Three-dimensional continuous particle focusing in a microfluidic channel via standing surface acoustic waves (SSAW)

Three-dimensional (3D) continuous microparticle focusing has been achieved in a single-layer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channel using a standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW). The SSAW was generated by the interference of two identical surface acoustic waves (SAWs) created by two parallel interdigital transducers (IDTs) on a piezoelectric substrate with a microchannel precisely bonded between them. To understand the working principle of the SSAW-based 3D focusing and investigate the position of the focal point, we computed longitudinal waves, generated by the SAWs and radiated into the fluid media from opposite sides of the microchannel, and the resultant pressure and velocity fields due to the interference and reflection of the longitudinal waves. Simulation results predict the existence of a focusing point which is in good agreement with our experimental observations. Compared with other 3D focusing techniques, this method is non-invasive, robust, energy-efficient, easy to implement, and applicable to nearly all types of microparticles.     

Automation for continuous analysis on microchip electrophoresis using flow-through sampling

Automation of electrophoretic microchips for sequential analysis of different samples is demonstrated. This system used an autosampler, which was on-line connected to the microchip and the whole process including sample loading and injection, analysis and data acquisition as well as washing were all automated. Rhodamin B at different concentrations was first loaded into a hydrodynamic flow stream by an autosampler, delivered to the microchip, and then sequentially injected into the electrophoretic microchannel for analysis and detection. Automation was achieved by running two independent programs, one for sample loading by an autosampler and the other one for electrophoretic injection by voltage switching, on the same computer. Using this sampling chip, each loaded volume (0.2-1 microL) can be injected for dozens of electrophoretic analyses (1-10 nL for each injection). The variances caused by the external connections, which did not affect the electrophoretic analysis but would cause band broadening of the loaded sample in the hydrodynamic flow stream, were theoretically deduced. Results indicate that the dead volume (approximately 300 nL) due to the connection fitting on the chip could lead to dilution of the loaded sample by a factor of one when 0.2 microL of sample was loaded. Such a design allows sequential analysis of a series of samples while the running buffer is continuously pumped into the connection capillary as well as microchannels for washing between two loaded samples to minimize cross contamination without human intervention. Using this sampling chip, the required sample amount and handling time can be greatly reduced compared to the manual method.     

Continuous cell introduction and rapid dynamic lysis for high-throughput single-cell analysis on microfludic chips with hydrodynamic focusing

A chip-based microfluidic system for high-throughput single-cell analysis is described. The system was integrated with continuous introduction of individual cells, rapid dynamic lysis, capillary electrophoretic (CE) separation and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. A cross microfluidic chip with one sheath-flow channel located on each side of the sampling channel was designed. The labeled cells were hydrodynamically focused by sheath-flow streams and sequentially introduced into the cross section of the microchip under hydrostatic pressure generated by adjusting liquid levels in the reservoirs. Combined with the electric field applied on the separation channel, the aligned cells were driven into the separation channel and rapidly lysed within 33ms at the entry of the separation channel by Triton X-100 added in the sheath-flow solution. The maximum rate for introducing individual cells into the separation channel was about 150cells/min. The introduction of sheath-flow streams also significantly reduced the concentration of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injected into the separation channel along with single cells, thus reducing Joule heating during electrophoretic separation. The performance of this microfluidic system was evaluated by analysis of reduced glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in single erythrocytes. A throughput of 38cells/min was obtained. The proposed method is simple and robust for high-throughput single-cell analysis, allowing for analysis of cell population with considerable size to generate results with statistical significance.     

Permuting input for more effective sampling of 3D conformer space

SMILES strings and other classic 2D structural formats offer a convenient way to represent molecules as a simplistic connection table, with the inherent advantages of ease of handling and storage. In the context of virtual screening, chemical databases to be screened are often initially represented by canonicalised SMILES strings that can be filtered and pre-processed in a number of ways, resulting in molecules that occupy similar regions of chemical space to active compounds of a therapeutic target. A wide variety of software exists to convert molecules into SMILES format, namely, Mol2smi (Daylight Inc.), MOE (Chemical Computing Group) and Babel (Openeye Scientific Software). Depending on the algorithm employed, the atoms of a SMILES string defining a molecule can be ordered differently. Upon conversion to 3D coordinates they result in the production of ostensibly the same molecule.In this work we show how different permutations of a SMILES string can affect conformer generation, affecting reliability and repeatability of the results. Furthermore, we propose a novel procedure for the generation of conformers, taking advantage of the permutation of the input strings—both SMILES and other 2D formats, leading to more effective sampling of conformation space in output, and also implementing fingerprint and principal component analyses step to post process and visualise the results.     

Membrane based gas sampling and analysis coupled to continuous flow systems

Summary A detection system suitable for monitoring of gaseous pollutants is described. It consists of a membrane-based sampling unit which is integral part of continuous flow or flow injection systems. Collection of the gaseous contaminants takes place by diffusive sampling under laminar flow conditions. Two geometrically different sampling devices (i.e. tubular and planar arrangements) are presented and the influence of experimental variables on collection and detection capabilities is discussed. The concept is shown to be used with numerous detection schemes. The field of application reaches from the determination of trace constituents in the atmosphere to the use in emission control.     

Micro-well arrays for 3D shape control and high resolution analysis of single cells

In addition to rigidity, matrix composition, and cell shape, dimensionality is now considered an important property of the cell microenvironment which directs cell behavior. However, available tools for cell culture in two-dimensional (2D) versus three-dimensional (3D) environments are difficult to compare, and no tools exist which provide 3D shape control of single cells. We developed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates for the culture of single cells in 3D arrays which are compatible with high-resolution microscopy. Cell adhesion was limited to within microwells by passivation of the flat upper surface through 'wet-printing' of a non-fouling polymer and backfilling of the wells with specific adhesive proteins or lipid bilayers. Endothelial cells constrained within microwells were viable, and intracellular features could be imaged with high resolution objectives. Finally, phalloidin staining of actin stress fibers showed that the cytoskeleton of cells in microwells was 3D and not limited to the cell-substrate interface. Thus, microwells can be used to produce microenvironments for large numbers of single cells with 3D shape control and can be added to a repertoire of tools which are ever more sought after for both fundamental biological studies as well as high throughput cell screening assays.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a Three-dimensional （3D） Complex Mn（H2O）2（HNic）2 （HNic = 2-Hydroxynicotinic Acid）

1 INTRODUCTION The development of supramolecular and coordina- tion polymer complexes has recently attracted consi- derable attention due to the fundamental interest in self-assembly processes of transition-metal comple- xes, supramolecular chemistry and crystal enginee- ring[1~12]. The rational design of molecular architec- tures is essential for the creation of functional ma- terials with selective clathration[13, 14], molecular re- cognition[15, 16], catalysis[17, 18] and storage materi…     

Stable jets of viscoelastic fluids and self-assembled cylindrical capsules by hydrodynamic focusing

We demonstrate formation of long-lived cylindrical jets of a viscoelastic fluid using hydrodynamic focusing. A solution of polyacrylamide in water is driven coaxially with immiscible oil and subjected to strong extensional flow. At high flow rates, the aqueous phase forms jets that are 4-90 microm in diameter and several centimeters long. The liquid surfaces of these jets are then used as templates for assembly of microspheres into novel rigid and hollow cylinders.     

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D QSAR) and pharmacophore elucidation of tetrahydropyran derivatives as serotonin and norepinephrine transporter inhibitors

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D QSAR) using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) was performed on a series of substituted tetrahydropyran (THP) derivatives possessing serotonin (SERT) and norepinephrine (NET) transporter inhibitory activities. The study aimed to rationalize the potency of these inhibitors for SERT and NET as well as the observed selectivity differences for NET over SERT. The dataset consisted of 29 molecules, of which 23 molecules were used as the training set for deriving CoMFA models for SERT and NET uptake inhibitory activities. Superimpositions were performed using atom-based fitting and 3-point pharmacophore-based alignment. Two charge calculation methods, Gasteiger-Hückel and semiempirical PM3, were tried. Both alignment methods were analyzed in terms of their predictive abilities and produced comparable results with high internal and external predictivities. The models obtained using the 3-point pharmacophore-based alignment outperformed the models with atom-based fitting in terms of relevant statistics and interpretability of the generated contour maps. Steric fields dominated electrostatic fields in terms of contribution. The selectivity analysis (NET over SERT), though yielded models with good internal predictivity, showed very poor external test set predictions. The analysis was repeated with 24 molecules after systematically excluding so-called outliers (5 out of 29) from the model derivation process. The resulting CoMFA model using the atom-based fitting exhibited good statistics and was able to explain most of the selectivity (NET over SERT)-discriminating factors. The presence of −OH substituent on the THP ring was found to be one of the most important factors governing the NET selectivity over SERT. Thus, a 4-point NET-selective pharmacophore, after introducing this newly found H-bond donor/acceptor feature in addition to the initial 3-point pharmacophore, was proposed.     

Ferromagnetic micropallets for magnetic capture of single adherent cells

We present a magnetic micropallet array and demonstrate its capacity to recover specific, individual adherent cells from large populations and deliver them for downstream single cell analysis. A ferromagnetic photopolymer was formulated, characterized, and used to fabricate magnetic micropallets, which are microscale pedestals that provide demarcated cell growth surfaces with preservation of biophysical properties including photopatternability, biocompatibility, and optical clarity. Each micropallet holds a single adherent cell in culture, and hundreds of thousands of micropallets comprise a single micropallet array. Any micropallet in the array can be recovered on demand, carrying the adhered cell with it. We used this platform to recover selectively single cells, which were subsequently analyzed using single-cell RT-qPCR.     

Thermodynamics of G-3(D4) and G-6(D4) carbosilanecyclosiloxane dendrimers

Temperature dependences of the heat capacity of G-3(D₄) and G-6(D₄) carbosilanecyclosiloxane dendrimers are studied for the first time by precision adiabatic vacuum and differential scanning calorimetry in the range of 6 to 350–450 K. Physical transformations in the investigated temperature range are observed and their standard thermodynamic characteristics are determined and discussed. Standard thermodynamic functions for a mole unit are calculated from the experimental data: C _p ^○ (T), H ^○(T), ? H ^○(0), S ^○(T) ? S ^○(0), and G ^○(T) ? H ^○(0) in the range of T → 0 to (350–449) K and standard entropies of formation at 298.15 K. Low-temperature (T ≤ 50 K) heat capacity is analyzed using the Debye theory of heat capacity of solids and the multifractal model. The values of fractal dimensionality D are determined and some conclusions on the topology of the investigated structures are drawn. The corresponding thermodynamic properties of the investigated carbosilanecyclosiloxane dendrimers under study are compared.     

Two new esterase D (ESD) variants revealed by isoelectric focusing in agarose gel

Using isoelectric focusing in thin-layer agarose gel (AGIF) with the narrow pH range of 4.5-5.4, a high resolution of esterase D (ESD) isozyme banding patterns has been achieved. Some variant phenotypes which could not be distinguished from common ESD types by conventional electrophoresis have shown different patterns after AGIF. The IEF method permitted the distinction of two further variants in the ESD system, tentatively named ESD Rehren and ESD Ravensburg. We recommend, therefore, that for the classification of ESD phenotypes a high resolution IEF technique should be used.     

Optimization of harvesting, extraction, and analytical protocols for UPLC-ESI-MS-based metabolomic analysis of adherent mammalian cancer cells

In this study, a liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based metabolomics protocol was optimized for quenching, harvesting, and extraction of metabolites from the human pancreatic cancer cell line Panc-1. Trypsin/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) treatment and cell scraping in water were compared for sample harvesting. Four different extraction methods were compared to investigate the efficiency of intracellular metabolite extraction, including pure acetonitrile, methanol, methanol/chloroform/H₂O, and methanol/chloroform/acetonitrile. The separation efficiencies of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) with UPLC-QTOF-MS were also evaluated. Global metabolomics profiles were compared; the number of total detected features and the recovery and relative extraction efficiencies of target metabolites were assessed. Trypsin/EDTA treatment caused substantial metabolite leakage proving it inadequate for metabolomics studies. Direct scraping after flash quenching with liquid nitrogen was chosen to harvest Panc-1 cells which allowed for samples to be stored before extraction. Methanol/chloroform/H₂O was chosen as the optimal extraction solvent to recover the highest number of intracellular features with the best reproducibility. HILIC had better resolution for intracellular metabolites of Panc-1 cells. This optimized method therefore provides high sensitivity and reproducibility for a variety of cellular metabolites and can be applicable to further LC/MS-based global metabolomics study on Panc-1 cell lines and possibly other cancer cell lines with similar chemical and physical properties.

1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance study of (D3)-trishomocuban-4-ol and (D3)-trishomocubanone

The complete assignments of the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra for (D₃)-trishomocuban-4-ol (3) and (D₃)-trishomocubanone (4) are reported. The difference between the ¹H and ¹³C chemical shifts of 3 and 4 and those of the hydrocarbon (D₃)-trishomocubane, and the substituent effect of the hydroxy group, can be adequately explained by the unique stereochemistry of these compounds.     

Polyfunctional Two- (2D) and Three- (3D) Dimensional Oxalate Bridged Bimetallic Magnets

Summary.  We report major results concerning polyfunctional two- (2D) and three- (3D) dimensional oxalate bridged bimetallic magnets. As a consequence of their specific organisation they are composed of an anionic sub-lattice and a cationic counter-part. These bimetallic polymers can accommodate various counter-cations possessing specific physical properties in addition to the magnetic ones resulting from the interactions between the metallic ions in the anionic sub-lattice. Thus, molecular magnets possessing paramagnetic, conductive and optical properties are presented in this review. Corresponding author. E-mail: train@ccr.jussieu.fr Received April 11, 2002; accepted May 27, 2002     

Effects of chemical and physical parameters in the generation of microspheres by hydrodynamic flow focusing

Hydrodynamic flow focusing is a seminal, easy-to-use technology for micro- and nanodroplet generation. It is characterized by the co-axial focusing of two (or more) immiscible liquid streams forced through a small orifice. In this method, the outer continuous phase has a much higher flow velocity than the inner disperse phase. While passing through the orifice, the prevailing pressure drop and shear stress force the inner phase to break up into uniform droplets. Using a biodegradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer solution as the disperse phase, monodisperse and user-defined polymer micro- and nanospheres can be generated. Here we present a consecutive parameter study of hydrodynamic flow focusing to study the effect of chemical and physical parameters that effect the dispersity of the droplets generated in the 1-5 μm range. The parameter study shows the applicability and challenges of hydrodynamic flow focusing in the preparation of biodegradable microspheres. Applications for microspheres made with this method can be found in the medical, pharmaceutical and technical fields.     

Improved 3D DOSY-TOCSY experiment for mixture analysis

With respect to best currently available pulse sequences, a 10-fold reduction in minimum experiment time together with significant resolution enhancement can be achieved in 3D DOSY homonuclear experiments by means of Hadamard encoding, as illustrated here for the 3D DOSY-TOCSY experiment.     

Sampling and sampling strategies for environmental analysis

Sampling errors are generally believed to dominate the errors of analytical measurement during the entire environmental data acquisition process. Unfortunately, environmental sampling errors are hardly quantified and documented even though analytical errors are frequently yet improperly reported to the third decimal point in environmental analysis. There is a significant discrepancy in directly applying traditional sampling theories (such as those developed for the binary particle systems) to trace levels of contaminants in complex environmental matrices with various spatial and temporal heterogeneities. The purpose of this critical review is to address several key issues in the development of an optimal sampling strategy with a primary goal of sample representativeness while minimizing the total number of samples and sampling frequencies, hence the cost for sampling and analysis. Several biased and statistically based sampling approaches commonly employed in environmental sampling (e.g. judgmental sampling and haphazard sampling vs. statistically based approaches such as simple random, systematic random, and stratified random sampling) are examined with respect to their pros and cons for the acquisition of scientifically reliable and legally defensible data. The effects of sample size, sample frequency and the use of compositing are addressed to illustrate the strategies for a cost reduction as well as an improved representativeness of sampling from spatially and temporally varied environmental systems. The discussions are accompanied with some recent advances and examples in the formulation of sampling strategies for the chemical or biological analysis of air, surface water, drinking water, groundwater, soil, and hazardous waste sites.     

Combined uncertainty factor for sampling and analysis

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - Measurement uncertainty that arises from primary sampling can be expressed as an uncertainty factor, which recognises its sometimes approximately log-normal...