A valveless microfluidic device for integrated solid phase extraction and polymerase chain reaction for short tandem repeat (STR) analysis

A valveless microdevice has been developed for the integration of solid phase extraction (SPE) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on a single chip for the short tandem repeat (STR) analysis of DNA from a biological sample. The device consists of two domains--a SPE domain filled with silica beads as a solid phase and a PCR domain with an ~500 nL reaction chamber. DNA from buccal swabs was purified and amplified using the integrated device and a full STR profile (16 loci) resulted. The 16 loci Identifiler? multiplex amplification was performed using a non-contact infrared (IR)-mediated PCR system built in-house, after syringe-driven SPE, providing an ~80-fold and 2.2-fold reduction in sample and reagent volumes consumed, respectively, as well as an ~5-fold reduction in the overall analysis time in comparison to conventional analysis. Results indicate that the SPE-PCR system can be used for many applications requiring genetic analysis, and the future addition of microchip electrophoresis (ME) to the system would allow for the complete processing of biological samples for forensic STR analysis on a single microdevice.     

Structural characterization of manganese and iron complexes with methylated derivatives of bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine reveals unanticipated conformational flexibility

Iron and manganese complexes with derivatives of bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (bispicen) have previously been found to be efficient catalysts for hydrocarbon oxygenation. Methylation can potentially impact the conformation of the ligand around the metal center and the electronic character of the bound metal ion; each of these, in turn, impacts reactivity. Reported are mononuclear manganese(II) and iron(II) compounds with bispicen and five increasingly methylated derivatives. The extent and sites of methylation strongly impact the optical and electrochemical properties of the manganese and iron complexes. Increased methylation is correlated with more positive M(III/II) reduction potentials. Structural analysis of the Mn(II) series reveals two ligand conformations that have never been observed for the bispicen framework, cis-β and trans, in addition to the common cis-α conformation. (1)H NMR spectra of the structurally characterized iron compounds are consistent with mixtures of these conformers, suggesting that bispicen coordination is both more flexible and more dynamic than previously thought.     

Hexaaquacobalt(II) and hexaaquanickel(II) bis(μ‐pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate

The title complexes, hexaaquacobalt(II) bis(μ‐pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate, [Co(H₂O)₆][Bi₂(C₇H₄NO₄)₄]·2H₂O, (I), and hexaaquanickel(II) bis(μ‐pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate, [Ni(H₂O)₆][Bi₂(C₇H₄NO₄)₄]·2H₂O, (II), are isomorphous and crystallize in the triclinic space group P. The transition metal ions are located on the inversion centre and adopt slightly distorted MO₆ (M = Co or Ni) octahedral geometries. Two [Bi(pydc)₂]⁻ units (pydc is pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylate) are linked via bridging carboxylate groups into centrosymmetric [Bi₂(pydc)₄]²⁻ dianions. The crystal packing reveals that the [M(H₂O)₆]²⁺ cations, [Bi₂(pydc)₄]²⁻ anions and solvent water molecules form multiple hydrogen bonds to generate a supramolecular three‐dimensional network. The formation of secondary Bi...O bonds between adjacent [Bi₂(pydc)₄]²⁻ dimers provides an additional supramolecular synthon that directs and facilitates the crystal packing of both (I) and (II).     

HE(I) Photoelectron spectra of 1,2-ethanediol in the liquid and gas phases

Nine bands in the He(I) gas-phase photoelectron spectrum of 1,2-ethanediol are assigned by means of ab initio calculation and by comparison with the sp     

Markov interest rate models

A general procedure for creating Markovian interest rate models is presented. The models created by this procedure automatically fit within the HJM framework and fit the initial term structure exactly. Therefore they are arbitrage free. Because the models created by this procedure have only one state variable per factor, twoand even three-factor models can be computed efficiently, without resorting to Monte Carlo techniques. This computational efficiency makes calibration of the new models to market prices straightforward. Extended Hull- White, extended CIR, Black-Karasinski, Jamshidian's Brownian path independent models, and Flesaker and Hughston's rational log normal models are one-state variable models which fit naturally within this theoretical framework. The ‘separable’ n-factor models of Cheyette and Li, Ritchken, and Sankarasubramanian - which require n(n + 3)/2 state variables - are degenerate members of the new class of models with n(n + 3)/2 factors. The procedure is used to create a new class of one-factor models, the ‘β-η models.’ These models can match the implied volatility smiles of swaptions and caplets, and thus enable one to eliminate smile error. The β-η models are also exactly solvable in that their transition densities can be written explicitly. For these models accurate - but not exact - formulas are presented for caplet and swaption prices, and it is indicated how these closed form expressions can be used to efficiently calibrate the models to market prices.