Analytical Chemistry News and Research

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Scientists develop inexpensive dipstick test to identify pesticides in foods and beverages

Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

23 Dec 2009

Scientists explore new concepts to achieve uniform standards for clean drinking water in all EU countries

Clean water is a matter of survival for humans, particularly when it is used for drinking, cooking and for food manufacture. Therefore, the EU member countries have in several guidelines undertaken to guarantee their citizens sustainable clean drinking water.

10 Dec 2009

Scientists identify and characterize different antioxidant compounds from foods

Scientists at the University of Granada have identified and characterized for the first time different antioxidant compounds from foods such as olive oil, honey, walnuts and a medicinal herb called Teucrium polium.

20 Nov 2009

Scientists develop new way for exploring the insides of living cells

Scientists in Washington, DC, are reporting development and successful tests of a new way for exploring the insides of living cells, the microscopic building blocks of all known plants and animals. They explode the cell while it is still living inside a plant or animal, vaporize its contents, and sniff. The study appears in online in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.

12 Nov 2009

NIST researchers to develop a certified reference material to assess C-reactive protein

Searching for a needle in a haystack may seem futile, but it's worth it if the needle is a hard-to-detect protein that may identify a person at high risk of a heart attack circulating within a haystack of human serum (liquid component of blood).

5 Nov 2009

New paper-strip test for detecting pesticides in beverage and food samples

5 Nov 2009

Global Bioenergies discovers synthetic metabolic pathway for producing isobutene

Global Bioenergies, located on the Genopole campus close to Paris, has today announced the proof-of-concept of a synthetic metabolic pathway for producing isobutene, a key building block that can be converted into transportation fuels, polymers and various commodity chemicals.

14 Oct 2009

URV’s biosensor can detect typhoid causing bacteria instantly

A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. The technique uses carbon nanotubes and synthetic DNA fragments that activate an electric signal when they link up with the pathogen.

9 Sep 2009

Researchers investigate dioxin decomposition in the Viktor Yushchenko poisoning

In 2004 the current Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, suffered a severe case of dioxin poisoning. In order to understand how the human body reacts to remove the poison, Empa researchers have analyzed over a hundred samples taken from the politician.

6 Aug 2009

Polymer nanowires detect cancer biomarker

Investigators at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a simple and cost-effective method of building conducting polymer nanowires that can detect a wide range of levels of a cancer biomarker. This work, which was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, could serve as a model for portable cancer detection equipment suitable for use in a doctor's office.

26 Mar 2009

Hollow gold nanospheres show promise in cancer therapy

A new metal nanostructure developed by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has already shown promise in cancer therapy studies and could be used for chemical and biological sensors and other applications as well.

22 Mar 2009

ESA Biosciences to launch Corona CAD at Pittcon 2009

ESA Biosciences, Inc., a Magellan Biosciences company and leader in novel HPLC systems that improve results for pharmaceutical development and QA/QC, life science, and analytical-chemistry customers worldwide, will launch a new, ultra-high-performance version of its award-winning Corona CAD at Pittcon 2009.

2 Mar 2009

Advances in vivo biological imaging

The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen the chemist Wei Sun (26) as the recipient of its Best Paper Award 2008.

8 Feb 2009

Microfluidic devices capture and analyze single cancer cells

One of the grand goals in nanotechnology is to develop a single microfluidic device that integrates all of the components needed to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid analyses. Experts predict that such a device would enable researchers to develop rapid assays for cancer and other life-threatening diseases while a patient is in the doctor's office.

18 Jan 2009

Mould toxins in buildings more prevalent and hazardous than thought

Mould toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are considerably more prevalent than was previously thought, according to new international research.

10 Dec 2008

Simple, inexpensive method for detecting contaminants in heparin

The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries and lungs, but earlier this year its reputation as a lifesaver was sullied when contaminated heparin products caused serious allergic reactions that led to a large number of deaths.

17 Nov 2008

Chip-based device measures drug resistance in tumor cells

Multiple drug resistance is a major cause of anticancer therapy failure. Most drug-resistance cancer cells develop this unfortunate characteristic due to a drug-pumping protein known as P-glycoprotein.

20 May 2008

Simple, inexpensive telemedicine system

After launching a communications revolution, cell phones are talking up a potentially life-saving new role in telemedicine - the use of telecommunications technology to provide medical diagnosis and patient care when doctors and patients are hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

5 May 2008

Femtogram-level chemical measurements now possible

Finding a simple and convenient technique that combines nanoscale structural measurements and chemical identification has been an elusive goal.

31 Mar 2008

Gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for the direct detection of cancerous cells

Early detection of tumors is one of the Holy Grails of cancer research, an achievement that would greatly improve cancer therapy and prognosis. Two new reports describe different but promising approaches to solving this problem.

3 Mar 2008