Evolution of antibodies for environmental monitoring: from mice to plants

Immunoassays are one of the most convenient methods for environmental monitoring, but have been limited so far by low yield and low affinity antibodies (Abs). With the advent of recombinant Ab (rAb) technology and the expression of these Abs in organisms such as yeast, bacteria, insects and plants, widespread monitoring of our food and environment for organic contaminants using immunoassays has become feasible. A multitude of immunoassays have been developed to detect pesticides in soils, ground and river water, foods and biological samples, such as urine and semen. In this paper, we describe advances in Ab production, the move away from using animals, phage-display technologies and the advent of plant-derived Ab expression systems. Finally, we describe future possibilities in Ab technology for environmental monitoring.     

Oral delivery of therapeutic proteins bioencapsulated in plant cells: Preclinical and clinical advances

Oral delivery of protein drugs (PDs) made in plant cells could revolutionize current approaches to their production and delivery. Expression of PDs reduces their production cost by elimination of prohibitively expensive fermentation, purification, cold transportation/storage, and sterile injections and increases their shelf life for several years. The ability of plant cell wall to protect PDs from digestive acids/enzymes, commensal bacteria to release PDs in gut lumen after lysis of plant cell wall, and the role of gut-associated lymphoid tissue in inducing tolerance facilitate prevention or treatment of allergic, autoimmune diseases or antidrug antibody responses. The delivery of functional proteins facilitates treatment of inherited or metabolic disorders. Recent advances in making PDs free of antibiotic resistance genes in edible plant cells, long-term storage at ambient temperature maintaining their efficacy, production in Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facilities, Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies for clinical advancement, and Food and Drug Administration approval of orally delivered PDs augur well for advancing this novel drug delivery platform technology.     

Simultaneous extraction and clean-up of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls from sheep liver tissue by selective pressurized liquid extraction and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

We describe a selective pressurized liquid extraction (SPLE) method, followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), for the simultaneous extraction and clean-up of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sheep liver tissue samples. The on-line clean-up of liver tissue by SPLE was tested using differing amount of acid-modified silica (sulphuric acid:silica gel, 1:2, w/w), the most effective amount being 20 g. Different extraction solvents (iso-hexane and dichloromethane), either alone or in various combinations, were used to extract these target compounds from spiked liver samples. Variables affecting the SPLE extraction efficiency, including temperature, pressure, number of extraction cycles and static extraction time were studied; the optimum parameters were 80 °C, 10.3 MPa, 2 cycles and 5 min, respectively. The SPLE based method was compared with more traditional Soxhlet, off-line PLE, ultrasonic and heating extraction methods. Overall the mean percentage recoveries for all target chemicals using SPLE were 86–103% (n = 3, SD < 9%), and compared favourably with the Soxhlet (63–109%, n = 3, SD < 8%), off-line PLE (82–104%, n = 3, SD < 18%), ultrasonic (86–99%, n = 3, SD < 11%) and heating (72–102%, n = 3, SD < 21%) extraction methods. The limits of detection of the proposed method were 5–96 pg g⁻¹ and 2–29 pg g⁻¹ for the different PBDE and PCB chemicals studied, respectively. The outputs of the proposed method were linear over the range from 0.02 to 30 ng g⁻¹, for all PCB and PBDE congeners except for PBDE 100 and 153 (0.05–30 ng g⁻¹) and PBDE 183 (0.1–30 ng g⁻¹). The method was successfully applied to sheep liver samples for the determination of the target PBDE and PCB compounds.     

A novel,simple and robust method for the analysis of sulfonamides in fish farming water samples using column switching liquid chromatography

A novel method for the online extraction and preconcentration of four sulfonamides was developed using column switching liquid chromatography. Sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfamethoxypyridazine and sulfamethoxazole were analysed in water samples and preconcentrated in a C18 guard column. Suitable validation parameters were obtained, such as precision, accuracy and relative recovery, in accordance with the validation guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration. Low limits of detection (0.05–0.09 µg L^?1) and quantification (0.30 µg L^?1, for all of them) were obtained. The quadratic polynomial model was used to adjust the calibration data, and the coefficients of determination were higher than 0.999 for all the analytes. The method was shown to be robust to the assayed parameters according to Youden’s test. The proposed method was successfully used to determine sulfonamides in 11 different fish farming water samples, in which sulfadiazine (0.732 µg L^?1), sulfamethoxazole (0.531 µg L^?1), sulfathiazole (0.546–1.856 µg L^?1) and sulfamethoxypyridazine (0.369–1.509 µg L^?1) were found.     

原子吸收光谱法测定内蒙古典型草原长期施用有机肥对土壤锰组分影响

采用改进的BCR连续提取,利用原子吸收光谱法测定了内蒙古草地施用羊粪试验11年后土壤中Mn组分。试验设置5个处理,分别施干羊粪0,50,250,750和1 500 g·m-2·yr-1。结果表明,以四步加和法与强酸直接消煮法测定的全Mn含量作为回收率,各处理回收率为91.4%～105.9%,加标回收率为97.2%～102.9%。长期大量施有机肥可提高0～5 cm土层植物可利用的交换态Mn含量47.89%,但还原态Mn和全Mn含量显著下降。施肥对0～5 cm土层Mn形态影响大于5～10 cm土层。研究结果对于土壤微量元素形态测定及草地养分管理具有一定的参考价值。     

ICP-MS检测青海省海西州地区羊板粪中的重金属元素含量

实验了电感耦合等离子体-质谱法(ICP-MS)测定羊板粪中的重金属元素Cr、As、Hg、Cd、Pb,优化了仪器的测定条件。方法检出限分别为:Cr 0.39、As 0.12、Hg 0.24、Cd 0.090、Pb 0.49ng/mL,方法精密度RSD:4.9%—14.3%,加标回收率92.0%—110.0%。方法适用于类似有机物样品中重金属元素的检测。     

南方地区地中海鳎鱼的引养

以平均体重30～50g的地中海鳎鱼为研究对象,进行了长途运输、生物习性及饲养技术的试验,探讨了南方地区引养地中海鳎鱼的可行性及选址、运输、养成等相关技术环节.结果表明：地中海鳎鱼性情温和、喜食动物性饵料,但经人工驯化也能摄食鱼虾颗粒饲料、适宜生活水温为10～30℃、适合水泥池专养和对虾塘混养;专池饲养月均尾增重50.2 g,平均存活率84.61%.虾塘混养显示出明显的预防虾病效果.     

小孔等离子体运动实验方法

在间接驱动惯性约束聚变的黑腔中,辐射烧蚀的高Z等离子体的流体力学运动过程对激光注入黑腔的效率、辐射场均匀性和通过诊断口的黑腔辐射温度诊断都有显著影响。为研究诊断口在黑腔辐射场中的等离子体缩口过程,用激光产生X光辐射加热低Z泡沫填充的金黑腔诊断口,以激光辐照钛平面靶产生的2～5 keV高能段窄能区X光作为背光源,用X光分幅相机获得了源靶和小孔靶两种靶型的小孔等离子体运动过程图像,研究了X光烧蚀的小孔等离子体的流体力学运动过程,探索了定量测量小孔等离子体面密度的空间分布与时间演化过程的实验诊断方法,初步给出小孔等离子体的面密度。     

Raman Method in Identification of Species and Varieties,Assessment of Plant Maturity and Crop Quality—A Review

The present review covers reports discussing potential applications of the specificity of Raman techniques in the advancement of digital farming, in line with an assumption of yield maximisation with minimum environmental impact of agriculture. Raman is an optical spectroscopy method which can be used to perform immediate, label-free detection and quantification of key compounds without destroying the sample. The authors particularly focused on the reports discussing the use of Raman spectroscopy in monitoring the physiological status of plants, assessing crop maturity and quality, plant pathology and ripening, and identifying plant species and their varieties. In recent years, research reports have presented evidence confirming the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy in identifying biotic and abiotic stresses in plants as well as in phenotyping and digital selection of plants in farming. Raman techniques used in precision agriculture can significantly improve capacities for farming management, crop quality assessment, as well as biological and chemical contaminant detection, thereby contributing to food safety as well as the productivity and profitability of agriculture. This review aims to increase the awareness of the growing potential of Raman spectroscopy in agriculture among plant breeders, geneticists, farmers and engineers.     

Measurement of the electrophoretic mobility of sheep erythrocytes using microcapillary chips

Cell electrophoretic mobility (EPM) can be used to characterize individual cells. The purpose of this study is to establish reproducible and reliable cell EPM values obtained using microcapillary electrophoresis (microCE) chips. We studied cell electrophoresis on microCE chips through the comprehensive measurement of EPM and zeta potential. The inner wall of microchannels in microCE chips was coated with three kinds of reagents, namely bovine serum albumin (BSA), gelatin, and 2-methacryloyloxyethylphosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer to prevent nonspecific adhesion and interaction between cells and the inner wall. Electrophoresis was conducted in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 4-9) using erythrocytes extracted from sheep whole blood. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) mobility was measured using noncharged particles, and then the true EPM was calculated by subtracting the EOF mobility from the electromigration. MPC polymer coatings in microCE chips reduced the zeta potential of the inner wall and fully prevented nonspecific adhesion. EPM data obtained using microCE chips were almost the same and reproducible over a wide range of pH irrespective of the coating reagent used. In conclusion, reliability in the measurement of cell EPM using microCE chips was realized.