Development of a novel approach for the production of dried genomic DNA for use as standards for qualitative PCR testing of food-borne pathogens

As part of a multi-centre European project, FOOD-PCR, the feasibility of a novel approach for production of dried bacterial DNA that could be used as certified reference materials (CRM) was assessed. Selected strains of Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni and Yersinia enterocolitica were used to produce genomic DNA (gDNA). These preparations gave support to method development for qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection methods for food-borne pathogens. Purified gDNA was transformed into stable and dry gDNA by using polypropylene vials as carrier and applying a vacuum-drying technique. The gDNA preparations were shown to be sufficiently stable under ambient transport conditions without cooling and proved to have long-term stability at 5°C of at least 22 months. The dried DNA was easily reconstituted by addition of distilled water then gentle shaking. These studies have shown that production of stable and dry bacterial gDNA material is feasible and could help satisfy the increasing need for certified reference DNA positive control samples in the field of PCR testing for detection and verification of food-borne microbial pathogens.

     

The study of the stability of reference materials by isochronous measurements

An alternative method for stability testing of candidate certified reference materials (CRMs) utilizing “isochronous” measurements based on a storage design (storing samples at different temperatures for different time periods), which allows all measurements to be done at the same time, i.e. at the end of the study, is compared to “classical” designs of stability studies using reference time or reference temperature. The execution of stability studies using “isochronous” measurements only requires repeatability conditions, whereas classical designs require both repeatability and long term reproducibility conditions. Consequently, the new design allows the quality of results to be improved.     

Na5AlF2(PO4)2: Darstellung,Kristallstruktur und Ionenleitfähigkeit

Na₅AlF₂(PO₄)₂: Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Ionic Conductivity Two different procedures (precipitation from aqueous solution and solid state reaction) for the synthesis of hitherto unknown Na₅AlF₂(PO₄)₂ were optimized. The crystal structure was determined using diffractometer data (P3 , a = b = 10.483(1), c = 6.607(1) Å, MoKα, 1080 independent reflections, R_w = 0.025). PO₄-tetrahedra and AlO₄F₂-“octahedra” are connected via common vertices forming a twodimensionally extended heteropolyanion. Sodium is located in interconnected spacings of the [AlF₂(PO₄)₂]-part of the structure. Ionic conductivity as expected because of these structural features was affirmed experimentally.     

Hydrogen cycling of niobium and vanadium catalyzed nanostructured magnesium

The reaction of hydrogen gas with magnesium metal, which is important for hydrogen storage purposes, is enhanced significantly by the addition of catalysts such as Nb and V and by using nanostructured powders. In situ neutron diffraction on MgNb(0.05) and MgV(0.05) powders give a detailed insight on the magnesium and catalyst phases that exist during the various stages of hydrogen cycling. During the early stage of hydriding (and deuteriding), a MgH(1< x < 2) phase is observed, which does not occur in bulk MgH(2) and, thus, appears characteristic for the small particles. The abundant H vacancies will cause this phase to have a much larger hydrogen diffusion coefficient, partly explaining the enhanced kinetics of nanostructured magnesium. It is shown that under relevant experimental conditions, the niobium catalyst is present as NbH(1). Second, a hitherto unknown Mg-Nb perovskite phase could be identified that has to result from mechanical alloying of Nb and the MgO layer of the particles. Vanadium is not visible in the diffraction patterns, but electron micrographs show that the V particle size becomes very small, 2-20 nm. Nanostructuring and catalyzing the Mg enhance the adsorption speed that much that now temperature variations effectively limit the absorption speed and not, as for bulk, the slow kinetics through bulk MgH(2) layers.     

Advances in wide bandgap SiC for optoelectronics

Silicon carbide (SiC) has played a key role in power electronics thanks to its unique physical properties like wide bandgap, high breakdown field, etc. During the past decade, SiC is also becoming more and more active in optoelectronics thanks to the progress in materials growth and nanofabrication. This paper will review the advances in fluorescent SiC for white light-emitting diodes, covering the poly-crystalline doped SiC source material growth, single crystalline epitaxy growth of fluorescent SiC, and nanofabrication of SiC to enhance the extraction efficiency for fluorescent SiC based white LEDs.