Author Archive

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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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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ASMS 2011: Day 1

The infamous Blue Bear looking in at Colorado Convention Center, Denver

The 59th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics (aka ASMS 2011) is well underway here in Denver, Colorado and I can’t believe it’s been less than a day!

Sunday’s opening plenary was all about finding our origins in grains of stardust – fascinating at any time, but possibly more so for anyone from the UK currently experiencing the “Brian Cox” phenomenon.  The mixer drinks which followed were a chance to meet some familiar faces, and to get my bearings before things kicked off properly today.

I started Monday learning about all that’s new with instrument development for imaging mass spectrometry, including talks from Analyst Advisory Board members Renato Zenobi and Julia Laskin.  The highlight, however, had to be Sarah Trimpin’s description of her experiments on LSI using a BB gun! (I’m sure all appropriate health and safety measures were taken)

During the poster session I had the chance to meet with Analyst Editorial Board member Graham Cooks, and also Jentaie Shiea from the Editorial Board of our sister journal, Analytical Methods.

More Board members later, when I attend a session on hydrogen-deuterium exchange chaired by another Editorial Board member, Vicki Wysocki.

And there might be a sneaky visit to the hospitality suites later…purely to talk more science of course…

If you’re attending, and would like to meet to talk all things MS and publishing, just leave a comment below or tweet me: @analystrsc

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Issue 11 published online

Analyst, 136(11): 2185-2412

Issue 11 of 2011 is now available online – and work from China is highlighted on both covers.

The front cover features the work of Dianping Tang, Guonan Chen and colleagues of Fuzhou University.  They report on a novel, enzyme-free amperometric immunoassay of biomarkers with sensitive enhancement which has been designed by using gold nanoflower-labeled detection antibodies.

A graphene-based Au(111) platform for electrochemical biosensing based catalytic recycling of products on gold nanoflowers
Bingqian Liu, Dianping Tang, Juan Tang, Biling Su, Qunfang Li and Guonan Chen
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2218-2220
DOI: 10.1039/C0AN00921K

On the inside front cover, work by Xiaohong Li and He Gong of Beijing Normal University on the use of Y-type, C-rich ds-DNA as a sensing probe for the detection of Ag by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Y-type, C-rich DNA probe for electrochemical detection of silver ion and cysteine
He Gong and Xiaohong Li
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2242-2246
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15159B

Both these papers are free for the next 6 weeks so please do take a look.

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Web theme: France, Italy, Spain

We have collected together some of the latest exciting research published in the journal from researchers working in France, Italy and Spain.

Read the highlighted articles in this web themed issue, which has been guest edited by José Pingarrón (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) and Serge Cosnier (Université Joseph Fourier, France).

Let us know your thoughts on these articles, or about the analytical sciences in France, Italy and Spain more generally, by posting a comment below.

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Issue 10 now online

Analyst 2011, 136(10): 1997-2184

Issue 10 of Analyst 2011 is now online.

Work by Alberto Escarpa and co-workers is highlighted on the front cover.  They have used a lab on a chip device to quickly analyse levels of zearalenone, a contaminant, in infant foods with a detection limit below legislative requirements.

This paper was recently highlighted by Chemistry World in a news piece.  The full article will be free to access until the end of May, so do take a look:

Integrated electrokinetic magnetic bead-based electrochemical immunoassay on microfluidic chips for reliable control of permitted levels of zearalenone in infant foods
Mirian Hervás, Miguel A. López and Alberto Escarpa
Analyst, 2011, 136, 2131-2138
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15081B

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