Gravity-induced convective flow in microfluidic systems: electrochemical characterization and application to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests

A way of using gravity flow to induce a linear convection within a microfluidic system is presented. It is shown and mathematically supported that tilting a 1 cm long covered microchannel is enough to generate flow rates up to 1000 nL.min(-1), which represents a linear velocity of 2.4 mm.s(-1). This paper also presents a method to monitor the microfluidic events occurring in a covered microchannel when a difference of pressure is applied to force a solution to flow in said covered microchannel, thanks to electrodes inserted in the microfluidic device. Gravity-induced flow monitored electrochemically is applied to the performance of a parallel-microchannel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with electrochemical detection. A simple method for generating and monitoring fluid flows is described, which can, for instance, be used for controlling parallel assays in microsystems.     

Synthesis, characterization and crystal structures of two polyphilic mesogenic compounds

Three homologous series of semi-perfluorinated liquid crystals: 4-(2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-butyloxycarbonyl)phenyl, 4-(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoropentyloxycarbonyl)phenyl and 4-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyloxycarbonyl)phenyl 4-[(n-perfluoroalkyl)alkyloxy]benzoates have been synthesized. Their mesomorphic properties were studied by DSC, microscopic observation and X-ray diffraction. Their layer spacings are smaller than the molecular length (L). The ratio d_SA/L is about 0.7. The crystal structure of two derivatives of the first family have also been investigated. In both structures the molecules pack in smectic C-like sheets where neighbouring molecules are antiparallel, interacting through dipolar and van der Waals forces. The interactions between contiguous sheets, through the ends of perfluorinated chains are very weak. The X-ray diffraction results on the mesophases and on the crystalline structures of two compounds of the first family are compared. From this, we propose a model of the smectic phases with a zig-zag structure.     

Measurement of long-range cross-correlation rates using a combination of single- and multiple-quantum NMR spectroscopy in one experiment

A method is described to determine long-range cross-correlations between the modulations of an anisotropic chemical shift (e.g., of a C' carbonyl carbon in a protein) and the fluctuations of a weak long-range dipolar interaction (e.g., in cross-correlation between the same C' carbonyl and the H(N) proton of the neighboring amide group). Such long-range correlations are difficult to measure because the corresponding long-range scalar couplings are so small that Redfield's secular approximation is often violated. The method, which combines features of single- and double-quantum NMR spectroscopy, allows one to cancel the effects of dominant short-range dipolar interactions (e.g., between the CSA of the amide nitrogen N and the dipolar coupling to its attached proton H(N)) and is designed so that the secular approximation is rescued even if the scalar coupling between the long-range dipolar coupling partners is very small. The cross-correlation rates thus determined in ubiquitin cover a wide range because of local motions and variations of the CSA tensors.     

Spontaneous dissolution of a single-wall carbon nanotube salt

Upon reduction with alkali metals, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTS) are shown to form polyelectrolyte salts that are soluble in polar organic solvents without any sonication, use of surfactants, or functionalization whatsoever, thus forming true thermodynamically stable solutions of naked SWNTs.     

Conduction in charged PbSe nanocrystal films

Conduction in thin films of PbSe nanocrystals doped by electrochemical gating has been studied. Charging the film, with either electrons or holes, increases the conductance by orders of magnitude. The electrons in the 1S(e) state of nanocrystals in these films have a mobility as high as 5.0 x 10(-3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). Electrons in the 1P(e) state were found to have a differential mobility up to 3-5 times greater than the electrons in the 1S(e) state, and a mobility minima was found corresponding to the complete filling of the 1S(e) state. The temperature and electric field dependence of conductance in the film, measured between 4.3 and 135 K, were both well described by a variable range hopping model.     

The preparation of a cabbage reference material for environmental monitoring and food analysis

 Cabbage is frequently used in environmental monitoring and food control, and, hence, cabbage reference materials (RMs) are required for ensuring quality assurance. A cabbage RM was prepared in view of certification of specific elements from the "black list" of high toxicological interest and nutritive importance. All tasks of the RM production (production of the plant material, cutting and freeze-drying, determination of the residual water content, preparation of the RM, homogeneity testing, stability testing, certification measurements) are described in detail. Received: 12 November 1999 / Accepted: 29 January 2000     

An efficient and simple aminobenzannulation reaction: pyrrolidine as a trigger for the synthesis of 1-amino-acridines

[reaction: see text] A new aminobenzannulation methodology has been developed and applied successfully to the synthesis of 1-amino-acridines. The key and last step goes through an enamine intermediate that was detected in some cases. When pyrrolidine and powdered 4 A molecular sieves were used, the enamine synthesis and the aminobenzannulation step took place subsequently, whereas for other secondary amines, neutral Al(2)O(3) or PtCl(2) catalysis was necessary.     

Room temperature, high-yield synthesis of multiple shapes of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution

A seed-mediated growth method was used to control the morphology and dimensions of Au nanocrystals by the manipulation of the experimental parameters in aqueous solution at room temperature. This chemical route produces various structural architectures with rod-, rectangle-, hexagon-, cube-, triangle-, and starlike profiles and branched (such as bi-, tri-, tetra-, and multipod) Au nanocrystals of various dimensions in high yield in the presence of a single surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide.     

Optimized intermolecular potential for aromatic hydrocarbons based on anisotropic united atoms. III. Polyaromatic and naphthenoaromatic hydrocarbons

In this third article of the series, a new anisotropic united atoms (AUA) intermolecular potential parameter set has been proposed for the carbon force centers connecting the aromatic rings of polyaromatic hydrocarbons to predict thermodynamic properties using both the Gibbs ensemble and NPT Monte Carlo simulations. The model uses the same parameters as previous AUA models used for the aromatic CH force centers. The optimization procedure is based on the minimization of a dimensionless error criterion incorporating various thermodynamic data of naphthalene at 400 and 550 K. The new model has been evaluated on a series of polyaromatic and naphthenoaromatic hydrocarbons over a wide range of temperatures up to near-critical conditions. Vaporization enthalpy, liquid density, and normal boiling temperature are reproduced with good accuracy. The new potential parameters have also been tested successfully on toluene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, styrene, m-xylene, n-hexylbenzene, and n-dodecylbenzene to demonstrate their transferability to alkylbenzenes.     

Evaluation of glycoalkaloids in tubers of genetically modified virus Y-resistant potato plants (var. Désirée) by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (NACE–ESI–MS)

The glycoalkaloid content of transgenic potatoes was evaluated by an optimised method based on non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis coupled on-line with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (NACE-ESI-MS). The potato material consisted of tubers from a conventional cv. Désirée and from three lines of modified plants resistant, intermediate and susceptible to infection by potato virus Y (PVY). The main glycoalkaloids were confirmed to be alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine with parent ion masses m/z 852 and 868, respectively. In addition, an unknown minor peak at m/z 850.6 was found both in conventional (control) and susceptible line potato tubers. Such a compound exhibited an MS(2) spectrum with fragments ions at 704 and 396 m/z derived by loss of two ions, i.e. m/z 146 and 307, most likely corresponding to a rhamnose unit and a [glucose-(rhamnose)(2)] moiety, respectively. Up to 30-80-fold higher concentrations of total glycoalkaloids were found in the peel compared to flesh samples of all tubers examined. TGA content was nearly doubled in peel samples of resistant compared to control lines, and these levels were lower than the limit recommended for food safety, i.e. 20-60 mg of TGA per 100 g fresh weight. Moreover, it was established that tubers produced by virus-resistant clones are substantially equivalent in glycoalkaloid contents to those produced by conventional potato varieties.