Spinning Drop Tensiometry Using a Square Section Sample Tube

When measuring interfacial tensions, conventional spinning drop tensiometry requires knowledge of the index of refraction of the denser, outer fluid phase, in order to correct for the magnification of the inner, spinning drop. We have modified a spinning drop tensiometer to accommodate a square section sample tube, which does not require this correction. Tests performed using calibration rods are used to demonstrate this fact. The interfacial tension of toluene and water is also measured using this new design. The ensuing results are in agreement with measurements obtained using a conventional circular sample tube. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Engineering target-responsive hydrogels based on aptamer-target interactions

In this communication, we report a simple, but highly adaptable, method of constructing selective target-responsive hydrogels using DNA aptamers. The simplicity of the design is accomplished by using linear polymer chains as the hydrogel backbone and a DNA aptamer as the cross-linker. In this design, competitive binding of target to the aptamer causes the decrease of cross-linking density and, hence, dissolution of the hydrogel. The adaptability of this strategy for therapeutic applications was demonstrated using two different types of targets, small molecules and proteins. Our results indicated that this molecular engineering provides a highly selective and controllable release system whereby efficient release of therapeutic agents can occur at specific environments in which the target biomarker is found.     

High resolution scanning of DNA autoradiographs.

The sizes of DNA fragments (alleles) on autoradiographs are measured by means of a computerised video scanner developed in this laboratory. This report investigates the advantages of using higher resolution equipment for this purpose. High resolution is simulated by using existing equipment and moving the video camera closer to the autoradiograph. Test autoradiographs, used to validate the original scanner, have been rescanned to determine the degree of improvement that could be obtained using expensive high resolution equipment.     

Study of the reaction between boron trifluoride methanol complex and sodium methoxide

The reaction between boron trifluoride methanol complex and sodium methoxide in methanol solution was investigated using conductivity as the reaction indicator. The reaction conditions were examined and a mechanism of this reaction was proposed. Moreover, proper reaction conditions were proposed for boric acid preparation using this reaction.     

An efficient molecular orbital approach for a simultaneous evaluation of the vibrational circular dichroism and absorption intensities

We present a procedure for evaluating vibrational circular dichroism and absorption intensities simultaneously, using finite electric field perturbation theory. In this procedure seven SCF calculations are sufficient to obtain all vibrational intensities. Preliminary calculations using CNDO wavefnctions are used to test the soundness of this procedure.     

Compound and metabolite distribution measured by MALDI mass spectrometric imaging in whole-body tissue sections

The determination of the compound distribution in laboratory animal tissue in early development is a standard process in pharmaceutical research. While this information is traditionally obtained by means of whole-body autoradiography using radiolabeled compounds, this technology does not distinguish between metabolites and parent compound. The technique described in this article, termed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometric imaging, can fill this gap by simultaneously measuring compound and multiple metabolites distributed in whole-body tissue sections, using non-labeled compounds.     

True moving bed electrophoresis using stepped electric field gradients

True moving bed electrophoresis has been shown to be an effective technique for the bench-scale separation of enantiomers, and it is desired to increase the maximum possible throughput attainable with the process by using electric field gradients. Homatropine enantiomer separations were performed and results using a stepped electric field gradient were compared to those using a traditional non-gradient separation. In order to accomplish this, a newly designed stator was constructed for use with the Vortex-Stabilized Electrophoresis Apparatus that has three sets of electrode housings, one set at both ends and one in the middle of the chamber. There were several problems related to the membranes used at the middle electrode. The dialysis membranes were permeable to the homatropine enantiomers, and while a switch to anion exchange membranes prevented the permeation of the homatropine, this caused a pH shift that interrupted binding to the hydroxypropyl-ss-cyclodextrin chiral selector. These problems prevented any meaningful data from being collected using homatropine enantiomers, and due to this, a proof of concept study was conducted using two bovine proteins. The separations using fluorescein-labeled BSA and bovine hemoglobin showed that a 63% increase in the maximum processing rate was attainable. The maximum throughput using the non-gradient process was 30.6 mg/h and the maximum was 50.0 mg/h using an electric field gradient that was 10% lower than the non-gradient field in section II and 10% higher in section III.     

Flexible Web service infrastructure for the development and deployment of predictive models

The development of predictive statistical models is a common task in the field of drug design. The process of developing such models involves two main steps: building the model and then deploying the model. Traditionally such models have been deployed using Web page interfaces. This approach restricts the user to using the specified Web page, and using the model in other ways can be cumbersome. In this paper we present a flexible and generalizable approach to the deployment of predictive models, based on a Web service infrastructure using R. The infrastructure described allows one to access the functionality of these models using a variety of approaches ranging from Web pages to workflow tools. We highlight the advantages of this infrastructure by developing and subsequently deploying random forest models for two data sets.     

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis of beta-galactosidase on microchips.

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) is a method of accomplishing chemical analyses, typically in an open-tubular capillary, due to the difference in the electrophoretic mobility between the particular reagents. This work reports on combining this technique onto microfabricated systems. Two methods of this technique were applied, constant potential and zero potential EMMA onto chips. A dosage response curve was run using this constant potential mode that resulted in a linear response over three orders of substrate concentration magnitude. The chemical system used here is beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) as the enzyme and fluorescein mono-beta-D-galactopyranoside (FMG) as the substrate. The zero potential mode was used to amplify product turnover using various incubation times. Using this technique and a 10 min incubation, approximately 40000 enzyme molecules could be detected. The zero potential mode is also used in conjunction with an internal standard to show how one can quantitate using this method. The power and ease of utility of this technique is described.     

Sequential multiphoton ionization spectroscopy: extension of a useful spectroscopic tool

An adaptation of multiphoton ionization spectroscopy is presented in which a single vibrational—rotational level of an excited electronic state is pumped using a dye laser, and a second, independently tunable dye laser beam induces multiphoton ionization from this excited level. Several advantages of this technique are demonstrated using molecular iodine.     

Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting of complex hydrocarbon mixtures: application to crude oils using data mining techniques

Crude oil fingerprints were obtained from four crude oils by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) using a silver nitrate cationization reagent. Replicate analyses produced spectral data with a large number of features for each sample (>11,000 m/z values) which were statistically analyzed to extract useful information for their differentiation. Individual characteristic features from the data set were identified by a false discovery rate based feature selection procedure based on the analysis of variance models. The selected features were, in turn, evaluated using classification models. A substantially reduced set of 23 features was obtained through this procedure. One oil sample containing a high ratio of saturated/aromatic hydrocarbon content was easily distinguished from the others using this reduced set. The other three samples were more difficult to distinguish by LDI-MS using a silver cationization reagent; however, a minimal number of significant features were still identified for this purpose. Focus is placed on presenting this multivariate statistical method as a rapid and simple analytical procedure for classifying and distinguishing complex mixtures.     

Designer electrode interfaces simultaneously comprising three different metal nanoparticle (Au, Ag, Pd)/carbon microsphere/carbon nanotube composites: progress towards combinatorial electrochemistry

In this report gold, silver and palladium metal nanoparticles are separately supported on glassy carbon microspheres (GCM) using bulk electroless deposition techniques to produce three different materials labelled as GCM-Au, GCM-Ag and GCM-Pd respectively. These three materials are then combined together into a composite film on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The MWCNTs serve to not only mechanically support this composite film as a "binder" but they also help to "wire up" each modified GCM to the underlying substrate. The intelligently designed structure of this electrode interface allows this single modified electrode to simultaneously behave as if it were a macrodisc electrode constructed of gold, silver or palladium, whilst using only a fraction of the equivalent amount of these precious metals. Furthermore this unique structure allows the possibility of combinatorial electrochemistry to be realised using a relatively facile electrode construction which avoids the problems of alloy formation, co-deposition and the formation of bimetallic species. For instance a mixture of several different analytes, which can each only be detected on a different specific substrate, can simultaneously be determined using one electrode in a single voltammetric experiment! Alternatively a substrate could undergo electrocatalytic reactions on one substrate, whilst the products, and hence the progress of this reaction, can be studied at a different substrate simultaneously at the same electrode surface. Proof-of-concept examples are presented herein and the designer electrode interface is shown to produce analytical responses to model target analytes such as hydrazine, bromide and thallium(I) ions that are comparable, if not better, than those obtained at metal macrodisc electrodes and even at other state-of-the-art nanoparticle modified electrodes.     

Cascade iodination-fluorination synthesis of 2-fluorothiophene and 5-fluoro-2-thienyliodonium salts

The first synthesis of fluorine-containing 2-thienyliodonium salts was accomplished using cascade iodination-fluorination. According to this methodology, thiophene is first converted to bis(2-thienyl)iodonium hexafluorophosphate using an electrophilic iodination reaction. Upon heating with potassium fluoride, this salt undergoes regioselective fluorination producing 2-fluorothiophene. 2-Fluorothiophene is then iodinated again to yield fluorothienyliodonium salts.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of anticancer drug delivery from carbon nanotube using metal nanowires

In this study, we have investigated delivery of cisplatin as the anticancer drug molecules in different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the gas phase using molecular dynamics simulation. We examined the shape and composition of the releasing agent by using the different nanowires and nanoclusters. We also investigated the doping effect on the drug delivery process using N-, Si, B-, and Fe-doped CNTs. Different thermodynamics, structural, and dynamical properties have been studied by using the pure and different doped CNTs in this study. Our results show that the doping of the CNT has significant effect on the rate of the drug releasing process regardless of the composition of the releasing agent. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analysis of the Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Cigarette Smoke by Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

In this paper, a sensitive accurate method for the determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in cigarette smoke has been developed and validated using solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A calibration curve was obtained with representative cigarette smoke using the standard addition method to compensate for matrix effects because the smoke of different cigarettes shows similar matrix effects. With this method, the accuracy of the method can be improved using a common analog of HAAs, which will greatly reduce the expense of using an isotope-labeled internal standard. Validation results showed that the method has high sensitivity (quantification limits of 0.08–0.56 ng cig^?1), good reproducibility (RSD 6.37–9.31 %) and satisfactory recoveries (81.0–111 %). With this method, the emissions of HAAs in 30 commercial cigarette samples were analyzed and compared.     

Fabrication of a Flexible and Disposable Microreactor Using a Dry Film Photoresist

In this paper, we demonstrate that a low‐cost flexible microreactor can be manufactured using a dry film photoresist in conjunction with photolithographic and hot roll lamination techniques. A microfluidic flow path and sample reservoir patterns were prefabricated in a dry film photoresist tape using traditional photolithographic methods. This tape was sandwiched between two plastic films ‐ wells were prepouched on the cover film — that were bonded upon passage through a hot roll laminator. A simple Plexiglas reactor holder was designed and constructed to use in evaluating the flexible microchip reactor. We demonstrate a chemical synthesis of polyaniline that was performed with this polymeric microreactor using a hydrodynamic flow control system. The fabrication of this microreactor suggests that there is great potential for designing and prototyping disposable microscale reaction systems using dry film photoresist for a range of chemical and biochemical syntheses.     

Analysis of the Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Cigarette Smoke by Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

In this paper, a sensitive accurate method for the determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in cigarette smoke has been developed and validated using solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A calibration curve was obtained with representative cigarette smoke using the standard addition method to compensate for matrix effects because the smoke of different cigarettes shows similar matrix effects. With this method, the accuracy of the method can be improved using a common analog of HAAs, which will greatly reduce the expense of using an isotope-labeled internal standard. Validation results showed that the method has high sensitivity (quantification limits of 0.08–0.56 ng cig⁻¹), good reproducibility (RSD 6.37–9.31 %) and satisfactory recoveries (81.0–111 %). With this method, the emissions of HAAs in 30 commercial cigarette samples were analyzed and compared.

     

Analysis of Slightly Rough Thin Films by Optical Methods and AFM

 In this paper the analysis of a family of rough silicon single crystal surfaces covered with native oxide layers is performed using a combined optical method based on a multisample treatment of the experimental data obtained using variable angle of spectroscopic ellipsometry and near normal spectroscopic reflectometry. Within this analysis the values of the thicknesses of the native oxide layers are determined together with the values of statistical parameters of roughness, i.e. with the rms values of the heights and the values of the autocorrelation lengths, for all the samples studied. For interpreting experimental data the perturbation Rayleigh–Rice theory and scalar diffraction theory are employed. By means of the results of the analysis achieved using both the theories limitations of the validity of these theories is discussed. The correctness of the values of the statistical parameters determined using the optical method is verified using AFM measurements.     

Membrane extraction of 1-phenylethanol from fermentation solution

1-Phenylethanol can be produced by biotransformation of acetophenone using microorganisms. The next step is the separation of biomass from the fermentation solution (e.g. using microfiltration) and then the separation of the product. Membrane extraction was studied in the presented work for this purpose. Equilibria of acetophenone and 1-phenylethanol in the equilibrium system solute-organic solvent-water were investigated for three different organic solvents (heptane, toluene, ethyl acetate). On the basis of this investigation, extraction kinetics of both solutes from the model aqueous solution to the heptane organic phase, using a hollow fiber membrane module, were studied. To simulate the extraction kinetics, mathematical model of an experimental parallel flow hollow fiber contactor is presented and verified using experimental values with good agreement. Extraction kinetics for the investigated organic solvents were simulated and compared using the verified mathematical model and the chosen membrane extraction parameters.