Selective detection of polyaromatic hydrocarbons on diesel exhaust particles using sputtered neutral mass spectrometry

Aiming for the highly sensitive analysis of aromatic hydrocarbons in organic mixtures, selective ionization using an ultraviolet laser ionization technique was examined for the determination of sputtered neutral species on organic surfaces. The mass spectrum of a model mixture containing pyrene and n‐alkane showed that only pyrene was ionized and detected, whereas a mass spectrum without laser irradiation, i.e. in the case of secondary ion mass spectrometry, was dominated by many n‐alkane fragment peaks. This technique was applied for the detection of polyaromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on diesel exhaust particles. Two kinds of polyaromatic hydrocarbons were clearly detected because many aliphatic fragment signals were suppressed by means of ultraviolet laser ionization. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CZE study on adsorption processes of aliphatic and aromatic amines on PMMA chip

Adsorption processes on a PMMA chip linked with CZE separations of a group of 13 aliphatic and aromatic mono‐ and di‐amines were studied. Due to the lack of chromophores within aliphatic amines, contact conductivity detection implemented directly onto the chip was used for monitoring of cationic CZE separations. To prevent an adsorption of studied amines to the chip channels, the surface of PMMA chip was modified by dynamic coating. Different surface modifiers, such as aliphatic oligoamines (diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine), were added to the BGE solutions filling the chip channels. The effect of various concentrations of surface modifiers on peak profiles and separation parameters of amines was monitored. Of these, mainly, aliphatic di‐amines and aromatic mono‐amines adversely affected the CZE resolution of a whole group of analytes by their strong adsorption to the chip channels. A propionate BGE with pH 3.2 containing 100 μM triethylenetetramine and 25 mM 18‐crown‐6‐ether was found suitable for CZE resolution of 12 from a total of 13 amines studied. Simple dynamic modification of the surface of PMMA chip enabled fast (analysis time lasted 9 min), sensitive (sub‐μM LODs reached) and reproducible (1–3% RSD of the peak areas) CZE analysis of the aliphatic and aromatic amines.     

Fluorescent staining of protein in SDS polyacrylamide gels by salicylaldehyde azine

As a noncovalent fluorescence probe, in this study, salicylaldehyde azine (SA) was introduced as a sensitive fluorescence‐based dye for detecting proteins both in 1D and 2D polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels. Down to 0.2 ng of single protein band could be detected within 1 h, which is similar to that of glutaraldehyde‐silver stain, but approximately four times higher than that of SYPRO Ruby fluorescent stain. Furthermore, comparative analysis of the MS compatibility of SA stain with SYPRO Ruby stain indicated that SA stain is compatible with the downstream of protein identification by LC‐MS/MS. Additionally, the probable mechanism of the SA stain was investigated by molecular docking. The results demonstrated that the interaction between SA and protein was mainly contributed by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic forces.     

Contact Angle Measurement for Dispersed Microspheres Using Scanning Confocal Microscopy

Abstract

Scanning confocal microscopy was used for contact angle measurement of individual microspheres. The measurements were carried out by using different laser‐scanned layers of the particle floating on the air–water interface. The ratio of the diameter for the cross‐section of the protruded area of the particle at the air–water interface to the actual diameter of the particle is used for contact angle measurements. Two systems, i.e., glass and polystyrene microspheres with diameters of 3–10 and 6 µm, respectively, with water were used for this investigation (this size range of particles are most relevant to inhalation applications). Using the developed methodology, contact angles of 27° and 41° were measured (with water) for glass and polystyrene particles, respectively. The theoretical error in contact angle measurement for the developed methodology is determined to be generally about 1° with a maximum of 3° for contact angle of particles ranging from 2 to 24 µm in size; the experimental error was 4–6°. The contact angles of glass and polystyrene particles were compared to those obtained from pendant drop method and confirmed.     

Salinity Controlled Vesicle Formation and Growth in Aqueous Mixture of Aerosol OT/Triton X‐100

Mixed vesicles can be formed spontaneously from aqueous mixture of the double‐tailed anionic surfactant sodium bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) and the nonionic surfactant octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X‐100) under the inducement of salt, the formation mechanism of which should be attributed to the compression of salt on the electric bilayers of the head groups. The stability and the polydispersity of the vesicles are superior to single‐component AOT vesicles, which can be proved by the TEM image and visual observation. The vesicle region was presented in a pseudo‐ternary diagram of AOT/TX‐100/brine. The size of the vesicle was measured using dynamic light scattering. It is found that the vesicle size increases with the salinity but decreases with the content of TX‐100 in the mixture at the same salinity. Especially, the vesicle size is independent of the surfactant concentration at fixed salinity.     

Clouding and Hydrodynamic Behavior of Pluronic-Surfactant Interaction in Aqueous Salt Solutions

Clouding behavior of PEO-PPO-PEO and PPO-PEO-PPO block copolymers were studied in presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and NaCl. Extensive study of Pluronic P84 (EO₁₉PO₄₃EO₁₉) with different salts and ionic surfactants, were carried out using cloud point, viscosity and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The change in cloud point, as well as the size of P84 micelles in aqueous salt solution obeys the Hofmeister lyotropic series. Results on P84-ionic surfactant mixture indicate stronger interaction in case of SDS compared to those in presence of dodecyl trimethylammonium chloride (DTAC); here interaction seems to diminish in the presence of salts.     

Dispersed Structure of Ethanol‐Gasoline Fuel According to Dynamic Light Scattering Method

The dispersed structures of mixtures of five different gasolines with anhydrous ethanol were investigated by the dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. The aim of the work was to find whether these blends are colloid systems. Influence of different parameters was investigated to verify the results of this research. Ethanol‐gasoline blends were found to be colloid systems with the drop size of 20–150 nm.     

Small‐Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) Study of Magneto‐Vesicles

Small‐angle neutron scattering from magneto‐vesicles (MVs) prepared by extrusion was studied. Contrast variation allowed the determination of structure and sizes of the vesicles and the encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles, respectively. The results from MVs synthesized with a 0.3% volume fraction of citrate‐coated magnetic nanoparticles are compared to those of similarly prepared vesicles of the neutral lipid 1,2‐Dioleoyl‐sn‐Glycero‐3‐Phosphocholine (DOPC) (without magnetic particles), and magnetic particles not encapsulated in vesicles. It is observed that the bilayers of the as‐prepared MVs, and the encapsulated nanoparticles retain their structural properties, highlighting the suitability of the MVs for applications.     

Solution Behavior of Poly(n-Isopropylacrylamide) in Water: Effect of Additives

The effect of different kinds of additives (electrolytes, nonelectrolytes, hydrotropes, and surfactants) on the cloud point (CP) of low molecular weight and narrow dispersed poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) controlled radical polymerization was examined. The CP showed a concentration dependent variation and it is greatly modified in the presence of additives. The size of the random polymer coil at 30°C obtained from dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements is often influenced by the presence of additives. We have explained the effects of different additives on PNIPAM in terms of their interaction with polymer and resultant changes in the coil structure.