Development of a pulsed-laser,fiber-optic-based fluorimeter: determination of fluorescence decay times of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water

A fiber-optic-based system for remote measurement of time-resolved fluorescence emission spectra is described and characterized. A pulsed nitrogen laser is used to induce fluorescence and a time-gated, one-dimensional photodiode array is used to measure the decay of the fluorescence emission spectra. The results compare favorably with reported values for well characterized compounds having fluorescence decay times in the range 4–50 ns. The potential of using time-resolved fluorimetry (TRF) over fiber-optic cables as a means of improving the specificity of remote fluorescence determinations of spectrally similar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water is demonstrated.     

Combined phenyl silane and immunoaffinity column cleanup with liquid chromatography for determination of ochratoxin A in roasted coffee: collaborative study

A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate a liquid chromatography (LC) method for ochratoxin A using sequential phenyl silane and immunoaffinity column cleanup. The method was tested at 3 different levels of ochratoxin A in roasted coffee, which spanned the range of possible future European regulatory limits. The test portion was extracted with methanol and sodium bicarbonate by shaking for 30 min. The extract was filtered, centrifuged, and then cleaned up on a phenyl silane column before being eluted from the washed column with methanol-water. The eluate was diluted with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and applied to an ochratoxin A immunoaffinity column, which was washed with water. The ochratoxin A was eluted with methanol, the solvent was evaporated, and the residue was redissolved in injection solvent. After injection of this solution onto a reversed-phase LC apparatus, ochratoxin A was measured by fluorescence detection. Eight laboratory samples of low-level naturally contaminated roasted coffee and 2 laboratory samples of blank coffee (< 0.2 ng/g ochratoxin A at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1), along with ampules of ochratoxin A calibrant and spiking solutions, were sent to 15 laboratories in 13 different European countries. Test portions of the laboratory samples were spiked at levels of 4 ng/g ochratoxin A, and recoveries ranged from 65 to 97%. Based on results for spiked blank material (blind duplicates) and naturally contaminated material (blind duplicates at 3 levels), the relative standard deviation for repeatability (RSDr) ranged from 2 to 22% and the relative standard deviation for reproducibility (RSDR) ranged from 14 to 26%. The method showed acceptable within- and between-laboratory precision, as evidenced by HORRAT values, at the low level of determination for ochratoxin A in roasted coffee.     

The design of boronic acid spectroscopic reporter compounds by taking advantage of the pK(a)-lowering effect of diol binding: nitrophenol-based color reporters for diols

The complex that forms between a boronic acid and a diol is often much more acidic than the starting boronic acid. In conditions where the solution pH is between the two pK(a) values, the boron atom will convert from a neutral trigonal form to an anionic tetrahedral form upon complexation. Such a change is likely to dramatically alter the electron density of neighboring groups. Utilizing this effect, we have designed and synthesized two nitrophenol-based boronic acid reporter compounds that change ionization states and therefore spectroscopic properties upon diol binding. Both compounds show significant UV changes upon addition of saccharides. For example, a blue shift of the absorption max from 373 to 332 nm was observed with the addition of D-fructose to 2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenylboronic acid at neutral pH. Such a reporter compound can be used as a recognition and signaling unit for the construction of polyboronic acid sensors for the selective and specific recognitions of saccharides of biological significance.     

Separation of thiosulfate and the polythionates in gold thiosulfate leach solutions by capillary electrophoresis

A technique for the separation of thiosulfate (S(2)O(3) (2-)), polythionates (S(x)O(6) (2-), x = 3 to 5) and the gold(I) thiosulfate complex (Au(S(2)O(3))(2) (3-)) using capillary electrophoresis with simultaneous UV detection at 195 and 214 nm is presented. The five species were separated in under 3 min with a total analysis time of 8 min, using an electrolyte containing 25 mM 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,2',2"-nitrilotriethanol (bis-tris) adjusted to pH 6.0 with sulfuric acid and an applied voltage of -30 kV. While the gold(I) thiosulfate complex could be separated from the other analytes of interest under these conditions, the quantification of this complex was not possible due to inconsistent peak areas and peak splitting effects induced by the sulfur-oxygen species in the leach matrix. Detection limits calculated for 3s pressure injection at 50 mbar ranged between 0.5-2 microM. The method was linear over the ranges 40-8000, 10-2000, 10-2000, and 5-2000 microM for thiosulfate, trithionate, tetrathionate, and pentathionate, respectively. The technique was applied successfully to leach liquors containing 0.5 M ammonium thiosulfate, 2 M ammonia, 0.05 M copper sulfate and 20% w/v gold ore, diluted 1:100 prior to analysis.     

Polarographie einer Sulfoniumverbindung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Effect of electrospray ionization conditions on low-energy tandem mass spectra of peptides

The effect of electrospray ionization (ESI) conditions on low-energy tandem mass spectra of peptides in the relative molecular mass range 400–1200 was examined. For singly charged peptide ions the source skimmer potential (which determines the degree of acceleration of the ions through the intermediate pressure region in the source) can strongly influence the extent of fragmentation observed in tandem mass spectra, especially at low collision energies. For each peptide there is an optimum skimmer potential which represents a balance between generating ions with sufficient internal energy for subsequent tandem mass spectrometric experiments and inducing the onset of other processes such as source fragmentation. The fragmentation which can be achieved in tandem mass spectra with high skimmer potentials differs from ESI source fragmentation for the same peptides. We have found that fragmentation in ESI mass spectra depends both on skimmer potential and on solvent pH, presumably because the latter determines the proportion of doubly charged species generated from a given peptide. Low-energy tandem mass spectra of peptides following ESI are equally as sensitive to peptide structure and the type of adduct studied (e.g. [M + H]⁺ vs. [M + NH₄]⁺) as tandem mass spectra obtained following older ionization methods such as fast atom bombardment.     

Enantioenriched dihydropyrones from beta-lactone templates

[reaction: see text] Optically active 4-substituted 2-oxetanones provide conduits for preparing 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyrone heterocycles. Enantioenriched beta-lactones are prepared by asymmetric catalytic acyl halide-aldehyde cyclocondensation reactions. Hydrazone anion-mediated beta-lactone ring opening and ensuing cyclization-dehydroamination of the derived beta-ketohydrazone afford the desired dihydropyrones (68-81%). Optimized lactone ring-opening-cyclization reaction conditions render a variety of optically active 4-substituted-2-oxetanones as effective precursors to enantioenriched 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyrones.     

Statistical properties of aggregation with injection

We study a generalized aggregation process in which charged particles diffuse and coalesce randomly on a lattice. For one-dimensional and mean-field models, we show that there exists a statistically-invariant steady state when randomly charged particles are continuously injected. The steady-state charge distribution obeys a power law with the exponent depending both on the type of the injection and on the spatial dimension. The response of the system to a perturbation (i.e., relaxation) is characterized by either a power law decay (t ^– ,1) or a compressed exponential decay [exp(–t ),>1].     

Novel perturbation expansion for the Langevin equation

We discuss the randomly driven systemdx/dt= -W(x) +f(t), wheref(t) is a Gaussian random function or stirring force withf(t)f(t)=2(t–t), andW(x) is of the formgx ¹⁺². The parameter is a measure of the nonlinearity of the equation. We show how to obtain the correlation functionsx(t)f(t)···x(t( n)) _f as a power series in. We obtain three terms in the expansion and show how to use Padé approximants to analytically continue the answer in the variable. By using scaling relations, we show how to get a uniform approximation to the equal-time correlation functions valid for allg and.