Analytical Methods Blog

A cheaper and safer to produce breath test for diabetes has been developed by scientists in Canada. The titanium nanoparticle-based sensor detects acetone, a biomarker of type 1 diabetes, even at 90% relative humidity.

Diabetes is a chronic condition which requires life-long treatment and monitoring. Untreated diabetes can lead to dangerous complications, such as ketoacidosis. Diagnosing diabetes quickly can be life-saving.

Commonly, diabetes is diagnosed and monitored through blood sample analysis. Acetone levels in breath can be measured by time-consuming and difficult-to-access gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Other non-invasive breath sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors, whose conductivity changes upon acetone adsorption, are fabricated via unsafe and expensive flame pyrolysis. To be useful for diagnosis, breath sensors must be able to detect parts-per-billion levels of acetone from a complex mixture of breath components including water vapour.

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

Low cost acetone sensor with selectivity over water vapor based on screen printed TiO2 nanoparticles
Lucy Lulu Deng, Cindy Xinxin Zhao, Yiqun Ma, Sean Shangzhi Chen and Gu Xu  
Anal. Methods, 2013, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C3AY40373D

HIV RNA has been successfully extracted from human blood using a portable device that does not need electrical power to work. The system, developed by researchers in the US, is another link in the chain to enable the accurate monitoring of Aids treatment in countries with limited resources.

The availability of antiretroviral therapy has expanded rapidly in recent years, but the ability to monitor the progress of treatment has not kept up with the pace. Although cheap, qualitative assays are available for the initial detection of HIV infection, quantitative viral load measurements are needed to check if treatment is working. Effective, inexpensive sample preparation that works at ambient temperature and without the need for cold storage is one of the current stumbling blocks in achieving this goal.

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

A portable, pressure driven, room temperature nucleic acid extraction and storage system for point of care molecular diagnostics
Samantha Byrnes, Andy Fan, Jacob Trueb, Francis Jareczek, Mark Mazzochette, Andre Sharon, Alexis F. Sauer-Budge and Catherine M. Klapperich  
Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AY40162F

Do you know how chemical scientists can tackle global challenges in Human Health? If so, the RSC is running a one minute video competition this summer for young researchers such as PhD and Post-doc students; get involved and innovate the way scientists share their research. Your video should communicate your own personal research or an area of research that interests you, highlighting its significance and impact to Human Health.

Five videos will be shortlisted by our judging panel and the winner will be selected during the ‘How does chemistry keep us healthy?’ themed National Chemistry Week taking place 16-23 November.

A £500 prize and a fantastic opportunity to shadow the award winning video Journalist, Brady Harran, is up for grabs for the winner.

The judging panel will include the makers of The Periodic Tale of Videos, Martyn Poliakoff and Brady Harran, and RSC Division representatives.

Check out our webpage for further details of the competition and an example video.

The competition will open 02 April 2013 and the closing date for entries is 01 July 2013. Please submit your entries to rsc.li/take-1-video-competition.

Any questions please contact science@rsc.org.

Scientists in Italy have found that the surfaces of lava stones from from Mount Etna, in Sicily, may be leaching manganese into the environment. Almost 1.5 million people are supplied with water from Etna’s wells and these findings could help identify any health risks associated with using this water.

The origins of elevated occurrences of some health problems in the population around Europe’s tallest and most active volcano have been debated for many years. Reports have shown that levels of Parkinson’s disease in the area are well above average and doctors have been unable to rationalise these numbers.

Mount Etna

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

A photoelectron spectroscopy study of lava stones
Domenico Andrea Cristaldi, Cosimo G. Fortuna and Antonino Gulino  
Anal. Methods, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AY40136G

Chinese scientists have developed a passive sampler that can be used for monitoring common indoor air pollutants. Air quality is currently an important topic in China, with air pollution rivalling food safety and clean drinking water as a key theme for Chinese lawmakers. The quality of indoor air can be just as compromised as the outside. Nowadays, people spend a large amount of their time indoors so it is important to be able to accurately measure indoor air quality.

Should indoor air pollution be as much of a concern as outdoor air pollution?

The Tsinghua Passive Diffusive Sampler (THPDS), made by Yinping Zhang and colleagues at Tsinghua University, China, is a low-cost, passive air sampler that can be used to monitor levels of the volatile organic compounds (VOC), benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX). ‘Rapid urbanisation in China has resulted in serious indoor BTX pollution in the past few decades. However, there is little quantitative information on indoor BTX exposure and corresponding health risks in China, primarily because there has been a lack of cheap and accurate passive samplers,’ says Zhang.

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

Evaluation of a New Passive Sampler Using Hydrophobic Zeolites as Adsorbents for Exposure Measurement of Indoor BTX
Zhengjian Du, Jinhan Mo, Yinping Zhang,  Xinxiao Li and Qiujian Xu  
Anal. Methods, 2013, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C3AY40600H