Analyst Blog

Front cover: Konorov et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4662-4668

The latest issue of Analyst is online, with three cover articles for you to enjoy.

Our stunning front cover comes from the groups of Professor Robin Turner and Professor Michael Blades at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Their study establishes the utility of Raman spectroscopy to non-invasively detect biologically relevant changes in live cells exposed to conditions known to trigger autophagy.

The centre image is a differential interference contrast image of two MCF-7 cells, a human breast cancer cell line, after being starved of glutamine for two days.

The surrounding four images are chemical maps based on Raman microspectroscopy of the same two cells rendered from chemically-selective band intensities that indicate the spatial distributions of DNA and RNA (upper-left); RNA only (upper-right); phospholipid (lower-left) mapped relative to nucleic acid; and hydroxyapatite (lower-right), which is a common marker for breast cancers and strongly associated with malignancy.

In each image, the red intensity indicates the highest concentration, blue the lowest.  The advantage of this type of chemical imaging, according to the authors, is that it is non-destructive and label-free.

Raman microspectroscopy of live cells under autophagy-inducing conditions
Stanislav O. Konorov, Mario A. Jardon, James M. Piret, Michael W. Blades and Robin F. B. Turner
Analyst , 2012, 137, 4662-4668
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35477B

Inside front cover, Salter et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4669-4676

On the inside front cover, Dr Michael Hippler and colleagues from Sheffield University, UK, introduce a variant of cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CERS) in which diode laser radiation at 635 nm is coupled into an external linear optical cavity composed of two highly reflective mirrors. Using optical feedback stabilisation, build-up of circulating laser power by three orders of magnitude occurs. Strong Raman signals are collected in forward scattering geometry.

The authors say CERS has the potential to become a new standard method to monitor Raman active species, in particular important homonuclear gases like nitrogen, oxygen or hydrogen that can not be easily detected by alternative spectroscopic techniques.

Cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with optical feedback cw diode lasers for gas phase analysis and spectroscopy
Robert Salter, Johnny Chu and Michael Hippler
Analyst , 2012, 137, 4669-4676
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35722D

The image on the back cover is from Mridul Kanti Mandal and Kenzo Hiraoka of University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Japan, and their co-workers. They have developed a method to perform remote and direct sampling for mass spectrometry.

Back cover: Mandal et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4658-4661

They say that the method is easy to operate and versatile allowing any biological specimen to be sampled away from the instrument in a minimally invasive manner.

Solid probe assisted nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry for biological tissue diagnostics
Mridul Kanti Mandal, Kentaro Yoshimura, Subhrakanti Saha, Satoshi Ninomiya, Md. Obaidur Rahman, Zhan Yu, Lee Chuin Chen, Yasuo Shida, Sen Takeda, Hiroshi Nonami and Kenzo Hiraoka
Analyst , 2012, 137, 4658-4661
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN36006C

All these cover articles will be free to access until the end of October, and don’t forget to also take a look at this issue’s HOT articles.

Front cover: Hopkins et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4408-4410

The latest issue of Analyst has landed, and as usual there are some interesting cover images and articles for you to enjoy.

On the front cover is a Communication from Rebecca Hopkins and colleagues from DSTL Porton Down, UK. They demonstrate spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) using 1064 nm excitation to detect chemicals through a physical barrier such as a container. This excitation wavelength overcomes the issue of fluorescence from the target chemical, whilst retaining the benefits of the SORS technique for through-barrier detection. The authors say these advantages have a wide range of applications in both civilian and military environments.

Communication: Short-wave infrared excited spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for through-barrier detection
Rebecca J. Hopkins, Suzanne H. Pelfrey and Neil C. Shand
Analyst , 2012, 137, 4408-4410
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35681C

The inside front cover features a Critical Review from Guido Verbeck and colleagues from the University of North Texas. Their review concentrates on the apparatus and techniques associated with deposition processes, and covers the hyperthermal and thermal energetic regimes which allow for species to be landed intact.

Verbeck et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4393-4407

Critical Review: Soft-landing preparative mass spectrometry
Guido Verbeck, William Hoffmann and Barbara Walton
Analyst , 2012, 137, 4393-4407
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35550G

Both these cover articles will be free to access for 6 weeks, and don’t forget to take a look at the HOT Articles featured in Issue 19 too.

Front cover: Hong et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4140-4149

Our latest issue is now available, so do take a look.

Featured on the front cover, Qingdong Zheng from the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Fuzhou, China, and co-workers, report on the synthesis and characterization of two silylated BODIPY dyes and their use in dye-encapsulated silica nanoparticles with switchable emitting wavelengths for cellular imaging. In order to realise multiplexed imaging, they doped two different dyes into the same nanoparticle, which is able to emit light with different colors based on a change in excitation wavelengths.

Silylated BODIPY dyes and their use in dye-encapsulated silica nanoparticles with switchable emitting wavelengths for cellular imaging
Xuehua Hong, Zhuyuan Wang, Jing Yang, Qingdong Zheng, Shenfei Zong, Yu Sheng, Deqin Zhu, Changquan Tang and Yiping Cui
Analyst, 2012, 137, 4140-4149
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35389J

On the inside front cover, Natalie Cann and colleagues from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada present full-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for nano electrospray ionization (ESI) with various emitter designs as a step towards an integrated approach to emitter design and characterization.

Inside front cover: Wu et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 4150-4161

Characterization of microstructured fibre emitters: in pursuit of improved nano electrospray ionization performance
Xinyun Wu, Richard D. Oleschuk and Natalie M. Cann
Analyst, 2012, 137, 4150-4161
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35249D

Both these articles will be free to access for 6 weeks.

Don’t forget to see which HOT articles also feature in this issue.

Front cover: Branagan & Bohn, Analyst, 2012, 137, 3932-3939

Take a look at the latest issue of Analyst, with two great covers and host of HOT articles for you to enjoy.

The front cover features a HOT paper from our Editorial Board Chair, Paul Bohn, and his post-doc Sean Branagan. Paul and Sean demonstrate electrochemical imaging using enhanced optical transmission (EC-EOT) by applying it to several categories of electrochemical processes, using a spectral mapping technique that can be miniaturized. They say that in future applications, the enhanced spectral information offered by EOT may be useful for separating faradaic- and non-faradaic electrochemical signals as well as spatially resolving phenomena occurring at different locations relative to the electrified interface.

Plasmonic response of electrified metal–liquid interfaces during faradaic and non-faradaic reactions by enhanced optical transmission
Sean P. Branagan and Paul W. Bohn
Analyst, 2012,137, 3932-3939
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35488H

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