Quantification of Carbon Nanotubes by Raman Analysis.

The increasing prevalence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in manufacturing and research environments, together with the potential exposure risks, necessitates development of reliable and accurate monitoring methods for these materials. We examined quantification of CNTs by two distinct methods based on Raman spectroscopy. First, as measured by the Raman peak intensity of aqueous CNT suspensions, and second, by Raman mapping of air filter surfaces onto which CNTs were collected as aerosols or applied as small-area (0.05 cm2) deposits. Correlation (R2 = 0.97) between CNT concentration and Raman scattering intensity for suspensions in cuvettes was found over a concentration range from about 2 to 10 µg/ml, but measurement variance precludes practical determination of a calibration curve. Raman mapping of aerosol sample filter surfaces shows correlation with CNT mass when the surface density is relatively high (R2 = 0.83 and 0.95 above about 5 µg total mass on filter), while heterogeneity of CNT deposition makes obtaining representative maps of lower density samples difficult. This difficulty can be mitigated by increasing the area mapped relative to the total sample area, improving both precision and the limit of detection (LOD). For small-area deposits, detection of low masses relevant to occupational monitoring can be achieved, with an estimated LOD of about 50 ng.

Characterization of surface-confined ionic liquid stationary phases: impact of cation and anion identity on retention.

A series of surface-confined ionic liquid (SCIL) stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography were synthesized in-house. The synthesized phases were characterized by the linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) method to determine the effect of residual linking ligands and the role of the cation and the anion on retention. Statistical analysis was utilized to determine whether the system coefficients returned from multiple linear regression analysis of chromatographic retention data for a set of 28 neutral aromatic probe solutes were significantly different. Examination of the energetics of retention via kappa-kappa plots agrees with the results obtained from the LSER analysis. Residual linking ligands were determined to contribute reversed-phase-type retention character to the chromatographic system. Furthermore, retention on the SCIL phases was observed to be more profoundly affected by the identity of the anion than by that of the cation.

Characterization and performance of injection molded poly(methylmethacrylate) microchips for capillary electrophoresis.

Injection molded poly(methylmethacrylate) (IM-PMMA), chips were evaluated as potential candidates for capillary electrophoresis disposable chip applications. Mass production and usage of plastic microchips depends on chip-to-chip reproducibility and on analysis accuracy. Several important properties of IM-PMMA chips were considered: fabrication quality evaluated by environmental scanning electron microscope imaging, surface quality measurements, selected thermal/electrical properties as indicated by measurement of the current versus applied voltage (I-V) characteristic and the influence of channel surface treatments. Electroosmotic flow was also evaluated for untreated and O2 reactive ion etching (RIE) treated surface microchips. The performance characteristics of single lane plastic microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) separations were evaluated using a mixture of two dyes-fluorescein (FL) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). To overcome non-wettability of the native IM-PMMA surface, a modifier, polyethylene oxide was added to the buffer as a dynamic coating. Chip performance reproducibility was studied for chips with and without surface modification via the process of RIE with O2 and by varying the hole position for the reservoir in the cover plate or on the pattern side of the chip. Additionally, the importance of reconditioning steps to achieve optimal performance reproducibility was also examined. It was found that more reproducible quantitative results were obtained when normalized values of migration time, peak area and peak height of FL and FITC were used instead of actual measured parameters.

An online fiber-optic UV-visible detector for continuous free-flow electrophoresis.

A PC-controlled, scanning online UV detector for continuous free-flow electrophoresis (CFFE) was designed to allow for single UV wavelength monitoring across a 1-D array of 48 longitudinal flow cells interfaced to a CFFE apparatus. In the detection scheme, the UV light is sequentially passed through each of the flow cells. The design integrates online acquisition of absorbance spectra of components separated by CFFE. Benzoic acid standard solutions were used to examine the performance of the detector. Chloroquine diphosphate and 4-nitrophenol were used as test solutes to determine the detector's ability to distinguish analytes separated in the CFFE.

Spectroelectrochemical sensing based on multimode selectivity simultaneously achievable in a single device. 11. Design and evaluation of a small portable sensor for the determination of ferrocyanide in Hanford waste samples.

A portable spectroelectrochemical sensor has been designed, evaluated, and demonstrated on a complex sample of radioactive waste. The sensor consisted of a black delrin sample compartment with a total internal sample volume of 800 microL, attached to an indium tin oxide coated glass multiple internal reflection optical element. Detection was by total internal reflection of light from a blue light emitting diode source. After a 10 min uptake for each standard, the sensor showed a linear response in absorbance change for 5 x 10(-5) to 5 x 10(-3) M ferrocyanide with electrochemical modulation by scanning at 20 mV/s from -0.30 V to +0.55 V vs a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Due to the complex nature of Hanford radioactive tank waste samples containing ferrocyanide, a standard addition method was developed for analysis. The spectroelectrochemical sensor determined a concentration of 9.2 mM ferrocyanide for U-Plant-2 simulant solution containing 9.38 mM ferrocyanide that was prepared according to Hanford process flowsheets. A radioactive tank waste sample from Hanford Tank 241-C-112 was determined to be 1.0 mM in ferrocyanide using the spectroelectrochemical sensor. A value for the ferrocyanide concentration in the sample of 0.61 mM was determined by FTIR spectroscopy.