JAAS News

Take a look at these new HOT articles just published in JAAS. These papers will be free to read for the next 4 weeks. Enjoy!

Determination of fluorine in plant materials via calcium mono-fluoride using high-resolution graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry with direct solid sample introduction
Aline R. Borges, Luciane L. François, Bernhard Welz, Eduardo Carasek and Maria Goreti R. Vale 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00067F, Paper

Spectroscopic imaging: a spatial Odyssey
Freddy Adams 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00050A, Perspective

Ethnic background and gender identification using electrothermal vaporization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry for forensic analysis of human hair
Lily Huang and Diane Beauchemin 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00071D, Paper

Development and characterization of custom-engineered and compacted nanoparticles as calibration materials for quantification using LA-ICP-MS
Daniel Tabersky, Norman A. Luechinger, Michael Rossier, Eric Reusser, Kathrin Hametner, Beat Aeschlimann, Daniel A. Frick, Samuel C. Halim, Jay Thompson, Leonid Danyushevsky and Detlef Günther 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014,29, 955-962
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00054D, Paper

Compensation of inorganic acid interferences in ICP-OES and ICP-MS using a Flow Blurring® multinebulizer
Miguel Ángel Aguirre, Lucimar L. Fialho, Joaquim A. Nóbrega, Montserrat Hidalgo and Antonio Canals 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00079J, Paper

LA-ICP-MS Pb–U dating of young zircons from the Kos–Nisyros volcanic centre, SE Aegean arc
M. Guillong, A. von Quadt, S. Sakata, I. Peytcheva and O. Bachmann 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014,29, 963-970
DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00009A, Paper

Old traces, read anew – ‘The Reading Hermit’ painting in the light of X-ray fluorescence
C. Seim, C. Laurenze-Landsberg, B. Schröder-Smeibidl, I. Mantouvalou, C. de Boer and B. Kanngießer 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3JA50301A, Paper

The influence of menstrual blood loss and age on the isotopic composition of Fe in human whole blood

Elements with multiple isotopes have varied isotopic compositions in nature as a result of isotope fractionation. Biomedical applications relying on isotopic analysis have become more popular. Cu, Fe and Zn isotopic analysis in blood has shown potential as a diagnostic tool for a number of diseases. Furthermore, the natural variations of these elements on healthy individuals can provide useful information.

Frank Vanhaecke and colleagues from Ghent University and Ghent University Hospital compared the isotopic values of Cu, Fe and Zn between men, menstruating women and two groups of non-menstruating women, women in their menopause and women with an intra-uterine device (IUD) used for contraception. The results indicated that Cu and Fe isotopic composition of whole blood is affected by menstruation, since the results for both groups of non-menstruating women were significantly different from those of menstruating women and much like those for men. On the other hand, Zn isotopic composition seems to be affected by age, since there was a significant difference between menopausal women and women using the IUD. The authors suggest this difference can be explained by the different hormone levels.

The method used for the isotopic measurements was multi-collector inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). The method was chosen for its significantly higher sample throughput capacity and also the higher ionisation efficiency for the transition metals investigated.

To read the full article, please access the link below. This paper will be free to read until 1 of May 2014.

Added sugars have been associated with negative effects on health, most important of which are cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of mortality in the US. They supply around 16% of the total calories in the American diet, up from less than 11% in the late 1970s.  Under-reporting and subjectivity in self-assessment studies of sugar intake have so far prevented conclusive evidence for the relationship between added sugar intake and negative health effects.

A. Hope Jahren and colleagues from the University of Hawaii and the Virginia Tech assessed the potential of δ¹³C measurements of different biological substrates  for the evaluation of added sugar intake. 78% of added sugars come from C4 plants which differ from other plants on their  δ¹³C values by as much as 20‰, while the uncertainty in measuring these values is usually less than 0.1‰.

Previous studies suggest that the δ¹³C value of blood is a promising biomarker for added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages in medium-term time-frame. Fingerstick-based blood sampling is especially convenient because it is non-invasive and requires minimal equipment and training, while the samples are easy to transport and store. Specific compound approaches are also discussed, with the hemoglobin A1c being a potential biomarker not susceptible to short-term changes in diet.

Although continued research is needed, δ¹³C is shown to be a promising potential biomarker of added sugar intake.

To read the full article, please access the link below. This paper will be free to read until 11 of April 2014.

Early detection of sepsis followed by immediate intervention is essential in the fight against sepsis. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin – Madison have recently described a technique for the analysis of exhaled breath carbon isotope delta values as a noninvasive diagnostic test in this fight.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a nonspecific response following events such as infection, trauma or surgery. SIRS is a major problem in the care of intensive care patients and has been reported to occur in 82 % of pediatric intensive care patients including the 23 % of patients admitted with sepsis. Sepsis is SIRS in the presence of an infection and is the most common cause of death in infants and children in the world. The US researchers showed a measurable difference between the exhaled breath carbon isotope delta values (BDVs i.e. ¹³CO₂/¹²CO₂ delta value) and the inflammatory acute phase response (APR) state of a pediatric patient. Whether the patient has no infection, trauma or surgery, the patient has trauma or post-operative status, active sepsis or shock.

Prof. Butz, University of Wisconsin-Madison highlights that “it has long been known that Carbon-13 behaves differently due to enzymatic fractionation. With the emergence of new carbon isotope sensing devices, such as cavity-ring down spectroscopy, measurement of the stable isotopes of carbon is much cheaper and more portable than has previously been possible.”

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In addition to discriminating patients for inflammatory APR state, the authors also suggest that the BDV could be used to monitor the changes in physiology during sepsis and septic shock due to changes in macronutrient oxidation. This opens up a bright future for BDVs in the clinic with “The potential for breath based measurements, such as the breath carbon delta value or BDV, making the intriguing case that noninvasive breath sampling can inform doctors and scientists about changes in the body’s metabolism. New instruments are being developed into medical devices that can be placed in the intensive care unit, emergency department, hospital ward, or clinic, and may be used by doctors to make determination about a patients nutritional, metabolic, or health status” adds Butz.

You can download the full article below, which is free to access until March 11th.

Changes in breath carbon isotope composition as a potential biomarker of inflammatory acute phase response in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients
Juan P. Boriosi, Dennis G. Maki, Rhonda A. Yngsdal-Krenz, Ellen R. Wald, Warren P. Porter, Mark E. Cook and Daniel E. Bütz 
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3JA50331C

Determination of Sr to study geological processes

The different isotopes of Strontium (Sr) can provide information on biological, hydrological and geological processes. Measurements of the radiogenic isotopic composition (87Sr/86Sr) have been used for a long time to study these processes, but in the last 30 years the stable isotopic ratio (88Sr/86Sr) has shown potential to help better understand the source of Sr and the cause of mass fractionation, especially when combined with 87Sr/86Sr measurements.

Leonid Neymark and scientists from both the US Geological Survey in Denver and the Instutute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology of the Russian Academy of Sciences developed a thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) method to measure Sr concentration, and “true” 88Sr/86Sr, 87Sr/86Sr and δ88Sr values. “True” values of isotopic ratios are considered those that are caused by natural fractionation, so the values measured have to be corrected for any chemical separation occurring during the measurement. This was achieved by spiking the samples with two Sr isotopes, in this study 87Sr-84Sr, with a precisely known ratio.
Standards, along with fossils, modern fauna, abiogenic minerals, silicate whole rocks and various water samples were analysed and the total range of values of δ88Sr shows potential for δ88Sr to be used as a tracer alongside the 87Sr/86Sr tracer.

To read the full article, please access the link below. This paper will be free to read until 6 january 2014.

Precise determination of δ88Sr in rocks, minerals, and waters by double-spike TIMS: a powerful tool in the study of geological, hydrological and biological processes
Leonid A. Neymark, Wayne R. Premo, Nikolay N. Mel’nikov and Poul Emsbo
J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2014,29, 65-75
DOI: 10.1039/C3JA50310K