Calculation of surface tension via area sampling

We examine the performance of several molecular simulation techniques aimed at evaluation of the surface tension through its thermodynamic definition. For all methods explored, the surface tension is calculated by approximating the change in Helmholtz free energy associated with a change in interfacial area through simulation of a liquid slab at constant particle number, volume, and temperature. The methods explored fall within three general classes: free-energy perturbation, the Bennett acceptance-ratio scheme, and the expanded ensemble technique. Calculations are performed for both the truncated Lennard-Jones and square-well fluids at select temperatures spaced along their respective liquid-vapor saturation lines. Overall, we find that Bennett and expanded ensemble approaches provide the best combination of accuracy and precision. All of the methods, when applied using sufficiently small area perturbation, generate equivalent results for the Lennard-Jones fluid. However, single-stage free-energy-perturbation methods and the closely related test-area technique recently introduced by Gloor et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 123, 134703 (2005)] generate surface tension values for the square-well fluid that are not consistent with those obtained from the more robust expanded ensemble and Bennett approaches, regardless of the size of the area perturbation. Single-stage perturbation methods fail also for the Lennard-Jones system when applied using large area perturbations. Here an analysis of phase-space overlap produces a quantitative explanation of the observed inaccuracy and shows that the satisfactory results obtained in these cases from the test-area method arise from a cancellation of errors that cannot be expected in general. We also briefly analyze the variation in method performance with respect to the adjustable parameters inherent to the techniques.     

Application of the “cooled needle” technique to split and splitless sampling onto capillary columns

Cooled needle sampling using syringes was applied to splitless injection and to simulated distillation analyses. Slight changes of the construction of the previous device are also described. The changes concern the temperature profile within the injector and especially the vaporization insert. Even with the low carrier gas flow through the injector during splitless injection, discrimination by component volatility can be avoided. Precision and accuracy of simulated distillation data obtained with split sampling also can be improved by the cooled needle technique.     

The determination of sampling constants by neutron activation analysis

It has been found that sampling constants vary greatly not only from major elements to trace elements, but also between individual trace elements. A comprehensive investigation of a potential reference material therefore requires the determination of sampling constants for all elements to be certified, and other analytical methods therefore have to be included. For methods in statistical control the described strategy can be applied.     

On-line galvanic cell generated electrochemiluminescence determination of acyclovir based on the flow injection sampling

A new simple, rapid and cost effective flow injection (FI) electrochemiluminescence (ECL) method was described for the determination of acyclovir (9,2-hydroxyethoxy) methyl guanine. In the presence of acyclovir, the luminol electrochemiluminescence generated by a mini on-line galvanic cell could be greatly sensitized in alkaline medium. The relative electrochemiluminescence intensity was found to increase linearly with increasing concentration of acyclovir, which was corroborated by the calculated correlation coefficient value of 0.9994 (n=7). The limit of detection was 1.6×10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ and the limit of quantification was 7.9×10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹. The proposed method was applied to the determination of acyclovir in pharmaceutical formulations. The reliability of the assay method was established by parallel determination and by standard-addition method. Experiment results demonstrated the described mini analysis system, while being simple and less time consuming, was accurate, precise and reproducible (R.S.D. = 1.6%, recoveries = 99 - 103%). Further experiments indicated that there was no significant difference between the results obtained by the proposed and official methods.     

Improved evaluation of measurement uncertainty from sampling by inclusion of between-sampler bias using sampling proficiency testing

A realistic estimate of the uncertainty of a measurement result is essential for its reliable interpretation. Recent methods for such estimation include the contribution to uncertainty from the sampling process, but they only include the random and not the systematic effects. Sampling Proficiency Tests (SPTs) have been used previously to assess the performance of samplers, but the results can also be used to evaluate measurement uncertainty, including the systematic effects. A new SPT conducted on the determination of moisture in fresh butter is used to exemplify how SPT results can be used not only to score samplers but also to estimate uncertainty. The comparison between uncertainty evaluated within- and between-samplers is used to demonstrate that sampling bias is causing the estimates of expanded relative uncertainty to rise by over a factor of two (from 0.39% to 0.87%) in this case. General criteria are given for the experimental design and the sampling target that are required to apply this approach to measurements on any material.     

Optimisation of the rate of sample injection in high-performance liquid chromatography with microsyringes and with sampling valves

Summary The rate of sample injection has been studied as a factor influencing the separating power of high-performance liquid chromatographic systems with syringe and valve curtain flow injection. Full practical details of the systems are presented.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Styrene copolymers as pollutant adsorbents : Safe sampling volume determination

The determination of safe sampling volumes of benzene and acetone on air samplers filled with Porapak Q, Chromosorb 101, 102 and 103 is described. Two direct methods are employed; one method is based on frontal chromatography, while the second one is a concentration method followed by thermal desorption. The results are compared to those determined by the indirect pulse chromatographic method. The safe sampling volumes determined by the direct methods were in accordance. The indirect method gives slightly different values; however, this procedure is carried out at "infinite dilution". The effect of the pollutant concentration on the safe sampling volumes was also examined. The values decrease with increasing pollutant concentration.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence detection for studying protein binding for drug with ultrafiltration sampling

The novel flow chemiluminescence (CL) system for determination of pipemidic acid was proposed, which was based on the sensitizing effect of pipemidic acid on the CL oxidation of sulfite by KMnO₄ in acid media. Combined with the technique of ultrafiltration, the flow-injection CL system was applied to study in vitro the bovine serum album (BSA) binding of pipemidic acid. The estimated association constant (K) and the number of the binding site (n) on one molecule of BSA were 8.81×10⁴ l/mol and 0.94, respectively. The method provided a fast and simple technique for the study of drug-protein interaction.     

Error analysis and efficient sampling in Markovian state models for molecular dynamics

In previous work, we described a Markovian state model (MSM) for analyzing molecular-dynamics trajectories, which involved grouping conformations into states and estimating the transition probabilities between states. In this paper, we analyze the errors in this model caused by finite sampling. We give different methods with various approximations to determine the precision of the reported mean first passage times. These approximations are validated on an 87 state toy Markovian system. In addition, we propose an efficient and practical sampling algorithm that uses these error calculations to build a MSM that has the same precision in mean first passage time values but requires an order of magnitude fewer samples. We also show how these methods can be scaled to large systems using sparse matrix methods.     

Repeated‐annealing sampling combined with multicanonical algorithm for conformational sampling of bio‐molecules

A novel conformational sampling method (repeated‐annealing sampling method) is proposed to execute an efficient conformational sampling at a reasonable computational cost. In the method, a molecular dynamics simulation is done with repeating an elemental process. An elemental process consists of four subprocesses: high‐temperature run, annealing, room‐temperature run, and fast heating. The sampling is done automatically according to a temperature‐control schedule. The room‐temperature run is treated with the multicanonical algorithm, and the other subprocesses are done with the conventional molecular dynamics algorithm. The method, differing from the generalized ensemble methods recently developed, is not warrantable to give the canonical ensemble because of the nonphysical process in the annealing. However, we observed that the slower the annealing and the longer the high‐temperature run, the closer the sampled conformations to those of the canonical ensemble. A test was performed with tri‐N‐acetyl‐D ‐glucosamine in vacuo, and the results were compared with those from the conventional multicanonical simulation. Not only the reweighted canonical distribution function but also the energy landscape were in good agreement with those from the conventional multicanonical simulation. The potential of mean force also showed a fairly good agreement with that from the conventional multicanonical simulation in the room‐temperature region. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1098–1106, 2001     

Field sampling technique for speciation of inorganic chromium in rivers

A simple and robust field sampling technique has been developed for the determination of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) in rivers. Water samples, on collection, were immediately passed through microcolumns of activated alumina to isolate and retain the desired species. Microcolumns were then returned to the laboratory and inserted into a FI-ICP-ES system for elution/ quantitation. Field sampling performed at 2 stations in S. Yorkshire over a 1 month period yielded elevated concentrations of chromium (III) (8–20g/1) and chromium (VI) (1.1–4.5 g/1) and, for each data set, the sum of the two fractions matched the total chromium concentration.     

Flow injection determinations of citric acid: a review

A review of the flow injection (FI) analytical methods used to determine citric acid (CA) is presented. These flow determinations are described and compared according to the detection technique used. In addition to the advantages involving the use of the continuous flow systems, the analytical figures of merit and interferences are also discussed.     

Advances in passive sampling in environmental studies

Passive sampling is based on the phenomenon of mass transport due to the difference between chemical potentials of analytes in a given environmental compartment and the collection medium inside a dosimeter. The subsequent laboratory procedure (i.e. extraction, identification and determination of analytes) is the same as in the case of classic sampling techniques.Passive sampling techniques are characterized by simplicity with regard to the dosimeter's construction as well as its maintenance. Therefore, they find ever increasing application in the field of environmental research and analytics. When choosing a passive sampling method, one should not forget that some passive samplers require the time-consuming calibration step before being used in the field.Novel solutions and modifications of existing sampler designs have been presented. Practical application of passive dosimetry in environmental analytics, including sampling of water, soil, air and other atypical media are discussed. Some aspects of calibration methods in passive dosimetry are also described. The latest trends in the application of passive sampling are highlighted.     

Improper environmental sampling design bias assessments of coastal contamination

Pollution of coastal areas play an important role in anthropocentric issues. Thus, several analytical tools were developed and optimized in recent years aiming to improve the acquisition of good quality chemical data. Despite these efforts, assessments of the environmental occurrence of hazardous chemicals in coastal regions are often biased by poorly planned sampling campaigns. In coastal zones, the influence of local contamination sources and environmental factors (such as coastal currents, tides, estuarine discharges, depth and luminosity) should be carefully considered before establishing a sampling grid. Moreover, the wrong selection of the environmental matrix to be analyzed, especially by multiresidue methods which include analytes with different physicochemical properties, has also been an important source of bias in many published papers. This critical review provides an overview of the key-factors to be considered during the planning and execution of sampling campaigns seeking to identify and quantify contaminants in environmental samples obtained in coastal areas. Further, a discussion on a more suitable and cost-effective sampling design, based in recent advances, is also presented.     

Injection temperature effects using On-column and split sampling in capillary gas chromatography

The effect of sample injection temperature on quantitation is examined for on-column and conventional split modes of sampling in capillary gas chromatography. Discrimination effects can be observed even with on-column injection if the injection temperature is too far above the boiling point of the solvent (or that of a major low boiling constituent(. This is attributed to higher boiling components being left behind in the syringe needle, and a set of simulation experiments are described to illustrate this effect. Various discrimination patterns using conventional split injection were observed, depending on temperature of injection. Apart from syringe needle effects, discrimination is probably due to the preferential venting of higher boiling components as liquid sample droplets, which can have a lifetime greater than the time of transit to the splitter. With such a two-phase system, involving variable droplet size, the flow distribution in the splitter will be critical to uniform sampling. The use of combination on-column/split sampling, with the appropriate temperature control to provide sample uniformity to the splitter is discussed as an advantageous alternative to conventional split sampling.     

Sparse sampling methods in multidimensional NMR

Although the discrete Fourier transform played an enabling role in the development of modern NMR spectroscopy, it suffers from a well-known difficulty providing high-resolution spectra from short data records. In multidimensional NMR experiments, so-called indirect time dimensions are sampled parametrically, with each instance of evolution times along the indirect dimensions sampled via separate one-dimensional experiments. The time required to conduct multidimensional experiments is directly proportional to the number of indirect evolution times sampled. Despite remarkable advances in resolution with increasing magnetic field strength, multiple dimensions remain essential for resolving individual resonances in NMR spectra of biological macromolecues. Conventional Fourier-based methods of spectrum analysis limit the resolution that can be practically achieved in the indirect dimensions. Nonuniform or sparse data collection strategies, together with suitable non-Fourier methods of spectrum analysis, enable high-resolution multidimensional spectra to be obtained. Although some of these approaches were first employed in NMR more than two decades ago, it is only relatively recently that they have been widely adopted. Here we describe the current practice of sparse sampling methods and prospects for further development of the approach to improve resolution and sensitivity and shorten experiment time in multidimensional NMR. While sparse sampling is particularly promising for multidimensional NMR, the basic principles could apply to other forms of multidimensional spectroscopy.     

Steered transition path sampling

We introduce a path sampling method for obtaining statistical properties of an arbitrary stochastic dynamics. The method works by decomposing a trajectory in time, estimating the probability of satisfying a progress constraint, modifying the dynamics based on that probability, and then reweighting to calculate averages. Because the progress constraint can be formulated in terms of occurrences of events within time intervals, the method is particularly well suited for controlling the sampling of currents of dynamic events. We demonstrate the method for calculating transition probabilities in barrier crossing problems and survival probabilities in strongly diffusive systems with absorbing states, which are difficult to treat by shooting. We discuss the relation of the algorithm to other methods.     

单细胞毛细管电泳分析研究进展

本文从细胞悬浮液制备、单个细胞进样技术、细胞溶解技术、分离模式、检测方法和应用新进展6个方面对单细胞毛细管电泳分析进行了全面评述.重点介绍了单个细胞进样技术及检测方法的最新进展,并对单细胞毛细管电泳分析的未来发展方向进行了展望.     

Catalytic-Fluorimetric Determination of Ti(IV) by Flow Injection Analysis

Abstract

Two flow injection analysis catalytic-fluorimetric methods for the determination of titanium are suggested, based on the measurement of the peak height and of the peak width, respectively. Both methods allow the determination of titanium at the ng.mL^?1 level with good selectivity. A comparison between both method is also established.     

A flow injection sampling resonance light scattering system for total protein determination in human serum

A novel flow injection method with resonance light scattering detection was developed for the determination of total protein concentrations. This method is based on the enhancement of RLS signals from Methyl Blue (MB) by protein. The enhanced RLS intensities at 333 nm, in a pH 4.1 acidic aqueous solution, were proportional to the protein concentration over the range 2.0-37.3 and 1.0-36.0 microg ml-1 for human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), respectively. The corresponding limits of detection (3sigma) of 45 ng ml-1 for HSA and 80 ng ml-1 for BSA were attained. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of total proteins in human serum samples, the maximum relative error is less than 1% and the recovery is between 98% and 102%. The sample throughput was 60 h-1.