Analyst Blog

CyN1 chemosensor for detection of palladium

Palladium is all around us, from the catalytic converters in our cars to watches, jewellery and mobile phones. However, palladium ions can bind to DNA and proteins, leading to concerns that accumulation of the metal in human tissue may pose a health risk.

Fengling Song and Xiaojun Peng from the Dalian University of Technology, China, have developed a new near-infrared ratiometric fluorescent chemosensor for palladium. The CyN1 molecule is based on the structure of a cyanine dye and undergoes a Tsuji-Trost reaction in the presence of catalytic amounts of palladium.

The CyN1 sensor offers significant advantages over traditional methods of palladium detection such as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which require expensive instrumentation and highly skilled analysts.

Demonstrating the potential bioapplications of the chemosensor, the authors used fluorescence imaging to conduct the first in vivo visualisation of palladium in living mice.

A near-infrared and ratiometric fluorescent chemosensor for palladium
Junyu Wang, Fengling Song,* Jingyun Wang and Xiaojun Peng*
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00616F

Analyst Issue 12

Take a look at our latest  HOT articles! They will be free to read until June 14^th. Have a read now!

Determination of cell cycle phases in live B16 melanoma cells using IRMS
Diana E. Bedolla, Saša Kenig, Elisa Mitri, Paolo Ferraris, Alessandro Marcello, Gianluca Grenci and   Lisa Vaccari 
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00318C

Reagent-free monitoring of multiple clinically relevant parameters in human blood plasma using a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser based sensor system
Markus Brandstetter, Tamara Sumalowitsch, Andreas Genner, Andreas E. Posch, Christoph Herwig, Andreas Drolz, Valentin Fuhrmann, Thomas Perkmann and   Bernhard Lendl
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00300K

A compact high resolution ion mobility spectrometer for fast trace gas analysis
Ansgar T. Kirk, Maria Allers, Philipp Cochems, Jens Langejuergen and   Stefan Zimmermann  
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00231D

A label-free amplified fluorescence DNA detection based on isothermal circular strand-displacement polymerization reaction and graphene oxide
Zhen Li, Wenping Zhu, Jinwen Zhang, Jianhui Jiang, Guoli Shen and   Ruqin Yu  
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00421J

FTIR micro-spectral images to monitor cell division

Take a look at our New HOT Articles free to read until June 3^rd. Click on the links below and discover all about the latest research published in Analyst:

Employing aqueous CdTe quantum dots with diversified surface functionalities to discriminate between heme (Fe(II)) and hemin (Fe(III))
Jishu Han, Ziwei Zhou, Xinyuan Bu, Shoujun Zhu, Hao Zhang, Haizhu Sun and   Bai Yang 
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00310H

A disposable electrochemical immunosensor for the determination of leptin in serum and breast milk
Irene Ojeda, María Moreno-Guzmán, Araceli González-Cortés, Paloma Yáñez-Sedeño and   José M. Pingarrón 
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00183K

Microfluidic assay to monitor anticoagulation therapy

Mepanipyrim haptens and antibodies with nanomolar affinity
Francesc Albert Esteve-Turrillas,   Josep Vicent Mercader,   Consuelo Agulló,   Antonio Abad-Somovilla and   Antonio Abad-Fuentes  
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00228D

Exploring the spectroscopic differences of Caki-2 cells progressing through the cell cycle while proliferating in vitro
M. Jimenez-Hernandez, C. Hughes, P. Bassan, F. Ball, M. D. Brown, N. W. Clarke and   P. Gardner
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00507K

A microfluidic anti-Factor Xa assay device for point of care monitoring of anticoagulation therapy
Leanne F. Harris, Paul Rainey, Vanessa Castro-López, James S. O’Donnell and   Anthony J. Killard
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00401E

Researchers have adapted a gold electrode to enhance electrochemical dopamine measurements and overcome the fouling problems that typically occur on the surface when using this technique.

Cells on doped overoxidised PPy modified electrodes

Many diseases such as Parkinson’s and schizophrenia are caused by irregularities in the neurotransmitter dopamine. Each disease affects dopamine production differently, however in all cases studying the process both inside and outside the body has presented many challenges.

Jenny Emnéus at the Technical University of Denmark and collaborators in Italy improved the detection of dopamine by placing a doped overoxidised polypyrrole (PPy) film on the electrode surface. The film was doped with different counter ions to inhibit dopamine polymerisation and the binding of negatively charged species. Although the overoxidation of PPy did affect the conductivity of the film, it also became more sensitive to dopamine, suggesting that doped overoxidised PPy can be used as sensors for dopamine.

To learn more about the techniques the authors used to reduce surface fouling and detect dopamine release from live cells, check out the article below. It will be free to read until May 28^th .

Doped overoxidized polypyrrole microelectrodes as sensors for the detection of dopamine released from cell populations
Luigi Sasso, Arto Heiskanen, Francesco Diazzi, Maria Dimaki, Jaime Castillo-León, Marco Vergani, Ettore Landini, Roberto Raiteri, Giorgio Ferrari, Marco Carminati, Marco Sampietro, Winnie E. Svendsen and   Jenny Emnéus  
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00085K

Visible image, infrared image, propidium iodide fluorescence image of a cell smear

Erik Goormaghtigh and co-workers from the Centre for Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at the Unversité Libre de Bruxelles have investigated the use of Fourier transformfo infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy r studying the effect of an anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel, on a human prostate cancer cell line.

The researchers combined fluorescence spectroscopy with FTIR spectroscopy using a fluorescent DNA intercalator to identify cell cycle stage.  By doing so, they sought to understand the drug’s effect on cell cycle and/or metabolic perturbation. The authors discuss both the application and limitation of this approach to cell studies.

Read more about this study in this HOT Analyst paper, free for you until May 24^th .

FTIR spectral signature of anticancer drug effects on PC-3 cancer cells: is there any influence of the cell cycle?
Allison Derenne, Alix Mignolet and   Erik Goormaghtigh  
Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN00225J