Analysis of 19-norandrosterone in human urine by gas chromatography–isotope-dilution mass spectrometry: method adopted by LGC for participation in the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) Pilot Study P68

The method used at LGC for analysis of “total” 19-norandrosterone (19-norandrosterone glucuronide plus “free” 19-norandrosterone) in urine for the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière Pilot Study (CCQM-P68) is described. The analytical method used was a modified version of the method developed at the National Measurement Institute of Australia, which used a hydrolysis and derivatisation procedure first described by the German Sports University. This method is routinely used by World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratories for sports drug testing. The main modifications made to the method were the use of 19-norandrosterone glucuronide as a calibration standard and 19-norandrosterone glucuronide-d4 as an isotopically labelled internal standard, and the use of a bench-top quadrupole gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer. The results produced by LGC (2.14 ± 0.15 ng g⁻¹ expanded uncertainty, coverage factor k = 2) were in excellent agreement with those from other participating national metrology institutes and thus further validates the exact-matching isotope-dilution mass spectrometric procedures used at LGC for a wide range of reference measurement applications, including measurement of ng g⁻¹ levels of steroids in a biological matrix.     

Hydrophilic core-shell microspheres: a suitable support for controlled attachment of proteins and biomedical diagnostics

Functional hydrophilic microspheres (latex particles) have found various applications in life sciences and in medicine - particularly in latex diagnostic tests. This paper presents a comprehensive review of studies on latex particles with a hydrophilic interfacial layer composed of various hydrophilic polymers with reactive groups at the ends of macromolecules or at each monomeric unit along the chain. Typical examples of these hydrophilic polymers are poly(2-hydroxyethyl methyl methacrylate), poly(acrylic acid), poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide), polysaccharides, poly(ethylene oxide) and polyglycidol. Hydrophilic microspheres with different morphologies (uniform or core-shell, see Figure) have been synthesized by emulsion and dispersion polymerizations. The chemical structure of polymers which constitute the interfacial layer of microspheres has been investigated using a variety of instrumental techniques (such as XPS, SSIMS and NMR) and analytical methods based on specific chemical reactions suitable for the determination of particular functional groups. Microspheres are exposed to contact with proteins in the majority of medical applications. This paper presents examples of studies on the attachment of these biomacromolecules to microspheres. The relation between the structure of the interfacial layer of microspheres and the ability of these particles for the covalent binding of proteins is discussed. Several examples of diagnostic tests, in which hydrophilic microspheres with adsorbed or covalently immobilized proteins were used as reagents, are presented. The paper also contains a short review of the application of magnetic hydrophilic particles for protein separation. Examples of hydrophilic latex particles used for hemoperfusion or heavy metal ion separation are presented. Hydrophilic microspheres with uniform or core-shell morphologies.     

Vergleich von Probenaufbereitungsverfahren beim quantitativen Nachweis von Schwermetallen in Fruchts?ften mit der flammenlosen Atomabsorptionsspektrometrie

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Comparison of sample preparation methods for quantitative determination of heavy metals in fruit juices with flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy

Vortragender     

Coulometrisches Verfahren zur Bestimmung von Gesamt-, Carbonat- und Nichtcarbonat-Kohlenstoff in magmatischen, metamorphen und sediment?ren Gesteinen

Zusammenfassung Für die Bestimmung von Gesamt-, Carbonat- und Nichtcarbonat-Kohlenstoff in magmatischen, metamorphen und sedimentären Gesteinen (auch bei höheren Anteilen an organischem C) ist ein Verfahren nach dem Prinzip der coulometrischen Titration geeignet. Der Gesamt-Kohlenstoff wird ermittelt durch Erhitzung der auf <0,125 mm zerkleinerten Probe bei etwa 1250°C im Sauerstoffstrom ohne irgendwelche Zusätze. Zur Bestimmung von Nichtcarbonat-Kohlenstoff wird eine bestimmte Menge Gesteinspulver mit Salzsäure versetzt und auf einem Aluminiumblock HCl abgeraucht. Der Carbonat-Kohlenstoff entweicht als CO₂. Zurück bleibt der Nichtcarbonat-Kohlenstoff, welcher wie der Gesamt-Kohlenstoff coulometrisch bestimmt wird. Der Carbonat-Kohlenstoff bzw. die äquivalente Menge CO₂ ergibt sich dann aus der Differenz von Gesamt- zu Nichtcarbonat-Kohlenstoff. Das Verfahren ist anwendbar auf Kohlenstoffgehalte in Gesteinen von etwa 10 ppm bis 20 Gew.-% bei mittleren Standardabweichungen von etwa 0,0002–0,05% C (Richtwerte). Die Analysendauer für eine Probe beträgt etwa 3–5 min.

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Coulometric method for the determination of total, carbonate, and non-carbonate carbon in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks

For the measurement of total carbon the sample, ground finer than 0.125 mm and without the addition of any reagents, is ignited in a current of oxygen at about 1250°C. Non-carbonate carbon can be analysed after another portion of the sample is treated with conc, hydrochloric acid and evaporated on a hot plate; the carbonates are decomposed and the carbonate carbon is removed as carbon dioxide. The residue is non-carbonate carbon which is also determined by the coulometric method. The difference between total carbon and non-carbonate carbon corresponds to carbonate carbon or its equivalent as carbon dioxide. The method is applicable to carbon contents in rocks from 10 ppm to 20 wt.-%. The standard deviation is approximately 0.0002 to 0.05% C. Each carbon analysis takes about 3 to 5 min.

     

R?ntgenspektrometrische Bestimmung von Eisen-55 in Luftstaub- und Niederschlagsproben

Zusammenfassung Eisen-55 wurde in Neuherberg bei München seit März 1970 in monatlich gesammelten Luftstaubproben und seit Januar 1971 in Monatsniederschlagsproben bestimmt. Nach dem Veraschen der Proben wurde Eisen durch Extraktion' mit Di-iso-propyläther abgetrennt. Zur weiteren Entfernung störender Radionuklide des Fallouts wurde eine Ionenaustauschertrennung angeschlossen. Nach der elektrolytischen Abscheidung des Eisens auf Kupferplättchen wurden die Röntgenspektren mit einem Proportionalzähler sowie einem Si(Li)-Detektor aufgenommen.Die mittlere spezifische Luftaktivität betrug in Neuherberg 1,0 fCi/m³ im Jahr 1970 (ab März), 1,2 fCi/m³ im Jahr 1971 und 0,36 fCi/m³ im Jahr 1972. Die dem Boden durch den Niederschlag zugeführte Aktivität wurde zu 697 pCi/m² · Jahr für 1971 und 178 pCi/m² · Jahr für 1972 bestimmt.Vortrag anläßlich der Tagung Spurenanalyse, 2. bis 5. April 1973 in Erlangen.     

Spectrographic estimation of Ga, In and Tl in semiconductor grade selenium

Summary An emission spectrographic method for the estimation of Ga, In and Tl in semiconductor grade selenium at less than a ppm concentration has been developed. The impurities were separated from 1 g of selenium by volatilizing it from its solution in nitric acid and sulphuric acid. The residue containing the impurities was dissolved in small amounts of 6 M HCl and was loaded along with the washings on 10 mg mixture containing graphite (90%) and sodium chloride carrier (10%) in the electrode crater. The spectra were excited in a d.c. arc carrying 13 A current. The detection limits lie in the range of 0.0025–0.005 ppm. The precision of the method ranges from 7–12% for these elements. The recoveries of impurities from selenium were confirmed using radioactive tracers.

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Spektrographische Bestimmung von Gallium, Indium und Thallium in Halbleiterselen

Zusammenfassung Eine 1 g-Probe wird in Salpeter- und Schwefelsäure gelöst und die Verunreinigungen durch Verflüchtigung des Selens isoliert. Sie werden in 6 M HCl gelöst und zusammen mit einem Graphit/NaCl-Gemisch (91) in die Elektrode eingebracht. Zur Anregung dient ein Gleichstrombogen (13 A). Die Nachweisgrenzen liegen im Bereich von 0.0025–0.005 ppm, der Variationskoeffizient bei 7–12%. Die Wiedergewinnung der Verunreinigungen wurde mit Hilfe von Radioindicatoren geprüft.

     

HPLC Analysis of Cotinine in Urine After SPE with a Cholesterol-Modified Adsorbent

A one-step solid-phase extraction procedure, based on a new silica gel adsorbent modified with cholesterol groups, has been investigated for measurement of cotinine in urine. Cotinine is the main metabolite of nicotine in the human body and is analyzed as a biomarker for assessment of direct or passive exposure to tobacco smoke. New cholesterol-modified adsorbents have been obtained by chemical modification of silica gel of different porosity with cholesterol ligands. Although recovery by this extraction procedure were optimum over a relatively broad range of sample pH (3.1–8.0), analytical conditions such as sample loading, washing and elution conditions, concentration of cotinine to be extracted, and the type of adsorbent used for extraction were found to affect the efficiency of the procedure and had to be controlled for optimum recovery. When these conditions were controlled, recovery of cotinine from spiked human urine was reproducible and depended on compound ionization. Quantitative analysis of cotinine was performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Presented at: Conference of the Hyphenation of Liquid Chromatography–Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry and Related Topics, Tuebingen, Germany, March 25–29, 2006.     

In-gel deglycosylation of sodiumdodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated glycoproteins for carbohydrate estimation by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Mass determination by mass spectrometric methods (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS)) of sodiumdodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)-separated proteins is a well known procedure and reliable protocols are available. In our efforts to use the established methods to determine the molecular mass of the disulfide bridged, heterodimeric glycoprotein GP3 and to determine the carbohydrate content of each protein subunit we developed an in-gel chemical deglycosylation method. For this purpose we established experimental conditions that allow maximum extraction of the high molecular mass protein subunits and developed a routine method to apply the HF-pyridine deglycosylation protocol to proteins isolated from polyacrylamide gel pieces. The novel protocol and extraction procedure described can be used to analyze O-glycosylated proteins up to 150 kDa after SDS-PAGE separation.