Determination of germanium by potentiometric stripping analysis and adsorption potentiometric stripping analysis

Potentiometric stripping analysis was applied to determination of germanium(IV) in 0.2M NH₃-NH₄Cl (pH 8.4) buffer solution at −1.8 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), with dissolved oxygen or Hg(II) as oxidant. The sensitivity was 8.5 × 10⁻⁹M in the presence of 2.0 × 10⁻⁵M Hg(II) with plating for 15 min after deaeration for 20 min. Cyclic voltammetry revealed that GE(IV) å Ge at the surface of the mercury-film electrode in a one-step irreversible reduction reaction, and the Ge at the electrode was oxidized by dissolved oxygen in the solution. The presence of complexing agents such as Alizarin Red (ARS), which forms a Ge(IV) complex adsorbed at the electrode, improved the sensitivity by one order of magnitude. The presence of adsorption was revealed by the temperature coefficient, the electrocapillary curve and cyclic voltammetry. Ge-containing samples were analysed by the proposed methods and agreement with the results obtained by other methods was excellent.     

A2Ca[B4O5(OH)4]2·8H2O(A=Rb,Cs)硼氧酸盐复盐的合成与表征

硼氧酸盐晶体结构复杂，因此出现了许多具有特殊物理性能的晶体功能材料犤１，２犦，尤其是重稀碱金属硼氧酸盐（或复盐），如CsLiB６O１０犤３犦、LiRbB４O７犤４犦和CsB３O５（CBO）犤５犦都是非线性光学材料。一些学者对铷、铯的偏硼氧酸盐、四硼氧酸盐和五硼氧酸盐的合成、性质及晶体结构等进行过研究犤６～９犦。硼氧酸盐复盐，大多为碱金属和碱土金属、碱金属和碱金属及碱土金属和碱土金属的硼氧酸盐犤１０犦，如自然界存在的钠硼解石狖NaCa犤B５O６（OH）６犦·５H２O狚、硼钠镁石狖Na２Mg犤B６O８（OH）４犦２·６H２O…     

Quantitation of agmatine by liquid chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method is described for the determination of agmatine, an endogenous neuromodulator. The method involves pre-column derivatization of the sample with a fluorescent tagging reagent, 7-fluoro-4-nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD-F). The resulting agmatine derivative is stable and can be readily extracted into ethyl acetate at pH 8.5. The extraction enhances the quantification of low level agmatine because it eliminates chromatographic peaks caused by endogenous amino acids. The HPLC separation is carried out on a C₈ reversed phase column and completed in less than 10 min. With laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection, the detection limit is 5×10⁻⁹ M agmatine. Method precision (coefficient of variation) is 5% for agmatine in human plasma at the sub-μM level. This method has been validated by determination of agmatine in biological samples including human plasma and rat brain and stomach tissues.     

Determination of adrenaline by using inhibited Ru(bpy)3 electrochemiluminescence

Adrenaline was found to inhibit strongly the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) from the Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/tripropylamine system when a working Pt electrode was maintained at 1.05 V (versus Ag/AgCl) in pH 8.0 phosphate buffer. On this basis, a flow injection (FI) procedure with inhibited electrochemiluminescence detection has been developed for determination of adrenaline. The method exhibited a good reproducibility, sensitivity, and stability with a detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) of 7.0×10⁻⁹ mol l⁻¹ and dynamic concentration range of 2×10⁻⁸ to 1×10⁻⁴ mol l⁻¹. The relative standard deviation was 2.2% for 1.0×10⁻⁶ mol l⁻¹ adrenaline (n=11). The method was successfully applied to the determination of adrenaline in pharmaceutical samples. Moreover, ECL emission spectra, UV-Vis absorption spectra and cyclic voltammograms of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/tripropylamine/adrenaline were studied. The inhibition mechanism has been proposed as the interaction of electrogenerated Ru(bpy)₃^2+* and the o-benzoquinone derivatives, adrenochrome and adrenalinequinone, at the electrode surface.     

Filter-based microfluidic device as a platform for immunofluorescent assay of microbial cells

A filter-based microfluidic device was combined with immunofluorescent labeling as a platform to rapidly detect microbial cells. The coin-sized device consisted of micro-chambers, micro-channels and filter weirs (gap = 1-2 microm), and was demonstrated to effectively trap and concentrate microbial cells (i.e., Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia), which were larger in size than the weir gap. After sample injection, a staining solution containing fluorescently-labeled antibodies was continuously provided into the device (flow rate = 20 microl min(-1)) to flush the microbial cells toward the weirs and to accelerate the fluorescent labeling reaction. Using a staining solution that was 10 to 100 times more dilute than the recommended concentration used in a conventional glass method, those target cells with a fluorescent signal-to-noise ratio of 12 could be microscopically observed at single-cell level within 2 to 5 min prior to secondary washing.