Biological/biologic materials

Some fairly typical results, obtained by LaMer and co-workers [275] are shown in Fig. IV-24. At the higher film pressures, the reduction in evaporation rate may be 60-90%—a very substantial effect. Similar results have been reported for the various fatty acids and their esters [276,277]. Films of biological materials may offer little resistance, as is the case for cholesterol [278] and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (except if present as a bilayer) [279]. 

Modification of an AFM to operate in a dynamic mode aids the study of soft biological materials [58]. Here a stiff cantilever is oscillated near its resonant frequency with an amplitude of about 0.5 nm forces are detected as a shift to a new frequency... 

The infonuation that can be extracted from inorganic samples depends mainly on tlie electron beam/specimen interaction and instrumental parameters [1], in contrast to organic and biological materials, where it depends strongly on specimen preparation. 

Although the technology of an MRI scanner is rather sophisticated it does what we have seen other NMR spectrometers do it detects protons Thus MRI IS especially sensitive to biological materials such as... 

It is evident that the area of water-soluble polymer covets a multitude of appHcations and encompasses a broad spectmm of compositions. Proteins (qv) and other biological materials ate coveted elsewhere in the Eniyclopedia. One of the products of this type, poly(aspartic acid), may be developed into interesting biodegradable commercial appHcations (70,71). 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST is the source of many of the standards used in chemical and physical analyses in the United States and throughout the world. The standards prepared and distributed by the NIST are used to caUbrate measurement systems and to provide a central basis for uniformity and accuracy of measurement. At present, over 1200 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are available and are described by the NIST (15). Included are many steels, nonferrous alloys, high purity metals, primary standards for use in volumetric analysis, microchemical standards, clinical laboratory standards, biological material certified for trace elements, environmental standards, trace element standards, ion-activity standards (for pH and ion-selective electrodes), freezing and melting point standards, colorimetry standards, optical standards, radioactivity standards, particle-size standards, and density standards. Certificates are issued with the standard reference materials showing values for the parameters that have been determined. 

One of the main uses of osmium tetroxide is as a biological staining agent for microscopic ceU and tissue studies. Osmium tetroxide is unique in that it both fixes and stains biological material. 

Grafts are also frequently employed in the upper part of the body to reconstmct damaged portions of the aorta and carotid arteries. In addition, grafts are used to access the vascular system, such as in hemodialysis to avoid damage of vessels from repeated needle punctures. Most grafts are synthetic and made from materials such as Dacron or Teflon. Less than 5% of grafts utilized are made from biological materials. 

Comprehensive accounts of the various gravimetric, polarographic, spectrophotometric, and neutron activation analytical methods have been pubHshed (1,2,5,17,19,65—67). Sampling and analysis of biological materials and organic compounds is treated in References 60 and 68. Many analytical methods depend on the conversion of selenium in the sample to selenous acid, H2Se02, and reduction to elemental selenium when a gravimetric deterrnination is desired. 

Miscellaneous. Trace analyses have been performed for a variety of other materials. Table 9 Hsts some uses of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (etaas) for determination of trace amounts of elements in a variety of matrices. The appHcations of icp /ms to geological and biological materials include the following (165) ... 

Bioassays are based on the growth response of vitamin-depleted rats or chicks to graded amounts of vitamin B 2 added in the diet. These assays are not specific for vitamin B 2 because factors, other than vitamin B 2 present in biological materials, produce a growth response. Because coen2yme primary form of natural vitamin 2 is light sensitive, assays should be carried out in subdued light. 

In biological materials, various nonspecific precipitants have been used in the gravimetric deterrnination of choline, including potassium triiodide, platinum chloride, gold chloride, and phosphotungstic acid (28). Choline may also be determined spectrophotometricaHy and by microbiological, enzymatic, and physiological assay methods. 

The use of mutant 34486 of Neurospora crassa for the microbiological assay of ch oline has been described (8). A physiological method has also been used in which the ch oline is extracted after hydrolysis from a sample of biological material and acetylated. The acetylcholine is then assayed by a kymographic procedure, in which its effect in causing contraction of a piece of isolated rabbit intestine is measured (33). 

Chromatography is a technique for separating and quantifying the constituents of a mixture. Separation techniques are essential for the characterization of the mixtures that result from most chemical processes. Chromatographic analysis is used in many areas of science and engineering in environmental studies, in the analysis of art objects, in industrial quahty control (qv), in analysis of biological materials, and in forensics (see Biopolymers, analytical TECHNIQUES FiNE ART EXAMINATION AND CONSERVATION FoRENSic CHEMISTRY). Most chemical laboratories employ one or more chromatographs for routine analysis (1). 

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