Gold nanoparticle mediated method for spatially resolved deposition of DNA on nano-gapped interdigitated electrodes,and its application to the detection of the human <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papillomavirus</Emphasis>

The authors introduce a method for spatially arranged DNA immobilization on 10-nm gold nanoparticles (GNP) deposited on a silicon substrate carrying nanogapped interdigitated electrodes. The GNPs are covalently bound to the surface via silane chemistry, and the single steps of fabrication are monitored by FTIR spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. This GNP deposition technique is shown to reduce the size of the nanogaps to 130 nm. FTIR also was used to monitor the immobilization of DNA on the surface of the interdigitated electrodes. This method allows DNA to be immobilized in a uniform and homogenous way. The utility of the method is demonstrated by immobilizing probe DNA on the surface and detecting target DNA specific for the human papilloma virus via fluorescence with a detection limit as low as 1 pM. In our perception, this method for GNP-mediated DNA immobilization enables high-performance sensing of a wide range of target (analyte) DNA.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of gold nanoparticle-mediated and spatially resolved deposition of DNA on nano-gapped interdigitated electrodes. The method was applied to the chemiluminescent determination of the human papillomavirus

     

Synthesis of functionalized dihydrothiophenes from doubly activated cyclopropanes using tetrathiomolybdate as the sulfur transfer reagent

A number of doubly activated cyclopropanes were synthesized starting from various substituted bromosulfonium bromides in good yield. Regioselective ring-opening of cyclopropanes with tetrathiomolybdate as the sulfur transfer reagent gave dihydrothiophenes in excellent yield.     

A generalization of the Erlang formula of traffic engineering

Calls arrive at a switch, where they are assigned to any one of the available idle outgoing links. A call is blocked if all the links are busy. A call assigned to an idle link may be immediately lost with a probability which depends on the link. For exponential holding times and an arbitrary arrival process we show that the conditional distribution of the time to reach the blocked state from any state, given the sequence of arrivals, is independent of the policy used to route the calls. Thus the law of overflow traffic is independent of the assignment policy. An explicit formula for the stationary probability that an arriving call sees the node blocked is given for Poisson arrivals. We also give a simple asymptotic formula in this case.Work on this paper was done while the author was at Bellcore and at Berkeley.     

Orthogonal arrays: An introduction and their application in optimizing underrelaxation factors in ‘simple’-based algorithm

The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the ‘design-of-experiments’ techniques which are successful in physical experiments could also be adapted to a numerical simulation code. As an example this technique is applied to a general finite difference code used for predicting three-dimensional turbulent recirculating flows. Here the equations for velocities and continuity are solved using the algorithm called SIMPLE, which stands for semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations. Physical modelling of turbulence is taken care of by means of kinetic energy and turbulence dissipation rate equations. The objective is to optimize the underrelaxation factors of primary and secondary flow variables so that the number of iterations required for convergence is minimum. This is done by the orthogonal array technique (a particular type of design-of-experiment technique). The geometry considered for this purpose is that of a simple gas turbine can combustor and the study is restricted to the isothermal non-reacting condition. Tests are carried out on three different grid configurations. In each case the underrelaxation factor for velocities contributed most to speed up the rate of convergence. Also, for each grid configuration the underrelaxation factor settings for minimum iterations for convergence was found to be same. Hence it is proposed that when doing grid independence tests for any similar flow situation, all the underrelaxation factors could be optimized on coarse grids.     

Implementation of controlled phase shift gates and Collins version of Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm on a quadrupolar spin-7/2 nucleus using non-adiabatic geometric phases

In this work controlled phase shift gates are implemented on a qaudrupolar system, by using non-adiabatic geometric phases. A general procedure is given, for implementing controlled phase shift gates in an ‘N’ level system. The utility of such controlled phase shift gates, is demonstrated here by implementing 3-qubit Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm on a spin-7/2 quadrupolar nucleus oriented in a liquid crystal matrix.     

Structure and absolute configuration of enhydrin bromohydrin

X-ray study of enhydrin bromohydrin, C₂₃H₂₉BrO₁₀, reveals that the crystal has space groupP2₁2₁2₁ with cell parametersa =10.08,b = 26.97, andc = 8.94 Å. There are four molecules in the unit cell. The structure was solved by direct methods, with three-dimensional CuK diffractometer data to = 75 °, and refined by block-diagonal least squares to anR index of 11.4% for 2254 reflections. The molecule is a germacronolide sesquiterpene having acis sterochemistry at the C(1), C(10) double bond and atrans configuration at the epoxide ring, C(4)-O-C(5). The absolute configuration established on the basis of the anomalous scattering of CuK. radiation by the bromine atom shows that the asymmetric atoms have the 4R, 5R, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 20S, and 22S configurations.     

Radon isotope assessment of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in Coleroon River Estuary,Tamil Nadu,India

Submarine groundwater discharge is the fresh groundwater discharge to sea that impacts the coastal regions. Radon (²²²Rn) isotope has been used to quantify SGD in coleroon river estuary, India. Continuous ²²²Rn analyses were attempted for 10 days in groundwater and pore water samples at three different locations. ²²²Rn in groundwater ranges between 35.0 and 222.0 Bq m^?3 and in pore water between 14.0 and 150.0 Bq m^?3 irrespective of locations. The radon mass balance estimated total SGD rate ranges between 2.37 and 7.47 m days^?1. The SGD increases with distance from coast, influenced by tides and hydrological features.     

Architecture of small RNA viruses

Symmetric organization of biological macromolecules is necessary for certain structural and functional requirements of living cells. The mechanisms by which biomolecules assemble unambiguously into unique structures has been a central theme of investigation in molecular biology. Simple viruses consist of a nucleic acid core which codes for the genetic information surrounded and protected by a protein coat or capsid. In a large majority of the cases, the protein coats possess exact icosahedral symmetry. Developments in experimental X-ray crystallography and computer technology has led recently to the elucidation of the architecture of several viruses. Systematic studies on the structure of the protein subunits, their location and orientation on the icosahedral capsid, and the details of interaction between subunits has provided some insights into the mechanisms of error free virus assembly. However, the structures of even the simplest viruses are sufficiently complex and do not lead to complete understanding of the pathway of assembly by an examination of the final structure. The current state of research in this fast advancing area is briefly reviewed.     

Progression in sensing cardiac troponin biomarker charge transductions on semiconducting nanomaterials

A real-time ability to interpret the interaction between targeted biomolecules and the surface of semiconductors (metal transducers) into readable electrical signals, without biomolecular modification involving fluorescence dyes, redox enzymes, and radioactive labels, created by label-free biosensors has been extensively researched. Field-effect transistor (FET)- and capacitor-based biosensors are among the diverse electrical charge biosensing architectures that have drawn much attention for having charge transduction; thus, enabling the early and rapid diagnosis of the appropriate cardiac biomarkers at lower concentrations. These semiconducting material-based transducers are very suitable to be integrated with portable electronic devices for future online collection, transmission, reception, analysis, and reporting. This overview elucidates and clarifies two major electrical label-free systems (FET- and capacitor-based biosensors) with cardiac troponin (cTn) biomarker-mediated charge transduction for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) diagnosis. Advances in these systems are highlighted by their progression in bridging the laboratory and industry; the foremost technologies have made the transition from benchtop to bedside and beyond.