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Biomedical subjects

G J Lubrano

Publications and source records attributed to G J Lubrano.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Quartz crystal microbalance detection of Vibrio cholerae O139 serotype.

A piezoelectric (PZ) quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor for the rapid detection of Vibrio cholerae serotype O139 has been developed. The antibody to this serotype was immobilized on the gold transducer surface of a 10 MHz AT cut PZ crystal. Solutions containing known antigen concentrations were then incubated for 1 h on the antibody-bound transducer. The biosensor was able to detect 10(5) cells per ml of O139 versus a background of O1 (Ogawa) serotype.

Antigen-Antibody Reactions↗

Development of choline and acetylcholine Pt microelectrodes.

Choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (Ach) microenzyme sensors were developed based on the immobilization of choline oxidase (ChO) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) at the tip of a 25-micron Pt wire sealed in glass. Several immobilization procedures were tested, including code-position of the enzyme/s with an electropolymer and cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. The various electropolymers used were 1,2-diaminobenzene, resorcinol, 4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid, and a combination of two polymers, 1,2-diaminobenzene and resorcinol. An inner membrane constructed from cellulose acetate (CA) was deposited prior to immobilization with glutaraldehyde. The analytical characteristics of the microelectrodes, including optimization of immobilization procedures, calibration curves, pH response curves, stability, and selectivity toward possible electroactive compounds found in the brain extracellular fluid, were determined. The best microelectrodes were prepared by cross-linking the enzymes with glutaraldehyde on top of the inner CA membrane. The responses are linear in the concentration range 5.0 x 10(-7)-1.0 x 10(-4) M Ch and 5.0 x 10(-7)-9.3 x 10(-5) M Ach. The time to reach 95% steady-state current was 15-20 s. The CA-coated Ch microelectrodes were useful for measurement of changes in Ch concentration in artificial brain extracellular fluid.

Acetylcholine↗

Amperometric alcohol electrode with extended linearity and reduced interferences.

Conventional amperometric alcohol electrodes were constructed with oxygen- and hydrogen peroxide-base sensors and a much improved electrode was designed by placing a hydrophobic, gas-permeable membrane over the conventional hydrogen peroxide-based alcohol electrode. The immobilization of alcohol oxidase with glutaraldehyde was also studied and optimized. The upper linear ranges of the conventional and newly designed alcohol electrodes were 0.02 and 0.5% ethanol, respectively. The hydrophobic membrane of the new design eliminated the classical electrochemical interferences of hydrogen peroxide-based electrodes and the typical pH dependence of enzymatic systems.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

A study of interferences in glucose measurements in blood by hydrogen peroxide based glucose probes.

The main blood constituents which could interfere in clinical glucose measurements using a hydrogen peroxide based glucose electrode have been investigated using several different membranes and constant and sweeping potentials. Both diluted and whole undiluted sera were investigated. With a 3500 molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membrane, acetaminophen, cysteine, and ascorbic acid can interfere. With a 100 MWCO membrane, only acetaminophen interfered.

Blood Glucose↗

Stabilized Romanowsky blood stain.

It has been shown that the degradation of thiazine dyes which normally occurs in methanolic solution, as in the case of Romanowsky blood stains, can be prevented by making the solution acidic. In a certain range of acidity, the stain precipitates in the form of monothiazine eosinate, but by making the solution sufficiently acidic, eosin is protonated and the precipitate cannot form. These observations have been used to develop a blood stain which is stable, even at elevated temperatures, for several months. For use the stain is neutralized by a specially formulated fixative solution.

Blood Cells↗

The analysis of some commercial dyes and Romamowsky stains by high-performance liquid chromatography.

High-performance liquid chromatography has been used to quantitate batch variations in commericial samples of thiazine dyes, thiazine eosinates, and Romanowsky-type blood stains. It has been observed that all the dyes and eosinates examined, only methylene blue chloride and thionin were reasonably free of their methylated, demethylated, or oxidized homologs. Large variations in composition were observed between most of the samples of each type examined. In several instances the labeled compound was a minority species. In one instance a dye was apparently mislabeled. Large compositional variation was found between various batches of Wright and Giemsa stains, whereas significant differences between the thiazine composition of these two stain types were minor. Very little compositional variation was observed between the lots of LARC stain examined. The thiazine composition of Ames stain was similar for the three lots examined. Ames stain, however, was found to contain several components of unknown composition which have been linked to degradation products formed when stains are aged in methanolic solution.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

The degradation of Romanowsky-type blood stains in methanol.

The oxidative demethylation of Romanowsky-type stains in methanol has been examined quantitatively with respect to its effect upon the staining of blood smears. Spectral changes in bound dye, observed through two color filters, have been measured for the nuclei and cytoplasm of segmented neutrophils and monocytes utilizing the LARC automated differential analyzer. Stain decomposition in methanol results in a large loss in staining intensity with little change in color. The loss in intensity has been correlated with the observed spectral changes in the degraded stain. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of degraded stain samples has shown the products of methanolic degradation to be different from those obtained in aqueous polychroming reactions. To maintain a stain of defined thiazine dye composition and thus defined staining properties, refrigeration is recommended.

Blood Cells↗

The analysis of Romanowsky blood stains by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure has been developed for separating and quantitating the components of thiazine dyes and compound blood stains. In terms of speed, quantitation, and component resolution, the assay reported here is superior to other reported chromatographic methods of cationic dye separation. The components present in commercial samples of thiazine dyes and LARCTM stain, a modified Wright-Giemsa stain, have been resolved in 25-40 min on a 5-mum microparticulate silica column using a methanol-water-glycine/acetic acid mobile phase. The mechanism of separation is demonstrated to be based predominantly upon the weak ion-exchange properties of silica.

Blood↗