Preparation of a PM-like reference material in sufficient quantities for accurate monitoring of anions and cations in fine atmospheric dust.

A reference material of a PM-like atmospheric dust material has been prepared using a newly developed method. It is intended to certify values for the mass fraction of SO, NO, Cl (anions) and Na, K, NH, Ca, Mg (cations) in this material. A successful route for the preparation of the candidate reference material is described alongside with two alternative approaches that were abandoned.

State of the art in the determination of trace elements in seawater: a worldwide proficiency test.

This manuscript presents the results of the International Measurement Evaluation Programme 40 (IMEP-40) study, a proficiency test (PT) which was organised to assess the worldwide performance of laboratories for the determination of trace elements in seawater. This PT supports the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, which aims at achieving a long-term high level protection of the aquatic environment, covering lakes, ground water and coastal waters. Forty-six participants reported results.

The potential role of activin and follistatin in lung transplant dysfunction.

Activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor β super-family, is a key regulator of multiple biological pathways including the physiological processes of organ development and homeostasis; as well as the pathological processes of inflammation, remodelling and fibrosis. Dysregulation of activin A and its naturally occurring antagonist follistatin, contribute to the development of disease in multiple organ systems. In this review, we summarize the regulation of activin A, its dysregulated expression in a number of respiratory diseases and postulate its potential role in contributing to allograft dysfunction following lung transplantation.

Development and validation of a method for mercury determination in seawater for the process control of a candidate certified reference material.

A simple, robust and reliable method for mercury determination in seawater matrices based on the combination of cold vapour generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CV-ICP-MS) and its complete in-house validation are described. The method validation covers parameters such as linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), trueness, repeatability, intermediate precision and robustness. A calibration curve covering the whole working range was achieved with coefficients of determination typically higher than 0.

Optimization and evaluation of asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation of silver nanoparticles.

Asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF(4)) in combination with on-line optical detection and mass spectrometry is one of the most promising methods for separation and quantification of nanoparticles (NPs) in complex matrices including food. However, to obtain meaningful results regarding especially the NP size distribution a number of parameters influencing the separation need to be optimized. This paper describes the development of a separation method for polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aqueous suspension.