Accreditation of reference material producers: the example of IRMM's Reference Materials Unit

The potential approaches for third-party assessment of reference material producers are revisited and the activities of the Reference Materials (RM) Unit of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) to obtain accreditation to ISO Guide 34 and ISO 17025 are described. Accreditation was related to the Unit as all matrix RM activities of the institute are concentrated there. A management system was established that allows sufficient flexibility to be applicable to a wide range of RMs while being precise enough to ensure compliance with ISO Guides 30, 31 and especially 34 and 35. Accreditation was achieved in 2004 with independent scopes for testing and RM production and was confirmed and extended in 2005. The key aspects of the RM Unit's management system for RM production are presented. Presented at BERM-10, April 2006, Charleston, SC, USA     

On‐Surface Domino Reactions: Glaser Coupling and Dehydrogenative Coupling of a Biscarboxylic Acid To Form Polymeric Bisacylperoxides

Herein we report the on‐surface oxidative homocoupling of 6,6′‐(1,4‐buta‐1,3‐diynyl)bis(2‐naphthoic acid) (BDNA) via bisacylperoxide formation on different Au substrates. By using this unprecedented dehydrogenative polymerization of a biscarboxylic acid, linear poly‐BDNA with a chain length of over 100 nm was prepared. It is shown that the monomer BDNA can be prepared in situ at the surface via on‐surface Glaser coupling of 6‐ethynyl‐2‐naphthoic acid (ENA). Under the Glaser coupling conditions, BDNA directly undergoes polymerization to give the polymeric peroxide (poly‐BDNA) representing a first example of an on‐surface domino reaction. It is shown that the reaction outcome varies as a function of surface topography (Au(111) or Au(100)) and also of the surface coverage, to give branched polymers, linear polymers, or 2D metal–organic networks.     

Versatile host for metallo anions and cations

The crystal structures of two metallo oxides, perrhenate and dichromate, are reported with a diprotonated tetraamido/diamino-based macrocycle, L, in which the floppy ligand assumes a folded conformation. When the four amides are deprotonated, this same ligand binds transition-metal ions in its tetraanionic form, H-4L. For the divalent metal ions Cu2+ and Ni2+, H-4L again folds and dinuclear complexes are formed. With trivalent metal ions Co3+ and Fe3+, the ligand wraps about the metal ions, resulting in mononuclear complexes.     

CZE for the speciation of arsenic in aqueous soil extracts

We developed two separation methods using CZE with UV detection for the determination of the most common inorganic and methylated arsenic species and some phenylarsenic compounds. Based on the separation method for anions using hydrodynamic sample injection the detection limits were 0.52, 0.25, 0.27, 0.12, 0.37, 0.6, 0.6, 1.2 and 1.0 mg As/L for phenylarsine oxide (PAO), p-aminophenylarsonic acid (p-APAA), o-aminophenylarsonic (o-APAA), phenylarsonic acid (PAA), 4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid (roxarsone), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), arsenite or arsenious acid (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)), respectively. These detection limits were improved by large-volume sample stacking with polarity switching to 32, 28, 14, 42, 22, 27, 26 and 27 microg As/L for p-APAA, o-APAA, PAA, roxarsone, MMA, DMA, As(III) and As(V), respectively. We have applied both methods to the analysis of the arsenic species distribution in aqueous soil extracts. The identification of the arsenic species was validated by means of both standard addition and comparison with standard UV spectra. The comparison of the arsenic species concentrations in the extracts determined by CZE with the total arsenic concentrations measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) indicated that CZE is suited for the speciation of arsenic in environmental samples with a high arsenic content. The extraction yield of phenylarsenic compounds from soil was derived from the arsenic concentrations of the aqueous soil extracts and the total arsenic content of the soil determined by ICP-AES after microwave digestion. We found that 6-32% of the total amount of arsenic in the soil was extractable by a one-step extraction with water in dependence on the type of arsenic species.     

Capillary electrochromatography using polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings

This review covers recent progress in polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) coatings applied to analytical separations using open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). The simple preparation procedure involved in the PEM approach has provided some attractive features over other modes of capillary electrophoresis-based separations including packed column capillary electrochromatography (PC-CEC) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). PEM coatings have been used to alleviate the adsorption of basic analytes, to improve separations, and to improve the stability of the electroosmotic flow. Fundamental aspects of PEM coatings on surfaces and analytical separation platforms are briefly outlined in this review. In addition, applications of PEM coatings to fused-silica capillaries or microchip separation devices for the separation of small achiral or chiral analytes, as well as large biomolecules, are discussed.     

Baylis-Hillman mechanism: a new interpretation in aprotic solvents

Using reaction rate data collected in aprotic solvents, we have determined that the Baylis-Hillman rate-determining step is second order in aldehyde and first order in DABCO and acrylate. On the basis of these data, we have proposed a new mechanism involving a hemiacetal intermediate. The proposed mechanism was then supported using two different kinetic isotope experiments.     

Semi‐automated tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) triple quadrupole operating parameter optimization for high‐throughput MS/MS detection workflows

This paper describes an automated workflow for the determination of selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions and optimum mass spectrometric (MS) instrument parameters. The approach uses a Nanomate from Advion Biosciences for automated infusion of small amounts of sample in combination with Automaton optimization software from Sciex. The results are stored in the Analyst software Compound Database for automated acquisition method building. Comparisons are presented between the more traditional optimization methods of manual flow injection optimization, Autotune infusion optimization, Automaton flow injection optimization and the Nanomate–Automaton optimization approach. Data is also presented to show that acquisition methods developed on the Sciex model API3000 instrument can be effectively transferred to the Sceix API4000 and API5000 model instruments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of single-crystalline GaAs by imaging with ballistic phonons

Ballistic phonon propagation in single-crystalline [001]-oriented gallium arsenide has been studied using low-temperature scanning electron microscopy for imaging. Deviations in the phonon focusing pattern due to dispersion effects were found by comparing the phonon images to theoretical calculations of the long-wavelength limit. The phonon propagation behavior in, samples cut from differently prepared wafers has been investigated. For highly impure crystals we found a pronounced increase of the diffusive signal component at the expense of the ballistic one. Samples with varying dislocation densities also showed a sensitive dependence, of the ballistic phonon propagation on these crystal defects. For focusing calculations considering elastic scattering processes the diffusivity of the phonons could be determined as a function of the mean scattering length. We have found phonon mean free paths of 0.35 mm to 0.80 mm for the various GaAs crystals.