Sequential centrifugal layer chromatography (SCLC): A new technique for the isolation of natural compounds. Part 2: Comparative study on centrifugal layer chromatography (CLC) and SCLC for the separation of furocoumarin isomers

The new sequential centrifugal layer chromatography extends the possibilities for preparative separation of furocoumarin isomers. In the present work, isobergapten, pimpinellin, bergapten, isopimpinellin, and sphondin were isolated from a prepurified extract of Heracleum sphondylium roots using two different techniques, namely, centrifugal layer chromatography (CLC) and sequential centrifugal layer chromatography (SCLC). The former technique was carried out with four plates, whereas the latter method required only one plate, using the same mobile phase in each case. A further advantage of the SCLC method was that all completely separated compounds could be quickly and efficiently eluted in small volumes of mehtanol.     

Automated sample preparation method for suspension arrays using renewable surface separations with multiplexed flow cytometry fluorescence detection

In this paper, we describe a new method of automated sample preparation for multiplexed biological analysis systems that use flow cytometry fluorescence detection. In this approach, color-encoded microspheres derivatized to capture particular biomolecules are temporarily trapped in a renewable surface separation column to enable perfusion with sample and reagents prior to delivery to the detector. This method provides for separation of the biomolecules of interest from other sample matrix components as well as from labeling solutions. After sample preparation, the beads can be released from the renewable surface column and delivered to a flow cytometer for direct on-bead analysis one bead at a time. Using mixtures of color-encoded beads derivatized for various analytes yields suspension arrays for multiplexed analysis. Development of this approach required a new technique for automated capture and release of the color-encoded microspheres within a fluidic system. We developed a method for forming a renewable filter and demonstrate its use for capturing microspheres that are too small to be easily captured in previous flow cells for renewable separation columns. The renewable filter is created by first trapping larger beads in the flow cell, and then smaller beads are captured either within or on top of the bed of larger beads. Both the selective microspheres and filter bed are automatically emplaced and discarded for each sample. A renewable filter created with 19.9 μm beads was used to trap 5.6 μm optically encoded beads with trapping efficiencies of 99%. The larger beads forming the renewable filter did not interfere with the detection of color-encoded 5.6 μm beads by the flow cytometer fluorescence detector. The use of this method was demonstrated with model reactions for a variety of bioanalytical assay types including a one-step capture of a biotinylated label on Lumavidin beads, a two-step sandwich immunoassay, and a one-step DNA binding assay. A preliminary demonstration of multiplexed detection of two analytes using color-encoded beads was also demonstrated. The renewable filter for creating separation columns containing optically encoded beads provides a general platform for coupling renewable surface methods for sample preparation and analyte labeling with flow cytometry detectors for suspension array multiplexed analyses.     

Composite poly(dimethylsiloxane)/glass microfluidic system with an immobilized enzymatic particle-bed reactor and sequential sample injection for chemiluminescence determinations

A three-layer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/glass microfluidic system for performing on-chip solid-phase enzymatic reaction and chemiluminescence (CL) reaction was used for the determination of glucose as a model analyte. A novel method for the immobilization of controlled-pore-glass based reactive particles on PDMS microreactor beds was developed, producing an on-chip solid-phase reactor that featured large reactive surface and low flow impedance. Efficient mixing of reagent/sample/carrier streams was achieved by incorporating chaotic mixer structures in the microfluidic channels. A conventional sequential injection (SI) system was adapted for direct coupling with the microfluidic system, and combined with hydrostatic delivery of reagents to achieve efficient and reproducible sample introduction at 10 μl levels. A detection limit of 10 μM glucose (3σ), and a precision of 3.1% RSD (n=7, 0.2 mM glucose) were obtained using the SI-microfluidic-CL system integrated with a glucose oxidase (GOD) reactor. Carryover was <5% at a throughput of 20 samples/h.     

Determination of arsenic(III) and total inorganic arsenic in water samples using an on-line sequential insertion system and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and robust on-line sequential insertion system coupled with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) was developed, for selective As(III) and total inorganic arsenic determination without pre-reduction step. The proposed manifold, which is employing an integrated reaction chamber/gas-liquid separator (RC-GLS), is characterized by the ability of the successful managing of variable sample volumes (up to 25 ml), in order to achieve high sensitivity. Arsine is able to be selectively generated either from inorganic As(III) or from total arsenic, using different concentrations of HCl and NaBH₄ solutions. For 8 ml sample volume consumption, the sampling frequency is 40 h⁻¹. The detection limit is c_L = 0.1 and 0.06 μg l⁻¹ for As(III) and total arsenic, respectively. The precision (relative standard deviation) at 2.0 μg l⁻¹ (n = 10) level is s_r = 2.9 and 3.1% for As(III) and total arsenic, respectively. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated by analyzing the certified reference material NIST CRM 1643d and spiked water samples with various concentration ratios of As(III) to As(V). The method was applied for arsenic speciation in natural waters samples.     

Non-equilibrium determination of metoclopramide and tetracaine hydrochloride by sequential injection spectrophotometry

A new sequential injection spectrophotometric method was proposed for the determination of metoclopramide and tetracaine hydrochloride. The method was based on the detection of an unstable red intermediate compound resulting from the reaction of metoclopramide or tetracaine hydrochloride with potassium dichromate, in the presence of sodium oxalate, in sulfuric acid solution. The related reaction mechanisms of this new method have been studied. The experimental conditions were optimized for the stopped-flow and continuous-flow sequential injection models. For continuous flow, the linear range for determination of metoclopramide, the detection limit and the sampling frequency were 13-130 μg ml⁻¹, 9.4 μg ml⁻¹ and 40 samples per hour, respectively. For stopped flow, they were 3-42 μg ml⁻¹, 1.0 μg ml⁻¹ and 18 h⁻¹, respectively. Adopting the continuous-flow model for tetracaine hydrochloride, the linear range was 25-300 μg ml⁻¹, and the detection limit was 18.0 μg ml⁻¹ with sampling frequency of 40 h⁻¹. This method has been used to determine metoclopramide and tetracaine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations, and the results are compared with those determined by the pharmacopoeia method. Statistical analysis reveals that there was no evidence of significant difference between the methods.     

Quantum dot resonant tunneling FET on graphene

At this paper a field effect transistor based on graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is modeled. Like in most GNR-FETs the GNR is chosen to be semiconductor with a gap, through which the current passes at on state of the device. The regions at the two ends of GNR are highly n-type doped and play the role of metallic reservoirs so called source and drain contacts. Two dielectric layers are placed on top and bottom of the GNR and a metallic gate is located on its top above the channel region. At this paper it is assumed that the gate length is less than the channel length so that the two ends of the channel region are un-gated. As a result of this geometry, the two un-gated regions of channel act as quantum barriers between channel and the contacts. By applying gate voltage, discrete energy levels are generated in channel and resonant tunneling transport occurs via these levels. By solving the NEGF and 3D Poisson equations self consistently, we have obtained electron density, potential profile and current. The current variations with the gate voltage give rise to negative transconductance.     

Artifacts in the Determination of Trace Metal Binding Forms in Anoxic Sediments by Sequential Extraction

Abstract

The binding forms of Co, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in an anoxic, sulfide-bearing sediment were investigated by performing both thermodynamic equilibrium calculations and sequential extractions. Care was taken to maintain oxygen-free conditions during the whole experiment. The calculations suggested that trace metals were bound to sulfidic minerals. Sequential extraction results, however, showed increased importance of exchangeable and reducible fractions in the order Cu < Cd < Pb < Zn < Co. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations of the chemical reactions during extraction showed that Cd, Co, Pb, and Zn sulfides are to a significant extent soluble in the acetate-exchangeable (step 1 + 2) and oxalate-reducible (step 3) fractions. Neglecting the dissolution of sulfide minerals would lead to a misinterpretation of the experimental results.