Fabrication of novel nanoporous array anodic alumina solid-phase microextraction fiber coating and its potential application for headspace sampling of biological volatile organic compounds

In the study, nanoporous array anodic alumina (NAAA) prepared by a simple, rapid and stable two-step anodic oxidization method was introduced as a novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coating. The regular nanoporous array structure and chemical composition of NAAA SPME fiber coating was characterized and validated by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. Compared with the commercial polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) SPME fiber coating, NAAA SPME fiber coating achieved the higher enrichment capability (1.7–4.7 folds) for the mixed standards of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The selectivity for volatile alcohols by NAAA SPME fiber coating demonstrated an increasing trend with the increasing polarity of alcohols caused by the gradually shortening carbon chains from 1-undecanol to 1-heptanol or the isomerization of carbon chains of some typical volatile alcohols including 2-ethyl hexanol, 1-octanol, 2-phenylethanol, 1-phenylethanol, 5-undecanol, 2-undecanol and 1-undecanol. Finally, NAAA SPME fiber coating was originally applied for the analysis of biological VOCs of Bailan flower, stinkbug and orange peel samples coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) detection. Thirty, twenty-seven and forty-four VOCs of Bailan flower, stinkbug and orange peel samples were sampled and identified, respectively. Moreover, the contents of trace 1-octanol and nonanal of real orange peel samples were quantified for the further method validation with satisfactory recoveries of 106.5 and 120.5%, respectively. This work proposed a sensitive, rapid, reliable and convenient analytical method for the potential study of trace and small molecular biological VOCs by the novel NAAA SPME fiber coating.     

Characterization of Nucleotides and Nucleotide Sugars in Candida albicans by High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry with a Porous Graphite Carbon Column

An optimized high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and optimized for the determination of seven nucleotides and nucleotide sugars in the extract of Candida albicans. The chromatographic separation was performed on a porous graphitic carbon column with gradient elution using acetonitrile and aqueous ammonia acetate containing 0.1% formic acid adjusted to pH 8.8. Negative-ion mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was applied to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of the analysis. The calibration curves showed excellent linearity over approximately three orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9946. The relative standard deviations of measurements were smaller than 4% (n = 5) and the accuracy of the intra-day and inter-day measurements were between 95.2% and 106.7%. The extraction recovery of each component was within satisfactory ranges. The validated method was applied to characterize the nucleotides metabolic profiles of the biofilm compared to the planktonic mode to evaluate changes of energy states in different growth modes of C. albicans. The levels of nucleotides and nucleotide sugar in the biofilm model treated with 5-fluoropyrimidine, baicalein, and sodium houttuyfonate were determined to investigate their effects on nucleotide metabolism and the mechanisms of antifungal agents.     

Recent developments and applications of screen-printed electrodes in environmental assays—A review

Screen-printed electrodes (SPEs), which are used as economical electrochemical substrates, have gone through significant improvements over the past few decades with respect to both their format and their printing materials. Because of their advantageous material properties, such as disposability, simplicity, and rapid responses, SPEs have been successfully utilised for the rapid in situ analysis of environmental pollutants. This critical review describes the basic fabrication principles, the configuration designs of SPEs and the hybrid analytical techniques based on SPEs. We mainly overview the electrochemical applications of SPEs in environmental analysis over the past 3 years, including the determination of organic compounds, heavy metals and gas pollutants.     

Tissue-Sequestered Group III-A Metals: Dilute,High Temperature NH4SCN for Simultaneous Measurement of In And Ga By Phase-Selective Stripping Voltammetry

Abstract

Clinical studies have heavily relied on radioanalytical measurements to monitor ¹¹¹In tissue uptake and its cytotoxicity on malignant neoplasms, with substantially opposite analytical conclusions regarding the effect of this Group ^III-A element compared to the growth inhibiting influence displayed by tissue-sequestered ⁶⁷Ga. Evidence shown here would indicate that both gallium and indium present at trace and ultratrace levels in prepared biological material are susceptible to precise, simultaneous measurement with rapid scan, phase-selective anodic stripping (PSAS) using novel conditions recently developed for producing electrochemically reversible gallium behavior without use of densely concentrated electrolytes.     

Determination of Hg Traces in Gallium By Anodic Stripping Voltammetry on Glassy Carbon

Abstract

An A.S.V. method for determination of mercury in ultrapure gallium has been developed. The procedure is very simple and allows a sensitivity high enough to verify the highest purity level of Ga as concerns Hg traces (i.e. 1×10^?5 % Hg in Ga by weight).

The above method was applied to some samples of gallium used in this laboratory.     

A comparative study of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering from silver‐coated anodic aluminum oxide and porous silicon

Three types of Ag‐coated arrays from porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) were prepared and studied as substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). They were compared with Ag‐coated porous silicon (PSi) samples. AAO‐based substrates were prepared by the vapor deposition of silver directly onto the surface of porous AAO with different morphologies of the pores, whereas SERS‐active island films on the PSi were prepared by immersion plating. The resulting metallic nanostructures were characterized by UV‐vis absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal evaporation leads to the formation of granular arrays of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of AAO. SERS activity of the substrates was tested using water‐soluble cationic Zn(II)‐tetrakis (4‐N‐methylpyridyl) porphyrin (ZnTMPyP4) as a probe molecule. The results indicate that all AAO‐based substrates studied here exhibit some degree of SERS activity. Noteworthy, for excitation at 532 nm, signals from AAO‐based substrates were comparable with those from the PSi‐based ones, whereas for 441.6 nm excitation they were about twice higher. The strongest SERS‐enhancement at 441.6 nm excitationwas provided by the AAO substrates with silver deposited on the monolith (originally nonporous) side of AAO. Preferential SERS‐enhancement of the bands ascribed to the vibrations of the N‐methylpyridinium group of ZnTMPyP4 when going to blue excitation was found. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large‐area Ag nanorod array substrates for SERS: AAO template‐assisted fabrication,functionalization, and application in detection PCBs

Highly ordered arrays of thiolated β‐cyclodextrin (HS‐β‐CD) functionalized Ag‐nanorods (Ag‐NRs) with plasmonic antennae enhancement of electrical field have been achieved for encapsulation and rapid detection of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The large‐area ordered arrays of rigid Ag‐NRs supported on copper base were fabricated via porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template‐assisted electrochemical deposition. The inter‐nanorod gaps between the neighboring Ag‐NRs were tuned to sub‐10 nm by thinning the pore‐wall thickness of the AAO template using diluted H₃PO₄. The nearly perfect large‐area ordered arrays of Ag‐NRs supported on copper base render these systems excellent in surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance with uniform electric field enhancement, as testified by the SERS spectra and Raman mappings of rhodamine 6 G. Furthermore, the Ag‐NRs were functionalized with HS‐β‐CD molecules so as to capture the apolar PCB molecules in the hydrophobic cavity of the CD. Compared to the ordinary undecorated SERS substrates, the HS‐β‐CD modified Ag‐NR arrays exhibit better capture ability and higher sensitivity in rapid detection of PCBs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of porosity on the laser induced damage threshold of porous anodic alumina films

Thermal stress of porous alumina films has been simulated by finite element method based on thermal transfer equation and thermal stress formulas. The influence of equivalent thermal conductivity and elastic modulus on laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) has been studied. It was found that the biggest circumferential tensile stress will be small with the porosity from 15% to 35%, and it effectively improves the LIDT. The equivalent thermal conductivity and LIDT decreases with the increase of porosity. The equivalent elastic modulus decreases and LIDT increase with the increase of porosity.