Detection of Allergenic Lysozyme during Winemaking with an Electrochemical Aptasensor

In this work we investigate the performance of a simple, disposable electrochemical aptasensor for lysozyme and its usefulness for monitoring the allergen risk along wine production. The sensor relies on screen‐printed gold electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles as the electrochemical transducer, with detection by cyclic voltammetry. This simple method is characterized by a detection limit of 0.32 μg.mL^?1 lysozyme and a linear range of 1–10 μg.mL^?1, being appropriate for the analysis of lysozyme‐treated wines. Several white wines where sulphur dioxide was partially replaced by lysozyme were produced and analyzed with the aptasensor at critical stages during wine production. The results obtained with the aptasensor were moreover compared with those recorded in parallel by a standard method, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The specific advantages brought by the use of nanomaterial and the limitations of the sensor are discussed. The sensor allowed evaluating the effect of various technological steps along wine production on the content of lysozyme.     

Physics with heavy neutron-rich RIBs at the HRIBF

The Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has recently produced the world's first post-accelerated beams of heavy neutron-rich nuclei. The first experiments with these beam are described, and the results discussed. B(E2;0⁺ → 2⁺) values for neutron-rich ^126,128Sn and ^132,134,136Te isotopes have been measured by Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics. The results for ¹³²Te and ¹³⁴Te (N = 80, 82) show excellent agreement with systematics of lighter Te isotopes, but the B(E2) value for ¹³⁶Te (N = 84) is unexpectedly small. Single-neutron transfer reactions with a ¹³⁴Te beam on ^natBe and ¹³C targets at energies just above the Coulomb barrier have also been studied. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: radford@mail.phy.ornl.gov     

Connecting the X (5)? β 2, X (5)? β 4, and X (3) models to the shape/phase transition region of the interacting boson model

The parameter-independent (up to overall scale factors) predictions of the X(5)−β ²,X(5)−β ⁴, and X(3) models, which are variants of the X(5) critical point symmetry developed within the framework of the geometric collective model, are compared to two-parameter calculations in the framework of the interacting boson approximation (IBA) model. The results show that these geometricmodels coincide with IBA parameters consistentwith the phase/shape transition region of the IBA for boson numbers of physical interest (close to 10). ¹⁸⁶Pt and ¹⁷²Os are identified as good examples of X(3), while ¹⁴⁶Ce, ¹⁷⁴Os, and ¹⁵⁸Er, ¹⁷⁶Os are identified as good examples of X(5)−β ₂ and X(5)−β ⁴ behavior, respectively The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Sheathless reverse-polarity capillary electrophoresis-electrospray-mass spectrometry for analysis of underivatized glycoconjugates

We report on the development of a novel methodology to extend the limits of capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (CE-ESI-MS) general applicability. A sheathless on-line CE-ESI-MS setup was optimized on standard monosaccharide mixture to operate in reverse polarity and negative ion mode for MS detection without pressure to assist the sample migration, coating of the capillaries, and/or sample derivatization. This approach was further applied for screening of a complex glycopeptide mixture obtained from the urine of a patient diagnosed with N-acetylhexosaminidase deficiency, known as Schindler's disease. The potential of this methodology in terms of high sensitivity, separation efficiency, resolution, and reproducibility is demonstrated. In combination with the high quality of MS data, a new, significantly improved insight into the sample heterogeneity is possible.     

On-line sheathless capillary electrophoresis/nanoelectrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of glycosaminoglycan oligosaccharides

A novel approach in glycosaminoglycomics, based on sheathless on-line capillary electrophoresis/nanoelectrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (CE/nanoESI-QTOF-MS) and tandem MS of extended chondroitin sulfate/dermatan (CS/DS) oligosaccharide chains is described. The methodology required the construction of a new sheathless CE/nanoESI-QTOF-MS configuration, its implementation and optimization for the high sensitivity analysis of CS/DS oligosaccharide mixtures from conditioned culture medium of decorin transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. Under newly established sheathless on-line CE/(-)nanoESI conditions for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) ionization and MS detection, single CS/DS oligosaccharide components of extended chain length and increased sulfation degree were identified. Molecular ions corresponding to species carrying 5 and 6 negative charges could be generated for large GAG oligosaccharide species in the negative ion nanoESI-MS. The optimized on-line conditions enabled the detection of molecular ions assigned to oversulfated tetradeca-, octadeca-, and eicosasaccharide CS/DS molecules, which represent the category of largest sulfated GAG-derived oligosaccharides evidenced by CE/ESI-MS. By on-line CE/ESI tandem MS in data-dependent acquisition mode the oversulfated eicosasaccharide species could be sequenced and the localization of the additional sulfate group along the chain could be determined.     

On a simple formula for the energy of the lowest octupole state

A recently introduced way of parameterizing the energies of 3 states in many even-even nuclei, based on the microscopic structure of the low-energy octupole mode, is slightly modified so it now includes all (non-doubly magic) nuclei with A ? 30.     

Capillary electrophoresis and off-line capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry of carbohydrates

The use of off-line high-performance capillary electrophoresis in connection with nanospray electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry for identification of complex carbohydrates of biological origin is presented. The method was applied to the identification of O-glycosylated amino acids and -glycopeptides from the urine of patients suffering from a hereditary disease - N-acetylhexosaminidase deficiency. Structural elements typical for O-glycosylation of proteins, like expression of core 1 and 2 type O-glycans with different numbers of N-acetyllactosaminyl repeats and different degrees of sialylation, can be directly detected.     

Octupole correlations in the actinides and the spdf-IBA model

The octupole bands in the Z～88, N～134 region, with their abundance of experimental information, offer a real challenge for different nuclear structure models. In this region, quasimolecular bands, which are thought to indicate the presence of stable octupole deformation, have been observed. The quantities most often reported are the B(E1)/B(E2) branching ratios from these levels. The calculations in the framework of the spdf model show that the 1-pf boson limit (dipole-octupole vibrations) can describe the essential experimental features related to the octupole bands in the Rn-Th region.