The new concept of stopped-in-loop flow analysis (SIL-FA) is proposed, and an SIL-FA method for the catalytic determination of vanadium is demonstrated. In an SIL format, a sample solution merges with reagent(s), and the well-mixed solution is loaded into a loop. The solution in the loop is separated by a six-way switching valve from the main stream. While the reaction proceeds in the stationary loop, the SIL-FA system does not need to establish a baseline continuously. This leads to a reduction in reagent consumption and waste generation compared with traditional flow injection analysis.

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With recent advances in surface chemistry, microfluidics, and data analysis, there are ever increasing reports of array-based methods for detecting and quantifying multiple targets. However, only a few systems have been described that require minimal preparation of complex samples and possess a means of quantitatively assessing matrix effects. The NRL Array Biosensor has been developed with the goal of rapid and sensitive detection of multiple targets from multiple samples analyzed simultaneously. A key characteristic of this system is its two-dimensional configuration, which allows controls and standards to be analyzed in parallel with unknowns. Although the majority of our work has focused on instrument automation and immunoassay development, we have recently initiated efforts to utilize alternative recognition molecules, such as peptides and sugars, for detection of a wider variety of targets. The array biosensor has demonstrated utility for a variety of applications, including food safety, disease diagnosis, monitoring immune response, and homeland security, and is presently being transitioned to the commercial sector for manufacturing.

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We have designed and synthesized various mass probes, which enable us to effectively ionize various molecules to be detected with mass spectrometry. We call the ionization method using mass probes the “MPAI (mass probes aided ionization)” method. We aim at the sensitive detection of various biological molecules, and also the detection of bio-molecules by a single mass spectrometry serially without changing the mechanical settings. Here, we review mass probes for small molecules with various functional groups and mass probes for proteins. Further, we introduce newly developed mass probes for proteins for highly sensitive detection.

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In this review, we present an overview of the technologies in colorimetric biosensors based on DNA-nanoparticle conjugates. Two types of DNA-nanoparticles aggregation assays are summarized. One of the methods relies on cross-linking of the gold nanoparticle (GNP) by hybridization. The crosslinking system was used not only to detect target DNA sequences, but also to detect metal ions or small molecules which were recognized by DNAzymes. The other method is the GNP non-crosslinking system. This approach shows high performance in the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms. These methods do not need special equipment and open up a new possibility of point-of-care diagnoses.

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The emerging nanomaterial, quantum dots or QDs, offers numerous potential applications in the biological area. As cell labeling probes, QDs become now an alternative of existing organic fluorescent dyes and fluorescent proteins. In this short review, we cover typical and successful applications of QDs as fluorescent probes in cell labeling and genomic diagnosis. As a future important application, biomolecular detection at a single molecule level utilizing QDs is also discussed.

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One of the important features of eukaryotic cells is the presence of intracellular compartments, organelles. Each organelle plays an essential role in the organelle-specific function; each cooperates with others for maintaining the vital activity of living cells. To analyze the organelle-specific functions, researchers have used many fluorescent and luminescent reporter proteins extensively. The reporter proteins have provided unprecedented insights into the movement of proteins and their interactions in the organelles. In this review, we summarize recently validated methods for visualizing protein localization, dynamics and protein-protein interactions, and for identifying a series of proteins localized in organelles using newly developed reporter proteins.

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A simple and novel method for the determination of an IgE antibody based on a surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for the diagnosis of an allergy is described. The method involves the use of an anti-IgE(D) antibody and an anti-IgE(H) antibody, which reacts with the Ce2 domain and the Ce3 domain of the IgE antibody. The anti-IgE(D) antibody was immobilized on the gold surface of a sensor chip by physical adsorption. An IgE antibody sample was incubated by adding it to an anti-IgE(H) antibody solution to form an anti-IgE(H) immunocomplex through a reaction of the Ce3 domain of the IgE antibody. The incubated solution was introduced onto the sensor chip and the immunocomplex of the IgE-anti-IgE(H) then reacted with the anti-IgE(D) antibody immobilized on the sensor chip through the Ce2 domain of the IgE antibody part of the IgE-anti-IgE(H) immunocomplex. The detection limit of the present method for the determination of the IgE antibody was about 10 ppb. The affinity constants for the anti-IgE(H) antibody immunocomplex with the IgE antibody in solution and that of the anti-IgE(H) antibody immunocomplex with the IgE antibody immobilized on the sensor chip by a biotin-streptavidin interaction were estimated to be 4.1 × 10⁷ M^-1 and 5.8 × 10⁶ M^-1, respectively. The affinity constant for the immunocomplex of the anti-IgE(H) antibody with the IgE antibody with the anti-IgE(D) immobilized on the sensor chip was estimated to be 4.9 × 10⁷ M^-1, 20-times larger than the affinity constant for the IgE antibody immunocomplex with the anti-IgE(D) antibody immobilized on the sensor chip, based on a direct immunoassay method of the IgE antibody under the same experimental conditions.

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A biotinylated glucose oxidase (bGOD)-immobilized glass disk was prepared for visualizing D-glucose fluxes in acute brain slices. A mouse hippocampal slice was placed on the bGOD disk and stimulated with a stimulant solution containing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and a substrate DA-64, followed by capturing digital images of Bindschedler's Green (BG), an oxidized form of DA-64, with a CCD camera. The bGOD membranes responded proportionally to D-glucose, ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 mM. Sucrose, GABA, L-glutamic acid, L-aspartic acid, glycine, acetylcholine and L-ascorbic acid at 10 mM did not cause any responses. The D-glucose fluxes in mouse hippocampal slices stimulated by a hypoxia solution were neuronal region-dependent, i.e., dentate gyrus (DG), cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and cornu ammonis 3 (CA3), while those stimulated by KCl was independent of the neuronal regions. The response of bGOD disks is discussed in terms of the principle, concentration dependence and selectivity.

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Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) not only functions as an energy-carrier substance and an informative molecule, but also acts as a marker substance in studies of both bio-traces and cellular/tissular viability. Due to the importance of the ATP function for living organisms, in situ assays of ATP are in demand in various fields, e.g., hygiene. In the present study, we developed an ATP sensor that combines the selective catalytic activity of enzyme and the properties of an ion selective field effect transistor (ISFET). In this system, the ATP hydrolyrase, “apyrase (EC 3.6.1.5.)” is encased in a gel and mounted on a Ta₂O₅ ISFET gate surface. When the enzyme layer selectively catalyzes the dephosphorylation of ATP, protons are accumulated at the gate because the enzymatic reaction produces H⁺ as a byproduct. Based on the interfacial enzymatic reaction, the response from the ISFET is completely dependent upon the ATP concentration in the bulk solution. This device is readily applicable to practical in situ ATP measurement, e.g. hygienic usage.

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We aimed to develop a 6-chloro-N,N-diethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (CAT)-sensing system based on a biomimetic receptor of a molecularly imprinted polymer for CAT and electrochemical determination of CAT. A molecularly imprinted polymer for CAT was prepared by the polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as a cross-linker with a template molecule (CAT) in dimethyl formamide (DMF). The polymer prepared with the ratio of these monomers (CAT:MAA:EDMA = 1:7.5:20) showed the most selective rebinding to CAT, and the obtained polymer was recognized as a CAT-imprinted polymer (CAT-MIP). The effect of the specific imprinting sites of CAT-MIP was demonstrated by Scatchard analysis. In an aqueous solution of CAT, CAT-MIP showed the maximum binding of CAT in a 0.05 M phosphate buffer (PB), pH 5.0. The binding amount of CAT to CAT-MIP was 24% more than atrazine and 72% more than propazine. The CAT-sensing system was composed of a column of CAT-MIP particles and a voltammetry analyzer. The reductive current of CAT depended on the concentration of CAT up to 30 µM with the system.

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A novel dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) sensor using DMSO reductase and film electrodes was constructed. The Au and Ag electrodes were fabricated on slide glass by vacuum deposition and the application of a photolithographic technique. The micro-chamber (4 × 50 × 1 mm, volume 200 µl) was fabricated on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) polymer. The Pt electrode was implanted in a PDMS polymer. DMSO reductase was immobilized on a Au film electrode with bovine serum albumin (BSA)-glutaraldehyde. This sensor could determine DMSO in an unpurged aqueous solution with glucose oxidase (GOD) and catalase (CAT) for oxygen removal. The DMSO sensor showed a linear response within 1 mM DMSO with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The detection limit was 200 µM (3σ), and the sensitivity was 23.8 mA M^-1 cm^-2. The relative standard deviations at each concentration were within 3.6%.

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A glucose sensor was developed by electrocopolymerization using pyrroles containing a tris-bipyridine (bpy) osmium complex (Os-py), pyrrole (py), pyrrole propanoic acid (PPA) and glucose oxidase (GOx) to improve the key performance characteristics, such as the sensitivity, selectivity, and long-term stability. Tris-bipyridine osmium pyrrole complexes with four different methylene moieties were utilized to correlate the methylene length with the glucose sensor performance. The electrocatalytic response of glucose was clearly observed at electrodes modified with Os-py, except for the electrode immobilized with the Os-py complex containing the shortest methylene moiety. The current response to glucose increased up to a concentration of 100 mmol dm^-3. The electrocatalytic response to glucose at the [Os(bpy)₂(py(6)-bpy)]^2+/3+/py/PPA/GOx electrode was stable for more than 100 days. Dissolved oxygen and potential interference compounds (ascorbic acid, uric acid, and acetaminophen) minimally perturbed the current response to glucose at the [Os(DM-bpy)₂(py(6)-bpy)]^2+/3+/py/PPA/GOx electrode. Based on these results, a longer methylene moiety appears to improve the performance characteristics of a glucose sensor fabricated via the electropolymerization of tris-bipyridine osmium pyrrole complexes.

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Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic mycotoxin produced by Fusarium sp., and its production on corn and small grains during storage has been of considerable concern. For sensitive ZEA detection, we applied an open sandwich (OS) immunoassay that can noncompetitively detect monovalent antigens utilizing an antigen-induced enhancement of the V_H/V_L interaction. We cloned the V_H and V_L cDNAs of anti-ZEA mAb to a split-Fv phagemid pKST2, and firstly both V_H and V_L fragments were displayed on M13 phage p9 and p7, respectively, using an amber suppressor, TG-1, as a host. The split-Fv phage showed specific binding to immobilized ZEA, which was well inhibited by free ZEA. Then, the V_H/V_L interaction and its antigen-dependency were analyzed using a non-suppressor HB2151 as a host to produce V_H-displaying phage and his/myc-tagged soluble V_L in the culture supernatant. By capturing V_L with an anti-myc or -his antibody and probing bound V_H-phage, ZEA was successfully detected with a superior detection limit as well as a wider working range than those of a competitive assay. Also, essentially the same results were reproduced with purified V_H-alkaline phosphatase and MBP-V_L fusion proteins.

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Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and thionine (TN) were co-adsorbed onto a porous carbon felt (CF), and the resulting HRP and TN-adsorbed CF (HRP-TN-CF) was successfully used as a working electrode unit of a novel bioelectrocatalytic flow detector for a highly sensitive amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Co-adsorbed TN was essential to enhance the cathodic peak current of H₂O₂, and the current responses of the HRP-TN-CF-based detector were much larger than those of the HRP-CF-based detector (without TN). When air-saturated 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) was used as a carrier at a flow rate of 3.9 ml/min, cathodic peak currents of H₂O₂ (sample injection volume, 200 µl) obtained at an applied potential of 0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) increased linearly up to 50 µM with a detection limit of 0.1 µM. Repetitive 100 sample injection of 100 µM H₂O₂ induced no serious current decrease, and RSD was 0.41 to 1.21% (n = 100). The HRP-TN-CF retained 42% of its original activity after 8 days of storage in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at 4°C.

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An extended-gate field-effect-transistor (FET) sensor with a gold-sensing electrode, to which a gold-thiol bond could easily be applied, was developed for DNA detection. Because the gold electrode is located in a different area from the FET, it can be operated without a light-shielding box by masking only the FET. However, when the FET sensor is used in an aqueous solution, fluctuation of the interface potential on the gold surface occurs, which results in decreased sensitivity. In DNA detection, 1 h or more was required to stabilize the drain current of the FET sensor after dipping it into the solution. To improve the sensitivity by reducing the fluctuation, we devised a measurement technique using a high-frequency voltage superimposed onto a reference electrode. With a superimposed high frequency voltage of over 1 kHz, the time required to stabilize the drain current of the FET sensor after dipping it in the solution was not only shortened to 5 min, but the fluctuation of the drain current was also reduced. As a result of applying this method, the FET sensor could successfully detect DNA hybridization and the extension reaction.

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A real-time observation of neurotransmitter release from a nerve cell is a useful method for not only neuroscience research, but also assessing of the influence of chemicals, including drugs, on the human nervous system. In this study, a more simple and sensitive method for real-time monitoring of dopamine release from a nerve model cell was developed. Highly sensitive detection of dopamine was performed by using tyramine oxidase for dopamine oxidation, which was followed by a luminol luminescence reaction. This enzyme-catalyzed luminescence method was applied to observe dopamine release from the PC12 cell as a nerve model cell upon stimulation with acetylcholine and an acetylcholine receptor agonist. The results demonstrated that the real-time monitoring of the activation of the PC12 cell was easily performed by this method. This method possessed many advantages, such as high sensitivity, rapid measurement and no pretreatment for cells. It might be applied to drug screening and the assessment of harmful influences of food additives and pesticides on the nerves.

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We describe a simple, yet selective cysteine sensor based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conjugated with thermoresponsive copolymers, the carboxyl groups of which are incorporated. Copolymer-conjugated AuNPs, used as the cysteine sensor, in a solution form sediment when cysteine is added. Heating followed by cooling the solution induces phase transitions of the thermoresponsive copolymers, resulting in an acceleration of sedimentation of the copolymer-conjugated AuNPs. The absorbance of supernatants at 520 nm, which are ascribed to a surface plasmon band of discrete AuNPs, decays with increasing concentration of cysteine. Sedimentation of the copolymer-conjugated AuNPs is specific to cysteine. The addition of other popular amino acids, or ascorbic acid, causes no sedimentation of the AuNPs. The relationship between the absorbance of the supernatant at 520 nm and the cysteine concentration provides a sigmoidal profile at a concentration range between 1 × 10^-6 to 6 × 10^-6 mol dm^-3. The determination of cysteine in a supplement is achieved using an inflection point on the sigmoidal profiles.

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A surface-reaction system in a nanoliter water pool using an ink-jet microchip was developed. The reaction system in the nanodroplets formed on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) coated glass slide increased the diffusion-controlled reaction without using a nano-pump, specialized connector or highly sensitive detector. When nanoliter droplets were placed on the PDMS surface with a distance of 100 µm between them by the ink-jet microchip, the repeatabilities of the fluorescence intensity were 2.9% RSD (n = 7). The used ink-jet microchip had 4 different injection ports, and the distance between the ports was 0.995 mm. It was necessary to correct the distance in order to mix or dilute samples in a small droplet. The correction was successfully performed by moving the X-Y stage using inhouse-made software. A linear relationship was obtained between the Resorufin concentrations and the fluorescence intensity. We applied this system to an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunoglobulin A (IgA), and observed a difference in the fluorescence intensity derived from the amount of IgA (blank, 6.25 ng/mL, 12.5 ng/mL). These results show the usefulness of the open-type micro-analytical systems proposed by us.

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Galactose oxidase from Fusarium graminearum IMV-1060 adsorbed on, and covalently bound to, silica carriers has been used for analytical determinations of D-galactose and galactose-containing sugars. Using a flowing oxygen electrode of the Clark-type, sensor system for enzymatic analysis of water solutions of galactose-containing carbohydrates was made. Measurements were taken both in the pulse and continuous modes of a substrate flowing through a column with an immobilized biocatalyst. The linear measurement ranges for galactose-containing carbohydrates concentrations were determined.

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Determination of carbamate pesticides such as carbaryl, carbofuran, propoxur and bendiocarb was demonstrated on a microchip with newly designed microchannels developed for efficient solvent extraction. The pesticides were hydrolyzed to corresponding naphthols, coupled with p-nitrobenzenediazonium fluoroborate reagent, and then extracted into 1-butanol as colored azo derivatives and detected with a thermal lens microscope. Optimum flow rates for the aqueous and organic phases were evaluated in the continuous-flow chemical process established in the microchip. The calibration lines showed good linearity in the range of concentrations of 0.03 - 3 ppm (10^-7 - 10^-5 M) and a mass detection limit down to a nanogram level was achieved that is at least two orders of magnitude lower than the LODs for conventional spectrophotometric methods. Azo derivatives of the pesticides were successfully separated and identified by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using a sample prepared on a bulk scale.

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A novel method was developed for the preparation of highly efficient anion- and cation-exchange microHPLC columns using an on-column polymerization of methacrylates having amine or sulfonic acid functional groups onto monolithic silica capillary columns modified with 3-methacryloxypropyltriethoxysilane as the anchor groups. The chromatographic evaluation of the columns using nucleic acids, nucleotides, and inorganic anions as samples showed the characteristics of the ion-exchange-type stationary phases. These columns exhibited higher separation efficiency when compared with the conventional particle-packed columns. A capillary column for the simultaneous anion- and cation-exchange separation could be prepared by a step-by-step functionalization. The advantages of this column preparation will include: (1) no need of column packing; (2) no need of the preparation of silane reagents possessing anion- and cation-exchange functionalities; (3) the amount of immobilized polymer could be controlled by changing polymerization conditions. These columns should be suitable for the separation of biologically active compounds by the microHPLC modes.

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Ferrocenyl carbodiimide (1) could be used for the direct labeling of synthetic RNA and expressed mRNA in vitro with the electrochemically active ferrocene moieties. These RNAs modified by 1 could be detected electrochemically coupled with a DNA probe-immobilized electrode. After hybridization of 1.1 Kb mRNA modified by 1 with the DNA probe-immobilized electrode, the peak charge observed by an Osteryoung square wave voltammetry (SWV) measurement correlated well with the concentration of mRNA, having a detection limit at the sub nanogram level.

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A novel measurement method of the binding force between a micrometer-sized particle and a solid surface in an electrolyte solution has been established by using the electromagnetophoretic buoyancy on the particle. By this method, we investigated the binding force between a yeast cell surface and an oligosaccharide-binding protein, concanavalin A (Con A), fixed on a silica capillary wall. The force measurement was carried out up to 60 pN. In a lower surface concentration of Con A, yeast cells could be desorbed by a force less than 60 pN. However, in a higher surface concentration after treated by 1 mg ml^-1 solution, yeast cells were adsorbed with a force stronger than 60 pN. In this case, the addition of 10 mg ml^-1 D-mannose solution to the medium reduced the binding force to less than 60 pN. The observed adsorption force of yeast cells ranged within 30 - 40 pN, regardless of the interfacial amount of Con A. This force was thought to be the single binding force between a mannose group of the cell surface and an active site of Con A. Moreover, the dissociation rate constant of the single binding of yeast cell and Con A complex was determined as 4.6 × 10^-3 s^-1 and the increment of the binding distance at the transition state as 0.33 nm from the desorption kinetic experiments of yeast cell under the constant pulling conditions of 10, 20 and 30 pN. Such satisfactory results demonstrate the novel advantages of the present method.

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