A fluorometric aptamer-based assay for ochratoxin A using magnetic separation and a cationic conjugated fluorescent polymer

A fluorometric aptamer-based assay for ochratoxin A (OTA) is described. It is making use of magnetic separation and a cationic conjugated fluorescent polymer. Amino-tagged aptamer (Apt) against OTA is immobilized on magnetic beads (MBs) to form a conjugate of type Apt-MBs. The immobilized aptamer is partially complementary to carboxyfluorescein-labeled DNA which binds to the Apt-MBs via hybridization if OTA is absent. Only few FAM-DNA will remain in the supernatant after magnetic separation, and only weak fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) occurs on addition of the fluorescent polymer. If, however, OTA is present, it will bind to the aptamer and prevent the hybridization between Apt-DNA and FAM-DNA. This results in the presence of large amounts of FAM-DNA in the supernatant after magnetic separation. On addition of fluorescent polymer, efficient FRET occurs from the polymer to FAM-DNA. Fluorescence, best measured at excitation/emission peaks of 370/530 nm, increases with increasing concentrations of OTA. This assay is highly sensitive and selective. The detection limit is as low as 0.11 ng mL^?1. This is 6 times lower than the aptamer assay without using the fluorescent polymer. Conceivably, this method has a wider scope in that it may be extended to other mycotoxins by simply changing the aptamer.

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Graphical Abstract Schematic of a fluorometric aptamer assay for ochratoxin A (OTA). It is based on magnetic separation coupled with a cationic conjugated polymer (PFP).

     

A DNAzyme assay coupled with effective magnetic separation and rolling circle amplification for detection of lead cations with a smartphone camera

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - Rapid, portable, and efficient detection of lead cations (Pb2+) is of great significance for monitoring and evaluating environmental toxicity and human...     

Flotation method for separation of elemental Te with Se as collector

Summary A method combining co-precipitation of traces of elemental Te on Se as carrier with organic solvent flotation is described. The best reduction and flotation conditions (hydrochloric and phosphinic acid concentrations, amount of Se, solvent used) were chosen. The recoveries for 100g of Te(IV) (AAS measurement in MIBK) and 2g of Te (radiochemical measurement with¹²⁷Te) were 98% and 84–88%. The method was applied for separation of Te(IV) from copper metallurgy dust and slag.

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Flotationsverfahren zur Abtrennung von elementarem Tellur mit Selen als Kollektor

Zusammenfassung Die Kombination der Mitfällung von Spuren elementaren Tellurs auf Selen als Trägersubstanz mit der Flotation mit Hilfe eines organischen Lösungsmittels wurde beschrieben. Die besten Bedingungen zur Reduktion und Flotation (Salzsäure-und Phosphinsäurekonzentration, Selenmenge, Lösungsmittel) wurden ausgewählt. Die Wiederfindungsraten für 100g Te(IV) (AAS-Bestimmung in MIBK) und 2g Te (radiochemische Messung mit¹²⁷Te) waren 98% bzw. 84–88%. Das Verfahren wurde zur Trennung von Te(IV) aus dem Staub und der Schlacke der Kupfermetallurgie verwendet.

     

Colony-forming cell assay for human hematopoietic progenitor cells harvested by a novel continuous-flow cell separation method

In order to prove the functional potentiality of cells separated according to their densities by a novel continuous-flow cell separation method, the colony-forming cell (CFC) assay was performed on the harvested cells from peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. The number of colony-forming unit-granulocyte, erythroid, macrophage, megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM), which are considered to be stem cells, was approximately 3% of colonies developed from the peripheral blood and approximately 4% of colonies from the umbilical cord blood. It appears that this new method could allow us for harvesting of hematopoietic progenitor cells without losing their native ability to proliferate.     

Monte Carlo analysis of thermochromatography as a fast separation method for nuclear forensics

Nuclear forensic science has become increasingly important for global nuclear security, and enhancing the timeliness of forensic analysis has been established as an important objective in the field. New, faster techniques must be developed to meet this objective. Current approaches for the analysis of minor actinides, fission products, and fuel-specific materials require time-consuming chemical separation coupled with measurement through either nuclear counting or mass spectrometry. These very sensitive measurement techniques can be hindered by impurities or incomplete separation in even the most painstaking chemical separations. High-temperature gas-phase separation or thermochromatography has been used in the past for the rapid separations in the study of newly created elements and as a basis for chemical classification of that element. This work examines the potential for rapid separation of gaseous species to be applied in nuclear forensic investigations. Monte Carlo modeling has been used to evaluate the potential utility of the thermochromatographic separation method, albeit this assessment is necessarily limited due to the lack of available experimental data for validation.     

Pseudo-exact force constants by the high and low frequency separation method

A method based on the “Approximate Separation of High and Low Frequencies” by Wilson et al. is developed and applied to molecules with three vibrations in a single species. It is shown that for a number of ZXY₃ (C_3v), ZXY₂ (C_2v), and ZXY (C_s) type molecules, for which exact force constants and isotopic data are available, this method—when used in conjunction with the isotopic data-reproduces the exact force constants of the reduced secular determinant. The high and low frequency separation seems to be a good method for determining the force constants in many n = 3 cases, where the highest and/or lowest frequency vibrations are rather characteristic and where—as in most cases—isotopic frequency data alone are insufficient for the determination of the exact force field. Extension to higher order secular determinants should also be possible.     

A new method for the production of a magnetic immunosorbent used in radioimmunoassay and immunoradiometric assay

A method has been developed enabling the direct coupling of first or second antibody to finely dispersed magnetite (Fe₃O₄). The immunosorbent thus produced was applied in various radioimmunoassay systems (T3, T4, TSH, Cortisol) for the separation of bound and free antigens. The elimination of the need for precoating the magnetic particles with a polymer has several advantages. One of them lies in the ease of one-step production of the immunosorbent and other is the high antibody/magnetite ratio. The influence of the concentration of the immunosorbent and detergent (TWEEN 20 or TRITON X-100) on the assay parameters (Bo, NSB, etc.) has been systematically investigated and the optimum concentration of the magnetizable particles and detergent has been determined. The reliability of magnetic separation has been validated by comparing it with the conventional PEG separation method.This work was performed in the scope of the Coordinated Research ProgrammeAntibodies Immobilized on Magnetic Particles for Radioimmunoassay and Immunoradiometric Assay (No6 487CF) organized and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. The authors express their thanks to the Agency for supporting this work.     

Micro flow injection analysis combined with a separation technique for the urinary glucose assay.

A urinary glucose assay has been investigated, employing a micro flow injection analysis (microFIA) combined with a separation technique of glucose from the analyte. The adsorption part using activated alumina for the glucose in the analyte can be successively integrated onto a microFI chip. The selective adsorption-desorption of glucose in the artificial urine can progress on the adsorption part. Along with this selective preconcentration of glucose, the typical FI peak of glucose can be obtained just by feeding the sample and deionized water as an elutant sandwiched with the reagent on the carrier stream. The glucose concentration in artificial urine can be quantitatively determined with the present microFIA system, while the interference of other components coexisting in urine occurs in the case of the conventional FIA system without any separation part. The described method serves as a template for improving the selectivity for the analyte in the multi-component system.     

New tetrazolium method for phosphatase assay using ascorbic acid 2-phosphate as a substrate

A new method to assay alkaline and acid phosphatases assay using ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AsA-P) and ditetrazolium salt nitroblue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) was developed. AsA-P is hydrolyzed in the presence of phosphatase to yield ascorbic acid. In turn, the ascorbic acid reduces NBT directly or indirectly, opening the tetrazole ring to produce an insoluble formazan as a colored precipitate. The proposed method for alkaline phosphatase was compared with a conventional method in which 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate (BCIP) is used in combination with NBT in the dot blots of a dilution series of β-lactoglobulin. AsA-P reduced NBT more effectively than BCIP in the presence of alkaline phosphatase. AsA-P could be also used as the chromogenic substrate for an acid phosphatase assay in the presence of phenazinium methylsulfate and NBT.     

Microphase separation at the surface of block copolymers, as studied with atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to study the phase separation process occurring in block copolymers in the solid state. The simultaneous measurement of the amplitude and the phase of the oscillating cantilever in the tapping mode operation provides the surface topography along with the cartography of the microdomains of different mechanical properties. This technique thus allows to characterize the size and shape of those microdomains and their organization at the surface (e.g. cubic lattice spheres, hexagonal lattice of cylinders, or lamellae). In this study, a series of symmetric triblock copolymers made of a inner elastomeric sequence (poly(butadiene) or poly(alkylacrylate)) and two outer thermoplastic sequences (poly(methylmethacrylate)) is analyzed by AFM in the tapping mode. The microphase separation and their morphology are essential factors for the potential of these materials as a new class of thermoplastic elastomers. Special attention is paid to the control of the surface morphology, as observed by AFM, by the molecular structure of the copolymers (volume ratio of the sequences, molecular weight, length of the alkyl side group) and the experimental conditions used for the sample preparation. The molecular structure of the chains is completely controlled by the synthesis, which relies on the sequential living anionic polymerization of the comonomers. The copolymers are analyzed as solvent-cast films, whose characteristics depend on the solvent used and the annealing conditions. The surface arrangement of the phase-separated elastomeric and thermoplastic microdomains observed on the AFM phase images is discussed on the basis of quantitative information provided by the statistical analysis by Fourier transform and grain size distribution calculations.     

High performance liquid chromatography equipped with a cathodic detector and column-switching device as a high-throughput method for a phosphatase assay with p-nitrophenyl phosphate

A preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) method for isolation and purification of coumarin compounds from the Chinese medicinal plant Peucedanum decursivum (Miq.) Maxim (Zihuaqianhu in Chinese) was successfully established by using light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:7:4, v/v) as the two-phase solvent system. The upper phase of light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:7:4, v/v) was used as the stationary phase of HSCCC. Nodakenetin (2.8 mg), 6.1 mg of Pd-C-IV, 7.3 mg of Pd-D-V, 4.7 mg of ostruthin, 7.8 mg of decursidin and 11.2 mg of decursitin C with the purity of 88.3%, 98.0%, 94.2%, 97.1%, 97.8% and 98.4%, respectively, were separated successfully in one-step separation from 150 mg of crude sample from P. decursivum (Miq.) Maxim. After purified by HSCCC again with light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:4:5, v/v) as the two-phase solvent system, the purity of (I) can reach 99.4%. The structures of all the compounds were identified by 1H NMR and 13C NMR.     

Kinetic approach for the purification of nucleotides with magnetic separation

The isolation of β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is of great importance since it is widely used in different scientific and technologic fields such as biofuel cells, sensor technology, and hydrogen production. In order to isolate β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, first 3‐aminophenyboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were prepared to serve as a magnetic solid support and subsequently they were used for reversible adsorption/desorption of β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in a batch fashion. The loading capacity of the 3‐aminophenyboronic acid functionalized nanoparticles for β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide adsorption was 13.0 μmol/g. Adsorption kinetic and isotherm studies showed that the adsorption process followed a pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model and the experimental data can be represented using Langmuir isotherm model. The 3‐aminophenyboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were proposed as an alternative support for the β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide purification. The results elucidated the significance of magnetic separation as a fast, relatively simple, and low‐cost technique. Furthermore, the magnetic supports can be reused at least five times for purification processes.     

High-performance size exclusion chromatography as a rapid method for the separation of steroid hormone receptors

Triazine dyes, bound to polyethylene glycol, have been used to influence the partition of some enzymes within a dextran-polyethylene glycol-water two-phase system. The enzymes, present in a protein extract from baker's yeast, included glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phospho-glycerate kinase and alcohol dehydrogenase. The partition coefficients of the enzymes could be changed by a factor of 10-500 in favour of the polyethylene glycol-rich phase, while the partition of bulk protein was much less affected. The influence of the concentration of polymer-bound dye and phase-forming polymers, temperature, pH, kind and concentration of salt and the presence of nucleotides on this affinity partitioning effect was studied. The extraction was effective even at high concentrations of dye and protein (40 g/l). A partial purification (32-fold) of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase was carried out by an extraction in five steps.     

Phase separation two polymers in a blend and selective degradation as a method for porous structure formation

A method is proposed for the formation of porous structures in polymers. The method is based on the phase separation of two polymers in a blend and selective degradation of one of them. Polymers hydrolyzable at a high rate in alkaline media (polyesters of oxalic acid) are synthesized, and their hydrolytic degradation and phase separation in mixed solutions with a polylactide are investigated. Porous polylactide samples are prepared by the selective hydrolysis of polylactide-polyoxalate blends.     

The proton uptake channel of bacteriorhodopsin as studied by a photoelectrochemical method

A series of the mutant proteins (D96N, D96N/D85N, D115N, L93T, T46V, V49A) where the residues are located at the cytoplasmic domain of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) were studied photoelectrochemically and their photocurrent response characteristics at the electrode/electrolyte interface were compared with those of the wild-type bR. While the wild-type bR of normal proton pumping activity yields symmetrical cathodic (positive) and anodic (negative) responses, corresponding to proton release and proton uptake, respectively, these mutants, with the exception of D115N, showed diminished amplitudes in the negative response. This indicates retardation of proton translocation from the cytoplasmic surface to the retinal Schiff base. The mutation that gave the strongest influence on the negative response was D96N while moderate influence was obtained with L93T, T46V, and V49A. These results suggest that residues other than D96 also participate in the cytoplasmic proton uptake channel, either by interacting with D96 directly or by forming a hydrogen-bonded network with water molecules. The D96N/D85N double mutant yielded little response at neutral pH, but the response was partially recovered by addition of azide, while it was fully recovered in the single mutant D96N. The D115N mutant showed the response profile that closely resembles the wild-type, indicating that D115 is not crucially involved in the event of proton transfer relay at the cytoplasmic region. It was also found that every mutant in this study releases protons prior to uptake at the other membrane surface, as does the wild-type.     

A separation mechanism of photogenerated charges and magnetic properties for BiFeO3 microspheres synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method

BiFeO(3) (BFO) microspheres were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The optical absorption spectrum indicates that on site Fe(3+) crystal-field transitions and the charge transfer excitations can be observed. Magnetic measurements show a spin-glass behavior and room temperature weak ferromagnetism. The surface photovoltage spectroscopy of the BFO shows two response peaks centered at about 370 and 400 nm, respectively. Under an ambient atmosphere, the maximum surface photovoltage of the BFO reaches 180 μV with the bias (+2 V) and is three times larger than that with zero bias. It is found that the surface photovoltage response intensity increases with an increase in applied bias, regardless of positive or negative bias. It is suggested that the surface photovoltaic properties are related to both the depolarization field owing to ferroelectric polarization and the build-in electric field due to the Schottky barrier. The micro-process and the physical mechanism of the separation of photogenerated charges for BFO are fully explained.     

General reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of drugs using triethylamine as a competing base

Triethylamine (TEA) was evaluated as a competing base for the retention control and peak shape improvement in the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) analysis of selected acidic, basic, and neutral drugs. The effects of this amine on the capacity factor and theoretical plate number values of ephedrine, phenol, and sulfamerazine were examined on three unmodified commercial octadecylsilane chromatographic columns. Based on these results, a general RP-HPLC elution scheme using a mu Bondapak C18 10-micron column, methanol-acetic acid-TEA-water mobile phases, and an ultraviolet detector was developed for more than 150 drugs of pharmaceutical interest. The proposed method was applied to the separation of groups of chemically or pharmacologically related drugs that included sympathomimetic amines, antihistamines, phenothiazines, local anesthetics, Cinchona and tropane alkaloids, xanthines, sulfonamides, and steroids. In addition, paired-ion drugs such as physostigmine salicylate and combinations of ascorbic acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, pamoic acid, and 8-chlorotheophylline with various basic moieties were readily and effectively resolved into their ionic components using almost identical RP-HPLC conditions.