This book focuses on the characterisation of the chiral and topological nature of magnetic skyrmions in noncentrosymmetric helimagnets. In these materials, the skyrmion lattice phase appears as a long-range-ordered, close-packed grid of nearly millimetre-level correlation length, while the size of a single skyrmion is 3-100 nm. This is a very challenging range of length scales (spanning 5 orders of magnitude from tens of nm to mm) for magnetic characterisation techniques, and, to date, extensive information on this fascinating, magnetically ordered state has remained elusive. In response, this work develops novel resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS) techniques, which allow the magnetic structure, including the long-range order and domain formation, as well as microscopic skyrmion parameters, to be measured across the full range of length scales. Most importantly, using circular dichroism in REXS, the internal structure of a given skyrmion, the topological winding number, and the skyrmion helicity angle can all be unambiguously determined. These new techniques are applicable to many materials systems, and allow us to retrieve information on modulated spin structures, multiferroic order, spin-density-waves, and other forms of topological magnetic order.

This thesis addresses fundamental scientific questions such as: How are complex natural products synthesized in vivo? Can we replicate these conditions in a laboratory environment? What is the biological function of such secondary metabolites? What are the biological origins of chirality? These issues are explored in an accessible manner using a multidisciplinary approach spanning chemistry, biology and physics to investigate an interesting family of complex natural products isolated from marine molluscs - the tridachiahydropyrones. The work has achieved: Elegant biomimetic syntheses of a number of the tridachiahydropyrone compounds in vitro using organic synthesis techniques The characterization of the interactions between these compounds and a range of model membrane systems using a series of fluorescence spectroscopic studies The investigation of the antioxidant and photoprotective properties of the compounds by means of biophysical assay techniques The synthesis of tridachiahydropyrone utilizing the model membrane systems as biomimetic reaction media.

Leading researchers discuss the past and present of chromatography

More than one hundred years after Mikhail Tswett pioneered adsorption chromatography, his separation technique has developed into an important branch of scientific study. Providing a full portrait of the discipline, "Chromatography: A Science of Discovery" bridges the gap between early, twentieth-century chromatography and the cutting edge of today's research.

Featuring contributions from more than fifty award-winning chromatographers, "Chromatography" offers a multifaceted look at the development and maturation of this field into its current state, as well as its importance across various scientific endeavors. The coverage includes:

Consideration of chromatography as a unified science rather than just a separation method

Key breakthroughs, revolutions, and paradigm shifts in chromatography

Profiles of Nobel laureates who used chromatography in their research, and the role it played

Recent advances in column technology

Chromatography's contributions to the agricultural, space, biological/medical sciences; pharmaceutical science; and environmental, natural products, and chemical analysis

Future trends in chromatography

With numerous references and an engaging series of voices, "Chromatography: A Science of Discovery" offers a diverse look at an essential area of science. It is a unique and invaluable resource for researchers, students, and other interested readers who seek a broader understanding of this field.

After decades of dominance of genetics and genomics, the importance of structural biology is growing exponentially in the field of plant biology. The main objectives of this new book series is to "demystify" structural biology for plant researchers and to provide important insights into the basic molecular mechanisms underlying plant development through the diverse approaches utilized by structural biologists. The book series starts with a theme dedicated to hormonal signaling that has benefited from the application of structural biology. "Plant Structural Biology: Hormonal Regulations" provides up-to-date knowledge of the structural aspects of hormonal signal recognition, signal transduction, hormonal control of downstream regulatory pathways and hormonal crosstalk. The most distinctive features of this book as well as future titles is/will be to provide overview of cutting-edge research in the field of plant structural biology, and to serve as a compendium of various approaches that could be applied to problems being solved in modern plant biology. Last but not least, we hope this book will facilitate and broaden the community of (not only) plant scientists who are interested in structural biology approaches and tools. For these reasons, the style of this series is concise and general, in order to avoiding unnecessary details. Explanatory boxes describing the basics of specific approaches (e.g. X-ray crystallography, NMR, SAXS, molecular dynamics simulations, etc.) are included.

Working in the lab, but unsure what your results actually mean? Would you like to know how to applytrueness tests, calculate standard deviations, estimate measurement uncertainties or test for linearity? This book offers you a problem-based approach to analytical quality assurance (AQA). After a short introduction into required fundamentals, various topics such as statistical tests, linear regression and calibration, tool qualification or method validation are presented in the form of exercises for self-study. Solutions are provided in a clear step-by-step manner. Interactive Excel-sheets are available as Extra Materials for trying out the various concepts. For professionals as well as graduate students confronted with analytical quality assurance for the first time, this book will be the clue to meeting such challenges.

This book provides a line of communication between academia and end users/practitioners to advance forensic science and boost its contribution to criminal investigations and court cases. By covering the state of the art of promising technologies for the analysis of trace evidence using a controlled vocabulary, this book targets the forensics community as well as, crucially, informing the end users on novel and potential forensic opportunities for the fight against crime. By reporting end users commentaries at the end of each chapter, the relevant academic community is provided with clear indications on where to direct further technological developments in order to meet the law requirements for operational deployment, as well as the specific needs of the end users. Promising chemistry based technologies and analytical techniques as well as techniques that have already shown to various degrees an operational character are covered. The majority of the techniques covered have imaging capabilities, that is the ability to visualize the distribution of the target molecules within the trace evidence recovered. This feature enhances intelligibility of the information making it also accessible to a lay audience such as that typically found with a court jury. Trace evidence discussed in this book include fingermarks, bodily fluids, hair, gunshot residues, soil, ink and questioned documents thus covering a wide range of possible evidence recovered at crime scenes.

A concise, up-to-date overview of the applications of mass spectrometry

To be able to estimate the potentiality of grapes and how it may be transferred into wine is key to grasping enological chemistry. Nowadays, mass spectrometry is a crucial aspect in ensuring the production, the quality, and the safety of grape, wine, and grape derivative products. Mass Spectrometry in Grape and Wine Chemistry examines in depth the relationship between the high structural identification power of mass spectrometry techniques and the chemistry of grapes and wine.

The text is divided into two parts. The first section provides an overview of mass spectrometry methods in relation to enology in three chapters. The second section offers seven chapters on wine chemistry as well as traditional topics and new developments in mass spectrometry. Mass Spectrometry in Grape and Wine Chemistry explores many mass spectrometry applications, including:

Ionization methods

Mass analyzers and mass measurements

Mass spectrometry methodologies

Grape aroma compounds

Volatile and aroma compounds in wines

Grape and wine polyphenols

Compounds released by wood into wine

Wine defects caused by compounds

Pesticide detection analysis

Peptides and proteins of grape and wine

Written by leading experts in the field, this book presents an introduction to mass spectrometry and outlines ways to maximize quality control and product safety for the best results. Mass Spectrometry in Grape and Wine Chemistry is an essential handbook for laboratories working in enology.

This book provides an essential overview of existing state-of-the-art quantitative imaging methodologies and protocols (intensity-based ratiometric and FLIM/ PLIM). A variety of applications are covered, including multi-parametric quantitative imaging in intestinal organoid culture, autofluorescence imaging in cancer and stem cell biology, Ca2+ imaging in neural ex vivo tissue models, as well as multi-parametric imaging of pH and viscosity in cancer biology. The current state-of-the-art of 3D tissue models and their compatibility with live cell imaging is also covered. This is an ideal book for specialists working in tissue engineering and designing novel biomaterial.

In this data book, both conventional Py-GC/MS where thermal energy alone is used to cause fragmentation of given polymeric materials and reactive Py-GC/MS in the presence of organic alkaline for condensation polymers are compiled. Before going into detailed presentation of the data, however, acquiring a firm grip on the proper understanding about the situation of Py-GC/MS would promote better utilization of the following pyrolysis data for various polymers samples.

This book incorporates recent technological advances in analytical pyrolysis methods especially useful for the characterization of 163 typical synthetic polymers. The book briefly reviews the instrumentation available in advanced analytical pyrolysis, and offers guidance to perform effectually this technique combining with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Main contents are comprehensive sample pyrograms, thermograms, identification tables, and representative mass spectra (MS) of pyrolyzates for synthetic polymers. This edition also highlights thermally-assisted hydrolysis and methylation technique effectively applied to 33 basic condensation polymers.

Coverage of Py-GC/MS data of conventional pyrograms and thermograms of basic 163 kinds of synthetic polymers together with MS and retention index data for pyrolyzates, enabling a quick identification

Additional coverage of the pyrograms and their related data for 33 basic condensation polymers obtained by the thermally-assisted hydrolysis and methylation technique

All compiled data measured under the same experimental conditions for pyrolysis, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to facilitate peak identification

Surveyable instant information on two facing pages dedicated to the whole data of a given polymer sample .

This comprehensive book covers the environmental issues concerning silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Following an introduction to the history, properties and applications, the environmental concerns of AgNPs is discussed. In the second chapter, the separation, characterization and quantification of AgNPs in environment samples are described in detail. In the remaining parts of the book, the authors focus on the environmental processes and effects of AgNPs, with chapters on the pathway into environment, fate and transport, toxicological effects and mechanisms, as well as the environmental bioeffects and safety-assessment of AgNPs in the environment. This book is designed to describe current understanding of the environmental aspects of AgNPs. It provides a valuable resource to students and researchers in environmental science and technology, nanotechnology, toxicology, materials science and ecology; as well as to professionals involved in the production and consumption of AgNPs in various areas including catalysis, food products, textiles/fabrics, and medical products and devices. Jingfu Liu and Guibin Jiang are professors at State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Proceedings of the 4th Joint International Conference on Hyperfine Interactions and International Symposium on Nuclear Quadrupole Interactions, HFI/NQI 2012 held in Beijing, China, September 10-14, 2012. The hyperfine interaction between the atomic nucleus and the surrounding charge distribution and the magnetic fields at the site of the nucleus remains a topic of high scientific interest. To this we have to add the field of nuclear quantum optics where the hyperfine interaction takes place between the atomic nucleus and synchrotron radiation. The study of this hyperfine interaction allows to shift the existing borders of scientific insight both in the properties of the atomic nucleus as in the properties of the solids and liquids in which it is imbedded. The 47 scientific contributions in this book describe studies presented at the HFI/NQI2012 conference. These studies are devoted to topics such as nuclear moments, nuclear polarization, fundamental interactions, magnetism and magnetic materials, semiconductors, metals, insulators, practical applications, developments in methodology and new directions in the field of hyperfine interactions.

The book is devoted to the modern theory and experimental manifestation of Polarization Bremsstrahlung (PB) which arises due to scattering of charged particles from various targets: atoms, nanostructures (including atomic clusters, nanoparticle in dielectric matrix, fullerens, graphene-like two-dimensional atomic structure) and in condensed matter (monocrystals, polycrystals, partially ordered crystals and amorphous matter) The present book addresses mainly researchers interested in the radiative processes during the interaction between fast particles and matter. It also will be useful for post-graduate students specializing in radiation physics and related fields.

As a spectroscopic method, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has seen spectacular growth, both as a technique and in its applications. Today's applications of NMR span a wide range of scientific disciplines, from physics to biology to medicine. Each volume of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance comprises a combination of annual and biennial reports which together provide comprehensive coverage of the literature on this topic. This Specialist Periodical Report reflects the growing volume of published work involving NMR techniques and applications, in particular NMR of natural macromolecules, which is covered in two reports: NMR of Proteins and Nucleic Acids and NMR of Carbohydrates, Lipids and Membranes. In his foreword to the first volume, the then editor, Professor Robin Harris announced that the series would be a discussion on the phenomena of NMR and that articles will be critical surveys of the literature. This has certainly remained the case throughout the series, and in line with its predecessors, Volume 40 aims to provide a comprehensive coverage of the relevant NMR literature. For the current volume this relates to publications appearing between June 2009 and May 2010 (the nominal period of coverage in volume 1 was July 1970 to June 1971). Compared to the previous volume there are some new members of the reporting team. Theoretical Aspects of Spin-Spin Couplings are covered by J. Jazwinski, while E. Swiezewska and J.W3/4jcik provide an account of NMR of Carbohydrates, Lipids and Membranes.

Advances in the synthesis of new materials with often complex, nano-scaled structures require increasingly sophisticated experimental techniques that can probe the electronic states, the atomic magnetic moments and the magnetic microstructures responsible for the properties of these materials.

At the same time, progress in synchrotron radiation techniques has ensured that these light sources remain a key tool of investigation, e.g. synchrotron radiation sources of the third generation are able to support magnetic imaging on a sub-micrometer scale.

With the Fifth Mittelwihr School on Magnetism and Synchrotron Radiation the tradition of teaching the state-of-the-art on modern research developments continues and is expressed through the present set of extensive lectures provided in this volume. While primarily aimed at postgraduate students and newcomers to the field, this volume will also benefit researchers and lecturers actively working in the field.

The first edition of this classic book remains one of the very few introductory books covering both theoretical and practical aspects of thermal analysis (TA). This new edition includes a much enlarged section on MDSC, in which the instrument is described and a critical appraisal of the technique presented. Other additions include new sections on rate-controlled TGA, OTTER, and Specific Heat Spectroscopy, and a thoroughly updated section on X-Ray DSC. This very practical book is a must for people who use thermal analysis techniques in their everyday work. "An excellent introductory text" — Review of 1st Edition.

The book is based on lectures presented on the International Summer School on Biophysics held in Croatia in September 2009. The advantage of the School is that it provides advanced training in very broad scope of areas related to biophysics contrary to other similar schools or workshops that are centered mainly on one topic or technique. In this volume, tenth in the row, the papers in the field of biophysics are presented. The topics are biological phenomena from single protein to macromolecular aggregations structure by using variant physical methods (NMR, EPR, FTIR, Mass Spectrometry, etc.). The interrelationship of supramolecular structures and their functions is enlightened by applications of principals of these physical methods in the biophysical and molecular biology context.

By selecting the ?rst week of June 2008 for the Nobel Symposium "Single Molecular Spectroscopy in Chemistry, Physics and Biology", Rudolf Rigler, Jerker Widengren and Astrid Grasl .. und have once again won the top prize for Meeting Organizers, providing us with a Mediterranean climate on top of the warm hospitality that is unique to Sweden. The S? anga Sab .. y Conference Center was an ideal place to spend this wonderful week, and the comfort of this beautiful place blended perfectly with the high calibre of the scienti?c programme. It was a special privilege for me to be able to actively participate in this meeting on a ?eld that is in many important ways complementary to myownresearch. Iwasimpressedbytheinterdisciplinarywaysinwhichsingle molecule spectroscopy has evolved and is currently pursued, with ingredients originating from physics, all branches of chemistry and a wide range of b- logical and biomedical research. A beautiful concert by Semmy Stahlhammer and Johan Ull' en further extended the interdisciplinary character of the s- posium. I would like to combine thanks to Rudolf, Jerker and Astrid with a glance into a future of other opportunities to enjoy top-levelscience combined with warm hospitality in the Swedish tradition. Z.. urich, Kurt Wuth .. rich April 2009 Participants of the Nobel-Symposium 138: First row: Sarah Unterko?er, Anders Liljas, Xiao-Dong Su, Birgitta Rigler, Carlos Bus- mante, Toshio Yanagida, Steven Block, Xiaowei Zhuang, Sunney Xie. Second row: Ivan Scheblykin, Lars Thelander, Petra Schwille, Watt W.

Volume 5: Elemental and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry

This volume focuses on (1) the plethora of mostly atomic ionization techniques that have been coupled to MS for elemental analysis, the measurement of isotope ratios, and even the determination of inorganic compounds and (2) the precise measurement of isotope ratios of organic elements as small gas molecules by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Chapter 1 contains a description of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) MS, its requirements for sample preparation and introduction. The chapter also covers argon ICP, ion extraction, various mass analyzers, and the numerous application areas including environmental, geochemical, biomedical, nuclear, semiconductor, and speciation. Other atomic sources include the microwave plasma, which can be used as either an atomic ionization source or as a soft molecular ionization source, flames, spark sources, and glow discharges, including the types of mass spectrometers and separation approaches to which interfaces can be made.

Chapter 2 discusses the application of electrospray ionization (EI) MS, also described in Volume 6, to inorganic analysis. Secondary ion and neutral MS (Chapter 3) can be used to determine trace elements in solids, particularly on their surface, with high spatial resolution. Atmospheric aerosols can also be studied using laser(s) for desorption and ionization of analytes in solids (Chapter 4). Thermal ionization MS, where sample atoms or molecules are ionized as they evaporate from the surface of a hot filament, is the focus of Chapter 5. Special applications are in Chapter 6, which covers accelerator MS, and Chapter 7, where large calutrons can be contrasted to the small analyzers that are taken aboard spacecraft, for example.

Chapter 8 focuses on IRMS for precise isotope ratio measurements. The highest level of precision can only be accomplished through use of a mass spectrometer specifically esigned for the purpose of making differential measurements. A key advance is direct conversion of organic compounds into small gas molecules for measurement, leading to important uses ranging from geology to biomedical sciences.

* reviews the wide range of ionization and isotope methods used in inorganic mass spectrometry today * features tutorials describing the key principles and instrumentation relevant to each method * evaluates practical applications for the analysis of environmental, biological, biomedical, nutritional, geological, nuclear, microelectronic and extra-terrestrial materials * includes more than 3400 references, 100 tables and 500 figures of which more than 200 are in color

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) highlights major developments in this area, with results being set into the context of earlier work and presented as a set of critical yet coherent overviews. The topics covered describe contrasting types of application, ranging from biological areas such as EPR studies of free-radical reactions in biology and medically-related systems, to experimental developments and applications involving EPR imaging, the use of very high fields, and time-resolved methods. Critical and up-to-the-minute reviews of advances involving the design of spin-traps, advances in spin-labelling, paramagnetic centres on solid surfaces, exchange-coupled oligomers, metalloproteins and radicals in flavoenzymes are also included. 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.

Rapid advances in chromatographic procedures, spectroscopic techniques and pharmacological assay methods have resulted in the discovery of an increasing number of new and interesting natural products from terrestrial and marine sources. The present volume contains comprehensive reviews on some of the major advances in this field which have taken place in recent years. The reviews include those on: novel metabolites from marine gastropods; the chemistry of marine natural products of the Halenaquinol family; secondary metabolites from Echinoderms and Bryozoans; triterpenoids and aromatic compounds from medicinal plants; chemistry and activity of sesquiterpenes from the genus Lactarius; the chemistry of bile alcohols; antifungal sesquiterpene dialdehydes; annonaceous acetogenins; nargenicin macrolides; and lignans and diarylheptanoids. Tropane alkaloids and phenolides formed by root cultures are also reviewed. Articles on natural Diels-Alder type adducts, the use of computer aided overlay for modelling the substrate binding domain of HLADH, applications of 170 NMR spectroscopy to natural product chemistry and the role of biological raw materials in synthesis are included. Volume 17 provides material of interest to natural products chemists.

This book presents the principle ideas of combining different analytical techniques in multi-dimensional analysis schemes. It reviews the basic principles and instrumentation of multi- dimensional chromatography and the hyphenation of liquid chromatography with selective spectroscopic detectors and presents experimental protocols for the analysis of complex polymers. It is the consequent continuation of "HPLC of Polymers" from 1999 by the same authors. Like its 'predecessor', this book discusses the theoretical background, equipment, experimental procedures and applications for each separation technique, but in contrast treats multi-dimensional and coupled techniques. "Multidimensional HPLC of Polymers" intends to review the state of the art in polymer chromatography and to summarize the developments in the field during the last 15 years. With its tutorial and laboratory manual style it is written for beginners as well as for experienced chromatographers, and will enable its readers (polymer chemists, physicists and material scientists, as well as students of polymer and analytical sciences) to optimize the experimental conditions for their specific separation problems.

In the first volume, Professors Poole and Farach provided one of the first definitive reference tools for this field. In this second volume, the authors present a comprehensive source for subfields of ESR not covered in the first volume, including: * Sensitivity * Field Swept versus Frequency Swept Spectra * Resonators * Line Shapes * Electron Spin Echo Envelope Modulation * Hamiltonian types and symmetries * ESR Imaging * High Magnetic Fields and High Frequencies. Written by recognized experts in the field, and intended for students and researchers, these handbooks bring together wide-ranging data from diverse disciplines within ESR, and then integrate it into a comprehesive and definitive resource. An invaluable reference for all those involved in ESR research.

The major theme of this book is analytical approaches to trace metal and speciation analysis in biological specimens. The emphasis is on the reliable determination of a number of toxicologically and environmentally important metals. It is essentially a handbook based on the practical experience of each individual author. The scope ranges from sampling and sample preparation to the application of various modern and well-documented methods, including quality assessment and control and statistical treatment of data. Practical advice on avoiding sample contamination is included.

In the first part, the reader is offered an introduction into the basic principles and methods, starting with sampling, sample storage and sample treatment, with the emphasis on sample decomposition. This is followed by a description of the potential of atomic absorption spectrometry, atomic emission spectrometry, voltammetry, neutron activation analysis, isotope dilution analysis, and the possibilities for metal speciation in biological specimens. Quality control and all approaches to achieve reliable data are treated in chapters about interlaboratory and intralaboratory surveys and reference methods, reference materials and statistics and data evaluation.

The chapters of the second part provide detailed information on the analysis of thirteen trace metals in the most important biological specimens. The following metals are treated in great detail: Aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, selenium, manganese, nickel, mercury, thallium, vanadium and zinc.

The book will serve as a valuable aid for practical analysis in biomedical laboratories and for researchers involved with trace metal and species analysis in clinical, biochemical and environmental research.