This study proposes a novel microfluidic system based on a computer controlled digital image processing (DIP) technique and optical tweezers for automatic cell/microparticle recognition, counting and sorting in a continuous flow environment. In the proposed system, the cells/microparticles are focused electrokinetically into a narrow sample stream and are then driven through the region of interest (ROI), where they are recognized and traced in real time using a proprietary DIP system. Synchronized control signals generated by the DIP system are then used to actuate a focused IR laser beam to displace the target cells from the main sample stream into a neighboring sheath flow, which carries them to a downstream collection channel where they are automatically counted. The proposed approach makes possible the continuous sorting and counting of cell samples without the need for any moving parts or embedded transducers. The experimental results show that the proposed system is capable of sorting 5 £gm or 10 £gm PS bead from a mixture of 5 £gm and 10 £gm samples in the flow speed 300 £gm/sec. The proposed system provides a simple, low-cost, high-performance solution for cell manipulation in microfluidic devices.

Abstract This research was to evaluate the treatment efficiency for in-situ treatment of pentachlorophenol (PCP) contaminated soil by electrokinetics-Fenton process combined with biodegradation. An electric gradient of 1V/cm, and graphite electrodes were employed in all experiments. Soil types, catalyst types and dosage, hydrogen peroxide concentration, cathode reservoir liquid species and reaction time were employed as the experimental factors in this study. In this study, no matter electrokinetics-Fenton process or the electrokinetics-biodegradation in the latter, prolong the reaction time can promote the removal and destruction efficiency (DRE) of target pollutant from soil. By using 0.0196 M FeSO4 with 3.5% H2O2, the DRE was only lower 2% than 0.098 M FeSO4 with 3.5% H2O2.It showed that using 0.0196 M FeSO4 can provide enough Fe2+ to react with H2O2. By increasing H2O2 concentration from 0.35% to 3.5%, a DRE rised from 68.34% to 79.77%. When iron powder was used as catalyst, the residual pentachloroplenol concentration near to anode reservoir lower than 0.0196 M FeSO4 was used. But the DRE was 56.58% lower than the 68.34% of using 0.0196 M FeSO4.As the influences of soil types to electrokinetics-Fenton process, the residual concentration of pollutant for Soil No. 2 was higher than Soil No. 1. A DRE of only 59.22% was obtained. It is postulated that a much higher content of organic matter with Soil No. 2 whereas lower the treatment efficiency because of consumption of hydroxyl radicals by the organic matter of soil. For the influence of different reservoir liquid species, in this study 0.1M acetic buffer solution was used as cathode reservoir liquid, expected to promote the removal efficiency. From the result of experiment that could not reach the expected treatment efficiency of increasing the removal efficiency from soil. From the experiment of electrokinetics process combined with cometabolism, a treatment efficiency of only 25.67% was obtained. The content of pollutant within every section of soil column were still higher than predict. But by using electrokinetics-Fenton process to pretreat the pollutant within soil first, the increasing efficiency of biodegradation was found. Even when reaction time was prolonged, the pollutant could be completely eliminated from soil. If only used iron minerals to proceed electrokinetics-Fenton process naturally exited in the soil, a DRE of only 20

This research was to evaluate the treatment efficiency of a chlorinated hydrocarbons contaminated site by combined technologies of electrokinetic processing-Fenton process-catalytic iron wall. The L9 orthogonal arrays were utilized to investigate the effects of four experimental factors (i.e., H2O2 concentration, size fraction of iron particles, mass of iron particles and elapsed time) on the treatment efficiency. The experimental results were further subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regular analysis. According to the ANOVA of results of nine experiments conducted under an electric gradient of 1 V/cm, the H2O2 concentration, mass of iron particles and elapsed time were determined to be very significant parameters for the destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA) . In this system, the optimal conditions with respect to the DRE of TeCA would be 2¢MH2O2, 50-100 mesh iron, 0.2 wt% iron and 20-day treatment time. Under this optimal conditions, it was able to obtain a DRE of 69.56% and the corresponding operating cost would be 672.9 NT$/m3. Aside from the constant voltage operation, the constant current operation also was employed in this study. The latter was found to be superior to the former in terms of electroosmotic flow quantity and DRE. Experimental results of soil column tests showed that TeCA was transformed to trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE could be regarded as a daughter product of TeCA degradation. Results of Tests 17 and 18 showed that destruction dominated the DRE of TeCA, whereas removal played a much more important role in the DRE of Test 19. Regarding the treatment efficiency of a 9-day pilot test using the same combined treatment technologies, it was found to be very satisfactory. DREs of vinyl chloride, dichloroethane, and TCE were found to be >96%, >96%, and >94%, respectively in the anode and cathode wells. The concentrations of TCE in both anode and cathode wells were found to be lower than the regulatory threshold (i.e., 2£gg/L) and the operating cost was determined to be about NT$57.5/m3.

Dans le cadre du stockage des déchets nucléaires en couche géologique profonde (projet Cigéo), il est nécessaire de pouvoir prédire l'écoulement des radionucléides sous forme ionique dans des milieux poreux chargés tels que l'argile. Les matériaux argileux sont complexes et il est difficile de connaître leur structure, surtout à l'échelle nanoscopique où les phénomènes électrocinétiques deviennent primordiaux. Dans ce cas, la stratégie adoptée dans ce travail est de représenter la porosité à l'aide d'un réseau de pores connectés entre eux par des canaux. Cela nécessite de connaître les propriétés du transport couplé à l'échelle du canal en prenant en compte les flux de solvant, de solutés et de charges sous l'influence de gradients de pression, de concentration en sel et de potentiel électrostatique. La description du transport électrocinétique utilisée correspond à celle du modèle de Poisson-Nernst-Planck. On peut ainsi montrer que le comportement de ces propriétés peut différer entre l'échelle du canal et celle de l'échantillon (réseaux construits aléatoirement à partir de distributions de paramètres). Par exemple, on constate que la perméabilité d'un réseau diminue si les effets électrocinétiques augmentent, ce qui n'est pas le cas à l'échelle du canal. Ces différences proviennent de la présence simultanée de couplages entre les flux et de l'hétérogénéité du milieu. Un échantillon numérique ayant les mêmes propriétés qu'un échantillon réel d'argile a ainsi été créé au terme d'un processus de sélection des distributions de paramètres des canaux, il a ainsi servi à réaliser des études préliminaires sur le colmatage et la désaturation. / As part of the disposal of nuclear waste in deep geological formations (Cigéo project), it is necessary to predict the flow of radionuclides in ionic form in charged porous media such as clays. The clay materials are complex and it is difficult to know their structure, especially at the nanoscale where electrokinetic phenomena become paramount. In this case, the strategy adopted in this work is to represent the porosity with a network of pores interconnected by channels. This requires to know the properties of the coupled transport at the channel scale taking into account the flow of solvent, solutes and charges under the influence of gradients of pressure, salt concentration and electrostatic potential. We used the Poisson-Nernst-Planck model to describe the electrokinetic transport in the channels. It can be shown that the behavior of these properties may vary between the channel scale and the sample scale (random networks constructed from parameters distributions). For example, it is found that the permeability of a network decreases as electrokinetic effects increase, which is not the case at the level of a single channel. These differences arise from the simultaneous presence of coupling between the flows and the heterogeneity of the sample. A numerical sample having the same properties as real clay sample has been created following a process of selection of the channels parameters, it has been used to conduct preliminary studies on clogging and desaturation in clay.

This project encompasses the design of a pretreatment protocol for blood serum and adaption of that protocol to a microfluidic environment in order to optimize key sample characteristics, namely pH, conductivity, and viscosity, to enable on-chip electrokinetic separations. The two major parts of this project include (1) designing a pretreatment protocol to optimize key parameters of the sample solution within a target range and (2) designing /fabricating a microchip that will effectively combine the sample solution with the appropriate buffers to replicate the same bench-scale protocol on the micro-scale. Biomarker detection in complex samples such as blood necessitates appropriate sample “pretreatment” in order for specific markers to be isolated through subsequent separations. This project, though using conventional mixing techniques and buffer solutions, is one of the first to observe the effects of the combination of micro-mixing and sample pretreatment in order to create an all-in-one “pretreatment chip”. Using previous literature related to capillary electrophoresis, a bench-scale pretreatment protocol was developed to tune these parameters to an optimal range. A PDMS device was fabricated and used to combine raw sample with specific buffer solutions. Off-chip electrodes were used to induce electrokinetic micro-mixing in the mixing chamber, where homogeneous analyte mixing was achieved in less than one second using an 800V DC pulse wave. Ultimately, we wish to incorporate this device with pre-fabricated electrokinetic devices to optimize certain bioseparations.

No / In previous reports of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC), analysis times were typically in the order of 10 min as high-ionic strength buffers were used. These buffers produced high currents which limit the voltages which can be applied, therefore, analysis times could not be reduced. The primary cause of the high-ionic strength is the relatively high concentrations of surfactants required to form the microemulsion. The surfactant concentration can be lower when using an oil with a smaller surface tension. This preliminary study showed that migration times in MEEKC can be reduced to below 1 min by using a combination of an optimum microemulsion composition, high voltage, high temperature, short capillaries by injecting via the short end, or by simultaneously applying pressure and voltage. Long injection sequences and quantitation were found to be possible with minimum buffer depletion effects.

No description available.

No description available.

Os frutos de S. saponaria, espécie bastante abundante em São Carlos e outras regiões do Brasil são ricos em glicosídeos anfifílicos, ou seja, compostos por uma parte polar e outra apolar. Devido a esta peculiaridade tendem a formar espuma mostrando propriedades químicas semelhantes às dos tensoativos. Alguns destes glicosídeos pertencem à classe das saponinas e são constituídos por uma aglicona de estrutura carbônica a qual está ligada a uma ou duas cadeias de açúcar. O interesse pelas propriedades tensoativas deste glicosídeos motivou o estudo destas substâncias para uso em eletroforese capilar. Os frutos foram extraídos com metanol e fracionados em coluna cromatográfica preparativa utilizando sephadex LH-20 como fase estacionária. Após a eluição, as frações foram analisadas por espectrometria de massas e estudadas por eletroforese capilar. A eletroforese capilar de zona mostrou-se uma técnica viável para o estudo das frações obtidas. Embora um grau de pureza elevado não tenha sido alcançado, a fração B foi utilizada como aditivo para tampão em cromatografia eletrocinética micelar (MEKC) e uma interação diferenciada foi observada do nitrobenzeno com o tampão aditivado em relação ao tampão com SDS puro. / Sapindus saponaria is a very abundant species in São Carlos and others regions of Brazil. Fruits of S. saponaria have a high content of glycosides which possess well-defined regions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic feature denominated amphiphilic molecule. Thus, this can form a foam showing chemical proprieties equals to surfactants. Some glycosides belong to class of saponins and are composed of carbonic structure designates aglycone, which is linked in one or two sugar chains. The purpose of the present study was the use of glycosides due to their surfactants properties in further applications of capillary electrophoresis. The extraction of crude fruits was carried out with methanol and this extract was fractionated in Sephadex LH-20. The fractions were analyzed for mass spectrometry and studied in capillary electrophoresis (CE). This is a feasible technique for the study of fractions obtained. Although a high degree of purity was not reached, the fraction B were used as additive for the electrolyte background in MEKC. The nitrobenzene showed different interaction with micellar system in the electrolyte background with fraction B.

A ezetimiba e a sinvastatina são fármacos hipolipidêmicos. A ezetimiba pertence à nova classe das 2 - azetidinona, inibidores e bloqueadores do colesterol intestinal. A sinvastatina pertence à classe dos inibidores competitivos da hidroxi-3-metilglutarilcoenzima A redutase (HMG-CoA), que é a última etapa regulada na síntese do colesterol. O objetivo do trabalho foi desenvolver e validar métodos por cromatografia liquida de alta eficiência (HPLC) e eletroforese capilar (CE), rápidos, seletivos e confiáveis para determinação dos hipolipidêmicos em formulações farmacêuticas. A separação cromatográfica foi realizada usando coluna Nano separation technologies (NST) Cianopropril (CN) (150 mmx 4,6 mm, com partícula 3,5 µm), e eluição isocrático usando água purificada: acetonitrila (48:52, v/v); vazão 0,8 mL/min e volume de injeção de 20 µL. A temperatura da coluna foi de 35 ºC e a detecção foi realizada com detector na região do UV em 238 nm. O método por cromatografia eletrocinética micelar (MEKC) foi desenvolvido utilizando capilar de sílica fundida 30 cm (comprimento efetivo) x 50 µm d.i. e eletrólito constituído de tetraborato de sódio (TBS) 20 mmol L-1: dodecil sulfato de sódio (SDS) 30 mmol L-1, pH 9,0 ajustado com 10% ácido fosfórico: acetonitrila 12% v/v. O tempo de injeção foi de 3 segundos com pressão hidrodinâmica de 20 mbar, voltagem aplicada de 30 kV e detecção no UV em 238 nm. Os métodos analíticos foram validados de acordo com os requerimentos vigentes da ANVISA, ICH e Farmacopéia Americana. Portanto, os métodos propostos demonstraram ser lineares, precisos, exatos e adequados para quantificação simultânea da ezetimiba e sinvastatina em formas farmacêuticas sólidas. / Ezetimibe and simvastatin are hipolipidemic drugs. Ezetimibe belongs to a new class of 2 - azetidione, inhibitors and blockers of intestinal chrolesterol. Simvastatin belongs a class of competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, which is the last regulated step in the cholesterol synthesis. The aim of this project was to develop and validate fast, selective and reliable chromatographic and electrophoretic methods, to determine hypolipidemic drugs in pharmaceutical formulations. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Nano separation technologies (NST) Cyanpropyl (CN) (150 mm x 4,6 mm, 3,5 µm), isocratic elution using purified water: acetonitrila (48:52 v/v), the flow rate was 0,8 mL/min and the injection volume was 20 µL. The column temperature was kept at 35 ºC and detection wavelength was set at 238 mn. The micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method was developed using a fused silica capillary column 30 cm (effective length) x 50 µm i.d, the electrolyte was constituted of 20 mmol L-1 tetraborate buffer solution: 30 mmol L-1 sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), pH 9.0 adjusted with 10% phosphoric acid: 12 % v/v acetonitrile. The injection time was 3 s at 20 mbar, the applied voltage was 30 kV and detection was set at 238 nm. The both methods were developed and validated according to ANVISA, ICH and US Pharmacopeia guidelines. Therefore, the proposed methods proved to be linear, precise, accurate and suitable for simultaneous quantitation of ezetimibe and simvastatin in solid pharmaceutical formulations.