Capture/concentration techniques

As mentioned previously, the scope of photochemical oxidants extends to organic nitrates and other carbonyl compounds. Among the organic nitrates, the one most often cited is peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN). Electron-capture detector techniques applied to the gas chromatt aph were used to measure PAN concentrations in Los Angeles late in 1%5. ... 

ELISA is also of limited application when the antigen is extremely diluted, such that other molecules interfere with the performance of the technique. One approach in this case is the so-called substrate-capture ELISA . Here, a substrate for a protease, for example, is bound to the plastic plate in order to absorb and concentrate the specific enzyme for detection by immune reaction. The first modification of a standard capture assay technique in which a metalloprotease substrate is used to capture the enzyme of interest was described by Wacher et al. in 1990, and is summarized in generalized form below. The substrate-capture ELISA greatly simplifies the mixture in which the enzyme is detected and removes potentially interfering substances, thus avoiding some of the difficulties... 

Determination of gold concentrations to ca 1 ppm in solution via atomic absorption spectrophotometry (62) has become an increasingly popular technique because it is available in most modem analytical laboratories and because it obviates extensive sample preparation. A more sensitive method for gold analysis is neutron activation, which permits accurate determination to levels < 1 ppb (63). The sensitivity arises from the high neutron-capture cross section (9.9 x 10 = 99 barns) of the only natural isotope, Au. The resulting isotope, Au, decays by P and y emission with a half-life of 2.7 d. 

In the case of gaseous contaminants, the tracer gas is selected to simu late as well as possible the properties (density, temperature) and momentum of the real contaminant. It is essential to ensure that the tracers arc nontoxic, chemically nonreactive, nonadsorptive on indoor surfaces, and inexpensive. The mixing of the tracer with the actual gaseous contaminant before its release or the release of the tracer with a density near that of the air will improve the validity of the simulation. With tracers, the most difficult task in practice is the relationship of the discharge between the tracer and the real contaminant. Case-by-case techniques to release the tracer are necessary in practice. With tracer gases, the procedure for capture efficiency is described in detail in the European Standard. - The tracer gas concentrations are measured in the exhaust duct for two release locations as illustrated in Fig. 10.108. 

Development in recent years of fast-response instruments able to measure rapid fluctuations of the wind velocity (V ) and of fhe tracer concentration (c ), has made it possible to calculate the turbulent flux directly from the correlation expression in Equation (41), without having to resort to uncertain assumptions about eddy diffusivities. For example, Grelle and Lindroth (1996) used this eddy-correlation technique to calculate the vertical flux of CO2 above a foresf canopy in Sweden. Since the mean vertical velocity w) has to vanish above such a flat surface, the only contribution to the vertical flux of CO2 comes from the eddy-correlation term c w ). In order to capture the contributions from all important eddies, both the anemometer and the CO2 instrument must be able to resolve fluctuations on time scales down to about 0.1 s. 

FIGURE 5.4 Stages in sol-gel processing are captured by a new electron microscopy technique. (1) Spherical particles tens of nanometers across can be seen in a colloidal silica sol. (2) Addition of a concentrated salt solution initiates gelation. (3) The gelled sample, after drying under the electron beam of the microscope, shows a highly porous structure. Courtesy, J. R. Bellare, J. K. Bailey, and M. L. Mecartney, University of Minnesota. 

For the analysis of the chemical structure of flames, laser methods will typically provide temperature measurement and concentration profiles of some readily detectable radicals. The following two examples compare selected LIF and CRDS results. Figure 2.1 presents the temperature profile in a fuel-rich (C/O = 0.6) propene-oxygen-argon flame at 50 mbar [42]. For the LIF measurements, 1% NO was added. OH-LIF thermometry would also be possible, but regarding the rather low OH concentrations in fuel-rich flames, especially at low temperatures, this approach does not capture the temperature rise in the flame front [43]. The sensitivity of the CRDS technique, however, is superior, and the OH mole fraction is sufficient to follow the entire temperature profile. Both measurements are in excellent agreement. For all flames studied here, the temperature profile has been measured by LIF and/or CRDS. 

This technique detects substances qualitatively and quantitatively. The chromatogram retention time is compound-specific, and peak-height indicates the concentration of pollutant in the air. Detection systems include flame ionization, thermal conductivity and electron capture. Traditionally gas chromatography is a laboratory analysis but portable versions are now available for field work. Table 9.4 lists conditions for one such portable device. 

Techniques for analysis of different mercury species in biological samples and abiotic materials include atomic absorption, cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry, gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture detection, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Lansens etal. 1991 Schintu etal. 1992 Porcella etal. 1995). Methylmercury concentrations in marine biological tissues are detected at concentrations as low as 10 pg Hg/kg tissue using graphite furnace sample preparation techniques and atomic absorption spectrometry (Schintu et al. 1992). 

The concentrations of eight selected fatty acids (Table 3.4) have been determined by gas chromatography as previously described (Makristathis et al. 2002) they are given in percent of all fatty acids captured by the used analytical technique. The variable matrix X contains 34 rows for the samples, and 8 columns with the fatty acid concentrations. 

Finally, there are custom two-step quantitation methods such as chromatography or ELISA that require a capture step for isolating the protein and then a quantitation step based on a standard curve of the purified target protein. The preliminary capture step may also concentrate the protein for increased sensitivity. These techniques are typically not available in a commercial kit form and may require extensive method development. They are more labor intensive and complex than the colorimetric or absorbance-based assays. In addition, recovery of the protein from and reproducibility of the capture step complicate validation. Despite these disadvantages, the custom two-step quantitation methods are essential in situations requiring protein specificity. 

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