Freeze-drying for the stabilisation of shellfish toxins in mussel tissue (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus edulis</Emphasis>) reference materials

Two samples of mussels (Mytilus edulis) were collected from the southwest of Ireland. One sample contained domoic acid, the other sample contained okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-2 and azaspiracid-1, -2 and -3. Wet and freeze-dried reference materials were prepared from each of the two samples to test for differences in homogeneity, stability and extractability of the analytes in either condition. Wet materials were homogenised, aliquoted and hermetically sealed under argon and subsequently frozen at −80 °C. Dry materials were similarly homogenised but frozen in flat cakes prior to freeze-drying. After grinding, sieving and further homogenisation, the resulting powder was aliquoted and hermetically sealed. Domoic acid materials were characterised using HPLC–UV, while LC–MS was used for the determination of lipophilic toxins. The extractabilities of all phycotoxins studied were comparable for wet and freeze-dried materials once a sonication step had been carried out for reconstitution of the freeze-dried materials prior to extraction. Homogeneity was assessed through replicate analysis of the phycotoxins (n = 10), and was found to be similar for wet and freeze-dried materials, for both hydrophilic and lipophilic toxins. Water contents were determined for both wet and freeze-dried materials, and particle size was determined for the freeze-dried materials. Stability was evaluated isochronously over eight months at four temperatures (−20, +4, +20 and +40 °C). The freeze-dried material containing domoic acid was stable over the whole duration at all temperatures, while in the wet material domoic acid degraded to some extent at all temperatures except −20 °C. In freeze-dried and wet materials containing lipophilic toxins, okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-2, azaspiracid-1 and azaspiracid-2 were stable over the whole duration at all conditions, while concentrations of azaspiracid-3 changed significantly in both materials at some storage temperatures. Figure Aliquots of freeze-dried and wet mussel tissue reference materials containing the various shellfish toxins examined in the study     

Study on the cationic modification and dyeing of ramie fiber

A modification procedure for ramie fiber using 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CHPTAC) as a cationic agent and NaOH as a catalyst was developed in this paper. The morphological and structural transformations of the fiber induced by modification were determined by XRD (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). XRD results show that the crystal structure of the modified fiber was still preserved although its crystallinity was decreased, which was confirmed from the TGA results. The mechanisms for the modification and dyeing of ramie fiber were analyzed, and the optimum modification conditions were determined to be the CHPTAC concentration of 30 g L⁻¹, the NaOH concentration of 15 g L⁻¹, the reaction temperature of 50 °C, and the reaction time of 60 min. The raw and the modified fibers were dyed with C.I. reactive red 2. The K/S values for the cationic modified fiber increased to be three times as high as the unmodified fiber. The dye uptakes increased greatly with an increase in the nitrogen contents up to 0.4% on the modified fibers.     

Investigation of polynuclear Zr(IV) hydroxide complexes by nanoelectrospray mass-spectrometry combined with XAFS

Polynuclear species of zirconium in acidic aqueous solution are investigated by combining X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAFS) and nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Species distributions are measured between pH_C 0 and pH_C 3 for [Zr] = 1.5–10 mM. While the monomer remains a minor species, with increasing pH the degree of polymerization increases and the formation of tetramers, pentamers, octamers, and larger polymers is observed. The high resolution of the mass spectrometer permits the unambiguous determination of polynuclear zirconium hydroxide complexes by means of their isotopic patterns. The relative abundances of mononuclear and polynuclear species present simultaneously in solution are measured, even if one of the species contributes only 0.1% of the Zr concentration. For the first time it has been directly observed that the hydrolysis of polynuclear Zr species is a continuous process which leads to charge compensation through the sequential substitution of water molecules by hydroxide ligands until doubly charged polymers dominate at conditions (H⁺ and Zr concentrations) close to the solubility of Zr(OH)₄(am). The invasiveness of the electrospray process was minimized by using very mild declustering conditions, leaving the polynuclear species within a solvent shell of approximately 20 water molecules. Figure Schematic Diagram of Multiplexed Measurement of 9 Anti-Nuclear Antibodies Using the AtheNa Multilyte Assay     

Monitoring of PAHs in air by collection on XAD-2 adsorbent then microwave-assisted thermal desorption coupled with headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection

Microwave-assisted thermal desorption (MAD) coupled to headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been studied for in-situ, one-step, sample preparation for PAHs collected on XAD-2 adsorbent, before gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. The PAHs on XAD-2 were desorbed into the extraction solution, evaporated into the headspace by use of microwave irradiation, and absorbed directly on a solid-phase microextraction fiber in the headspace. After desorption from the SPME fiber in the hot GC injection port, PAHs were analyzed by GC–MS. Conditions affecting extraction efficiency, for example extraction solution, addition of salt, stirring speed, SPME fiber coating, sampling temperature, microwave power and irradiation time, and desorption conditions were investigated. Experimental results indicated that extraction of 275 mg XAD-2, containing 10–200 ng PAHs, with 10-mL ethylene glycol–1 mol L⁻¹ NaCl solution, 7:3, by irradiation with 120 W for 40 min (the same as the extraction time), and collection with a PDMS–DVB fiber at 35 °C, resulted in the best extraction efficiency. Recovery was more than 80% and RSD was less than 14%. Optimum desorption was achieved by heating at 290 °C for 5 min. Detection limits varied from 0.02 to 1.0 ng for different PAHs. A real sample was obtained by using XAD-2 to collect smoke from indoor burning of joss sticks. The amounts of PAHs measured varied from 0.795 to 2.53 ng. The method is a simple and rapid procedure for determination of PAHs on XAD-2 absorbent, and is free from toxic organic solvents.     

Thermal and dynamic mechanical analysis of cross-linked poly(esterurethanes)

New cross-linked poly(esterurethanes) (PEU) based on unsaturated olygo(alkyleneester)diol (OAE), 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and styrene or methyl methacrylate as curing monomers were prepared. The synthesis of PEU was performed in two steps. In the first step OAE was obtained from adipic acid, maleic anhydride and ethylene glycol. In the second step a prepolymer was obtained in a reaction of OAE with different amounts of 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate followed by crosslinking using previously mentioned curing monomers. The influence of structure of the poly(esterurethanes) on thermal and dynamic mechanical properties is studied. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that cross-linked poly(esterurethanes) demonstrate high thermal stability. Moreover the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis shows that the presence of styrene cross-linking chains in polymers lead to the phase separation in cross-linked poly(esterurethanes).     

Cation identity dependence of crown ether photonic crystal Pb<Superscript>2+</Superscript> sensing

We quantitatively modeled the volume phase transition of a hydrogel containing a crystalline colloidal array with a crown ether ligand which binds Pb²⁺. The hydrogel volume response and the wavelength diffracted depend on the Pb²⁺ concentration and on both the ionic strength and the valence of the nonbinding ionic species. We successfully modeled the response of this hydrogel Pb²⁺ sensor to ionic strength and the cation valence of the added salts. Figure Cation identity dependence of crown ether photonic crystal Pb⁺ sensing     

Instrumental modification intended to save time,and volumes of sample and reagent solutions,in the atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of mercury

Use of small membrane pumps, instead of peristaltic pumps, to introduce sample and reagent solutions into the spectrometer has several advantages in atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of mercury. This simple modification results in a substantial saving in the time required for the measurements and so 90% of reagent solution volumes and 95% of sample solution volumes are saved, with a consequent decrease in the volume of waste generated. The sampling frequency is almost tripled, with no deterioration in sensitivity, which is similar to that obtained by use of peristaltic pumps. The relative standard deviation for ten consecutive measurements of a 1 μg L⁻¹ mercury solution was approximately 2%. Figure Small membrane pumps for the atomic fluorescene spectro metric determination of mercury     

Citrate - Nitrate route for the synthesis and characterization of TAG using sol-gel techniques

Terbium Aluminum Garnet (TAG) is an important optically active material and is one of the best materials known for the fabrication of optical isolators. TAG has a large Verdet constant and has good transmission in the region of 350–1500 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is also known that TAG melts incongruently at 1840°C. This makes efficient synthesis of TAG important and challenging and forms the motivation of the present work to develop techniques for the synthesis of TAG at lower temperatures. In the present work we report the synthesis of TAG using sol-gel techniques following the citrate-nitrate route. The prepared sample is sintered at various temperatures in presence of air and characterized using X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray Analysis and the morphology is observed using the scanning electron microscopy.     

Effects of incorporation of modified silica nanoparticles on the mechanical and thermal properties of PMMA

Silica nanoparticles of various sizes have been incorporated by melt compounding in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix to enhance its thermal and mechanical properties. In order to improve nanoparticles dispersion, PMMA grafted particles have been prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from well-defined silica nanoparticles. This strategy was expected to ensure compatibility between both components of the PMMA nanocomposites. TEM analysis have been performed to evaluate the nanosilica dispersion whereas modified and non-modified silica/PMMA nanocomposites thermal stability and mechanical properties have been investigated by both thermogravimetric and dynamical mechanical analysis.