TXRF spectrometry in the bioanalytical sciences: A brief review

This work describes the basic principles of Total-reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry and some of its most outstanding applications for investigating metal traces, mainly in biological and biomedical samples. TXRF is an analytical technique that combines the versatility of elemental analysis by X-ray energy dispersion with a low detection limit in the order of picograms of absolute mass or a few ppb (μg L⁻¹) as concentration. The microanalytical capacity of TXRF allows the study of small sample quantities. The TXRF can perform qualitative and mass ratio analyses of the elements present in a sample of only a few hundred nanograms. These properties are of great importance in the research of metal traces in biological systems, as they allow fast, precise, and accurate characterisation of the elemental fingerprint at trace level. Its successful application in studies of the coordination kinetics of new platinum-based antitumor drugs with DNA, its application in the study profile of the metal in healthy and cancerous human tissues, or even its application in the study of the processes of metal diffusion through cell membranes are just a few examples of TXRF capabilities in the biomedical sciences. This brief review's main objective is to provide an overview of the physical principles and possibilities of TXRF spectrometry. It also highlights some of the most outstanding applications that have been developed so far, mainly in the biological field, so that the reader can evaluate their potential applications.     

Numerical Simulation of a Multi-Output Radar Orthogonal Waveform Based on a Chaos Optimization Algorithm

Russian Physics Journal - Aiming at problems of low probability of interception and poor anti-jamming performance of the multi-output radar, the numerical simulation based on a chaos optimization...     

Phase Transitions in the Diluted Two-Dimensional Potts Model with the Number of Spin States q = 3 on a Square Lattice

Physics of the Solid State - The phase transitions in the two-dimensional diluted Potts model with the number of spin states q = 3 are studied by computer simulation method. The systems...     

Determination of Vardenafil in Pure and Dosage Forms by Spectrophotometry

Journal of Applied Spectroscopy - Three simple, sensitive, precise, and rapid spectrophotometric methods are developed and optimized for the assay of vardenafil in pharmaceutical formulations. The...     

Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils and Bottom Sediments by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry with QuEChERS Sample Preparation

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - The work is dedicated to the determination of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and bottom sediments by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry using...     

Cost-allocation problems for fuzzy agents in a fixed-tree network

Fuzzy Optimization and Decision Making - Cost-allocation problems in a fixed network are concerned with distributing the costs for use by a group of clients who cooperate in order to reduce such...     

Quantum Key Distribution with Untrusted Detectors Accessible to an Eavesdropper

JETP Letters - A simple fundamental modification of quantum key distribution protocols has been proposed: it is not required to protect the results of avalanche detectors from an eavesdropper, but...     

On Laser-Induced High-Order Wave Mixing and Harmonic Generation in a Graphene Quantum Dot

JETP Letters - We present results of numerical investigations of high-order wave mixing/harmonic generation (HWM/HHG) with many-body interaction processes derived by a strong two-frequency circular...     

Superior diffusion kinetics and electrochemical properties of α/β–type NaMn0.89Co0.11O2 as cathode for sodium-ion batteries

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as an exciting alternative to commercially dominant lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other applications....     

Magnetoresistance and Quantum Oscillations in WTe2 Semimetal

Physics of the Solid State - The discovery of extreme magnetoresistance (MR) in nonmagnetic materials attracted attention to WTe2 semimetal. We studied MR in a single crystal of tungsten...