Analyst Blog

Park & Hong et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 3249

Issue 14 for Analyst has now gone online for you to have a look at. We have some wonderful and interesting covers this time.

On the front cover we have an image from Tai Hyun Park, Seunghun Hong and colleagues from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. They have developed a biosensor that works on the same principles as the canine nose and have used it in the detection of hexanal, which is an indicator of the oxidation of food and food quality.

A bioelectronic sensor based on canine olfactory nanovesicle–carbon nanotube hybrid structures for the fast assessment of food quality
Juhun Park, Jong Hyun Lim, Hye Jun Jin, Seon Namgung, Sang Hun Lee, Tai Hyun Park and Seunghun Hong
Analyst, 2012, 137, 3249-3254
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16274A

Gupta et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 3216

Tarkeshwar Gupta from the University of Delhi and co-workers from India and Germany have given us our inside front cover this issue. In their communication they have made an efficient sensor for ascorbic acid using a copper complex-based monolayer on glass. They hope this is a step forward in research in monolayer-based remote-sensing devices and wireless sensor fabrication.

“Turn on” electron-transfer-based selective detection of ascorbic acid via copper complexes immobilized on glass
Vikram Singh, Prakash Chandra Mondal, Jeyachandran Yekkoni Lakshmanan, Michael Zharnikov and Tarkeshwar Gupta
Analyst, 2012, 137, 3216-3219
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16197D

Potyrailo et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 2777-2781

Take a look at the latest issue of Analyst.

Featured on the front cover is work from Radislav Potyrailo of GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York, USA, and co-workers. They demonstrate roll-to-roll (R2R) fabrication of highly selective, battery-free radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymeric substrate. Their RFID sensing concept features 16-bit resolution provided by the sensor reader, granting a highly desired independence from costly proprietary RFID memory chips with a low-resolution analog input. Future steps are being planned for field-testing of these sensors in numerous conditions.

Multivariable passive RFID vapor sensors: roll-to-roll fabrication on a flexible substrate
Radislav A. Potyrailo, Andrew Burns, Cheryl Surman, D. J. Lee and Edward McGinniss
Analyst, 2012, 137, 2777-2781
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16278D

On the inside front cover, Hans-Peter Loock and colleagues from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, look at online monitoring of the contamination of fuel with lubricants. They demonstrate that fiber-based Cavity-Ring-Down (CRD) absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence Excitation–Emission Matrix (EEM) spectroscopy can provide the information that is needed to detect and quantify contamination and degradation products in machinery fluids.

Omrani et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 2782-2790

Fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy and cavity ring-down (CRD) absorption spectroscopy of oil-contaminated jet fuel using fiber-optic probes
Hengameh Omrani, Jack A. Barnes, Alexander E. Dudelzak, Hans-Peter Loock and Helen Waechter
Analyst, 2012, 137, 2782-2790
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN35091B

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

Front cover: Schwab et al, Analyst, 2012, 137, 2541-2544

The latest issue of Analyst is now online, and we’re all about urgency as two exciting Communications feature on the covers.

On the front cover is work from Marcos Eberlin of the University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil and his colleagues.  They describe a simplified, fully portable version of Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization (V-EASI) that now eliminates the need of laboratory gas cylinders and regulators.  This source, they say, seems to be one of the easiest to assemble and use, most economical yet effective and versatile platforms for ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis of both solid and liquid samples.  Did you know that Marcos is an Associate Editor for our sister journal RSC Advances? Find out more here.

Communication: Easy dual-mode ambient mass spectrometry with Venturi self-pumping, canned air, disposable parts and voltage-free sonic-spray ionization
Nicolas V. Schwab, Andreia M. Porcari, Mirela B. Coelho, Eduardo M. Schmidt, Jose L. Jara, Jesui V. Visentainer and Marcos N. Eberlin
Analyst, 2012,137, 2537-2540
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16312H

Some of you may think that our inside front cover looks familiar, and you’d be right…

(more…)

Wang et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 2322-2327

Take a look at our latest issue, now available for you to browse.

Work from Editorial Board member Professor Boris Mizaikoff of the University of Ulm is on the front cover, the inside front cover shows a striking image related to a paper on protein visualisation, and the back cover highlights a strategy for fabrication of nanoparticle-protein conjugates.

(more…)

Front cover: Taira et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 2006-2010

The latest issue of Analyst is now available for you to browse, and we head east for all three covers.

There’s nanoparticle-assisted laser desorption/ionisation MS from Japan, electrochemical biosensing from Korea, and microextraction from Taiwan.

(more…)

The latest issue of Analyst is now available online and we have three exciting covers for you to admire.

The colourful front cover is from Hai Luo and colleagues from Peking University. They have studied the complexation reactions of insulin and other proteins with metal ions that are generated from the surface of substrates during laser irradiation as part of the process of laser desorption spray post-ionization mass spectrometry (LDSPI-MS).

By studying the type of sample plate material, laser and metal ions involved, they were able to make recommendations to optimise analysis to get the best possible results.

Unexpected complexation reaction during analysis of proteins using laser desorption spray post-ionization mass spectrometry, Jia Liu, Chengsen Zhang, Jiamu Sun and Hai Luo
Analyst, 2012, 137, 1764-1767, DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16090K

The inside front cover from Hong Chen and Lin Yuan of Soochow University and co-workers has an informative image of a new sandwich ELISA method that has been developed for cancer detection.

Their work has found that an ELISA plate in sandwich format that is modified with a gold nanoparticle layer has an amplified signal and a lower limit of detection compared to other assays. This new assay was tested on a representative biomarker in human plasma and showed superior performance.

Sensitive sandwich ELISA based on a gold nanoparticle layer for cancer detection
Feng Zhou, Mengmeng Wang, Lin Yuan, Zhenping Cheng, Zhaoqiang Wu and Hong Chen
Analyst, 2012, 137, 1779-1784, DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16257A

On the back cover Gobind Das and colleagues from the Nanostructures Division of the Italian Institute of Technology have fabricated a new honey-combed nano-patterned substrate to be used in SERS biosensors.  Further work in optimisation is ongoing to produce an inexpensive and disposable biosensor device.

Fabrication of large-area ordered and reproducible nanostructures for SERS biosensor application
Gobind Das, Niranjan Patra, Anisha Gopalakrishnan, Remo Proietti Zaccaria, Andrea Toma, Sanjay Thorat, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Alberto Diaspro and Marco Salerno
Analyst, 2012, 137, 1785-1792, DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16022F

All three cover articles will be free to access for 6 weeks.

Gilchrist et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 1576-1583

Our latest issue is now online, with three excellent cover articles for you to enjoy.

The dramatic front cover features work from Leon Barron and colleagues at King’s College London.  They used capillary-scale ion chromatography and suppressed conductivity detection to probe gunshot residue, sweat and latent fingerprints in order to detect low molecular weight anions at the fg–pg level.

Find out how their work could help forensic analysis, and see what features on the other two covers of this issue

Analyst issue 6 is now published online with three exciting articles featured on the covers!

The front cover of this issue highlights work by Jin Cheng and colleagues from Tsinghua University and the National Engineering Research Centre for Beijing Biochip Technology, China.  The group developed an electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing system for assessing in vitro cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs in a human kidney cell model.  This system allowed for continuous and automatic measurements with a better resolution for drugs with different toxicity profiles.

Read more about the research on our covers

Ellis et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 1100-1110

Why not take a look at the latest issue of Analyst?

Featured on the front cover is a paper on the use of ambient ozone for the assignment of double bond position in unsaturated lipids.  Stephen Blanksby and colleagues from the University of Wollongong, Australia, have made use of the fact that unsaturated lipids react with the low concentrations of ozone present in normal laboratory air.

Unsaturated lipids are deposited onto thin layer chromatography plactes and allowed to undergo ozonolysis.  The products are then analysed by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS), providing unambiguous assignment of double bond positions without the need for instrument modifications.

Using ambient ozone for assignment of double bond position in unsaturated lipids
Shane R. Ellis, Jessica R. Hughes, Todd W. Mitchell, Marc in het Panhuis and Stephen J. Blanksby
Analyst, 2012, 137, 1100-1110
DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15864C

Sun et al., Analyst, 2012, 137, 1125-1129

The back cover highlights research from Xiangying Sun and co-workers at Huaqiao University, Xiamen, China.  They have developmed a novel dual-fluorescence quantum dot (QD) nanocomposite with tuning emission wavelength and fluorescence intensity which can selectively sense mercury ions (Hg²⁺) with a detection limit of 5.6 nM.  They propose this can e used for the qualitative and semi-quantitative colorimetric analysis of Hg²⁺.

Dual-emission quantum dots nanocomposites bearing an internal standard and visual detection for Hg²⁺
Xiangying Sun, Bin Liu and Yibang Xu
Analyst, 2012, 137, 1125-1129
DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16026A

Both articles are free to access for 6 weeks.

Follow us on Twitter: @analystrsc