Automatic isotope gas analysis of tritium labelled organic materials

An analytical procedure and an automatic apparatus are described for the determination of tritium in organic compounds by gas counting. The sample is pyrolysed in hydrogen atmosphere at 1000°C, then, with hydrogen, the decomposition products are rinsed through a column of molecular sieve-5A heated to 550°C. Tritium in water, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide is transferred into the hydrogen stream by isotope exchange completed on the column. The inactive water vapor, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide as well as carbon dioxide are removed from the gas stream by appropriate absorbents, and the radioactive hydrogen together with tritiated methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen included in the pyrolytic products is led into an internal proportional counter tube for radioactivity measurement. The method provides quantitative recovery, it is free of memory effect and suitable for the rapid assay of a wide variety of organic compounds containing C, H, N, O, S in addition to tritium.     

Isotope gas analysis of tritium-labelled water by means of an automatic apparatus

A procedure and an automatic apparatus designed for the radioactivity measurement of tritium-labelled water in the gaseous phase are described. The method is based on the conversion of water to hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide in a carbon-packed quartz reactor. The reaction products are swept by hydrogen carrier gas into a piston-type counter tube. Methane is fed to the radioactive gaseous mixture, and the radioactivity of the hydrogen-methane-carbon monoxide mixture is measured in the limited proportional region. The radioactivity values are correlated with the weight of the sample taken and the results are corrected for the ‘memory effect’ obtained in the measurement of inactive water samples. The standard deviation of the procedure, characteristic of its reproducibility, is lower than ±0.5% rel. at preset number of counts.     

Suspended microchannel resonators with piezoresistive sensors

Precision frequency detection has enabled the suspended microchannel resonator (SMR) to weigh single living cells, single nanoparticles, and adsorbed protein layers in fluid. To date, the SMR resonance frequency has been determined optically, which requires the use of an external laser and photodiode and cannot be easily arrayed for multiplexed measurements. Here we demonstrate the first electronic detection of SMR resonance frequency by fabricating piezoresistive sensors using ion implantation into single crystal silicon resonators. To validate the piezoresistive SMR, buoyant mass histograms of budding yeast cells and a mixture of 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 μm diameter polystyrene beads are measured. For SMRs designed to weigh micron-sized particles and cells, the mass resolution achieved with piezoresistive detection (～3.4 fg in a 1 kHz bandwidth) is comparable to what can be achieved by the conventional optical-lever detector. Eliminating the need for expensive and delicate optical components will enable new uses for the SMR in both multiplexed and field deployable applications.     

Ionic hydrogen bonds controlling two-dimensional supramolecular systems at a metal surface

Hydrogen-bond formation between ionic adsorbates on an Ag(111) surface under ultrahigh vacuum was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and molecular dynamics calculations. The adsorbate, 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (trimesic acid, TMA), self-assembles at low temperatures (250-300 K) into the known open honeycomb motif through neutral hydrogen bonds formed between carboxyl groups, whereas annealing at 420 K leads to a densely packed quartet structure consisting of flat-lying molecules with one deprotonated carboxyl group per molecule. The resulting charged carboxylate groups form intermolecular ionic hydrogen bonds with enhanced strength compared to the neutral hydrogen bonds; this represents an alternative supramolecular bonding motif in 2D supramolecular organization.     

Anwendung von Mikromethoden in der organischen Isotopengasanalyse

Zusammenfassung Verfahren zur radiochemischen Analyse organischer Substanzen, die mit¹⁴C, Tritium bzw.³⁵S markiert sind, wurden angegeben. Diese ähnlich der organischen Mikroanalyse durchführbaren Methoden beruhen auf Messungen der Radioaktivität in der Gasphase ohne Anwendung eines evakuierbaren Systems. Mit weichen-Strahlern markierte organische Substanzen lassen sich so mit mikroanalytischer Genauigkeit mit Hilfe einer einfachen Apparatur bei einem Zähleffekt von 96 bis 98% messen.

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Isotopic gas analysis of labeled organic compounds by microchemical methods

Summary Atmospheric procedures are presented for the isotopic analysis of organic compounds labelled with¹⁴C, tritium or³⁵S. These methods performed similarly to organic microanalyses may be used for radioactive measurements in the gas phase without applying a vacuum system. Radioactive measurements of organic compounds labelled with weak beta-emitters may be carried out by atmospheric methods with microanalytical accuracy in a simple apparatus at a counter efficiency of 96–98%.

     

Integrated microelectronic device for label-free nucleic acid amplification and detection

We present an integrated microelectronic device for amplification and label-free detection of nucleic acids. Amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is achieved with on-chip metal resistive heaters, temperature sensors, and microfluidic valves. We demonstrate a rapid thermocycling with rates of up to 50 degrees C s(-1) and a PCR product yield equivalent to that of a bench-top system. Amplicons within the PCR product are detected by their intrinsic charge with a silicon field-effect sensor. Similar to existing optical approaches with intercalators such as SYBR Green, our sensing approach can directly detect standard double-stranded PCR product, while in contrast, our sensor does not require labeling reagents. By combining amplification and detection on the same device, we show that the presence or absence of a particular DNA sequence can be determined by converting the analog surface potential output of the field-effect sensor to a simple digital true/false readout.