July 2011 – Analyst Blog

Archive for July, 2011

International Symposium on Enabling Technologies – Atlantic Conference

25 Jul 2011

6th International Symposium on Enabling Technologies (ETP Boston)
October 7, 2011, Boston MA, U.S.

The 6th International Symposium on Enabling Technologies – Atlantic Conference will be held in Boston later this year on October 7th. JAAS Editorial Board member, Dr Scott Tanner from University of Toronto and Metallomics author Jane Thomas-Oates, University of York are amongst the impressive line-up of speakers. Read a selection of some of the speakers latest research below.

For further details, visit the conference website. Abstract submission and registration now open!

Don’t forget to pick up a complimentary copy of our analytical journals, if you are planning to attend!

Development of analytical methods for multiplex bio-assay with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Olga I. Ornatsky, Robert Kinach, Dmitry R. Bandura, Xudong Lou, Scott D. Tanner, Vladimir I. Baranov, Mark Nitz and Mitchell A. Winnik
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2008, 23, 463-469, DOI: 10.1039/B710510J

Denaturing and non-denaturing microsolution isoelectric focussing to mine the metalloproteome
Barbara Pioselli, Caroline Munro, Andrea Raab, Christian L. Deitrich, Kriangsak Songsrirote, Jörg Feldmann and Jane Thomas-Oates
Metallomics, 2009, 1, 501-510, DOI: 10.1039/B903607E

Characterizing the connectivity of poly-ubiquitin chains by selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry
Hamid Mirzaei, Richard S. Rogers, Barbara Grimes, Jimmy Eng, Alan Aderem and Ruedi Aebersold
Mol. BioSyst., 2010, 6, 2004-2014, DOI: 10.1039/C005242F

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Ricin biosensor outperforms current methods to detect food contamination

19 Jul 2011

Ricin, a toxin derived from the castor bean plany may be easily amendable as a deliberate food biocontaminate

This study describes the characterisation and selection of an aptamer against the toxin, ricin B. The aptamer functioned well in liquid food matrices and was tested against a commercially available ELISA kit.

Read the paper for free until 30th August to learn more…

A single DNA aptamer functions as a biosensor for ricin
Elise A. Lamont, Lili He, Keith Warriner, Theodore P. Labuza and Srinand Sreevatsan
Analyst
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15352H

You might also be interested in these papers:

Aptamer-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection of ricin in liquid foods
Lili He, Elise Lamont, Belamaranahally Veeregowda, Srinand Sreevatsan, Christy L. Haynes, Francisco Diez-Gonzalez and Theodore P. Labuza
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 1579-1582
DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00201E

Simultaneous quantification of five bacterial and plant toxins from complex matrices using a multiplexed fluorescent magnetic suspension assay
Diana Pauly, Sebastian Kirchner, Britta Stoermann, Tanja Schreiber, Stefan Kaulfuss, Rüdiger Schade, Reto Zbinden, Marc-André Avondet, Martin B. Dorner and Brigitte G. Dorner
Analyst, 2009, 134, 2028-2039
DOI: 10.1039/B911525K

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Introducing a new Analyst Associate Editor for Asia!

13 Jul 2011

We are delighted to announce that Takehiko Kitamori from the University of Tokyo is the latest leading scientist to join the Analyst team, as Associate Editor for Asia.

He joins Xinrong Zhang (Associate Editor for Asia), Boris Mizaikoff (Associate Editor for Europe), Steve Soper (Associate Editor for the Americas) and Duncan Graham (Associate Editor for Reviews) as members of the Editorial Board who handle the peer-review of articles submitted to Analyst. Professor Kitamori welcomes submissions from Japan and South-East Asia.

Takehiko Kitamori is a full professor at the Department of Applied Chemistry, the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and also he is Dean of both Faculty and Graduate School of Engineering. His research activity covers laser spectro-analytical chemistry, and micro and extended-nano chemistry. Read his latest review article in Analyst!

Critical Review: Extended nanospace chemical systems on a chip for new analytical technology
Kazuma Mawatari, Takehiko Tsukahara and Takehiko Kitamori
Analyst, 2011, 136, 3051-3059
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00840K

Submit your next article to Analyst here!

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DESI and PADI ambient mass spectrometry analysis of anti-aging creams on model skin surfaces

13 Jul 2011

DESI and PADI are useful when determining the siloxane contents of anti-aging creams.

Tara Salter and colleagues present a preliminary study for a non-invasive in vivo investigation of personal care products on fixed fibroblast cells. They carried our mass spectrometry analyses of 13 molecules commonly used in personal care products, including organosiloxanes, with both PADI and DESI to determine the different sensitivities of the techniques.

Read the paper for free until 16th August.

Analysis of personal care products on model skin surfaces using DESI and PADI ambient mass spectrometry
Tara L. Salter, Felicia M. Green, Nilofar Faruqui and Ian S. Gilmore
Analyst
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15138J

On a similar note, why not check out the themed issue on ambient mass spectrometry that we published last year, in particular this paper from Graham Cooks and colleagues

Desorption electrospray ionization and other ambient ionization methods: current progress and preview
Demian R. Ifa, Chunping Wu, Zheng Ouyang and R. Graham Cooks
Analyst, 2010, 135, 669-681
DOI: 10.1039/B925257F

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Issue 15 online: tackling Grand Challenges

12 Jul 2011

Analyst, 2011, 136(15): 3025-3204

Issue 15 is now available online, and we publish the first of an ongoing collection of articles looking at Grand Challenges in analytical science. In celebration of the International Year of Chemistry, leading scientists (including our own Board members) have put together papers outlining the current challenges faced in analytical science, and how these might be tackled.

There are contributions in this issue from Lloyd Smith, and from Board members Pavel Matousek, Takehiko Kitamori and Facundo Fernandez. Pavel’s minireview is also highlighted on the inside cover.

Minireview: Non-invasive analysis of turbid samples using deep Raman spectroscopy
Kevin Buckley and Pavel Matousek
Analyst, 2011, 136, 3039-3050
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00723D

Critical Review: To understand the whole, you must know the parts: unraveling the roles of protein–DNA interactions in genome regulation
Lloyd M. Smith, Michael R. Shortreed and Michael Olivier
Analyst, 2011, 136, 3060-3065
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15037E

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, 136, 3073-3082
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00627K

The stunning front cover of this issue highlights work by Jeremy Driskell from the lab of Ralph Tripp. They report the development of a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for quantitative detection of influenza A virus using dynamic light scattering and gold nanoparticle labels.

One-step assay for detecting influenza virus using dynamic light scattering and gold nanoparticles
Jeremy D. Driskell, Cheryl A. Jones, S. Mark Tompkins and Ralph A. Tripp
Analyst, 2011, 136, 3083-3090
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15303J

Don’t forget that Analyst cover articles are free for 6 weeks!

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High miscibility of water in the hydrophobic PEDOT:PSS layer prevents separation of undesirable water layer

11 Jul 2011

On exposure to water, the "soaking" action of the polymer is analogous to the behaviour of a sponge.

This paper explains why the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate), regularly used for the preparation of solid-contact ion-selective electrodes, does not show evidence for a water layer. One of the referees commented that ‘this manuscript clarifies an issue that has been puzzling me for a few years now.’ These findings will aid those working in the chemical sensors community by helping to understand the physical state of the polymer layers in solid-contact ion-selective electrodes when they are exposed to solutions.

Read the paper for free until 17th August.

Water uptake in the hydrophilic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) solid-contact of all-solid-state polymeric ion-selective electrodes
Jean-Pierre Veder, Roland De Marco, Graeme Clarke, San Ping Jiang, Kathryn Prince, Ernö Pretsch and Eric Bakker
Analyst
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15267J

You might also find this Analyst paper interesting….

Tuning the gas sensing performance of single PEDOT nanowire devices
Carlos M. Hangarter, Sandra C. Hernandez, Xueing He, Nicha Chartuprayoon, Yong Ho Choa and Nosang V. Myung
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2350-2358
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN01000f

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Canadian and Chinese analytical chemists meeting for a joint conference

07 Jul 2011

Leading analytical scientists from Canada and China will be meeting up in Toronto at the end of August for the 3rd Canada-China Analytical Chemistry Conference (CCACC). This is going to be held as a joint conference with the 57^th ICASS (International Conference on Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy).

The speaker list is pretty impressive, and demonstrates the strength of analytical science in these two countries!

The conference will be held in Toronto from the 29th-31st August. For further details, please visit the conference website.

Pick up a complimentary copy of our analytical journals, if you are planning to attend!

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Proteotyping appraoch for monitoring evolution of bird flu

05 Jul 2011

This study could help predict future bird flu outbreaks.

In this paper, a team from Sydney, combine bioinformatics and high resolution mass spectrometry to identify the strain, time period and region of avian flu hemagglutinin.

Read the paper for free until 15th August.

Evolution of H5N1 influenza virus through proteotyping of hemagglutinin with high resolution mass spectrometry
Ji-Won Ha and Kevin M. Downard
Analyst
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15354D

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Surgeons and patients breathe easy

01 Jul 2011

Breath samples are taken up by the ventilator and sent along a sample line to the mass spectrometer

David Smith from Keele University and colleagues have developed a way of continuously analysing the breath of unconscious patients undergoing surgery using a selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometer (SIFT-MS), which enables measurements to be taken and results to be viewed in the operating theatre.

“Specific breath gases can be monitored that can indicate to the surgeon and anaesthetist the status of the patient, thus allowing more informed decision making and improve the outcome of the surgical procedure,” says Smith.

Read Holly Sheahan’s news story in Chemistry World, and access the communication for free below:

Communication: On-line, real time monitoring of exhaled trace gases by SIFT-MS in the perioperative setting: a feasibility study
Piers R. Boshier, Julia R. Cushnir, Vikash Mistry, Alison Knaggs, Patrik Španěl, David Smith and George B. Hanna
Analyst, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15356K

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