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The main aim of this chapter exactly characterizes the contribution. The analytical chemistry of the rare earth elements (REEs) very often is highly complicated and the determination of a specific element is impossible without a sample pre-concentration. Sample preparation can be carried out either by separation of the REEs from the matrix or by concentrating the REEs. The separation of REEs from each other is mainly made by chromatography. At the beginning of REE analysis, the method of precipitation/coprecipitation was applied for the treatment of REE mixtures. The method is not applicable for the separation of trace amounts of REEs. The majority of the methods used are based on the distribution of REEs in a two-phase system, a liquid–liquid or a liquid–solid system. Various techniques have been developed for the liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), in particular the liquid phase micro-extraction. The extraction is always combined with a pre-concentration of the REEs in a single drop of extractant or in a hollow fiber filled with the extractant. Further modified techniques for special applications and for difficult REE separation have been developed. Compared to the LLE, the solid phase micro-extraction is preferred. The method is robust and easy to handle, in which the solid phase loaded with the REEs can be used directly for subsequent determination methods. At present, very new solid materials, like nanotubes, are developed and tested for solid phase extraction.

In this work, we demonstrate a novel method based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and quantum dots (QDs) labeling for the simultaneous counting of two circulating tumor cell lines (MCF-7 and HepG2 cells) in human blood. MCF-7 and HepG2 cells were captured by magnetic beads coupled with anti-EpCAM and then specifically labeled by CdSe QDs-anti-ASGPR and Au NPs-anti-MUC1, respectively, which were used as signal probes for ICP-MS measurement. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the limits of detection of 50 MCF-7, 89 HepG2 cells and the linear ranges of 200-40000 MCF-7, 300-30000 HepG2 cells were obtained, and the relative standard deviations for seven replicate detections of 800 MCF-7 and HepG2 cells were 4.6% and 5.7%, respectively. This method has the advantages of high sensitivity, low sample consumption, wide linear range and can be extended to the simultaneous detection of multiple CTC lines in human peripheral blood.

While the size of electronic devices continues to decrease and the I/O number per chip keeps increasing, the size and pitch of solder bumps are required to be as small as possible. This case gives rise to great concerns on their quality and reliability. As a 3D integration alternative to solder bumps, Cu-pillars have been proposed due to their better electromigration-resistance and other performance. In this paper, the electromigration simulation of a new Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnection microstructure is carried out. An electric-thermal-mechanical model of the Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnect microstructures is developed by ANSYS software. The diameter of Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu column is 10 µm and its height is 5 µm. The distributions of temperature, current density and effective stress are calculated based on the current density, temperature gradient and stress distribution. Influence of the ambient temperature, applied current density and the diameter of Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnect column on the driving force of atomic migration are investigated. The migration force is used to predict the position where the migration is most likely to occur.

In this study, covalent triazine framework-1 (CTF-1) was adopted as solid phase extraction (SPE) sorbents, and a method of SPE inline coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) detection was developed for trace analysis of three nitroimidazolaes (including metronidazole, ronidazole and dimetridazole) in porcine liver and environmental water samples. CTF-1 has rich π-electron and N containing triazine, thus can form π–π interaction and intermolecular hydrogen bond with three target polar nitroimidazoles, resulting in high extraction efficiency (87%–98%). Besides, CTF-1 has large specific area, which benefits rapid mass transfer and low column pressure, leading to fast adsorption/desorption dynamics. Several parameters affecting inline SPE including pH, sample flow rate, sample volume, desorption reagents, elution flow rate, elution volume, and ionic strength were investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the limits of detection (S/N = 3) were found to be in the range of 0.11-0.13 μg/L. The enrichment factors (EFs) ranged from 52 to 59 fold (theoretical EF was 60-fold). The relative standard deviations were in the range of 4.3–9.4% (n = 7, c = 1 μg/L), and the linear range was 0.5–500 μg/L for three target analytes. The sample throughput is 7/h. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of nitroimidazoles in porcine liver and environmental water samples with good recoveries for the spiked samples.

Glycosylation plays a major role in the diversity in the chemical compositions of flavonoids. In this study, we performed biochemical and molecular assays to identify a glucosyltransferase gene responsible for the anthocyanin composition in litchi. Cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside were predominant anthocyanins in the red pericarp and young leaf of litchi. Anthocyanin composition varied among litchi varieties. Anthocyanin profile was primarily determined by genetic factors. Higher activities of UDP-rhamnose: cyanidin-3-glucoside rhamnosyltransferase (CGRT) were detected in the pericarps of the cyanidin-3-rutinoside predominant varieties. Three full-length putative UDP-rhamnose: flavonoid glycoside 2″-O-beta-l-rhamnosyltransferase-like genes were isolated and designated as LcFGRT2, LcFGRT4, and LcFGRT5. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these genes were clustered with other glucoside-glycosyltransferases. Notable activities in catalyzing cyanidin-3-rutinoside formation were observed in extracts of tobacco leaves and yeast with heterologous expression of LcFGRT4. However, the expression pattern of LcFGRT4 did not agree with the CGRT activity. This result suggests that the difference in CGRT among varieties occurred post-transcriptionally. Nucleotide variation in LcFGRT4 was surveyed by sequencing 30 litchi accessions with different anthocyanin profiles. Eight non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms were detected. Type A LcFGRT4 sequence (LcFGRT4A) was observed in cyanidin-3-glucoside-dominant varieties, whereas type B LcFGRT4 sequence (LcFGRT4B) was detected in cyanidin-3-glucoside-dominant varieties. A mutant in 343 C/G polymorphism was targeted as the critical point responsible for the CGRT activity. Results indicated that a single-point mutation in LcFGRT4 could alter the activity of CGRT and may contribute to the diverse anthocyanin profile of litchi.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 1 infection is common and can emerge as outbreaks in developing areas, thus posing a threat to public health. However, due to the absence of feasible animal models, the mechanism of HE pathogenesis remains obscure. The HEV pathogenic mechanism has been suggested to be mediated by the immune system and not by direct viral duplication. We firstly discovered that the open reading frame 3 (ORF3) protein of genotype 1 HEV downregulates TLR3-mediated NF-κB signaling in Human A549 Lung Epithelial Cells (A549 cells) which were exposed to different TLR agonists associated with viral nucleic acids. Additionally, we identified the P2 domain of ORF3 as being responsible for this inhibition. Intriguingly, tumor necrosis factor receptor 1-associated death domain protein (TRADD) expression and receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) K63-ubiquitination were reduced in the presence of both ORF3 and Poly(I:C). Furthermore, we found that Lys377 of RIP1 acts as the functional ubiquitination site for ORF3-associated inhibition. Overall, we found that ORF3 protein downregulates TLR3-mediated NF-κB signaling via TRADD and RIP1. Our findings provide a new perspective on the cellular response in HEV infection and expand our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of HEV pathogenesis in innate immunity.

Sialic acids are special sugars widely expressed at the termini of glycan chains on the cell surface, and their expression level on the cancer cell surface is much higher than on the normal cell surface. Herein, we reported an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) based method with elemental tags for the analysis of sialic acids on the cancer cell surface. The method is based on the selective recognition of sialic acids by biotinylated phenylboronic acid (biotin-APBA) at physiological pH and signal enhancement of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in ICP-MS when AuNPs were used as elemental tags labeled on biotin-APBA. A specificity test reveals that the proposed method has high specificity towards cancer cells. Taking HepG2 and MCF-7 cells as two model cancer cells, competitive experiments were performed to estimate the expression level of sialic acids on the cancer cell surface, and it was found that the average numbers of sialic acids expressed on the single MCF-7 and HepG2 cell surface were 7.0 × 10(9) and 5.4 × 10(9), respectively. With sialic acid as the biomarker for cancer cells, the method was further used for cell detection. The limits of detection in terms of cell number for HepG2 and MCF-7 cells were 120 and 64, respectively. And the relative standard deviations for nine replicate determinations of ca. 1000 HepG2 and MCF-7 cells were 9.6% and 8.9%, respectively. The linear ranges for HepG2 cells and MCF-7 cells were 300-10,000 and 170-11,000, respectively. The proposed approach is sensitive as well as selective for the analysis of sialic acids on the cancer cell surface, and is potentially applicable for the study of tumor malignancy and metastasis, which is helpful for biological research and clinical diagnostics.

In this paper, a new method of nanometer-sized alumina packed microcolumn SPE combined with field-amplified sample stacking (FASS)-CE-UV detection was developed for the speciation analysis of inorganic selenium in environmental water samples. Self-synthesized nanometer-sized alumina was packed in a microcolumn as the SPE adsorbent to retain Se(IV) and Se(VI) simultaneously at pH 6 and the retained inorganic selenium was eluted by concentrated ammonia. The eluent was used for FASS-CE-UV analysis after NH₃ evaporation. The factors affecting the preconcentration of both Se(IV) and Se(VI) by SPE and FASS were studied and the optimal CE separation conditions for Se(IV) and Se(VI) were obtained. Under the optimal conditions, the LODs of 57 ng L⁻¹ (Se(IV)) and 71 ng L⁻¹ (Se(VI)) were obtained, respectively. The developed method was validated by the analysis of a certified reference material of GBW(E)080395 environmental water and the determined value was in a good agreement with the certified value. It was also successfully applied to the speciation analysis of inorganic selenium in environmental water samples, including Yangtze River water, spring water, and tap water.

A series of novel ternary-copolymer of fluorinated polyimides (PIs) were prepared from 1,4-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)benzene (pBATB), commercially available aromatic dianhydrides, and aromatic diamines via a conventional two-step thermal or chemical imidization method. The structures of all the obtained PIs were characterized with FTIR, 1H-NMR, and element analysis. Besides, the solubility, thermal stability, mechanical properties, and moisture uptakes of the PIs were investigated. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and the number-average molecular weight (Mn) of the PIs were determined using gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). The PIs were readily dissolved not only in polar solvents such as DMF, DMAc, and NMP, but also in some common organic solvents, such as acetic ester, chloroform, and acetone. The glass transition temperatures of these PIs ranged from 201 to 234°C and the 10% weight loss temperatures ranged from 507 to 541°C in nitrogen. Meanwhile, all the PIs left around 50% residual even at 800°C in nitrogen. The GPC results indicated that the PIs possessed moderate-to-high number-average molecular weight (Mn), ranging from 9609 to 17,628. Moreover, the polymer films exhibited good mechanical properties, with elongations at break of 8–21%, tensile strength of 66.5–89.8 MPa, and Young's modulus of 1.04–1.27 GPa, and low moisture uptakes of 0.54–1.13%. These excellent combination properties ensure that the polymer could be considered as potential candidates for photoelectric and microelectronic applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

A new method of solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) combined with electrothermal vaporization (ETV)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed for the determination of trace heavy metals in environmental water samples with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) as both chelating reagent in SFODME and chemical modifier in ETV. The factors affecting the microextraction efficiency were studied in detail and the optimal extraction conditions were established. Under the optimal conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) for SFODME-ETV-ICP-MS determination of Co, Pd, Cd, Hg, Pb and Bi were found to be 0.0060, 0.0091, 0.0020, 0.0041, 0.0170 and 0.0041 ng mL(-1), respectively, with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.8-10.0% (c=0.5 ng mL(-1), n=7). The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of six target metals in Yangtze River and East Lake water samples with recoveries ranging from 77.7 to 119.1%. To validate the accuracy of the method, a certified reference material of Environmental Water (GSBZ50009-88) was analyzed and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values.

In order to detect the humidity and the density of cigarette, we designed a type of microwave resonance cavity sensor which is called repeating-entry model. We used TM010 resonance model to the real-time detection of cigarette humidity and density. Under two conditions: vacuum resonance and cigarette in existence, through the swept technique we obtain resonance frequency，peak powerand half power point bandwidth from amplitude-frequency peculiarity (Figure I). According to mathematical formulas (6) and (7), we get cigarette humidity and density respectively. The detection technique has many advantages such as speediness, continuation, high resolution rate, non-pollution, safe and convenient operation, etc. And it is applicable to industrial survey on the spot.

Through the research on the existing parallel computing technologies, this paper bas an in-depth research and analysis on the status, issues to be addressed and functional features of parallel computing task scheduling, and for the current problems existed, presents a solution. The program can better reflect the heterogeneity and dynamicity of the parallel resources, as far as possible ensure the reliability and stability of the selected resources, while reducing task completion time and meeting user requirements for service quality.

Through the in-depth study of the existing digital watermark and vector graphics, from the characteristics of vector graphics itself, this paper presents a digital watermark implementation program based on vector graphics. This program is simple and feasible, has strong transparency, while having better robustness for the usual geometric graphics transformation and local modification attacks, so has high practical values.

Glass-ceramics were made from ground blast-furnace slag and other additives using a conventional ceramic-sintering route. The weight percent of blast furnace slag reached more than 90% in raw material. The size influence of slag powders on the properties of glass-ceramics was investigated. The main crystalline phase of glass-ceramic is melilite. A high microhardness between 4.4 to 5.2 GPa and a bending strength between 74 to 90 MPa as well as a density between 2.5 to 2.8 g/cm3 were obtained. The result indicated that the obtained glass-ceramics present desirable properties for building materials, and this may be an attractive method for making useful and marketable products from the waste of iron production.

Introduce the theory and application of the Impedance Method and set up the model of fictitious human. After dividing the human head into many cube griddings, every gridding edge could be thought of the impedance based on the head. The current in one section of the loop could be confirmed by the line impedance, which based on the permittivity and electric characters of the matter which is covered by the gridding. Using C++ computing and picturing the datum by Matlab, 3-Dimension SAR of each lay would be found. After comparing with the results of FDTD, the Impedance Method is more easy, more perspicuity, more quick and don’t need consider the strict boundary.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) improved reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) on-line combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed for selenium speciation. The different parameters affecting the retention behaviors of six target selenium species especially the effect of RTILs as mobile phase additives have been studied, it was found that the mobile phase consisting of 0.4% (v/v) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl), 0.4% (v/v) 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluroborate ([BMMIM]BF(4)) and 99.2% (v/v) water has effectively improved the peak profile and six target selenium species including Na(2)SeO(3) (Se(IV)), Na(2)SeO(4) (Se(VI)), L-selenocystine (SeCys(2)), D,L-selenomethionine (SeMet), Se-methylseleno-l-cysteine (MeSeCys), seleno-D,L-ethionine (SeEt) were separated in 8 min. In order to validate the accuracy of the method, a Certified Reference Material of SELM-1 yeast sample was analyzed and the results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values. The developed method was also successfully applied to the speciation of selenium in Se-enriched yeasts and clover. For fresh Se-enriched yeast cells, it was found that the spiked SeCys(2) in living yeast cells could be transformed into SeMet. Compared with other ion-pair RP-HPLC-ICP-MS approaches for selenium speciation, the proposed method possessed the advantages including ability to regulate the retention time of the target selenium species by selecting the suitable RTILs and their concentration, simplicity, rapidness and low injection volume, thus providing wide potential applications for elemental speciation in biological systems.

The bottleneck of applying stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) to elemental speciation analysis is lack of suitable extraction phases with good affinities to different elemental species. In this paper, a newly high polar extraction phase of titania immobilized polypropylene hollow fiber (TiO₂-PPHF) was prepared by sol-gel immersion and low temperature hydrothermal process and the obtained TiO₂-PPHF inherits the adsorption properties of TiO₂ and the toughness of PPHF. With a suitable size of stainless steel magnetic bar inserted into the prepared TiO₂-PPHF, a disposable TiO₂-PPHF coating stir bar was obtained. The prepared TiO₂-PPHF was characterized by X-ray diffraction spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy and the significant parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of different arsenic species were studied. Based on the above facts, a new method of SBSE combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed for the speciation of phenyl arsenic compounds and their possible transformation products in chicken tissues. Under the optimal conditions, limits of detection (LODs) of the developed method for eight target arsenic species were in the range of 11.4-64.6 ng L⁻¹ with enrichment factors of 8.5-22.3 (theory enrichment factor was 50), and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were varying from 6.3 to 12.6% (c(AsIII/V)=5 μg L⁻¹, c(MMA,DMA,p-ASA,4-OH,3-NHPAA,PA,4-NPAA)=10 μg L⁻¹, n=7). The proposed method was successfully applied to the speciation of arsenic in chicken meat/liver samples and the recoveries for the spiked samples were in the range of 78.5-120.4%. In order to validate the accuracy of the proposed method, a certified reference material of BCR-627 tuna fish tissue was analyzed and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values. The TiO₂-PPHF was demonstrated to be a highly selective coating for the target arsenic species, and could be easily prepared in batches with low cost. In addition, with the disposable coating, the carry-over effect commonly encountered in conventional SBSE was avoided.

A method of hollow fiber (HF) liquid phase microextraction (LPME) combined with gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detection (FID) was developed for the simultaneous quantification of trace amphetamine (AP), methamphetamine (MA), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), caffeine and ketamine (KT) in drug abuser urine samples. The factors affecting on the extraction of six target analytes by HF-LPME were investigated and optimized, and the subsequent analytical performance evaluation and real sample analysis were performed by the extraction of six target analytes in sample solution containing 30% NaCl (pH 12.5) for 20 min with extraction temperature of 30 degrees C and stirring rate of 1000 rpm. Under such optimal conditions, the limits of detection (LODs, S/N=3) for the six target analytes were ranged from 8 microg/L (AP, KT) to 82 microg/L (MDA), with the enrichment factors (EFs) of 5-227 folds, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, n=7) were in the range of 6.9-14.1%. The correlation coefficients of the calibration for the six target analytes over the dynamic linear range were higher than 0.9958. The application feasibility of HF-LPME-GC-FID in illegal drug monitoring was demonstrated by analyzing drug abuser urine samples, and the recoveries of target drugs for the spiked sample ranging from 75.2% to 119.3% indicated an excellent anti-interference capability of the developed method. The proposed method is simple, effective, sensitive and low-cost, and provides a much more accurate and sensitive detection platform over the conventional analytical techniques (such as immunological assay) for drug abuse analysis.

A novel adsorbent of thiacalix[4]arene tetracarboxylate derivative modified mesoporous TiO 2 was prepared and was used as a packing material for flow injection (FI) micro-column (20 mm × 4.0 mm i.d.) separation/preconcentration on-line coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) simultaneous determination of trace metals (V, Cu, Pb, Cr) in environmental water samples. The experimental conditions for modified mesoporous TiO 2 packed micro-column separation/preconcentration of the target metals were optimized and the interference of commonly coexisting ions was examined. The adsorption capacities of thiacalix[4]arene tetracarboxylate derivative modified mesoporous TiO 2 for V, Cu, Pb and Cr were found to be 14.0, 11.7, 17.7 and 14.5 mg g − 1 , respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.09, 0.23, 0.50 and 0.15 µg L − 1 for V, Cu, Pb and Cr, respectively, with a preconcentration factor of 20. The precision of this method were 1.7% (V), 3.9% (Cu), 4.6% (Pb) and 2.9% (Cr) ( n = 7, C = 5 µg L − 1 ), respectively. The developed method was applied to the determination of trace heavy metals in real samples and the recoveries for spiked samples were found to be in the range of 88.7–107.1%. For validation, a certified reference material of GSBZ50009-88 environmental water sample was analyzed and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values.

As a solvent-free miniaturized sample preparation technique, capillary microextraction (CME) has been hyphenated with different analytical instruments for trace elements analysis of environmental, biological, food and pharmaceutical samples. This review discusses the fundamentals and recent development of CME, including the theoretical basis, extraction modes (packed, open-tubular and monolithic CME) and capillary materials for CME. The emphasis is placed on the application of CME to trace/ultra-trace elements analysis and their speciation. Existing coating/monolithic materials used for CME are summarized together with a detailed overview of their preparation methods.

A new, rapid and highly efficient method for the determination of trace amounts of refractory elements (titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, molybdenum) using micro-column separation/pre-concentration combined with fluorinating electrothermal vaporisation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (FETV-ICP-MS) has been developed. In this method, trace amounts of the analytes were selectively adsorbed by a conical micro-column packed with the solid phase extraction material N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine loaded on microcrystalline naphthalene at desired pH values. Various factors influencing the separation/pre-concentration, such as pH, sample flow rate and sample volume were studied in detail, and the influences of the organic matrix and the pre-ashing temperature on the determined results were also investigated. Under optimal conditions, the detection limits for Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta and Mo were 0.016, 0.011, 0.010, 0.007, 0.005, 0.006 and 0.003 ng ml−1, respectively, and the relative standard deviations ranged from 3.3% (Nb) to 9.6% (Hf) (C= 0.20 ng ml−1, n= 9). In order to validate the method, the proposed method was applied to the analysis of three certified reference materials (soils GBW07401 and GBW07425; sediment GBW07301a) and the results obtained were in good agreement with the reference values. The method was also successfully applied to the analysis of real seawater samples with satisfactory results. Une nouvelle methode, rapide et tres efficace, de determination de faibles teneurs en elements refractaires (titane, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantale, molybdene) a ete developpee. Elle est basee sur une separation/pre-concentration sur micro-colonne suivie d'une fluorination et une vaporisation electrothermale couplees a une analyse par spectrometrie de masse a plasma induit (FETV-ICP-MS). Dans cette methode, les tres faibles quantites d'analyte ont ete adsorbees selectivement par une micro-colonne conique remplie par le solide resultant de la fixation de N-benzoyl-N-phenylhy-droxylamine sur du naphtalene microcristallin, a des pH choisis. Plusieurs facteurs controlant le processus de separation/pre-concentration, les effets sur les resultats obtenus du pH, de la vitesse d'ecoulement de l'echantillon et de son volume ont ete testes en detail, ainsi que l'effet de la matrice organique et de la temperature proche de la calcination. Dans les conditions optimales, les limites de detection pour Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta et Mo etaient de 0.016, 0.011, 0.010, 0.007, 0.005, 0.006 et 0.003 ng ml−1 respectivement et les deviations standard relatives variaient de 3.3% (Nb) a 9.6% (Hf) (C = 0.20 ng ml−1, n = 9). Afin de valider la methode, celle-ci a ete appliquee a l'analyse de trois materiaux de reference certifies (les sols GBW07401 et GBW07425, le sediment GBW07301a) et les resultats obtenus se sont reveles en bon accord avec les valeurs de reference. La methode a ete aussi appliquee a l'analyse d'echantillons d'eau de mer avec des resultats satisfaisants.

The novel fluorinated polyimides with side-chain nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores were synthesized from hydroxyl polyimides, followed by the Mitsunobu reaction with NLO chromophores. Molecular structural characterization for the resulting polymers was achieved by 1 H NMR, FT-IR, UV–Vis spectra, elemental analysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The polymers exhibit excellent solubility in common organic solvents, good film-forming properties, high glass transition temperature ( T g ) in the range from 193 to 200 °C and thermal stability up to 290 °C. The polyimides P1 and P2 containing hetarylazo chromophores with large hyperpolarizability possess a high electro-optic (EO) coefficient ( r 33 ), which is larger than that of the polyimide P3 attached DR1 . Excellent temporal stability and low optical losses in the range of 1.9–2.1 dB/cm at 1.55 μm were observed for these polymers. Such new NLO fluorinated polyimides are distinguished by an excellent combination of NLO activity, temporal stability, and optical loss.

Novel, nonlinear optical thiazolylazopyrimidine chromophores were synthesized and characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, hyper-Rayleigh light scattering and thermogravimetric analysis. The thiazolylazopyrimidine chromophores exhibited large molecular hyperpolarizabilities which were larger than that of a chromophore derived from 4-nitroaniline, owing to the presence of the electron-deficient thiazole ring at the acceptor end of the molecule. Moreover, in comparison with an analogous aniline based chromophore, the thiazolylazopyrimidine chromophores displayed a large blue shift due to the presence of the electron-poor pyrimidine ring at the donor end molecule, resulting in an improvement in optical transparency. The thiazolylazopyrimidine chromophores displayed high thermal stability owing to the presence of the thiazole and pyrimidine rings. Such novel, nonlinear optical thiazolylazopyrimidine chromophores are distinguished by good nonlinearity–transparency–thermal stability trade-off for nonlinear optical application.

A novel method of polymer monolith microextraction (PMME) using a poly(acrylamide-vinylpyridine-N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide) (AA-VP-Bis) monolithic column combined with electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV-ICP-MS) for the determination of trace Cd, Tl, and Pb with Pd as chemical modifier has been proposed. Several factors that influence the microextraction efficiency including pH value, sample flow rate, extraction time, sample volume, eluent volume, and coexisting ions, were investigated and the optimal microextraction conditions were established. The chemical modification of Pd in ETV-ICP-MS has been studied and the results indicated that the pyrolysis temperature for the target analytes could be increased up to 600 °C and the signal intensities were increased by 4.1, 2.1, and 13.8 times for Cd, Tl, and Pb, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, with a consumption of 0.4 mL sample, the limits of detection (LODs) were 1.1, 0.5, and 0.2 ng L−1 for Cd, Tl, and Pb, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 10.3, 9.7, and 9.2% (C = 0.05 µg L−1, n = 5) for Cd, Tl, and Pb, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace Cd, Tl, and Pb in human serum and urine samples, and the recovery for the spiked samples were in the range of 90–110%. In order to validate the proposed method, certified reference material of GBW09103 human urine was analyzed, and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values. The poly(AA-VP-Bis) monolith can be used more than 40 times without decrease in the extraction efficiency.

A novel method for the analysis of four polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environmental and human serum samples based on hollow fiber-liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) followed by gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (GC-ICP-MS) detection has been developed. The organic solvent in the porous hollow fiber was first dipped into the sample for extraction at a given time, and the retracted organic phase was introduced into the GC-ICP-MS for analysis. The addition of methanol has a strong effect on the HF-LPME extraction efficiency. Other significant parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of HF-LPME were also studied. HF-LPME was effective to isolate the analytes from the complex matrix. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of the proposed method varied from 15.2 to 40.5 ng/L. In general, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 10%. Good linearity was obtained with the correlation coefficients all better than 0.999. The proposed method is simple, quick, few microliters of organic solvent required, and is especially suitable for the analysis of the real sample with small amount available. The overall process of HF-LPME with GC-ICP-MS was applied successfully for the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environmental and spiked human serum samples, and the results were satisfactory.

A method of fluorination assisted electrothermal vaporization (FETV)-ICP-MS with polytetrafluoroethylene as fluorinating reagent was developed for the direct determination of trace rare earth elements (REEs) in coal fly ash and atmospheric particulates. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits for REEs were 0.1 pg m−3(Eu) to 6.7 pg m−3(Nd) with the precisions of 4.1%(Yb) to 10%(La) (c = 1 μg L−1, n = 9). The proposed method was applied to determine trace REEs in coal fly ash, airborne particulates and NIES SRM No. 8 Vehicle Exhaust Particulates. It was found that the determined values for Y, La, Pr and Nd obtained by slurry sampling FETV-ICP-MS with external calibration coincided with that obtained by pneumatic nebulization (PN)-ICP-MS and slurry sampling FETV-ICP-MS with standard addition. However, the determined values for Ce and Sm obtained by slurry sampling FETV-ICP-MS with external calibration were lower than that obtained by PN-ICP-MS and slurry sampling FETV-ICP-MS with standard addition.

A novel method based on gaseous compounds introduction into the plasma as their pivaloyltrifluoroacetone (PTA) chelates was developed for electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination of trace rare earth elements (REEs) in natural water. The factors affecting formation of the chelates and their vaporization behaviors were studied in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection (3σ) of REEs for this method were from 0.20 to 0.91 ng L−1, the relative standard deviations for 0.1 µg L−1 REEs were 2.5–9.1% (n = 9), and the linear ranges of calibration curve for REEs covered at least three orders of magnitude. The proposed method had been applied to the determination of trace REEs in water samples of Yangtze river, Han Shui river and East lake (Wuhan), and the recoveries for the spiked water samples were 93–105%.

Recent progress in electrothermal vaporization (ETV)‐inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) is reviewed in this article, and 175 references are cited. Special attention was focused on the vaporization mechanism of analytes in ETV, chemical modification, direct solid sample analysis, preconcentration/separation techniques for ETV, as well as their recent applications in biological, environmental, refractory, and high‐purity materials. The future development of ETV‐ICP‐AES/MS is also discussed.

Novel polyurethane thiazole (PUT)/SiO 2 nanocomposite material was prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of alkoxysilane dye, polyurethane (PU), containing alkoxysilane and tetraethoxysiliane (TEOS) together using the sol-gel process. The structure and properties were characterized by IR, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, and DSC-TGA measurements. The result showed that the organic phase connected with the inorganic phase by covalent bonds without separation of phases in the material, the content of thiazole chromophore with a good nonlinearity in the material, the glassy temperature, and the decomposed temperature of the material increase remarkably; thus, the material can be used to manufacture second-order nonlinear apparatus with fine performance.

A novel polyaniline/α-cyclodextrin (PANI/α-CD) composite coated stir bar was prepared by sol-gel process for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in this work. The preparation reproducibility of the PANI/α-CD-coated stir bar was good, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 2.3% to 3.7% (n=7) and 2.0% to 3.8% (n=7) for bar to bar and batch to batch, respectively. Based on it, a novel method of PANI/α-CD-coated stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) detection was developed for the determination of trace PCBs in environmental waters. To obtain the best extraction performance for target PCBs, several parameters affecting SBSE, such as extraction time, stirring rate, and ionic strength were investigated. Under optimal experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) of the proposed method for seven PCBs were in the range of 0.048-0.22 μg/L, and the RSDs were 5.3-9.8% (n=7, c=1 μg/L). Enrichment factors (EFs) ranging from 39.8 to 68.4-fold (theoretical EF, 83.3-fold) for target analytes were achieved. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of seven target PCBs in Yangtze River water and East Lake water, and the recoveries were in the range of 73.0-120% for the spiked East Lake water samples and 82.7-121% for the spiked Yangtze River water samples, respectively.

In this study, we fabricated broadband anti-reflection coatings using a method based on layer-by-layer self assembly of positively charged layer double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets and negatively charged silica nanoparticles via electrostatic interaction. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to observe the morphology, structure, and surface topography of LDH/SiO 2 multilayer coatings. The anti-reflection properties of the coatings were investigated by UV visible spectrophotometry. Glass substrates covered with the LDH/SiO 2 multilayer coatings exhibited broadband anti-reflection properties. The obtained [LDH(0.4 g/L)/SiO 2 (25 nm)] 8 , [LDH(0.4 g/L)/SiO 2 (50 nm)] 10 , and [LDH(0.8 g/L)/SiO 2 (25 nm)] 6 coatings exhibited the best broadband anti-reflection properties among the as-prepared LDH/SiO 2 multilayer coatings with different deposition cycles. Transmission levels of 97% were achieved in these optimal systems. Moreover, a maximum transmittance of 98% was achieved at a wavelength of 550 nm in the [LDH(0.4 g/L)/SiO 2 (25nm)] 8 system and at 700 nm in the [LDH(0.8 g/L)/SiO 2 (25nm)] 6 system. Different packing patterns of the two oppositely charged nanomaterials (dense packing of LDH nanosheets and loose stacking of silica nanoparticles) and the moderate textured surface of the coatings contributed to the enhanced light transmission and reduced wavelength dependence in the UV visible spectral range.

Toxicity of quantum dots (QDs) has been a hot research concern in the past decade, and there is a lot of challenge in this field. The physicochemical characteristics of QDs can affect their toxicity, while little is known about the specific chemical form of QDs in living cells after incubation so far. In this work, speciation of four CdSe/ZnS QDs in HepG2 cells was carried out from the metallomics' point of view for the first time by using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). On the basis of the signal of Cd, two kinds of chemical forms, named as QD-1 and QD-2, were observed in HepG2 cells incubated with CdSe/ZnS QDs. QD-1 was demonstrated to be a kind of QD-like nanoparticles, confirmed by chromatographic retention time, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization, and fluorescence detection. QD-2 was demonstrated to be cadmium-metallothioneins complex (Cd-MTs) by reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) synchronously coupled with ICP-MS and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF-MS) analysis. Meanwhile, speciation of QDs in HepG2 cells incubated with different conditions was analyzed. With the variation of QDs incubation concentration/time, and elimination time, the species of QD-1 and QD-2 were also observed without other obvious species, and both the amount of QD-1 and QD-2 increased with incubation concentration and time. The obtained results provide valuable information and a strategy for the study of existing chemical form of QDs, greatly benefiting the understanding of QDs toxicity in living cells.

Background: Several studies have reported a renoprotective effect of telbivudine during the treatment of patients for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Objectives: This longitudinal retrospective study aimed to examine the effects of telbivudine monotherapy and combination therapy (adefovir plus telbivudine) on renal function. Patients and Methods: This study included 336 Chinese CHB patients, who were selected from outpatients in Tongji Hospital. 44, 122, 66, 58, and 46 of these patients had been orally taking adefovir, telbivudine, entecavir, adefovir plus telbivudine, and adefovir plus lamivudine, respectively, for at least 24 months. Results: The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the telbivudine and adefovir plus telbivudine groups increased by 5.14 mL/min (P < 0.001) and 6.19 mL/min (P = 0.005), respectively. The patients taking the five drug regimens were further grouped into the following three subpopulations: those with compensated hepatic cirrhosis, those aged 50 or more years, and those with baseline eGFR values of 50 - 90 mL/min. The three subgroups that received telbivudine monotherapy exhibited eGFR increases of 6.38, 6.74, and 10.82 mL/min, respectively. The three subgroups that received combination therapy of adefovir plus telbivudine exhibited eGFR increases of 18.31, 14.73, and 16.59 mL/min, respectively (P < 0.05). The predictive factors for the change in eGFR levels over time were analyzed by means of two linear mixed effects models for the three monotherapy regimens and two combination regimens. Age, gender, and medication are predictive factors of eGFR changes. In addition, abnormal creatinine kinase (CK) levels in the telbivudine group were not correlated with eGFR changes (P = 0.992). Conclusions: These findings indicate that telbivudine, used in both monotherapy and combination therapy, improves the renal function of patients with CHB. The improvements are particularly significant in patients at high renal risk.

In order to meet the requirement of the higher density interconnects, the volume size of the solder microbumps continues to be reduced. In the present research, the microstructure of the microbumps with a diameter of 40µm was studied using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). When the microbumps are smaller than a Sn grain in size, only one Sn grain is found to be contained in the microbumps. Shearing tests were carried out to study the mechanical behavior and the fracture mode. The strain rate sensitivity exponent of the microbump with one Sn grain is about 0.1. And a typical sliding fracture of the Sn grain is observed at different shearing speeds, which is different from the usual microvoids accumulation fracture displayed by BGA solder joints. The research findings are useful to assess the reliability of the high density solder interconnects, such as fine pitch flip chip, 3D-TSV, copper pillar bumps, and so on.

An effective dual preconcentration method involving off-line membrane supported liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (MS-LLLME) and on-line field-amplified sample injection (FASI) was proposed for the extraction of six cardiovascular drugs, including mexiletine, xylocaine, propafenone, propranolol, metoprolol, and carvedilol from aqueous solution prior to CE-UV. In MS-LLLME, the analytes were extracted from 9 mL sample solution into toluene, and then back extracted into a drop of acceptor phase of 10 μL 20 mmol/L acetic acid. After that, the acceptor phase was directly introduced into CE for FASI without any modification. In FASI process, water plug was hydrodynamically injected (50 mbar, 3 s) into the capillary prior to sample injection (+6 kV, 18 s). Six target analytes were separated in less than 10 min at 25°C with a BGE consisting of 70 mmol/L Tris-H3 PO4 (pH 2.2) containing 10% v/v methanol. Under the optimized conditions, LODs obtained by the proposed MS-LLLME-FASI-CE-UV method were in the range of 0.02-0.82 μg/L (based on S/N = 3) with enrichment factors of 546- to 7300-fold for the target analytes. The RSDs of the developed method were in the range of 6.7-12.9% (n = 7). Good linearity (R(2) = 0.9928-0.9997) was obtained in concentration range of 0.1-100 μg/L for mexiletine and propranolol, 0.2-100 μg/L for xylocaine and metoprolol, 0.5-100 μg/L for propafenone and 2.0-100 μg/L for carvedilol, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied for real-time determination of metoprolol in human urine samples within 26 h after uptake.

Graphene oxide (GO) is an ideal adsorbent for polar and less polar compounds due to its hexagonal carbon network structure with oxygen-containing groups, while its strong hydrophilicity and water solubility limited its application in sample pretreatment techniques. Herein, GO was composited with polyethyleneglycol (PEG) or polyaniline (PAN) through intermolecular interactions to improve its stability, and the GO/PEG and GO/PAN composite coated stir bars were prepared by sol-gel technique. Compared with GO/PAN composite and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated stir bar, the prepared GO/PEG composite coated stir bar exhibited higher extraction efficiency for five fluoroquinolones (FQs). Based on it, a method of GO/PEG composite coated stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was proposed. The factors influencing SBSE, such as sample pH, salt effect, stirring rate, extraction time, desorption solvent and desorption time, were optimized, and the analytical performance of the developed SBSE-HPLC-FLD method was evaluated. The limits of detection (LODs) for five FQs were in the range of 0.0045-0.0079μgL(-1), and the enrichment factors (EFs) were in the range of 41.5-65.5-fold (theoretical enrichment factor was 100-fold). The reproducibility was also investigated at concentrations of 0.05μgL(-1) and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, n=6) were found to be in the range of 4.6-12.1%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of FQs in chicken muscle and chicken liver samples.

A simple home-made automatic dynamic hollow fiber based liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (AD-HF-LLLME) device was designed and constructed for the simultaneous extraction of organomercury and inorganic mercury species with the assistant of a programmable flow injection analyzer. With 18-crown-6 as the complexing reagent, mercury species including methyl-, ethyl-, phenyl- and inorganic mercury were extracted into the organic phase (chlorobenzene), and then back-extracted into the acceptor phase of 0.1% (m/v) 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (MPS) aqueous solution. Compared with automatic static (AS)-HF-LLLME system, the extraction equilibrium of target mercury species was obtained in shorter time with higher extraction efficiency in AD-HF-LLLME system. Based on it, a new method of AD-HF-LLLME coupled with large volume sample stacking (LVSS)-capillary electrophoresis (CE)/UV detection was developed for the simultaneous analysis of methyl-, phenyl- and inorganic mercury species in biological samples and environmental water. Under the optimized conditions, AD-HF-LLLME provided high enrichment factors (EFs) of 149-253-fold within relatively short extraction equilibrium time (25min) and good precision with RSD between 3.8 and 8.1%. By combining AD-HF-LLLME with LVSS-CE/UV, EFs were magnified up to 2195-fold and the limits of detection (at S/N=3) for target mercury species were improved to be sub ppb level.

Ying Liu,1,* Man He,1,* Mengmeng Niu,1 Yiqing Zhao,1 Yuanzhang Zhu,1 Zhenhua Li,2 Nianping Feng1 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA *These authors contributed equally tothis work Abstract: Rapid drug release at the specific site of action is still a challenge for antitumor therapy. Development of stimuli-responsive hybrid nanocarriers provides a promising strategy to enhance therapeutic effects by combining the unique features of each component. The present study explored the use of drug–gold nanoparticle conjugates incorporated into liposomes to enhance antitumor efficiency. A model drug, vincristine sulfate, was physically conjugated with gold nanoparticles and verified by UV-visible and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The conjugates were incorporated into liposomes by film dispersion to yield nanoparticles (113.4 nm) with light-responsive release properties, as shown by in vitro release studies. Intracellular uptake and distribution was studied in HeLa cells using transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. This demonstrated liposome internalization and localization in endosomal–lysosomal vesicles. Fluorescence intensity increased in cells exposed to UV light, indicating that this stimulated intracellular drug release; this finding was confirmed by quantitative analyses using flow cytometry. Antitumor efficacy was evaluated in HeLa cells, both in culture and in implants in vivo in nude mice. HeLa cell viability assays showed that light exposure enhanced liposome cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, treatment with the prepared liposomes coupled with UV light exposure produced greater antitumor effects in nude mice and reduced side effects, as compared with free vincristine sulfate. Keywords: vincristine sulfate, vincristine sulfate–gold nanoparticle conjugates, liposomes, antitumor efficiency, light triggered drug release&nbsp

Herein, restricted accessed magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by self-assembly of a non-ionic surfactant (Tween-20) onto the 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). A series of analytical techniques were employed for the characterization of the as-prepared restricted accessed Fe3O4@SiO2@PAR, and it was found that the as-prepared restricted accessed Fe3O4@SiO2@PAR nanoparticles have a porous structure with a BET surface area of around 99.4 m(2) g(-1), an average pore size of about 6.14 nm and a pore volume of 0.47 cm(3) g(-1). Besides, the prepared restricted accessed Fe3O4@SiO2@PAR showed good size exclusion properties toward proteins, providing application potential for the direct analysis of biological samples. Based on this, a novel method of restricted accessed magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) combined with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed for the direct determination of trace metal ions in human fluids. The parameters affecting the extraction of the target metals by MSPE were studied and the optimized conditions were established. Under the optimum conditions, the adsorption capacity of Cr(III), Cd(II), La(III), Nd(III) and Pb(II) on the as-prepared restricted accessed Fe3O4@SiO2@PAR was 62.9, 56.6, 33.7, 36.9 and 43.3 mg g(-1), respectively. With an enrichment factor of 30, the limits of detection for Cr(III), Cd(II), La(III), Nd(III) and Pb(II) were as low as 11.9, 0.8, 0.7, 1.6 and 4.1 ng L(-1), and the relative standard deviations were 7.6, 8.7, 8.4, 8.1 and 5.0 (C(Cr, Pb) = 0.05 μg L(-1), C(Cd, La) = 0.005 μg L(-1), C(Nd) = 0.01 μg L(-1), n = 7), respectively. The developed method was successfully applied for the direct analysis of free metal ions in human urine and serum samples, and has the advantages of good anti-interference ability, high sensitivity and exhibits great application potential in the direct analysis of trace metals in biological fluids.

A novel plasmonic photocatalyst, Au/Pt/g-C3N4, was prepared by a facile calcination-photodeposition technique. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and the results demonstrated that the Au and Pt nanoparticles (7-15 nm) were well-dispersed on the surfaces of g-C3N4. The Au/Pt codecorated g-C3N4 heterostructure displayed enhanced photocatalytic activity for antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) degradation, and the degradation rate was 3.4 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Au and electron-sink function of Pt nanoparticles, which improve the optical absorption property and photogenerated charge carriers separation of g-C3N4, synergistically facilitating the photocatalysis process. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for degrading TC-HCl by Au/Pt/g-C3N4 heterostructure was tentatively proposed.

An effective dual preconcentration method involving off-line hollow fiber liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (HF-LLLME) and on-line sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (sweeping-MEKC) was proposed for the determination of five second-generation antidepressants, including fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine and citalopram. In HF-LLLME, the analytes were extracted from the sample solution into phenetole impregnated in the pores of the hollow fiber and then back-extracted into 10 μL 0.1 mol L(-1) HAc inside the hollow fiber. Then, the acceptor phase was spiked with 2.8 μL isopropanol (IPA) and introduced into CE for sweeping. In the sweeping-MEKC process, five target analytes were separated in less than 15 min with a background electrolyte consisting of 76% (v/v) 50 mmol L(-1) citric acid (pH 2.2) containing 100 mmol L(-1) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 24% (v/v) IPA. The hydrodynamic injection was performed at 50 mbar for 140 s. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection were in the range of 0.40-1.55 μg L(-1) with enrichment factors of 1897- to 5952-fold for target analytes, with a dynamic linear range of 0.6/5.0-200 μg L(-1). The developed method demonstrated excellent clean-up ability and high enrichment factors and was successfully applied to the analysis of target analytes in human urine and plasma samples.

Nanomaterials conjugated with biomacromolecules, including viruses, have great potential for in vivo applications. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the safety of nanoparticle-conjugated macromolecule biomaterials (Nano-mbio). Although a number of studies have assessed the risks of nanoparticles and macromolecule biomaterials in living bodies, only a few of them investigated Nano-mbios. Here we evaluated the in vivo safety profile of a quantum dot-conjugated baculovirus (Bq), a promising new Nano-mbio, in mice. Each animal was injected twice intraperitoneally with 50 μg virus protein labelled with around 3*10(-5)nmol conjugated qds. Control animals were injected with PBS, quantum dots, baculovirus, or a mixture of quantum dots and baculovirus. Blood, tissues and body weight were analysed at a series of time points following both the first and the second injections. It turned out that the appearance and behaviour of the mice injected with Bq were similar to those injected with baculovirus alone. However, combination of baculovirus and quantum dot (conjugated or simply mixed) significantly induced stronger adaptive immune responses, and lead to a faster accumulation and longer existence of Cd in the kidneys. Thus, despite the fact that both quantum dot and baculovirus have been claimed to be safe in vivo, applications of Bq in vivo should be cautious. To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the interaction between a nanoparticle-conjugated virus and a living body from a safety perspective, providing a basis for in vivo application of other Nano-mbios.