Construction and evaluation of an automated flow injection-stopped flow analyser for multipoint reaction rate spectrophotometric methods. Determination of ammonia nitrogen,creatinine and phosphate

The construction and evaluation of a fully automated Flow Injection-Stopped Flow (FI-SF) spectrophotometric analyser is described. A microcomputer (Rockwell AIM 65) is used to control the analyser (sample injection, stop and start of the pump) through a suitable interface. Data acquisition is achieved using a 12 bit ADC card and a suitable subroutine in 6502 assembly language, allowing data sampling at a frequency of 7.5 kHz. The measurement interface and software were evaluated using a voltage ramp generator. A precision of 0.02-1.1% RSD (N =10) was obtained for voltage ramps in the range of 1-37 mVs^-1. The FI-SF analyser was evaluated in routine analysis by developing FI-SF kinetic spectrophotometric methods for the determination of ammonia nitrogen (20-250 ppm, 0.4-2.5% RSD) based on the Berthelot reaction, creatinine (20-220 ppm, 0.9-3.6% RSD) based on the Jaffé reaction, and phosphate (5-30 ppm, 1.0-3.3% RSD) based on the phosphomolybdenum blue reaction. The reaction rate is measured by linear fitting of multiple absorbance readings vs time. Algorithms for automated estimation of the residence time, the linear range of the reaction curve, and data treatment are presented.     

Development of fully-automated synthesis systems

This paper describes the development of fully-automated synthesis systems for preparing and isolating various kinds of pharmaceutical compounds. The systems are versatile, and are able to perform most of the chemical reactions currently used in organic chemistry, with the exception of hydrogenation which requires high pressure. An additional benefit is the very user-friendly software.     

Calibration in process monitoring by using unsegmented continuous-flow systems

An overview is presented of the different aspects of the role of analytical chemistry in process monitoring and control. On-line monitoring is currently the most attractive option in this area, especially with unsegmented-flow techniques. In addition to allowing automation of these systems, the variety of ways in which calibration and recalibration can be performed allows their adaptation to any situation by using extremely simple, home-made manifolds. The most relevant designs are presented and critically discussed in this paper.     

Increasing the biosafety of analytical systems in the clinical laboratory

Biosafety is an important part of the know-how of all clinical laboratory professionals. Biosafely must have high priority in the design and use of analytical systems. Attention should be focused on reducing the handling of biological specimens, reducing biohazards to laboratory personnel, and on improving the labelling and containment of biohazardous materials. In this paper, biosafety issues are discussed in relation to the design of analytical systems, their use and maintenance.     

白细胞介素-10在感染性疾病中的作用

白细胞介素-10是一种具有多种生物学功能的细胞因子,在疾病的治疗及诊断中具有重要的作用。本文对白细胞介素-10的分子结构特点、在感染性疾病中的作用及其临床应用作一综述。     

Role of pigments in the stability of polyethylene systems

The photodegradation processes of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) films containing either a phthalocyanine‐based pigment, or a rutil (TiO₂)‐based pigment, as well as of the unpigmented films stabilised differently were investigated during photo‐ageing, applying mechanical, gel content and XPS measurements. The phthalocyanine pigment‐containing film showed degradation characteristics (abrupt decrease of elongation at break after short irradiation period, no gel formation, high concentration of oxygen‐containing functional groups on the surface) similar to those of the films containing a low amount of stabiliser. The behaviour of the TiO₂‐containing film and that of the unpigmented films containing a higher amount of stabiliser were also similar (slow decrease of elongation at break, increase of gel content, lower amount of oxygen‐containing functional groups on the surface). The concentration of oxygen‐containing functional groups in samples pigmented with phthalocyanine increased remarkably with increasing processing temperature. The results suggest that the phthalocyanine pigment influences the photostability indirectly, through reduction of the thermal stability of polymer due to the adsorption of the thermal stabiliser by the phthalocyanine pigment. Coating the surface of phthalocyanine with reactive surfactant improved the photostability of the HDPE film.     

A novel approach to non-segmented flow analysis: Part 4. Aluminium in river waters

A rapid and precise method is developed for the determination of aluminium in water. The results demonstrate that the calibration range of the assay can be extended by a simple manipulation of the control program of the flow analyser. An RSD of 1.8% is achieved for injection of standards and the theoretical limit of detection is estimated at 0.33 ppm alum (equivalent to 18 ppb Al³⁺). The method is applied to monitoring of environmental samples.     

Compositional and optical properties of SiO x films and (SiO x /SiO y ) junctions deposited by HFCVD

In this work, non-stoichiometric silicon oxide (SiO _x ) films and (SiO _x /SiO _y ) junctions, as-grown and after further annealing, are characterized by different techniques. The SiO _x films and (SiO _x /SiO _y ) junctions are obtained by hot filament chemical vapor deposition technique in the range of temperatures from 900°C to 1,150°C. Transmittance spectra of the SiO _x films showed a wavelength shift of the absorption edge thus indicating an increase in the optical energy band gap, when the growth temperature decreases; a similar behavior is observed in the (SiO _x /SiO _y ) structures, which in turn indicates a decrease in the Si excess, as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) reveals, so that, the film and junction composition changes with the growth temperature. The analysis of the photoluminescence (PL) results using the quantum confinement model suggests the presence of silicon nanocrystal (Si-nc) embedded in a SiO _x matrix. For the case of the as-grown SiO _x films, the absorption and emission properties are correlated with quantum effects in Si-nc and defects. For the case of the as-grown (SiO _x /SiO _y ) junctions, only the emission mechanism related to some kinds of defects was considered, but silicon nanocrystal embedded in a SiO _x matrix is present. After thermal annealing, a phase separation into Si and SiO₂ occurs, as the FTIR spectra illustrates, which has repercussions in the absorption and emission properties of the films and junctions, as shown by the change in the A and B band positions on the PL spectra. These results lead to good possibilities for proposed novel applications in optoelectronic devices.

PACS

61.05.-a; 68.37.Og; 61.05.cp; 78.55.-m; 68.37.Ps; 81.15.Gh