Archive for June, 2011

Highest ever Impact Factor for Analyst!

A new high for Analyst!

We’re delighted to announce that in the 2010 Journal Citation Reports® from Thomson Reuters, Analyst has an Impact Factor of 3.913 – our highest ever!

Thank you to our Editorial and Advisory Boards, and to all our authors, referees and readers for their contribution to the journal’s success.

We remain committed to publishing the best research in analytical, bioanalytical and detection science and supporting all the communities this encompasses: if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by leaving your comments below.

More information on the success of journals across RSC Publishing, take a look at our Publishing Blog.

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Issue 14

Analyst, 2011, 136(14):2869-3024

The latest issue is now online and our covers this time feature work on cancer diagnosis and protein detection.

Work by Christophe A. Marquette and co-workers on an automated multiplex immunoassay involving microarrays of tumor-associated antigens as a proof of concept for cancer diagnosis, is highlighted on the front cover.

Multiplexed immunoassay for the rapid detection of anti-tumor-associated antigens antibodies
C. Desmet, G. C. Le Goff, J.-C. Brès, D. Rigal, L. J. Blum and C. A. Marquette
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2918-2924
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15121E

The inside front cover features work by Mithran Somasundrum and co-workers on an electrochemical immunoassay platform based on redox-modified carbon nanotube labels for high sensitivity protein detection.

Electrochemical immunoassay platform for high sensitivity protein detection based on redox-modified carbon nanotube labels
Wilanee Chunglok, Porntip Khownarumit, Patsamon Rijiravanich, Mithran Somasundrum and Werasak Surareungchai
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2969-2974
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15079K

Both articles are free to access for six weeks, so do take a look.

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Board member wins 2011 Joseph Black Award

Prof. Christy Haynes, University of Minnesota

We’d like to congratulate our Advisory Board member Professor Christy Haynes who is the 2011 winner of the Joseph Black Award.  This award, sponsored by the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund, and is presented to a young scientist in any field covering the practice and teaching of analytical science.

Christy, who is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, was awarded for her work on leveraging the core principles of analytical chemistry to gain insight into pressing toxicological, immunological, and ecological questions.

Prof. Haynes is Guest Editor or our upcoming themed issue on Emerging Investigators, alongside Dr Perdita Barran from the University of Edinburgh.  Dr Barran was herself winner of the Joseph Black Award in 2009.  The themed issue will be published later this year, and you can read Christy’s paper for the issue using the link below.

Investigation of noble metal nanoparticle ζ-potential effects on single-cell exocytosis function in vitro with carbon-fiber microelectrode amperometry
Bryce J. Marquis, Zhen Liu, Kathy L. Braun and Christy L. Haynes
Analyst, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00785D

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Issue 13

Analyst, 136(13):2657-2868

Japan features on both covers of Issue 13 – take a look:

On the front cover, work by Shingo Saito of Saitama University.  Saito and colleagues have developed novel fluorescent probes for the ultratrace detection of heavy metal ions by capillary electrophoresis using laser-induced fluorescence detection.

Ultrasensitive CE for heavy metal ions using the variations in the chemical structures formed from new octadentate fluorescent probes and cationic polymers
Shingo Saito, Yuta Nakano, Atsushi Hikichi, Ryouji Suzuki, Keitaro Yoshimoto, Mizuo Maeda, Masakazu Aoyama and Masami Shibukawa
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2697-2705
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00777C

Research by H. Shinohara, M. Suzuki and co-workers describing the development of a 2D-SPR imager for living cell-based allergen sensing is highlighted on the inside front cover.

Living cell-based allergen sensing using a high resolution two-dimensional surface plasmon resonance imager
M. Horii, H. Shinohara, Y. Iribe and M. Suzuki
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2706-2711
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00874E

Both articles are free to access until the beginning of July – enjoy!

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Detecting chemical and physical changes in thick tissue with X-ray excited luminescent sensors

Scanning XEOL provides new capabilities for chemical analysis in tissue

Scanning XEOL provides new capabilities for chemical analysis in tissue

The benefits of non-invasive biomedical imaging techniques in studying disease are obvious but developing sensors which can measure chemical concentrations around and on implants is challenging.  This is because optical imaging through tissue results in light scattering and in turn, images with poor resolution. Jeffrey Anker and colleagues use a narrow scanning X-ray beam to excite luminescence from X-ray scintillators in this hybrid technique for high-resolution imaging of local optial absorption through tissue.  The scintillators serve as light sources with spectra and intensity that depend on local absorption.

Download the paper, which is free to access until 22nd July, to learn more…

Optical imaging in tissue with X-ray excited luminescent sensors
Hongyu Chen, David E. Longfield, Venkata S. Varahagiri, KhanhVan T. Nguyen, Amanda L. Patrick, Haijun Qian, Donald G. VanDerveer and Jeffrey N. Anker
Analyst
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00931H

This paper will be included in a themed issue on Emerging Investigators, Guest Edited by Perdita Barran and Christy Haynes, to be published later this year.

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Looking for a travel grant….?

Applications are now invited for the 2012 Gordon Kirkbright Bursary Award

The Gordon F. Kirkbright bursary award is a prestigious annual award that enables a promising student/non-tenured young scientist of any nation to attend a recognised scientific meeting or visit a place of learning.

The fund for this bursary was established in 1985 as a memorial to Professor Gordon Kirkbright in recognition of his contributions to analytical spectroscopy and to science in general. Although the fund is administered by the Association of British Spectroscopists (ABS) Trust, the award is not restricted to spectroscopists.

 For further information contact John Chalmers at vibspecconsult@aol.com

The closing date for entries is 31 December 2011

Please also visit our website for further details about travel grants available to RSC journal authors and RSC members

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Sensitive sugar sensor

Heat given off by the reaction between the substance of interest and an enzyme is used to determine the amount of that substance present.

Srinivas Tadigadapa and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University have designed a calorimetric sensor as a point-of-care diagnostic instrument that can detect low levels of glucose.

Calorimetric sensors can detect minute heat changes released during biological reactions so could be used to measure trace amounts of clinically relevant biochemicals, such as glucose and urea. But, until now, designing these sensors has been complex and unreliable and the sensors produced have not been robust enough for practical use.

To find out how this recent work overcomes some of these limitations, read Harriet Brewerton’s news article in Chemistry World, and access the paper using the link below:

Monitoring biochemical reactions using Y-cut quartz thermal sensors
Kailiang Ren, Ping Kao, Marcelo B. Pisani and Srinivas Tadigadapa
Analyst, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15153C

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Take a look at Issue 12

Analyst, 2011, 136(13): 2657-2868

The cover of Issue 12 of 2011 features work by Paul S. Francis, Xavier A. Conlan and co-workers on the determination of intracellular glutathione and glutathione disulfide using high performance liquid chromatography with acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection.

Determination of intracellular glutathione and glutathione disulfide using high performance liquid chromatography with acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection
Geoffrey P. McDermott, Paul S. Francis, Kayla J. Holt, Kristen L. Scott, Sheree D. Martin, Nicole Stupka, Neil W. Barnett and Xavier A. Conlan
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2578-2585
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN00004G

Also in the issue is a Critical Review on dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) which we highlighted on the blog last month – so if you missed it then, take a look now:

Critical Review: Dielectric barrier discharges in analytical chemistry
C. Meyer, S. Müller, E. L. Gurevich and J. Franzke
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2427-2440
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00994F

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Analyst article in Noteworthy Chemistry

A recent collection of Noteworthy Chemistry from the ACS featured an Analyst article from Ben Zhong Tang and co-workers at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

They prepared BSA–tetraphenylethylene derivative conjugates with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties that act as effective fluorescent reporters for simple, sensitive, rapid, low-cost, label-free homogeneous detection of proteases such as trypsin and the protease inhibitor α1-antitrypsin.

Anomalous or elevated physiological levels of proteases and altered α1-antitrypsin function are both implicated in several diseases.  As stated in the ACS article, “the simplicity, high sensitivity and rapidity of the BSA–tetraphenylethylene bioconjugate assay make it a prime candidate for AIE probes for biological process monitoring and cancer diagnostics.”

Read the paper by following the link below:

BSA–tetraphenylethene derivative conjugates with aggregation-induced emission properties: Fluorescent probes for label-free and homogeneous detection of protease and α1-antitrypsin
Jian-Ping Xu, Yuan Fang, Zhe-Gang Song, Ju Mei, Lan Jia, An Jun Qin, Jing Zhi Sun, Jian Ji and Ben Zhong Tang
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2315-2321
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00813C

BSA–tetraphenylethene derivative conjugates with aggregation-induced emission properties: Fluorescent probes for label-free and homogeneous detection of protease and α1-antitrypsin
Jian-Ping Xu, Yuan Fang, Zhe-Gang Song, Ju Mei, Lan Jia, An Jun Qin, Jing Zhi Sun, Jian Ji and Ben Zhong Tang
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2315-2321
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00813C
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Counterfeit crackdown

Take a look at this article in Science News, which takes a look at scientific tools and analytical approaches to identify counterfeit medication.  A number of Analyst Board members and their work are featured, including Graham Cooks, Pavel Matousek, and Facundo Fernández.

For further reading, use the links below to access some recent papers from our Board members:

Ion/molecule reactions for detecting ammonia using miniature cylindrical ion trap mass spectrometers
Jonell N. Smith, Adam D. Keil, Robert J. Noll and R. Graham Cooks
Analyst, 2011, 136, 120-127
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00630K

Minireview: Non-invasive analysis of turbid samples using deep Raman spectroscopy
Kevin Buckley and Pavel Matousek
Analyst, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00723D

Poor quality drugs: grand challenges in high throughput detection, countrywide sampling, and forensics in developing countries
Facundo M. Fernandez, Dana Hostetler, Kristen Powell, Harparkash Kaur, Michael D. Green, Dallas C. Mildenhall and Paul N. Newton
Analyst, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00627K

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