A Novel Label-free Chronoamperometric Immunosensor Based on a Biocomposite Material for Rapid Detection of Carcinoembryonic Antigen

In this research, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-capped gold nanoparticles, nickel ferrite particles, and carbon nanotubes were combined to form a PANC metal composite. The prepared metal composite modified onto a glassy carbon electrode was electropolymerized with poly(o-phenylenediamine) and immobilized with horseradish peroxidase, anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody, and bovine serum albumin to create the label-free immunosensors for rapid detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using chronoamperometry. This developed biocomposite material modified onto a glassy carbon electrode presented an excellent electrocatalytic response to the redox reaction of hydrogen peroxide as a sensing probe, from which the kinetic parameters including of a charge transfer rate constant, a diffusion coefficient value, an electroactive surface area, and a surface concentration were calculated to be 1.85 s⁻¹, 4.28×10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹, 0.14 cm² and 1.87×10⁻⁸ mol cm⁻², respectively. The developed immunosensors also exhibited a wide linear range of CEA concentration from 0.01 to 25 ng mL⁻¹ with high sensitivity (96.21 μA cm⁻² ng⁻¹ mL) and low detection limit (0.72 pg mL⁻¹), excellent selectivity without interfering effects from possible species (amoxicillin, ascorbic acid, aspirin, caffeine, cholesterol, dopamine, glucose, and uric acid), outstanding stability (n=100, %I>50 %), repeatability (%RSD=0.34, n=10), reproducibility (%RSD=4.06, n=10), and rapid analysis (25 s each operation time). This proposed method was successfully applied for CEA detection in whole blood samples with satisfactory results, suggesting that this developed sensing platform may be considered to be exploited for fabrication of other label-free electrochemical immunosensors for the real sample analysis.     

The numerical study of roll‐waves in inclined open channels and solitary wave run‐up

In this paper, we introduce a finite‐volume kinetic BGK scheme and its applications to the study of roll and solitary waves. The current scheme is based on the numerical solution of the gas‐kinetic Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook model in the flux evaluation across each cell interface. An intrinsic connection between the BGK model and time‐dependent, non‐linear, non‐homogeneous shallow‐water equations enables us to solve shallow‐water equations automatically with our kinetic scheme. The analytical solution, experimental measurements, and numerical calculations for problems associated with roll‐waves down an inclined open channel and solitary waves incident on a sloped beach are also presented. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing a Novel Robust Multicomposite Materials Platform for Glucose Biosensors

An effective, stable enzymatic glucose biosensor was fabricated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface using simple multicomposite materials (MCM): a solution of prepared poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)‐capped gold nanoparticles‐nickel ferrite particles‐carbon nanotubes‐chitosan (PDDA‐AuNPs‐NiFe₂O₄‐CNTs‐CHIT), electropolymerization of poly(o‐phenylenediamine) (PoPD) and immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx). Biocompatibility and synergy of the MCM enhanced the immobilization and the reaction of GOx and as well as the electron transfer from an oxidation reaction of hydrogen peroxide in the system. The NiFe₂O₄ was synthesized by co‐precipitation and calcined at 700 °C. Characterization was carried out by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) which presented both tetrahedral and octahedral metal stretching with a cubic NiFe₂O₄ crystal phase. The GOx/PoPD/MCM/GCE yielded a 0.77 s^?1 charge transfer rate constant (K_s), a 2.28×10^?6 cm² s^?1 diffusion coefficient value (D), a 0.21 mm² electroactive surface area (A_e) and a 1.93×10^?8 mol cm^?2 surface concentration ( ) as determined by cyclic voltammetry. The modified electrode showed a durable operation time (n=97, more than 50 % I), repeatability (%RSD=0.38, n=10), reproducibility (%RSD=1.60, n=10), high sensitivity (853.07 μA mM^?1 cm^?2), selectivity without effects of electroactive species (aspirin, uric acid, caffeine, cholesterol, ascorbic acid and dopamine) and two linear ranges from 0.5 to 10 μM (R²=0.998) and 10 to 15,000 μM (R²=0.991) with a low detection limit (0.35 μM, S/N=3). Its Michaelis‐Menten constant (K_m) was calculated as 93.51 μM with 46.30 μA maximum current (I_max). This proposed simple method was successfully applied for glucose determination in human blood samples.     

Enzyme‐free Cu2O@MnO2/GCE for Hydrogen Peroxide Sensing

A novel composite material of copper (I) oxide at manganese (IV) oxide (Cu₂O@MnO₂), was synthesized and applied for modification on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface (Cu₂O@MnO₂/GCE) as a hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) sensor. The composite material was characterized regarding its structural and morphological properties, using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The Cu₂O@MnO₂/GCE showed an excellent electrocatalytic response to the oxidation of H₂O₂ which provided a 0.56 s^?1 charge transfer rate constant (K_s), 1.65×10^?5 cm² s^?1 diffusion coefficient value (D), 0.12 mm² electroactive surface area (A_e) and 1.04×10^?8 mol cm^?2 surface concentration ( ). At the optimal condition, the constructed sensor exhibited a wide linear range from 0.5 μM to 20 mM with a low limit of detection (63 nM, (S/N=3) and a good sensitivity of 256.33 μA mM^?1 cm^?2. It also presented high stability (ΔI_response±15 %, n=100), repeatability (1.25 %RSD, n=10) and reproducibility (3.55 %RSD, n=10). The results indicated that the synthesized Cu₂O@MnO₂ was successfully used as a new platform for H₂O₂ sensing.     

Choline Oxidase Based Composite ZrO2@AuNPs with Cu2O@MnO2 Platform for Signal Enhancing the Choline Biosensors

A novel metal composite material based on zirconium dioxide decorated gold nanoparticles (ZrO₂@AuNPs), copper (I) oxide at manganese (IV) oxide (Cu₂O@MnO₂) and immobilized choline oxidase (ChOx) onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (ChOx/Cu₂O@MnO₂-ZrO₂@AuNPs/GCE) has been developed for enhancing the electro-catalytic property, sensitivity and stability of the amperometric choline biosensor. The ChOx/Cu₂O@MnO₂-ZrO₂@AuNPs/GCE displayed an excellent electrocatalytic response to the oxidation of the byproduct H₂O₂ from the choline catalyzed reaction, which exhibited a charge transfer rate constant (K_s) of 0.97 s⁻¹, a diffusion coefficient value (D) of 4.50×10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹, an electroactive surface area (A_e) of 0.97 cm² and a surface concentration (γ) of 0.54×10⁻⁸ mol cm⁻². The modified electrode also provided a wide linear range of choline concentration from 0.5 to 1,000.0 μM with good sensitivity (97.4 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹) and low detection limit (0.3 μM). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant was found to be 0.08 mM with I_max of 0.67 μA. This choline biosensor presented high repeatability (%RSD=2.9, n=5), excellent reproducibility (%RSD=2.9, n=5), long time of use (n=28 with %I>50.0 %) and good selectivity without interfering effects from possible electroactive species such as ascorbic acid, aspirin, amoxicillin, caffeine, dopamine, glucose, sucrose and uric acid. This optimal method was successfully applied for choline measurement in prepared human blood samples which demonstrated accurate and excellent reliability in the recovery range from 96.7 to 102.0 %.     

High contrast hollow-cone dark field transmission electron microscopy for nanocrystalline grain size quantification

In this paper, we describe hollow-cone dark field (HCDF) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, with a slightly convergent beam, as an improved technique that is suitable to form high contrast micrographs for nanocrystalline grain size quantification. We also examine the various factors that influence the HCDF TEM image quality, including the conditions of microscopy (alignment, focus and objective aperture size), the properties of the materials imaged (e.g., atomic number, strain, defects), and the characteristics of the TEM sample itself (e.g., thickness, ion milling artifacts). Sample preparation was found to be critical and an initial thinning by wet etching of the substrate (for thin film samples) or tripod polishing (for bulk samples), followed by low-angle ion milling was found to be the preferred approach for preparing high-quality electron transparent samples for HCDF imaging.     

新型双极有机小分子化合物及其Al3+配合物的合成与发光

合成了一种新的具有“双极”(bipolar)性质的有机小分子蓝色发光材料2-(5-(4-(二苯胺基)苯基)-1,3,4-噁二唑-2-)苯酚［2(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenol, HPOT］, 并以HPOT为配体, 与铝离子配位, 合成了三(2-(5-(4-(二苯胺基)苯基) 1,3,4-噁二唑-2-)苯酚)合铝［tri(2-(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenonate)aluminum, AlPOT］配合物. 用 1 H NMR、 HRMS和元素分析进行了表征, 并测定了两种化合物的光致发光性质和热稳定性. 结果表明: 两种新化合物的热稳定性好, 光致发光性能优良, 是制作有机电致发光器件的候选材料.     

Chemical Modification of a Bacterial Siderophore by a Competitor in Dual-Species Biofilms

Chemical communication between competing bacteria in multi-species environments often enables both species to adapt and survive, and perhaps even thrive. P. aeruginosa and S. aureus are two bacterial pathogens found in natural biofilms, especially in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, where recent studies showed that there is often cooperation between the two species, leading to increased disease severity and antibiotic resistance. However, the mechanisms behind this cooperation are poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed co-cultured biofilms in various settings, and we applied untargeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analyses, combined with synthetic validation of candidate compounds. We unexpectedly discovered that S. aureus can convert pyochelin into pyochelin methyl ester, an analogue of pyochelin with reduced affinity for iron (III). This conversion allows S. aureus to coexist more readily with P. aeruginosa and unveils a mechanism underlying the formation of robust dual-species biofilms.