Specific Chemical Detection Research Articles

Engineered Biosensors in an Encapsulated and Deployable System for Environmental Chemical Detection.

The long-term exposure of low levels of the fungicide, 2-phenylphenol (2-PP), to the environment presents a hazard to human and aquatic health. The cost and difficulty in large-scale production limit the use of existing sensors to detect 2-PP for applications such as personal protection and persistent environmental monitoring of large areas. While advances have been made in using whole cells as biosensors for specific chemical detection, a whole-cell biosensor system with robust biocontainment for field deployment and a strong visual reporter for readouts in the deployed environment has yet to be realized. Here, engineered biosensors in an encapsulated and deployable system (eBEADS) were created to demonstrate a portable, no-power living sensor for detection of 2-PP in the environment. A whole-cell living sensor to detect 2-PP was developed in Escherichia coli by utilizing the 2-PP degradation pathway with an agenetic amplification circuit to produce a visual colorimetric output. To enable field deployment, a physical biocontainment system comprising polyacrylamide alginate beads was designed to encapsulate sensor strains, support long-term viability without supplemental nutrients, and allow permeability of the target analyte. Integration of materials and sensing strains has led to the development of a potential deployable end-to-end living sensor that, with the addition of an amplification circuit, has up to a 66-fold increase in β-galactosidase reporter output over non-amplified strains, responding to as little as 1 μM 2-PP while unencapsulated and 10 μM 2-PP while encapsulated. eBEADS enable sensitive and specific in-field detection of environmental perturbations and chemical threats without electronics.

Fabrication of a Luminescence-Silent System Based on a Post-Synthetic Modification Cd-MOFs: A Highly Selective and Sensitive Turn-on Luminescent Probe for Ascorbic Acid Detection.

A unique three-dimensional luminescent metal-organic framework (Cd-MOFs), [Cd(tpbpc)2]·2H2O·DMF (Htpbpc = 4'-[4,2';6',4″]-terpyridin-4'-yl-biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid; DMF = dimethylformamide), was synthesized and structurally characterized; it exhibits excellent luminescent property and structural stability in aqueous solutions. Interestingly, an unparalleled luminescence-silent system CrO42-@Cd-MOFs was successfully fabricated by postsynthetic modification of metal-organic frameworks. This luminescence-silent system represents a highly selective and sensitive turn-on luminescent responding to ascorbic acid. First, this advanced fluorescent sensor displays excellent performance for CrO42- ions with a quenching of fluorescence intensity originating from fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. What's more, the fluorescent intensity of CrO42-@Cd-MOFs system can be recovered (turn-on) for sensing ascorbic acid because of the elimination of FRET process. Such a novel fabrication strategy should offer the guidance to develop various MOFs-implicated luminescence-silent systems as "turn-on" sensors for detection of specific chemicals.

Estimating of Fatty Acids, Tcopherols, Tocotrienols, Total Carotens, Study The Physiochemical Properties And Unsaponifiable Matters Extraction From Crude Red Palm Oil(1)

The percentage of fatty acids, quantity of tocopherols, tocotrienols, carotens and physiochemical characteristics of crude red palm oil have been evaluated, in addition to specific chemical detection of active compounds unsaponifiable matters. Results of Gas Liquid Chromatography showed:- The major fatty acids in red palm oil is palmitic (44.36%) then oleic (39.65%), linolenic (10.55%), stearic (3.56%), myristic (1.22%), arachdonic (0.24%) and palmotic (0.19%). Red palm oil contains ? – ?- ?- ? – Tocopherols with concentration 258 , 121 , 259, 109 m/kg oil , ? – ?- ?- ? – Tocotrienol with concentration 462.77 , 571.03, 619.18, 509.07 m/kg oil respectively. Total tocopherols & tocotrienols 2909.05 m/kg oil and 893.63 m/kg oil carotens. Results of physiochemical characteristics revealed that crude red palm oil contains 0.80 ± 0.13% moisture , 58.81 ± 0.24 iodin nomber, 210 ± 1.35 saponifid number, 0.417 pv, 0.7% unsaponifiable matters, 1.4684 refraction index. Specific chemical detection indicated that unsaponifiable matters contains phenols, flavonoids and sterols.

Estimating of Fatty Acids, Tcopherols, Tocotrienols, Total Carotens, Study The Physiochemical Properties And Unsaponifiable Matters Extraction From Crude Red Palm Oil(1)

The percentage of fatty acids, quantity of tocopherols, tocotrienols, carotens and physiochemical characteristics of crude red palm oil have been evaluated, in addition to specific chemical detection of active compounds unsaponifiable matters. Results of Gas Liquid Chromatography showed:- The major fatty acids in red palm oil is palmitic (44.36%) then oleic (39.65%), linolenic (10.55%), stearic (3.56%), myristic (1.22%), arachdonic (0.24%) and palmotic (0.19%). Red palm oil contains ? – ?- ?- ? – Tocopherols with concentration 258 , 121 , 259, 109 m/kg oil , ? – ?- ?- ? – Tocotrienol with concentration 462.77 , 571.03, 619.18, 509.07 m/kg oil respectively. Total tocopherols & tocotrienols 2909.05 m/kg oil and 893.63 m/kg oil carotens. Results of physiochemical characteristics revealed that crude red palm oil contains 0.80 ± 0.13% moisture , 58.81 ± 0.24 iodin nomber, 210 ± 1.35 saponifid number, 0.417 pv, 0.7% unsaponifiable matters, 1.4684 refraction index. Specific chemical detection indicated that unsaponifiable matters contains phenols, flavonoids and sterols.

Associative Learning of Nasonia vitripennis Walker (Hymenoptera:Pteromalidae) to Methyldisulfanylmethane

Traditional methods of volatile detection used by police typically consist of reliance on canine olfaction. However, dogs have some limitations such as cost of training and time of conditioning. The possibility of using parasitic wasps for detecting explosives and narcotics has been developed. Moreover, wasps are cheap to produce and can be conditioned with impressive speed for a specific chemical detection task. We examined the ability of Nasonia vitripennis Walker to learn and respond to methyldisulfanylmethane (DMDS), a volatile discriminator of cadaver. The training aimed to form an association between an unconditioned stimulus (pupae) and the conditioned stimulus (odor source). After the training, the time spent by conditioned wasps in the DMDS chamber was measured. Statistical analysis showed that the increasing concentrations involved an increase in the time spent in the chamber containing DMDS. This study indicates that N.vitripennis can respond to DMDS, which provide further support for its development as a biological sensor.

Comparison between chalcogenide glass single index and microstructured exposed-core fibers for chemical sensing

Chemical bonds of most of the molecules vibrate at a frequency corresponding to the near or mid infrared field. It is thus of a great interest to develop sensitive and portable devices for the detection of specific chemicals and biomolecules for various applications in health, environment, security and so on. A microstructured exposed-core (MEC) fiber has been elaborated for the first time. This design consists of a chalcogenide glass optical fiber with a suspended micron-scale core that is partially exposed to the external environment. This configuration has been chosen to elaborate, using the molding method, a chalcogenide fiber for chemical species detection. The sensitivity of this fiber to detect molecules such as acetone and propan-2-ol has been compared with those of single index fibers. Although evanescent wave absorption is inversely proportional to the fiber diameter, the results show that an exposed-core fiber is more sensitive than a single index fiber having a twice smaller diameter.

Techniques for quantifying chemicals concealed behind clothing using near infrared spectroscopy

The detection of specific chemicals when concealed behind a layer of clothing is reported using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. It is found that concealment modifies the spectrum of a particular chemical when recorded at stand-off ranges of three meters in a diffuse reflection experiment. Chemometric analysis of the spectra has been performed with neural network-based pattern recognition/classification to deal with this problem. Neural networks help to overcome nonlinearities within the calibration/training dataset, affording more robust modelling. The work has been shown to both allow detection of specific chemicals concealed behind a single intervening layer of fabric material, and to estimate the concentration of hydrogen peroxide using partial least squares regression (PLSR).

The mutagenicity of amino-derivatives of diphenyl ether herbicides in new Salmonella typhimurium YG tester strains

In this study, we examined the mutagenicity of four diphenyl ether herbicides and their amino derivatives in Salmonella typhimurium TA tester strains and YG tester strains. YG tester strains have been newly developed for sensitive detection of specific chemicals. S. typhimurium YG 1021, YG 1024, YG 1026 and YG 1029 strains are sensitive to mutagenic nitoroarenes and hydroxyamines. S. typhimurium YG 3003 is a strain that is sensitive to some oxidative mutagens. And S. typhimurium YG 7108 is useful for detection of mutagenic alkylating agents. As a result, each amino derivative of diphenyl ether herbicides is more mutagenic than its parent herbicide in S. typhimurium TA and YG tester strains with metabolic activation by S9 mixture. Moreover, S. typhimurium YG tester strains are more useful for highly sensitive detection of mutagens than S. typhimurium TA tester strains. We also examined the production of amino derivatives in a water environment from parent herbicides. It was clear that diphenyl ether herbicides rapidly transform to amino derivatives in a water environment.

Antibodies from patients with Parkinson's disease react with protein modified by dopamine oxidation

To determine whether specific antibodies are present in PD, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) that identifies increased immunoglobulin (IgG) levels towards a synthetic substrate prepared by incubating ovalbumin with dopamine and copper sulfate. Altered absorption spectrum and specific chemical detection demonstrated quinone modification of the ovalbumin. This modified protein was demonstrated to react with serial dilutions of PD sera. A threshold dilution of 1:500 was subsequently used to screen sera from patients with PD (n = 21), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 7), Alzheimer's disease (n = 7) and other neurological disease controls (n = 7). The assay produced a positive result in 7/21 PD patients and 0/21 disease controls (P < 0.02, Kruskal–Wallis test). Further testing of sera from untreated PD patients (n = 6) identified one positive sample. Thus, a subset of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients has immunoglobulin (IgG) to ovalbumin modified by dopamine oxidation. The presence of antibody reactivity to quinone-modified proteins could contribute to or amplify the inflammatory response in PD. J. Neurosci. Res. 53:551–558, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Antibodies from patients with Parkinson's disease react with protein modified by dopamine oxidation.

To determine whether specific antibodies are present in PD, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) that identifies increased immunoglobulin (IgG) levels towards a synthetic substrate prepared by incubating ovalbumin with dopamine and copper sulfate. Altered absorption spectrum and specific chemical detection demonstrated quinone modification of the ovalbumin. This modified protein was demonstrated to react with serial dilutions of PD sera. A threshold dilution of 1:500 was subsequently used to screen sera from patients with PD (n = 21), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 7), Alzheimer's disease (n = 7) and other neurological disease controls (n = 7). The assay produced a positive result in 7/21 PD patients and 0/21 disease controls (P < 0.02, Kruskal-Wallis test). Further testing of sera from untreated PD patients (n = 6) identified one positive sample. Thus, a subset of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients has immunoglobulin (IgG) to ovalbumin modified by dopamine oxidation. The presence of antibody reactivity to quinone-modified proteins could contribute to or amplify the inflammatory response in PD.

Development of an Optical Fiber Fluorescence Setup for in situ PAHs Detection in Porous Media. Application to Pyranine Transport in Sand Columns

An optical method based on fluorescence spectroscopy was developed for in-situ non-destructive, real time, organic pollutant detection and quantification in soil. Optical fiber-based light-induced fluorescence probes allowing in-situ specific chemical detection were constructed. Pyranine was chosen as a model fluorescent Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH). The effect of sand particles on fluorescence measurements was established: the fluorescence intensity in water-saturated sand was eight times lower than in aqueous solutions, due to light scattering by the sand particles. To adapt the method to dynamic pollutant concentration measurements in soil, two different designs of light diffusers were constructed and compared. A light distributor with a quartz window was chosen for its higher sensitivity and reproducibility. The probes were introduced into two different columns: short ones used to study the effect of the measurement location in the column and longer ones to study pyranine transport. It was shown that, in columns, the measurement location plays an important role; measurements near the walls, in particular, were different from those performed more towards the center of the column in a given section. As a consequence, one should avoid measurements near the circumference. Preliminary results were successfully compared to a chemical transport model and revealed that the methodology is a powerful tool to measure in-situ concentration changes; on the other hand, fluorescent measurements can be used efficiently to determine transport parameters and give results comparable with those obtained with classical breakthrough curve fittings.

Thin-Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Phospholipids in Echinostoma revolutum (Trematoda) Adults

Thin-layer chromatographic analyses were made of phospholipids extracted from adult Echinostoma revolutum (Trematoda) and from the nonnutrient medium in which worms were maintained. Identity of phospholipids was based on comparison with authentic lipid standards and on specific chemical detection tests. The most abundant phospholipids in the extract were phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl serine; lesser amounts of cerebrosides and lysophosphatidyl choline were detected also. Phospholipids detected in the incubation medium were essentially as described for extracts.