fcc-bcc phase transition in plasma crystals using time-resolved measurements.

Three-dimensional plasma crystals are often described as Yukawa systems for which a phase transition between the crystal structures fcc and bcc has been predicted. However, experimental investigations of this transition are missing. We use a fast scanning video camera to record the crystallization process of 70 000 microparticles and investigate the existence of the fcc-bcc phase transition at neutral gas pressures of 30, 40, and 50 Pa. To analyze the crystal, robust phase diagrams with the help of a machine learning algorithm are calculated. This work shows that the phase transition can be investigated experimentally and makes a comparison with numerical results of Yukawa systems. The phase transition is analyzed in dependence on the screening parameter and structural order. We suggest that the transition is an effect of gravitational compression of the plasma crystal. Experimental investigations of the fcc-bcc phase transition will provide an opportunity to estimate the coupling strength Γ by comparison with numerical results of Yukawa systems.

Screening and quantification of hypnotic sedatives in serum by capillary gas chromatography with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector, and confirmation by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

We describe a quantitative screen for hypnotic-sedative drugs in which we use capillary gas chromatography with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector (GC/NPD) as the primary method and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for confirmation. GC retention times of the acid-extracted underivatized drugs were stable (CVs less than 1%), and the detector response varied linearly over a 20-fold concentration range with a mean correlation coefficient for 11 drugs of 0.989. The limits of detection were satisfactory (0.5 mg/L in a 0.5-mL serum sample and 1-microL injection volume), as were precision (average CV 5.2% within day, 6.4% between day). The complementary use of capillary GC-MS not only unambiguously confirms presumptive peaks identified by GC, but also prevents reports of false positives and identifies compounds not included in the quantitative GC screen that may be listed in the GC-MS library.

Evaluation of a benchtop capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for clinical toxicology.

We evaluated the Hewlett-Packard 5995B benchtop capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for its ability to identify drugs commonly detected and (or) measured in the clinical toxicology laboratory. Initial experiments indicated that the instrument as originally configured, with an isolation valve between the gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer, was unsatisfactory for the identification of hypnotics-sedatives. However, with the capillary inserted directly into the ion source, we could detect 10 ng of these drugs on a total-ion chromatogram. The software programs cause the instrument to be highly automated. In terms of ease of operation and speed it was found suitable for use in a routine clinical laboratory. Chromatography of urine extracts on the capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer yielded excellent resolution of parent compounds and metabolites (e.g., diphenhydramine together with approximately four metabolites and propoxyphene with four metabolites). However, the manufacturer's computer program used to evaluate the quality of the match between the experimental mass spectra and the 375 drug reference spectra was only moderately successful in identifying unknown compounds. The ability of this capillary GC-MS to identify most compounds with a high degree of confidence will be increased by enlarging the library to include more drugs and metabolites and by using a more reliable computerized matching program.