Multielemental laser-enhanced ionization spectrometry for the determination of lead at the trace level in pelletized coal using laser ablation and internal standard signal normalization.

Laser ablation laser-enhanced ionization (LA-LEI) was used for the simultaneous measurement of lead and indium in pelletized graphite and coal samples. UV Laser ablation of the solid samples was performed in an ablation cell and the ablated material was carried by a flow of gas to a miniature LEI flame where lead was detected. The influence of parameters such as binder content of the solid pellets and dispersion of the analytes spiked in the sample material, as well as the number of ablation pulses per crater on signal repeatability and on the size and shape of ejected particles was examined.

Reagentless ultrasensitive specific DNA array detection based on responsive polymeric biochips.

Self-assembled molecular structures immobilized on solid substrates and composed of fluorophore-tagged oligonucleotide probes and an optical polymeric transducer were investigated for the trace level detection of DNA target molecules. Rapid and efficient energy transfer between the polymeric transducer and fluorophores within the molecular aggregates leads to a massive intrinsic amplification of the fluorescence signal and to the label-free detection of as little as 300 DNA molecules, with the specificity required for the detection of single-nucleotide mismatches. This capacity for attomolar detection levels while the sensing structures are attached onto solid supports could lead to the development of biochip platforms for fast and simple PCR-free multitarget DNA detection.

PCR-free DNA detection using a magnetic bead-supported polymeric transducer and microelectromagnetic traps.

A fluorescent polymeric hybridization transducer supported on magnetic microbeads was investigated for the rapid, ultrasensitive, and sequence-specific detection of DNA. We show that the polymer derivative can be used to detect target DNA directly on magnetic particles by preparing "target-ready" microbeads grafted with the polymer and suitable DNA probes. A detection limit of approximately 200 target copies in a probed volume of 150 muL (1.

Trace level determination of lead in solid samples by UV laser ablation and laser-enhanced ionization detection.

Laser-enhanced ionization was investigated as a detection technique for trace elemental analysis of solid samples by laser ablation. Laser ablation of aluminum samples was performed in an ablation cell, and the ablated material was carried by a flow of gas to a miniature LEI flame where Pb was detected. This decoupling of ablation cell and detector allowed the independent optimization of vaporization and detection processes.