IM systems, information bits are also dynamically embedded in the indices of these active subcarriers. As a result, remaining passive subcarriers cause instantaneously changing and unused holes in the spectrum that a reactive jammer cannot escape from attacking. In this paper, we propose an OFDM-IM-based detection scheme to improve the detection performance against reactive jammers. The proposed method exploits the dynamically changing empty OFDM-IM subcarriers to improve detection performance. A detection mechanism that is based on the variance of received signals is considered to identify the jammed subcarriers reliably and with low complexity. We assumed a destructive and elusive reactive jammer model that applies a zero-mean Gaussian jamming signal to the occupied channels. The performance of the variance detector is investigated analytically for OFDM-IM and OFDM-based systems under the given jammer model. The results showed that passive subcarriers of OFDM-IM inherently provide a better detection performance compared to the classical OFDM. Lastly, the analytical results are verified via simulations against both full-band and partial-band reactive jammers. Also, the effect of noise and the jamming power on the detection performance is investigated via extensive simulations.     

A Highly Stable (4, 8)-Connected Tb-MOF Exhibiting Efficiently Luminescent Sensing towards Nitroimidazole Antibiotics

A robust 4,8-connected Tb-based metal-organic framework (Tb-MOF) with paddle wheel-shaped {Tb₂(COO)₄} subunits extended by C₃-symmetric 3,3',3''-[1,3,5-benzenetriyltris(carbonylimino)]tris-benzoate connector was hydrothermally synthesized, showing highly environmental stability, good dispersion and intense green emission in water system. Resulting critically from the well suppressed absorption towards the excitation energy, the Tb-MOF exhibits rapid and efficient fluorescent response towards nitroimidazole antibiotics with strong quenching constants and low detection limits of 1.59 × 10⁴ m ^–1 and 2.4 μM for metronidazole as well as 1.62 × 10⁴ m ^–1 and 2.9 μM for dimetridazole. Moreover, the sensitive and selective identification of the Tb-MOF has strong anti-interference and excellent regeneration ability, which endows the promising applications of the Tb-MOF as fluorescent sensing materials.     

关注长江水质——“绿行之踪”社会实践

2018年和2019年小学期,厦门大学本科生"绿行之踪"社会实践队赴重庆、上海等长江流域主要城市进行社会实践活动,采集了当地的水样,测定了水样中的磷酸根含量和高锰酸盐指数,同时进行了水资源保护的宣传活动和网络问卷调查。     

In situ liquid SIMS analysis of uranium oxide

Trace analysis of nuclear materials in solid particles collected in the environment or particles in liquid slurry generated in nuclear material manufacturing processes can pinpoint elemental, organic, and isotopic signatures of nuclear fuel cycle activities and processes. Such information can support nuclear safeguards programs by increasing our ability to detect undeclared nuclear materials, routine activities for safeguarding at declared facilities, and illicit activities. However, trace radioactive material analysis in liquids and slurries is challenging using bulk approaches. For example, one drawback of sensitive analysis such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is that sample is consumed or destroyed as a result of the technical approach. We developed a vacuum compatible microfluidic interface to enable surface analysis of liquids and solid–liquid interactions using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). In this work, we illustrate the initial results from the analysis of liquid uranium oxide standard solutions using in situ liquid SIMS. Because the liquid SIMS analysis is almost nondestructive, the same sample can then be analyzed by other analytical techniques or saved for future reference. Consequently, multimodal analysis is possible. Our results demonstrate that in situ liquid SIMS can be used as a new approach to analyze radioactive materials in liquid and slurry forms of relevance to diverse applications.     

Stability-indicating RP-HPLC method development and validation for determination of nine impurities in apixaban tablet dosage forms. Robustness study by quality by design approach

A quality by design (QbD) based high-resolution HPLC method is described for determination of impurities in apixaban (APX) in the tablet dosage form. Employing a simple and stability-indicating HPLC method, nine known impurities were quantified with good peak resolution. Mobile phase A (MP-A) was prepared with buffer and acetonitrile 90:10 v/v, while mobile phase B (MP-B) contained water and acetonitrile 10:90 v/v. The gradient program was 0 min, MP-A 75%, B 25%; 20 min, MP-A 65%, B 35%; 30 min, MP-A 40%, B 60%; 40min, MP-A 40%, B 60%; 42 min, MP-A 75%, B 25%; and 50 min, MP-A 75%, B 25%. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a Zorbax RX C₁₈ 250 × 4.6 mm column, 5 μm (1.0 ml min⁻¹, 280 nm, 50 μl) and a column temperature of 40°C. Several separation studies were carried out using design of experiments to optimize the method. Validation results confirm the applicability of the developed method for quality analysis and stability studies of the regular product on the manufacturing stream.     

A DNA Switch for Detecting Single Nucleotide Polymorphism within a Long DNA Sequence Under Denaturing Conditions

DNA detection is usually conducted under nondenaturing conditions to favor the formation of Watson–Crick base-paring interactions. However, although such a setting is excellent for distinguishing a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within short DNA sequences (15–25 nucleotides), it does not offer a good solution to SNP detection within much longer sequences. Here we report on a new detection method capable of detecting SNP in a DNA sequence containing 35–90 nucleotides. This is achieved through incorporating into the recognition DNA sequence a previously discovered DNA molecule that forms a stable G-quadruplex in the presence of 7 molar urea, a known condition for denaturing DNA structures. The systems are configured to produce both colorimetric and fluorescent signals upon target binding.     

Multilayered 2D Cesium-Based Hybrid Perovskite with Strong Polarization Sensitivity: Dimensional Reduction of CsPbBr3

3D perovskite CsPbBr₃ has recently taken a blooming position for optoelectronic applications. However, due to the lack of natural anisotropy of optical attributes, it is a great challenge to fulfil polarization-sensitive photodetection. Here, for the first time, we exploited dimensionality reduction of CsPbBr₃ to tailor a 2D-multilayered hybrid perovskite, (TRA)₂CsPb₂Br₇ ( 1 , in which TRA is (carboxy)cyclohexylmethylammonium), serving as a potential polarized-light detecting candidate. Its unique quantum-confined 2D structure results in intrinsic anisotropy of electrical conductivity, optical absorbance, and polarization-dependent responses. Particularly, it exhibits remarkable dichroism with the photocurrent ratio (I_pc/I_pa) of ≈2.1, being much higher than that of the isotropic CsPbBr₃ crystal and reported CH₃NH₃PbI₃ nanowire (≈1.3), which reveals its great potentials for polarization-sensitive photodetection. Further, crystal-based detectors of 1 show fascinating responses to the polarized light, including high detectivity (>10¹⁰ Jones), fast responding time (≈300 μs), and sizeable on/off current ratios (>10⁴). To our best knowledge, this is the first study on 2D Cs-based hybrid perovskite exhibiting strong polarization-sensitivity. The work highlights an effective pathway to explore new polarization sensitive candidates for hybrid perovskites and promotes their future electronic applications.     

Supramolecular Assembly of TPE-Based Glycoclusters with Dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran (DM) Fluorescent Probes Improve Their Properties for Peroxynitrite Sensing and Cell Imaging

Two red-emitting dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran (DM) based fluorescent probes were designed and used for peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) detection. Nevertheless, the aggregation-caused quenching effect diminished the fluorescence and restricted their further applications. To overcome this problem, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) based glycoclusters were used to self-assemble with these DM probes to obtain supramolecular water-soluble glyco-dots. This self-assembly strategy enhanced the fluorescence intensity, leading to an enhanced selectivity and activity of the resulting glyco-dot comparing to DM probes alone in PBS buffer. The glyco-dots also exhibited better results during fluorescence sensing of intracellular ONOO⁻ than the probes alone, thereby offering scope for the development of other similar supramolecular glyco-systems for chemical biological studies.     

Chemical-Synthesis-Based Approach to Glycoprotein Functions in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

The introduction of Asn-linked glycans to nascent polypeptides occurs in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotic cells. After the removal of specific sugar residues, glycoproteins acquire signals in the glycoprotein quality control (GPQC) system and enter the folding cycle composed of lectin-chaperones calnexin (CNX) and calreticulin (CRT), glucosidase II (G-II), and UDP-Glc:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGGT). G-II initiates glycoproteins’ entry and exit from the cycle, and UGGT serves as the “folding sensor”. This account summarizes our effort to analyze the properties of enzymes and lectins that play important roles in GPQC, especially those involved in the CNX/CRT cycle. To commence our study, general methods for the synthesis of high-mannose-type glycans and glycoproteins were established. Based on these, various substrates to analyze components of the GPQC were created, and properties of CRT, G-II, and UGGT have been clarified.