SELEX: just another separation?

The potential for quickly isolating high affinity, highly selective ligands generated much excitement when SELEX was first described. Fifteen years later, SELEX has still not achieved widespread acceptance due to limitations in aptamer affinity, stability and throughput. Recent research is beginning to address these limitations though and SELEX is quickly regaining its standing as a hot topic in areas as diverse as drug discovery, chemical analysis, and even genomics and proteomics.     

Solute separation in nanofluidic channels: pressure-driven or electric field-driven?

We demonstrate theoretically that solute separation can be accomplished in pressure-driven flow through nanochannels due to solute-wall interactions. Such pressure-driven separation is efficient in identifying solutes with variable valences. This function complements exactly the electric field-driven separation (i.e., electrophoretic separation) in nanofluidic channels that works well for solutes differing in diffusivity. We also demonstrate the enhanced separation of solutes of either different valence or different diffusivity through the combination of a pressure-driven flow and an electric field-driven backflow in nanofluidic channels. This combined flow, however, has to be used with caution for solutes varying in both valence and diffusivity.     

Enantiomer separation by CEC——Enantiomer separation by packed-capillary electrochromatography

Three chiral compounds were successfully separated in a short time with two enantiomer separation models on packed-capillary electrochromatography (CEC). (i) 75 μm I.D. capillaries were packed with 5 μm β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) chiral stationary phase (CSP). Effects of voltage, pH and concentration of organic modifier on electroosmotic flow (EOF) and chiral separations were investigated systematically. Enantiomers of a neutral compound (benzoin) and a neutral drug (mephenytoin) were separated within a short time with high efficiency. Efficiency of 32 000 theoretical plates per meter and resolution (R_s) of 1.42 were achieved for enantiomers of benzoin using a βCD packed column with 6.2 cm packed length. Efficiency of 45 000 theoretical plates per meter and R_s of 3.40 were obtained for enantiomers of mephenytoin. Especially, the enantiomer separation of mephenytion was performed in just 3.4 min with R_s of 2.60. (ⅱ) 75 μm I.D. capillary was packed with octadecylsilica particles (ODS). Chiral separat     

Capillary electrophoretic separation of glycoproteins

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Pushing the limits on possibilities for large scale gas separation: which strategies?

Opportunities abound to extend membrane markets for gas and vapor separations; however, the existing membrane materials, membrane structures and formation processes are inadequate to fully exploit these opportunities. The requirements for viability of membranes vary somewhat with each application. Nevertheless, the key requirements of durability, productivity and separation efficiency must be balanced against cost in all cases. The various ‘contender’ technologies for large scale gas separation membrane applications and the gas transport mechanisms are considered. The current spectrum of applications of gas separation membranes include; nitrogen enrichment, oxygen enrichment, hydrogen recovery, acid gas CO₂, H₂S removal from natural gas and dehydration of air and natural gas. The current status and the limitations faced by the available membrane materials for each of these applications are discussed. Two key technical challenges exist. Achieving higher permselectivity for the relevant application with at least equivalent productivity is the first of these challenges. Maintaining these properties in the presence of complex and aggressive feeds is the second challenge. Attractive avenues to overcome these challenges for each application will be presented. Finally, several new membrane applications with immense potential (e.g. fuel cells and olefin-paraffin separations) are discussed.     

TPD of oxygen from La?Sr?Ni?Co perovskite catalysts doped with Fe or Mn

Perovskites are interesting catalysts for hydrocarbon oxidation. TPD spectra of oxygen from La_0.66Sr_0.34Ni_0.3Co_0.7O₃, alone or doped with Fe or Mn, show the presence of two oxygen states related to the catalytic activity of these catalysts.     

Reaction-induced phase separation in rubber-modified epoxy resin

The phase separation mechanism,and structure development during curing of epoxy with a novel liquid rubber-ZR were investigated by time-resolved light scattering,optical microscope and differential scanning calonmetry (DSC) The mixture loaded with curing agent was a single-phase system in the early stage of curing.When the cure reaction proceeded,phase separation took place via the spinodal decomposition induced by polymerization of epoxy resin.This was supported by the characteristic change of light scattering profile with curing time.Cure reaction plays an important role in the progress of phase separation.The bigger the cure reaction rate is,the longer periodic distance will be.The overall two-phase structure was basically locked in when the conversion approached 80% estimated by DSC,and finally the co-continuous two-phase structure was successfully obtained.     

Oligonucleotide separation techniques for purification and analysis: What can we learn for today's tasks?

Nucleic acids are the blueprint of life. They are not only the construction plan of the single cell or higher associations of them, but also necessary for function, communication and regulation. Due to the pandemic, the attention shifted in particular to their therapeutic potential as a vaccine. As pharmaceutical oligonucleotides are unique in terms of their stability and application, special delivery systems were also considered. Oligonucleotide production systems can vary and depend on the feasibility, availability, price and intended application. To achieve good purity, reliable results and match the strict specifications in the pharmaceutical industry, the separation of oligonucleotides is always essential. Besides the separation required for production, additional and specifically different separation techniques are needed for analysis to determine if the product complies with the designated specifications. After a short introduction to ribonucleic acids (RNAs), messenger RNA vaccines, and their production and delivery systems, an overview regarding separation techniques will be provided. This not only emphasises electrophoretic separations but also includes spin columns, extractions, precipitations, magnetic nanoparticles and several chromatographic separation principles, such as ion exchange chromatography, ion-pair reversed-phase, size exclusion and affinity.     

Rapid determination of 239,240Pu, 238Pu, 241Am and 90Sr in radioactive waste using combined SPE sorbents AnaLig? Pu02, AnaLig? Sr01 and TRU? Resin

A rapid separation method has been developed which allows measurement of plutonium, americium and strontium isotopes in the radioactive sludge from Nuclear power plant A1 Jaslovske Bohunice (NPP A1) with high chemical recoveries and effective removal of matrix interferences. This method uses different commercial products stacked AnaLig^? Pu02, AnaLig^? Sr01 and TRU^? Resin cartridges from IBC Advanced Technologies and Eichrom Technologies. The method allows the rapid separation of plutonium, strontium and americium using a single multi-stage column in the vacuum box (cartridge technology) with rapid flow rates to minimize sample separation time. The ^239,240Pu, ²³⁸Pu and ²⁴¹Am were determined by alpha spectroscopy, ⁹⁰Sr was counted on TRICARB 2900 TR by Cerenkov counting of its progeny ⁹⁰Y.     

What factors control product yield in charge separation reaction from second excited state in zinc-porphyrin derivatives?

Intramolecular charge separation from the second singlet excited state of directly linked Zn-porphyrin-imide dyads and following charge recombination into the first singlet excited state has been investigated in the framework of a model involving three electronic states (the first and the second singlet excited and charge separated states) as well as their vibrational sublevels. Kinetics of the transitions between these states are described in terms of the stochastic point-transition approach. The influence of the model parameters (free energy change of charge separation, magnitude of the reorganization energies of the medium and the high frequency intramolecular vibrations, the rate of relaxation of the medium and the intramolecular high frequency vibrational mode) on the kinetics of population of both the charge separated and the first singlet excited states has been explored. Simulations of the kinetics of the charge separated state population have allowed reproducing the distinctive features of the kinetics observed in the experiment [Wallin, S.; Monnereau, C.; Blart, E.; Gankou, J.-R.; Odobel, F.; Hammarstr?m, L. J. Phys. Chem. A 2010, 114, 1709]: (i) two maxima on short time scale (hundreds of femtoseconds) and long time scale (tens of picoseconds), (ii) the magnitudes of both maxima, and (iii) the depth of the notch between the maxima.     

Microfluidic methods for cell separation and subsequent analysis

Cell is the most basic unit of the morphological structure and life activity of an organism. Learning the composition, structure and function of cells, exploring the life activities of cells and studying the interaction between cells are of great significance for human cognition and control of the life activities of organisms. Therefore, rapid, convenient, inexpensive, high-precision and reliable methods of cell separation and analysis are being developed to obtain accurate information for the s...     

HAc溶解碳酸盐岩测定87Sr/86Sr值实验方法研究

传统的碳酸盐岩的sr同位素比值测定因为采用HCl溶样,往往导致非碳酸盐组分的溶解,引起测定值偏高,采用HAc溶样可以防止样品中非碳酸盐组分的溶解,同时也避免过多的杂质离子进入溶解液,从而使^87Sr／^86Sr测定值趋于准确和可靠;通过2.5mol/L HAc溶解碳酸盐矿样和4.0mol/L HCl溶解残渣样的最后质谱测定的^87Sr／^86Sr值比较,证实碳酸盐岩中非碳酸盐组分的^87Sr／^86Sr值较碳酸盐组分高。     

Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation in biomolecular solutions

Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) and liquid crystalline (LC) ordering are ubiquitous phenomena in nature, in a variety of biomolecular solutions. Here, we review instances in DNA, nanocellulose, and other systems, where they occur together, leading to the formation of liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation (LLCPS), and we highlight analogies, differences, recent advances, and open questions. Remarkably, the intrinsic fluid yet ordered nature of LC, combined with the spatial confinement induced by LLPS, leads to peculiar biomolecular compartments suitable for a broad range of applications, ranging from material science to synthetic biology. We argue that tools from the LC field help to address still unexplained processes such as the onset of phase transitions in intracellular biomolecular condensates.     

Reverse elution order of β-blockers in chiral separation

In the field of chiral separation, the elution order of the enantiomers is one of the most important phenomena. Although the reversal of enantiomeric elution order is rare, it has certain significance. In the determination of the optical purities, the study of this phenomenon is helpful because it is favorable to elute the minor enantiomeric impurity before the major component. This mini review reports the reversal order of elution of the most important class of the drugs of β-blockers. This mini review describes the effects of the composition of the mobile phase, pH, and temperature on the reversal order of elution of β-blockers. The efforts are also made to discuss the possible future perspectives of reversal order of elution.     

The design of membrane vapor–gas separation systems

Membrane vapor–gas separation systems are beginning to be applied to a number of gas separation problems in the petrochemical and refinery areas. In this paper, some of the factors that affect the design of these systems are described using, as an application example, the separation of propylene from nitrogen in polyolefin resin degassing vents.     

Programmed co-assembly of DNA-peptide hybrid microdroplets by phase separation

Biopolymers, including DNA and peptides have been used as excellent self-assembling building blocks for programmable single-component or hybrid materials, due to their controlled molecular interactions.However, combining two assembling principles of DNA-based programmability and peptide-based specific molecular interactions for hybrid structures to microscale has not yet been achieved. In this study,we describe a hybrid microsystem that emerges from the co-assembly of DNA origami structure and s...