This book presents the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary review of the rapidly developing field of air lasing. In most applications of lasers, such as cutting and engraving, the laser source is brought to the point of service where the laser beam is needed to perform its function. However, in some important applications such as remote atmospheric sensing, placing the laser at a convenient location is not an option. Current sensing schemes rely on the detection of weak backscattering of ground-based, forward-propagating optical probes, and possess limited sensitivity. The concept of air lasing (or atmospheric lasing) relies on the idea that the constituents of the air itself can be used as an active laser medium, creating a backward-propagating, impulsive, laser-like radiation emanating from a remote location in the atmosphere. This book provides important insights into the current state of development of air lasing and its applications.

Although a large number of books are available in the fields of solvent extraction and ion exchangers (extraction by chelation or solvation), this book is the first of its kind in the field of liquid ion exchangers (extraction by ion pair formation) which is an upcoming field in solvent extraction chemistry. There are a number of monographs dealing with various aspects of solvent extraction. However, the present title deals in depth with analytical chemistry liquid ion exchangers. This monograph will be very useful to analytical chemists, environmental scientists, chemical processing and material scientists, research workers in solvent extraction as well as postgraduate students majoring in analytical chemistry.This monograph comprises of several chapters. The introduction deals with elementary ideas about liquid ion exchangers and their comparisons with the solid ion exchange resins. The chapter on solvent extraction covers the general classification of mechanisms of extraction and consideration of the extraction equilibria. There are two chapters pertaining to important characteristics and principles of extraction by both liquid anion as well as liquid cation exchangers. The rest of the chapters deal with the separation of elements with liquid ion exchangers, reverse phase partition chromatography and usage of solvent extraction in separation of metals for industrial purposes.

Over the last decade, high performance Capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) has emerged as a powerful and versatile separation technique that promises to rival high performance liquid chromatography when applied to the separation of both charged and neutral species. The high speed and high separation efficiency which can be attained using any of the various modes of HPCE has resulted in the increased use of the technique in a range of analytical environments. The procedures are, however, still in the early stages of development and several barriers remain to their adoption as the technique of choice for a range of analytical problems. One such barrier is the selection and optimization of the conditions required to achieve reproducible separations of analytes and it is in this area that this new book seeks to give assistance. The book is written by an international team of authors, drawn from both academic and industrial users, and the manufacturers of instruments. At its heart are a number of tables, divided into specific application areas. These give details of published separations of a wide range of archetypal analytes, the successful separation conditions and the matrix in which they were presented. These tables are based on separations reported since 1992 and are fully referenced to the original literature. The tables are supported by discussions of the problems that a particular area presents and the strategies and solutions adopted to overcome them. The general areas covered are biochemistry, pharmaceutical science, bioscience, ion analysis, food analysis and environmental science.

This book highlights the rapidly developing field of advanced optical methods for structural and functional brain imaging. As is known, the brain is the most poorly understood organ of a living body. It is indeed the most complex structure in the known universe and, thus, mapping of the brain has become one of the most exciting frontlines of contemporary research. Starting from the fundamentals of the brain, neurons and synapses, this book presents a streamlined and focused coverage of the core principles, theoretical and experimental approaches, and state-of-the-art applications of most of the currently used imaging methods in brain research. It presents contributions from international leaders on different photonics-based brain imaging modalities and techniques. Included are comprehensive descriptions of many of the technology driven spectacular advances made over the past few years that have allowed novel insights of the structural and functional details of neurons. The book is targeted at researchers, engineers and scientists who are working in the field of brain imaging, neuroscience and connectomics. Although this book is not intended to serve as a textbook, it will appeal to undergraduate students engaged in the specialization of brain imaging.

Dear Readers, Since the ground-breaking, Nobel-prize crowned work of Heeger, MacDiarmid, and Shirakawa on molecularly doped polymers and polymers with an alternating bonding structure at the end of the 1970s, the academic and industrial research on hydrocarbon-based semiconducting materials and devices has made encouraging progress. The strengths of semiconducting polymers are currently mainly unfolding in cheap and easily assembled thin ?lm transistors, light emitting diodes, and organic solar cells. The use of so-called "plastic chips" ranges from lightweight, portable devices over large-area applications to gadgets demanding a degree of mechanical ?exibility, which would overstress conventionaldevices based on inorganic,perfect crystals. The ?eld of organic electronics has evolved quite dynamically during the last few years; thus consumer electronics based on molecular semiconductors has gained suf?cient market attractiveness to be launched by the major manufacturers in the recent past. Nonetheless, the numerous challenges related to organic device physics and the physics of ordered and disordered molecular solids are still the subjects of a cont- uing lively debate. The future of organic microelectronics will unavoidably lead to new devi- physical insights and hence to novel compounds and device architectures of - hanced complexity. Thus, the early evolution of predictive models and precise, computationally effective simulation tools for computer-aided analysis and design of promising device prototypes will be of crucial importance.

The key element of any fluorescence sensing or imaging technology is the fluorescence reporter, which transforms the information on molecular interactions and dynamics into measurable signals of fluorescence emission. This book, written by a team of frontline researchers, demonstrates the broad field of applications of fluorescence reporters, starting from nanoscopic properties of materials, such as self-assembled thin films, polymers and ionic liquids, through biological macromolecules and further to living cell, tissue and body imaging. Basic information on obtaining and interpreting experimental data is presented and recent progress in these practically important areas is highlighted. The book is addressed to a broad interdisciplinary audience.

Chemiluminescence immunoassay is now established as one of the best alternatives to conventional radioimmunoassay for the quantitation of low concentrations of analytes in complex samples. During the last two decades the technology has evolved into analytical procedures whose performance far exceeds that of immunoassays based on the use of radioactive labels. Without the constraints of radioactivity, the scope of this type of analytical procedure has widened beyond the confines of the specialist clinical chemistry laboratory to other disciplines such as microbiology, veterinary medicine, agriculture, food and environmental testing. This is the first work to present the topic as a subject in its own right.

In order to provide a complete picture of the subject, overviews are presented of the individual areas of chemiluminescence and immunoassay with particular emphasis on the requirements for interfacing chemiluminescent and immunochemical reactions. The possible ways of configuring chemiluminescence immunoassays are described. State-of-the-art chemiluminescence immunoassay systems are covered in detail together with those systems which are commercially available.

The book is aimed at researchers and routine laboratory staff in the life sciences who wish to make use of this high-performance analytical technique and also at those interested in industrial applications of the technology in the food, agricultural and environmental sciences.

Ultrasound is an energy source that has the potential for enhancing many stages of experimental analysis, but analytical chemists generally have limited knowledge of this technique. Analytical Applications of Ultrasound lays the foundations for practicing analytical chemists to consider ways of exploiting ultrasound energy in their research. This timely and unique book covers a broad range of information about ultrasound, providing advances in ultrasound equipment and demonstrations of how this energy has been used to enhance various steps of analysis. Given the limited literature on analytical applications of ultrasound, the authors provide information from other sources that suggest ways in which we can use it in the analytical laboratory. The authors discuss the principles of ultrasound and the variables we must consider in adapting ultrasound to different problems.
* Presents an up-to-date, balanced description of the potential of Ultrasound within Analytical Chemistry
* Discusses ultrasound-based detection techniques in a systematic manner
* Provides an overview of potential applications of ultrasound in a variety of different fields

The thesis presents experimental and theoretical results about the surface dynamics and the surface Dirac fermion (DF) spectral function of the strong topological insulators Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3. The experimental results reveal the presence of a strong Kohn anomaly in the measured surface phonon dispersion of a low-lying optical mode, and the absence of surface Rayleigh acoustic phonons. Fitting the experimental data to theoretical models employing phonon Matsubara functions allowed the extraction of the matrix elements of the coupling Hamiltonian and the modifications to the surface phonon propagator that are encoded in the phonon self-energy. This allowed, for the first time, calculation of phonon mode-specific DF coupling (q) from experimental data, with average coupling significantly higher than typical values for metals, underscoring the strong coupling between optical surface phonons and surface DFs in topological insulators. Finally, to connect to experimental results obtained from photoemission spectroscopies, an electronic (DF) Matsubara function was constructed using the determined electron-phonon matrix elements and the optical phonon dispersion. This allowed calculation of the DF spectral function and density of states, allowing for comparison with photoemission and scanning tunneling spectroscopies. The results set the necessary energy resolution and extraction methodology for calculating from the DF perspective.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in modern chemical research. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors. Readership: research chemists at universities or in industry, graduate students.

This book is the first standalone book that combines research into low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) with research into millimeter-wave circuits. In compiling this book, the authors have set two research objectives. The first is to bring together the research context behind millimeter-wave circuit operation and the theory of low-noise amplification. The second is to present new research in this multi-disciplinary field by dividing the common LNA configurations and typical specifications into subsystems, which are then optimized separately to suggest improvements in the current state-of-the-art designs. To achieve the second research objective, the state-of-the-art LNA configurations are discussed and the weaknesses of state-of the art configurations are considered, thus identifying research gaps. Such research gaps, among others, point towards optimization - at a systems and microelectronics level. Optimization topics include the influence of short wavelength, layout and crosstalk on LNA performance. Advanced fabrication technologies used to decrease the parasitics of passive and active devices are also explored, together with packaging technologies such as silicon-on-chip and silicon-on-package, which are proposed as alternatives to traditional IC implementation. This research outcome builds through innovation. Innovative ideas for LNA construction are explored, and alternative design methodologies are deployed, including LNA/antenna co-design or utilization of the electronic design automation in the research flow. The book also offers the authors' proposal for streamlined automated LNA design flow, which focuses on LNA as a collection of highly optimized subsystems.

The intrinsic or natural fluorescence of proteins is perhaps the most complex area of biochemical fluorescence. Fortunately the fluorescent amino acids, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan are relatively rare in proteins. Tr- tophan is the dominant intrinsic fluorophore and is present at about one mole % in protein. As a result most proteins contain several tryptophan residues and even more tyrosine residues. The emission of each residue is affected by several excited state processes including spectral relaxation, proton loss for tyrosine, rotational motions and the presence of nearby quenching groups on the protein. Additionally, the tyrosine and tryptophan residues can interact with each other by resonance energy transfer (RET) decreasing the tyrosine emission. In this sense a protein is similar to a three-particle or mul- particle problem in quantum mechanics where the interaction between particles precludes an exact description of the system. In comparison, it has been easier to interpret the fluorescence data from labeled proteins because the fluorophore density and locations could be controlled so the probes did not interact with each other. From the origins of biochemical fluorescence in the 1950s with Prof- sor G. Weber until the mid-1980s, intrinsic protein fluorescence was more qualitative than quantitative. An early report in 1976 by A. Grindvald and I. Z. Steinberg described protein intensity decays to be multi-exponential. Attempts to resolve these decays into the contributions of individual tryp- phan residues were mostly unsuccessful due to the difficulties in resolving closely spaced lifetimes.

Integrating both theoretical and applied aspects of electrochemistry, this acclaimed monograph series presents a review of the latest advances in the field. The current volume covers ion and electron transfer across monolayers of organic surfactants, determination of current distributions governed by Laplace's equation, and three other subjects.

Miniaturization is a challenge thrown down to analytical chemistry. The replacement of conventional analytical systems by miniaturized alternatives during the last years is noticeable. Specifically, the miniaturization of traditional sample preparation techniques (e.g., solid-phase extraction or solvent extraction) led to the development of environmentally benign analytical methods. This book aims to provide an overview of the challenges and achievements inthe application of the miniaturized sample preparation methods in analytical laboratories. It includes both theoretical and practical aspects of miniaturized sample preparation approaches and hence should be of interest to researchers, students and teachers of analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, environmental sciences and environmental engineering.

Key features: Supported by the latest research and based on the state-of-the-art computational methods in high-accuracy computational spectroscopy of molecules Authored by an authority in the field Accessible to both experts and non-experts working in the area of computational and experimental spectroscopy, in addition to graduate students

This volume provides an overview of the occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants, discusses advanced chemical analysis methods, toxicological and ecotoxicological effects as well as human exposure. One focus is on pharmaceuticals, in particular antibiotics, and the problems associated with their increased use in hospitals. Other covered emerging contaminants occurring e.g. in food, water, air or soil include brominated flame retardants, polar pesticides, phthalates, phosphate esters, perfluorinated compounds, personal care products, musk fragrances, disinfection byproducts, illicit drugs, and nanomaterials. The chapters written by experts are a valuable source of information for a broad audience, such as analytical chemists, environmental chemists and engineers, toxicologists, ecotoxicologists and epidemiologists working already in this field as well as newcomers.

This is the third volume in the Reviews in Fluorescence series. To date, two volumes have been both published and well received by the scientific community. Several book reviews have also favorably described the series as an "excellent compilation of material which is well balanced from authors in both the US and Europe". Of particular mention we note the recent book review in JACS by Gary Baker, Los Alamos. In this 3rd volume we continue the tradition of publishing leading edge and timely articles from authors around the world. We hope you find this volume as useful as past volumes, which promises to be just as diverse with regard to content. Finally, in closing, we would like to thank Dr Kadir Asian for the typesetting of the entire volume and our counterparts at Springer, New York, for its timely publication. Professor Chris D. Geddes Professor Joseph R. Lakowicz August 20*^ 2005.

Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and critical review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant subject, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist with regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. Subject coverage of all volumes is very similar and publication is on an annual or biennial basis. As EPR continues to find new applications in virtually all areas of modern science, including physics, chemistry, biology and materials science, this series caters not only for experts in the field, but also those wishing to gain a general overview of EPR applications in a given area.

This thesis reports studies on the substrate specificity of crucial ketosynthase (KS) domains from trans-AT Polyketide Synthases (PKSs). Using a combination of electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and simple N-acetyl cysteamine (SNAC) substrate mimics, the specificity of a range of KS domains from the bacillaene and psymberin PKSs have been succsessfully studied with regard to the initial acylation step of KS-catalysis. In addition, the ability to alter the substrate tolerance of KS domains by simple point mutations in the active site has been demonstrated. A series of acyl-ACPs have been synthesised using a novel methodology and employed to probe the substrate specificity of both KS domains and the previously uncharcterised acyl hydrolase domain, PedC. KS-catalysed chain elongation reactions have also been conducted and monitored by ESI-MS/MS. All KS domains studied exhibited higher substrate specificity at the elongation step than in the preceeding acylation step. Furthermore, a mechanism of reversible acylation is proposed using the PsyA ACP1-KS1 di-domain. The findings in this thesis provide important insights into mechanisms of KS specificity and show that mutagenesis can be used to expand the repertoire of acceptable substrates for future PKS engineering.

Spectroscopic Properties of Inorganic and Organometallic Compounds provides a unique source of information on an important area of chemistry. Divided into sections mainly according to the particular spectroscopic technique used, coverage in each volume includes: NMR (with reference to stereochemistry, dynamic systems, paramagnetic complexes, solid state NMR and Groups 13-18); nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy; vibrational spectroscopy of main group and transition element compounds and coordinated ligands; and electron diffraction. Reflecting the growing volume of published work in this field, researchers will find this Specialist Periodical Report an invaluable source of information on current methods and applications. Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading experts in their specialist fields, this series is designed to help the chemistry community keep current with the latest developments in their field. Each volume in the series is published either annually or biennially and is a superb reference point for researchers. www.rsc.org/spr

The first edition of this book was written in 1961 when I was Morris Loeb Lecturer in Physics at Harvard. In the preface I wrote: "The problem faced by a beginner today is enormous. If he attempts to read a current article, he often finds that the first paragraph refers to an earlier paper on which the whole article is based, and with which the author naturally assumes familiarity. That reference in turn is based on another, so the hapless student finds himself in a seemingly endless retreat. I have felt that graduate students or others beginning research in magnetic resonance needed a book which really went into the details of calculations, yet was aimed at the beginner rather than the expert. " The original goal was to treat only those topics that are essential to an understanding of the literature. Thus the goal was to be selective rather than comprehensive. With the passage of time, important new concepts were becoming so all-pervasive that I felt the need to add them. That led to the second edition, which Dr. Lotsch, Physics Editor of Springer-Verlag, encouraged me to write and which helped launch the Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences. Now, ten years later, that book (and its 1980 revised printing) is no longer available. Meanwhile, workers in magnetic resonance have continued to develop startling new insights.

The primary aim of this volume is to make the chemist familiar with the numerous stationary phases and column types, with their advantages and disadvantages, to help in the selection of the most suitable phase for the type of analytes under study. The book also provides detailed information on the chemical structure, physico-chemical behaviour, experimental applicability, physical data of liquid and solid stationary phases and solid supports. Such data were previously scattered throughout the literature. To understand the processes occurring in the separation column and to offer a manual both to the beginner and to the experienced chromatographer, one chapter is devoted to the basic theoretical aspects. Further, as the effectiveness of the stationary phase can only be considered in relation to the column type, a chapter on different column types and the arrangement of the stationary phase within the column is included.

The secondary aim of this book is to stimulate the development of new and improved standardized stationary phases and columns, in order to improve the reproducibility of separations, as well as the range of applications.

The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems documents the exciting progress being made in this field of research and the continuing success of the conference series. The previous meetings have shown nearly 100% growth in abstract submissions and the fifth of the series continues this trend with nearly 400 abstracts submitted. Simultaneously the quality of the papers in this meeting remains high, as demonstrated in this publication. A broad array of topics is covered in this volume, as would be anticipated for such a highly multidisciplinary field as represented by muTotal Analysis Systems or Lab-on-a-Chip technology, the terms most commonly used to describe microfabricated devices for performing chemical and biochemical experimentation. The field remains heavily focused on microfluidic systems with only a few exceptions addressing gas phase studies. Device and system developments that address measurement problems associated with biotechnology continue to be an emphasis. The profile of electrokinetic-based separation devices for the analysis of DNA and proteins remains high and the interest in devices for cellular analysis is showing considerable growth. Further development of components and strategies for fluid transport, mixing, and dispensing are highlighted. Detection technologies that specifically address quantification issues in chemical and biochemical microsystems became a new emphasis for this meeting. Several new optical detection techniques relevant to microfluid systems are illustrated and microscale versions of NMR probes and mass spectrometers are discussed. New areas of development that are potentiallyemerging are nanofluidics- and microfluidics-based chemical synthesis. Clearly the field of miniaturized chemical and biochemical analysis systems is vibrant and continues to rapidly grow in depth, breadth, and maturity. This volume contains the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems (&mgr;TAS 2001), held in Monterey, California, on October 21&endash;25, 2001. The collection of papers included in the proceedings represents the current state of the art in microsystems for chemical and biochemical experimentation. These proceedings will be a valuable tool for those wanting to become knowledgeable in an exciting field that may well change the way experimental problems in chemistry and biology are approached in the future.