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The article explores the role of analytical chemistry in dealing with challenges of a dangerous disease like malaria in developing countries. More than 850,000 children under the age of 5 are killed every year due to malaria. Scientists all over the world are trying hard to develop improved diagnostic methods, recognize new drug-development targets, and search for a malaria vaccine. Many emerging diagnostic techniques like immunochromatographic tests or dipsticks, PCR-based diagnostics, etc., are used to detect malaria within a short span of time.

The article focuses on the contribution of Raymond Dwek to glycobiology. Dwek first coined the term "glycobiology" in 1992 on the "Oxford English Dictionary." Accordingly, Dwek's interest in glycobiology has also marked the beginning of his involvement with academic-industrial collaborations. He had remained a strong advocate of intellectual property (IP) protection for academic research, and an exploration of the promises and pitfalls of research commercialization is a central aspect of his work at the U.S. Library of Congress.

The article reports on electrostatic traps, control of single-molecule interactions, and a model pore system that investigates how folded proteins can go through a nanopore despite the absence of adenosine triphosphate-dependent cellular factors. A study, conducted by Liviu Movileanu and colleagues at Syracuse University and Northwestern University focused on the mechanisms of protein translocation. The discussion includes the use of α-hemolysin which is a β-barrel pore, the process of monitoring transpore movement of proteins around cell compartments and membranes, and the implication for research on the toxic action of pathogens.

The article focuses on synaptic vesicle imaging and an optical system that has high-resolution and real-time capability for observing cell processes. The optical system--which is based on stimulated emission depiction microscopy and far-field fluorescence microscopy--was developed by Stefan Hell and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and the European Neuroscience Institute.

The article reports that carbon microelectrode arrays show more information about nerve cells communications. The author says that nerve cells communicate with one another by releasing chemical messengers across synapses or cell-cell gaps which is studied by a communication process called exocytosis. The exocytosis process use small quantities of oxidized neurotransmitters released from intracellular vesicles yet single microelectrodes miss spatial heterogeneity which is an important factor in nerve cell communication. The schematic diagram of the carbon microelectrode arrays is also presented.

The article reports on the study conducted by Weihong Tan and colleagues at the University of Florida and the National Taiwan University to develop approaches in boosting aptamer efficacy in targeting cancer cells in Florida. It states that aptamers are short oligonucleotide strands that can bind specifically to molecular targets including cell-surface proteins but they found that the binding and signaling strength of aptamers are often too weak for practical use. They developed a screening protocol, cell-SELEX, to select aptamers that accurately target whole living cells than specific molecules. The cells generate aptamers that can distinguish cancerous cells from normal ones.

The article reports on the development of an electrochemical attosyringe by researchers Michael Mirkin and colleagues in New York City. According to the researchers, electrochemical attosyringe is a low-cost device, reliable pipettor that can both draw and dispense fluids down to attoliter for cell biology studies. The device is based on the well known electrochemical phenomenon which states that the application of voltage across a liquid-liquid interface changes the surface tension at the interface. Professor Christian Amatore noted that the device can be used in several applications in nanochemistry and biology.

The article focuses on the new approach for magic-angle spinning which boosts signal detection for solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Accordingly, NMR spectroscopy is a technique which can be used to study the chemistry, structure, and dynamics of a wide range of liquid, gases, and solid down to atomic resolution without sample destruction. The solid-state NMR is done with a technique called magic-angle spinning (MAS), in which the sample is spun in a rotor surrounded by a static coil at thousands of revolutions per second at an angle of 54.7 degrees relative to the main magnetic field.

The article discusses the development of a functionalized nanocapillary array system that can recognize and capture a preselected analyte and release it, to a microfluidic device, for analysis or further manipulation by Jonathan Sweedler of the University of Illinois Urbana and Paul Bohn of the University of Notre Dame. The researchers' approach had been based on nanocapillary array membranes or NCAM, thin membranes perforated by numerous nanopores with diameters on a nanometer scale. These NCAM have been used for molecular separations, but the team set out to increase their specificity by incorporating an affinity element.

The article presents information on multiple-angle incidence resolution spectrometry (MAIRS). Developed in 2001 by surface chemist Takeshi Hasegawa of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, MAIRS could reveal molecular orientation accurately in thin films. In 1999, Hasegawa became interested in applying the classical least squares (CLS) algorithm to differentiate between linear and nonlinear responses to external stimuli in a thin film system. An 1K-based system has been imagined by him to measure both in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OP) molecular vibrations simultaneously on the same substrate to provide detailed, quantitative information about molecular orientation. Hasegawa says that the most outstanding benefits of MAIRS is its use for analysis of highly oriented thin films.

The article discusses the introduction of a new microfluidic immunoassay by Paul Yager and colleagues at the University of Washington Seattle. The measure aimed at making quantitative analysis of molecular-weight analysis of low-molecular-weight compounds rapid, simple, and routine. According to Yager, the focus in on moving testing technology from the centralized laboratory to a small, portable, and even handheld instrument, no matter how complex the test protocols. The new approach which is dubbed as the concentration gradient immunoassay, takes advantage of the diffusion of a small-molecule analyte between microfluidic streams that flow parallel to one another.

The article discusses the discovery of Christopher Striemer of the University of Rochester in New York, on a method to produce ultrathin, nanoporous silicon membranes that can be used to filter and separate and biomolecules. It has been inferred that the new material outperforms conventional polymer membrane filters, raising the possibility of increasing the efficiency of several commercial and research applications. According to Charles Martin of the University of Florida, the new technology is an interesting one because the material is made with standard microfabrication technology. Key information is further presented.

The article reports that researchers Yong Zeng and Jed Harrison of the University of Alberta have created a separation medium, premised on self-assembling nanocolloidal arrays, that offers many of the benefits of nanofabricated sorters. Zeng realized that uniform micro- and nanocolloids are capable of instantly organizing into 3D, periodic lattices with just the kind of structure that should lend itself to size-based biomolecular separation. He managed to develop a new molecular sieve system that achieved the desired separations without requiring costly and technically difficult fabrication.

The article reports that researcher Joanna Aizenberg has developed a combination of rigid silicon nanocolumns embedded in a hydrogel layer, which results in reversibly actuated surface nanostructures that alter their orientation in response to external stimuli, forming controlled and complex microstructures. Two different configurations were produced. The materials started out as an array of isolated, high-aspect-ratio rigid structures (AJRS). The silicon nanocolumns had diameters of 100-300 nm and heights of 5-8 pm. A polyacrylamide gel (PAAG) layer was then formed in the space between the AIRS and a secondary substate to make a hydrogel-AIRS (HAIRS) assembly.

The article reports on the developed approaches that are used to detect nucleic acids. Christine Keating and Sharron Penn developed the metal-surface-bound molecular beacon (MB) probe assay to provide simultaneous detection of multiple viral pathogen targets with reduced sample contamination. This is also developed to meet the needs of a highly effective, simultaneous detection and reduced contamination risk of nucleic acids detection. Moreover, MB probes also present advantages for DNA detection.

The article presents a simplified chemical model that helps explain the spatiotemporal dynamics of blood clotting, developed by Christian Kastrup, Matthew Runyon and colleagues.

The article reports that Steven Boxer and colleagues at Stanford University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of California, have demonstrated the ability to produce quantitative maps of lipid composition in artificial bilayers at resolution of ~100 nanometer by combining atomic force microscopy with secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The researchers used a method to pattern intact fluid lipid bilayers on a silicon wafer and prepared the supported lipid membranes from vesicles containing equal mole fractions of N-labeled 1,2-dilauroylphoshatidylcholine and C-labeled 1,2-distearoylphosphatidylcholine.

The article reports that Walther Parson and colleagues at the Institute of Legal Medicine at Innsbruck Medical University in Austria have turned to mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) and multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) typing of single nucleotide polymorphisms in searching for new and efficient ways to analyze crime-scene specimens. Results found out that the 23-plex-PCR assay was effective at discriminating among mtDNA samples from 90 West Eurasian male individuals with a high power of discrimination and sensitivity.

The article presents an analysis of subcellular measurements of D-amino acids. The amino acid n-aspartate (n-Asp), has been identified from the central nervous system of every living animals. The molecule is released from various tissues under electrical or chemical stimulation, and an aluminum-n-Asp complex was recently found to be a major cause of topological changes in the structure of super-coiled DNA. In spite of the involvement in cell-cell signaling, and the processes in the cell nucleus, this enantionier's biological role continues to remain mysterious. However, there is a lack of an effective assay for subcellular determination of D-Asp and other neurochemicals. The use of antibodies for quantitative analysis of D-amino acids in biological tissues has turned out to be very difficult. The introduction of glycerol into the extracellular physiological media during sample preparation allows to stabilize cellular morphology, and keeps the cell hydrated, even during sample manipulations in air.