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Biomedical subjects

J B Shear

Publications and source records attributed to J B Shear.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Multiphoton-excited fluorescence of fluorogen-labeled neurotransmitters.

Fluorescence detection of fluorogen-labeled neurotransmitters is demonstrated using 100 fs pulses from a titanium-sapphire mode-locked laser to achieve molecular excitation by simultaneous absorption of two and three photons of near-IR radiation. Two-photon excitation spectra are determined for the naphthalene-2,3 dicarboxaldehyde derivative of glycine and the fluorescamine derivative of leucine enkephalin, with the peak excitation cross section (o2) approximately equal to 1 x 10(-50) cm4 s/photon for both species. Three-photon-excitation fluorescence is demonstrated for o-phthaldialdehyde-labeled glutamate using excitation wavelengths between 965 and 1012 nm. The three-photon excitation cross section (o3) remains nearly constant in this wavelength range, with an absolute value of approximately 10(-84)-10(-85) cm6 s2/photon 2. Rapid cycling of analytes through the fluorescent excited state and detection that is free from background caused by Rayleigh and Raman scatter combine to make multiphoton-excited fluorescence a highly sensitive approach for detecting trace amounts of neurotransmitters. Measurements of two-photon-excited fluorescence of fluorescamine-labeled bradykinin and analysis of multiphoton-excited background reveal the potential of this method to detect fewer than 1000 neurotransmitter molecules.

Fluorescent Dyes↗
PubMed1996

Cell-to-cell scanning in capillary electrophoresis.

A widespread limitation in using cell-based biosensors for repetitive chemical analysis is loss of agonist-induced response caused by receptor desensitization. We overcome this problem by scanning an array of immobilized cells underneath a capillary electrophoresis column outlet. In this way, electrophoretically fractionated components that exit the separation capillary are always directed onto cells previously unexposed to receptor agonists. To demonstrate this concept of response recovery using a scanning format, we have chosen the bradykinin B2 receptor system in the NG108-15 cell line, which is known to undergo desensitization. Whereas four subsequent injections of 250 microM bradykinin separated by 120 s are found to reduce the NG108-15 cell response markedly, scanning to new cells can fully restore the response during the separation. Furthermore, by pretesting individual NG108-15 cells for an agonist response and then later scanning back to the same cell, we achieved a 100% success rate in detecting bradykinin in subsequent electrophoretic separations.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Single cells as biosensors for chemical separations.

A biosensor system based on the response of living cells was demonstrated that can detect specific components of a complex mixture fractionated by a microcolumn separation technique. This system uses ligand-receptor binding and signal-transduction pathways to biochemically amplify the presence of an analyte after electrophoretic separation. The transduced signal was measured by means of two approaches: (i) fluorescence determination of intracellular calcium concentrations in one or more rat PC-12 cells and (ii) measurement of transmembrane current in a Xenopus laevis oocyte microinjected with messenger RNA that encodes a specific receptor. This analysis system has the potential to identify biologically active ligands present in a complex mixture with exceptional sensitivity and selectivity.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1994

Field programming to achieve uniform sensitivity for on-line detection in electrophoresis.

Under constant applied electric field, an analyte band traverses an on-line detection zone in an electrophoretic separation at a velocity inversely proportional to the detection time. Because analyte bands migrate with different velocities, the sensitivity of the detection system to different species can vary significantly. One approach for overcoming this problem is to change the applied electric field, E, as a function of the separation time, tau, so that the velocity of an analyte band when it passes through the detection zone is independent of the analyte's electrophoretic mobility. A possible solution is to make E(tau) grow exponentially, but this procedure causes band compression. The preferred solution is to make both E(tau) and the distance between the starting position of the sample and the detection zone increase linearly with separation time. This approach can be implemented with either slab-gel or capillary electrophoresis.

Electromagnetic Fields↗
PubMed1993

Optimizing fluorescence detection in chemical separations for analyte bands traveling at different velocities.

In many separation techniques, such as field flow fractionation, liquid chromatography, and electrophoresis, chemical species form bands that migrate at distinct velocities. If these bands are to be quantified on-line using a shot-noise-limited detection system, then attention must be given to the data-digitization rate and to the removal rate of molecules from the analyte pool as a result of the detection process. A theory is developed for calculating the signal-to-noise ratio under such conditions, and it is specialized to the case of fluorescence detection in capillary electrophoresis. Using standard detection procedures in which the data-digitization rate and excitation intensity remain constant for the duration of a separation, detection sensitivity can vary by more than a factor of five for bands that arrive at the detection zone between migration times tau fast and 10 tau fast, where tau fast is the time after the start of the separation that the fastest migrating band arrives at the detection zone. To compensate for different band velocities, both the data-digitization rate and the excitation intensity must be decreased as separation time (tau) increases by the factor tau fast/tau. Only when these corrections are made can uniform sensitivity with the highest possible signal-to-noise ratio be achieved for each peak. These predictions are experimentally tested and compare favorably to observations.

Electrophoresis↗
PubMed1991

Fluorescence detection in capillary zone electrophoresis using a charge-coupled device with time-delayed integration.

A fluorescence detection system for capillary zone electrophoresis is described in which a charged-coupled device (CCD) views a 2-cm section of an axially illuminated capillary column. The CCD is operated in two readout modes: a snapshot mode that acquires a series of images in wavelength and capillary position, and a time-delayed integration mode that allows long exposure times of the moving analyte zones. By use of the latter mode, the ability to differentiate a species based on both its fluorescence emission and migration rate is demonstrated for fluorescein and sulforhodamine 101. The detection limit for fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) is 1.2 X 10(-20) mol; detection limits for FITC-amino acids are in the (2-8) X 10(-20) mol range.

Amino Acids↗