Wolfgang Werther

QCM array for on-line-monitoring of composting procedures

Six QCM resonators forming a sensor array were coated with different molecularly imprinted polymers for the on-line monitoring of composting procedures. Four key analytes are traced, namely water, 1-propanol, ethyl acetate and limonene. Trendlines obtained on-line by the sensor during measurements in a commercial composter give a distinct pattern: the signal for the alcohols first decreases according to an increase in ethyl acetate concentration, and increases again, when obviously no more acetic acid is formed. Limonene is detected in later stages of composting. Similar trends could also be observed by GC-MS. Additionally, chromatographic and sensor data for limonene could be correlated with each other.

Comparison of protocols for DNA extraction from long-term preserved formalin fixed tissues.

The current study compared the applicability of protocols to extract DNA from formalin fixed heart tissues that have been preserved for more than 50 years. Ten methods were tested: a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) standard protocol, seven variants of this standard protocol, and two commercial kits. In the case of younger specimens (fixed in 1951, 1934, or 1914), extracts with DNA concentrations ≥ 10.0 ng/μl were obtained with the standard CTAB protocol, two variants of the standard protocol including prolonged tissue digestion (72 h instead of 1-2h), and a commercial kit particularly recommended for DNA extraction from formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues (FFPE Kit). With the FFPE Kit, DNA could also be extracted from older tissues (fixed in 1893, 1850/1851, or before 1820). In general, the purity of the DNA extracts, assessed from the ratio of the absorbance at 260 and 280 nm, was not very high. In spite of their rather low purity, the DNA extracts could, however, be used to amplify a 122-bp sequence and, in most cases, also a 171-bp sequence of the gene coding for human albumin by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Organic substances in cometary grains: comparison of secondary ion mass spectral data and californium-252 plasma desorption data from reference compounds

Abstract Secondary ion mass spectra (SIMS) and 252Cf plasma desorption ionization mass spectra (PDMS) of two carboxylic acids and two purine nucleobases have been compared. Results demonstrate that the positive ion mass spectra as well as the negative ion mass spectra are very similar in SIMS and PDMS. The principal characteristics are formation of quasimolecular ions (M + H)+ or (M−H)− and loss of small molecules producing nonradical fragment ions; fumaric acid exhibits a remarkable formation of radical cations and anions. A set of simplified rules has been formulated for typical ion production processes involved in these techniques. This work contributes to the development of methods for data interpretation applicable to in situ analyses of cometary grains during the ROSETTA space mission of European Space Agency to the comet 46p/Wirtanen.