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.

This Springer Laboratory volume is a practical guide for scientists and students dealing with the measurement of mechanical properties of polymers at the nanoscale through AFM force-distance curves. In the first part of the book the reader will find a theoretical introduction about atomic force microscopy, focused on force-distance curves, and mechanical properties of polymers. The discussion of several practical issues concerning the acquisition and the interpretation of force-distance curves will help scientists starting to employ this technique. The second part of the book deals with the practical measurement of mechanical properties of polymers by means of AFM force-distance curves. Several "hands-on" examples are illustrated in a very detailed manner, with particular attention to the sample preparation, data analysis, and typical artefacts. This section gives a complete overview about the qualitative characterization and quantitative determination of the mechanical properties of homogeneous polymer samples, polymer brushes, polymer thin films, confined polymer samples, model blends and microstructured polymer blends through AFM force-distance curves. The book also introduces to new approaches and measurement techniques, like creep compliance and force modulation measurements, pointing out approximations, limitations and issues requiring further confirmation.

How to design, execute, and interpret experiments for protein sequencing using mass spectrometry

The rapid expansion of searchable protein and DNA databases in recent years has triggered an explosive growth in the application of mass spectrometry to protein sequencing. This timely and authoritative book provides professionals and scientists in biotechnology research with complete coverage of procedures for analyzing protein sequences by mass spectrometry, including step-by-step guidelines for sample preparation, analysis, and data interpretation.

Michael Kinter and Nicholas Sherman present their own high-quality, laboratory-tested protocols for the analysis of a wide variety of samples, demonstrating how to carry out specific experiments and obtain fast, reliable results with a 99% success rate. Readers will get sufficient experimental detail to apply in their own laboratories, learn about the proper selection and operation of instruments, and gain essential insight into the fundamental principles of mass spectrometry and protein sequencing. Coverage includes:

• Peptide fragmentation and interpretation of product ion spectra
  
• Basic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
  
• Preparation of protein digests for sequencing experiments
  
• Mass spectrometric analysis using capillary liquid chromatography
  
• Techniques for protein identification by database searches
  
• Characterization of modified peptides using tandem mass spectrometry
  

And much more

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the main nuclear characterization techniques used to study hydrogen absorption and desorption in materials. The various techniques (neutron scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, ion-beams, positron annihilation spectroscopy) are explained in detail, and a variety of examples of recent research projects are given to show the unique advantage of these techniques to study hydrogen in materials. Most of these nuclear techniques require very specialized instrumentation, and there are only a handful of these instruments available worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this book is to reach out to a readership with a very diverse background in the physical sciences and engineering and a broad range of hydrogen-related research interests. The same technique can be used by researchers interested in the improvement of the performance of hydrogen storage materials and by those focused on hydrogen ingress causing embrittlement of metals. The emphasis of this book is to provide tutorial material on how to use nuclear characterization techniques for the investigation of hydrogen in materials - information that cannot readily be found in conference and regular research papers. Provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear techniques used for hydrogen-related research Explains all nuclear techniques in detail for the non-expert Covers the whole range of hydrogen-related research Features chapters written by world-renowned experts in nuclear technique and hydrogen-related research

This is the fifth volume in a series of Lecture Notes based on the highly successful Euro Summer School on Exotic Beams. The aim of these notes is to provide a thorough introduction to radioactive ion-beam physics at the level of graduate students and young postdocs starting out in the field. Each volume covers a range of topics from nuclear theory to experiment and applications. Vol I has been published as LNP 651, Vol II as LNP 700, Vol. III as LNP 764 and Vol. IV as LNP 879.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, one of the most powerful and flexible techniques available for the analysis and characterization of materials today, has gone through major changes during the past decade.

Fully revised and expanded by 30%, X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Second Edition incorporates the latest industrial and scientific trends in all areas. It updates all previous material and adds new chapters on such topics as the history of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, the design of X-ray spectrometers, state-of-the-art applications, and X-ray spectra.

Ron Jenkins draws on his extensive experience in training and consulting industry professionals for this clear and concise treatment, covering first the basic aspects of X rays, then the methodology of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and available instrumentation. He offers a comparison between wavelength and energy dispersive spectrometers as well as step-by-step guidelines to X-ray spectrometric techniques for qualitative and quantitative analysis—from specimen preparation to real-world industrial application.

Favored by the American Chemical Society and the International Centre for Diffraction Data, X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Second Edition is an ideal introduction for newcomers to the field and an invaluable reference for experienced spectroscopists—in chemical analysis, geology, metallurgy, and materials science.

An up-to-date review of X-ray spectroscopic techniques. This proven guidebook for industry professionals is thoroughly updated and expanded to reflect advances in X-ray analysis over the last decade. X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Second Edition includes:

• The history of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry—new to this edition.
• A critical review of the most useful X-ray spectrometers.
• Techniques and procedures for quantitative and qualitative analysis.
• Modern applications and industrial trends.
• X-ray spectra—new to this edition.

Combines clear and concise discussions of key NMR concepts with succinct and illustrative examples Designed to cover a full course in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy, this text offers complete coverage of classic (one-dimensional) NMR as well as up-to-date coverage of two-dimensional NMR and other modern methods. It contains practical advice, theory, illustrated applications, and classroom-tested problems; looks at such important ideas as relaxation, NOEs, phase cycling, and processing parameters; and provides brief, yet fully comprehensible, examples. It also uniquely lists all of the general parameters for many experiments including mixing times, number of scans, relaxation times, and more. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Principles, Applications, and Experimental Methods, 2nd Edition begins by introducing readers to NMR spectroscopy - an analytical technique used in modern chemistry, biochemistry, and biology that allows identification and characterization of organic, and some inorganic, compounds. It offers chapters covering: Experimental Methods; The Chemical Shift; The Coupling Constant; Further Topics in One-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy; Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy; Advanced Experimental Methods; and Structural Elucidation. Features classical analysis of chemical shifts and coupling constants for both protons and other nuclei, as well as modern multi-pulse and multi-dimensional methods Contains experimental procedures and practical advice relative to the execution of NMR experiments Includes a chapter-long, worked-out problem that illustrates the application of nearly all current methods Offers appendices containing the theoretical basis of NMR, including the most modern approach that uses product operators and coherence-level diagrams By offering a balance between volumes aimed at NMR specialists and the structure-determination-only books that focus on synthetic organic chemists, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Principles, Applications, and Experimental Methods, 2nd Edition is an excellent text for students and post-graduate students working in analytical and bio-sciences, as well as scientists who use NMR spectroscopy as a primary tool in their work.

Plasmons - quantized plasma oscillations at the interface of a metal and a dielectric allow for novel applications in sensing and micro-electronics. This graduate textbook introduces the required aspects of classical electrodynamics as well as basics of free electron plasmas. Further, the creation of polaritons due to plasmon interaction with light is discussed. Besides theory, computational methods for electrodynamics are introduced.

This book highlights what is now achievable in terms of materials characterization with the new generation of cold-field emission scanning electron microscopes applied to real materials at high spatial resolution. It discusses advanced scanning electron microscopes/scanning- transmission electron microscopes (SEM/STEM), simulation and post-processing techniques at high spatial resolution in the fields of nanomaterials, metallurgy, geology, and more. These microscopes now offer improved performance at very low landing voltage and high -beam probe current stability, combined with a routine transmission mode capability that can compete with the (scanning-) transmission electron microscopes (STEM/-TEM) historically run at higher beam accelerating voltage

This book provides an overview of recent developments in experiments probing the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states of the second Landau level, especially the \nu=5/2 state. It summarizes the state-of-the-art understanding of these FQH states. It furthermore describes how the properties of the FQH states can be probed experimentally, by investigating tunneling and confinement properties. The progress towards the realization of an experiment, allowing to probe the potentially non-Abelian statistics of the quasiparticle excitations at \nu=5/2 is discussed. The book is intended as a reference for graduate students, PostDocs and researchers starting in the field. The experimental part of this book gives practical advice for solving the experimental challenges which researchers studying highly fragile FQH states are faced with.

This thesis reports results of precision mass spectrometry of exotic nuclides as a means of elucidating their structure. The work was performed with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer at CERN's ISOLDE facility. The author furthermore offers an overview of existing techniques used in Penning-trap mass spectrometry and also reports on recent promising developments regarding ISOLTRAP. This eloquently written treatment covers both theory and experiment, and includes a general phenomenological introduction to the nuclear-structure intuition contained in the trends of nuclear binding energies.

This thesis presents a highly innovative study of the ultrafast structural and vibrational dynamics of hydrated phospholipids, the basic constituents of cell membranes. As a novel approach to the water-phospholipid interface, the author studies phosphate vibrations using the most advanced methods of nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy, including femtosecond two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy. He shows for the first time that the structure of interfacial water undergoes very limited fluctuations on a 300 fs time scale and that the lifetimes of hydrogen bonds with the phospholipid are typically longer than 10 ps. Such properties originate from the steric hindrance of water fluctuations at the interface and the orienting action of strong electric fields from the phospholipid head group dipoles. In an extensive series of additional experiments, the vibrational lifetimes of the different vibrations and the processes of energy dissipation are elucidated in detail.

Ambient mass spectrometry-that is the use of mass spec but in the atmospheric environment-has been widely employed in food and environmental analysis. Ambient Mass Spectroscopy Techniques in Food and the Environment presents the theoretical underpinnings of mass spectrometry, and the benefits and pitfalls of ambient mass spectrometry, as well as the latest developments of the technique, in the analysis of food and environmental parameters. It describes methods that enable the detection of surface materials like waxes, alkaloids, flavors, or pesticides by plainly exposing the corresponding items to the ionization region of the interface, without harm to samples. Features: Explains the theoretical aspects of ambient mass spectrometry Describes how to use ambient MS techniques for food safety, authenticity, and traceability screening Lists the benefits of ambient MS in analysis of food and environmental parameters Covers recent developments of ambient MS in analysis of food and environmental parameters The specialized work provides insight to professionals practicing in food and the environment, including food scientists, food engineers, food biotechnologists, chemical engineers, and those working in research labs, universities, and government regulatory agencies.

This thesis examines various aspects of excess excitation energy dissipation via dynamic changes in molecular structure, vibrational modes and solvation. The computational work is carefully described and the results are compared to experimental data obtained using femtosecond spectroscopy and x-ray scattering. The level of agreement between theory and experiment is impressive and provides both a convincing validation of the method and significant new insights into the chemical dynamics and molecular determinants of the experimental data. Hence, the method presented in the thesis has the potential to become a very important contribution to the rapidly growing field of femtosecond x-ray science, a trend reflected in the several free-electron x-ray lasers (XFELs) currently being built around the world. Light-induced chemical processes are accompanied by molecular motion of electrons and nuclei on the femtosecond time scale. Uncovering these dynamics is central to our understanding of the chemical reaction on a fundamental level. Asmus O. Dohn has implemented a highly efficient QM/MM Direct Dynamics method for predicting the solvation dynamics of transition metal complexes in solution.

This book explores the mechanism of alkali-metal ion/molecule association reaction, surveys the instrumental basis to study its kinetic, and describes the instrumentation to the measurement of alkali-metal ion affinities. The applications of the ion complexation mechanism in the condensed phase in reaction to direct analysis MS are also covered. Other topics include mechanism and reaction rate, experimental and theoretical ion affinities, applications of ion attachment reactions (IAR) to mass spectrometry such as alkali ion CIMS, ion attachment MS and cationization mass spectrometry of ESI, FAB, FD, LD, MALDI and SIMS and topics of IAR-based direct analysis mass spectrometry.

This multi-author contributed volume gives a comprehensive overview of recent progress in various vibrational spectroscopic techniques and chemometric methods and their applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. In order to meet the needs of readers, the book focuses on recent advances in technical development and potential exploitations of the theory, as well as the new applications of vibrational methods to problems of recent general interest that were difficult or even impossible to achieve in the not so distant past. Integrating vibrational spectroscopy and computational approaches serves as a handbook for people performing vibrational spectroscopy followed by chemometric analysis hence both experimental methods as well as procedures of recommended analysis are described. This volume is written for individuals who develop new methodologies and extend these applications to new realms of chemical and medicinal interest.

Given the inherent complexity of food products, most instrumental techniques employed for quality and authenticity evaluation (e.g., chromatographic methods) are time demanding, expensive, and involve a considerable amount of manual labor. Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in simpler, faster, and reliable analytical methods for assessing food quality attributes. Spectroscopic Methods in Food Analysis presents the basic concepts of spectroscopic methods, together with a discussion on the most important applications in food analysis. The determination of product quality and authenticity and the detection of adulteration are major issues in the food industry, causing concern among consumers and special attention among food manufacturers. As such, this book explains why spectroscopic methods have been extensively employed to the analysis of food products as they often require minimal or no sample preparation, provide rapid and on-line analysis, and have the potential to run multiple tests on a single sample (i.e., non-destructive). This book consists of concepts related to food quality and authenticity, that are quite broad, given the different demands of the manufacturer, the consumer, the surveillance and the legislative bodies that ultimately provide healthy and safe products.

Describes the instruments and initial results of the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. This collection of papers describes the instrument and initial results obtained from the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS), one of the post-focus instruments of the 1.6 meter New Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. The FISS primarily aims at investigating structures and dynamics of chromospheric features. This instrument is a dual-band Echelle spectrograph optimized for the simultaneous recording of the H I 656.3 nm band and the Ca II 854.2 nm band. The imaging is done with the fast raster scan realized by the linear motion of a two-mirror scanner, and its quality is determined by the performance of the adaptive optics of the telescope. These papers illustrate the capability of the early FISS observations in the study of chromospheric features. Since the imaging quality has been improved a lot with the advance of the adaptive optics, one can obtain much better data with the current FISS observations. This volume is aimed at graduate students and researchers working in the field of solar physics and space sciences. Originally published in Solar Physics, Vol. 288, Issue 1, 2013, and Vol. 289, Issue 11, 2014.

It is estimated that there are about 10 million organic chemicals known, and about 100,000 new organic compounds are produced each year. Some of these new chemicals are made in the laboratory and some are isolated from natural products. The structural determination of these compounds is the job of the chemist. There are several instrumental techniques used to determine the structures of organic compounds. These include NMR, UV/visible, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography. Of all the instrumental techniques listed, infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry are the two most popular techniques, mainly because they tend to be less expensive and give us the most structural information. This book is an introductory text designed to acquaint undergraduate and graduate students with the basic theory and interpretative techniques of mass spectrometry. Much of the material in this text has been used over a period of several years for teaching courses in materials characterization and chemical analysis. It presents the mass spectra of the major classes of organic compounds and correlates the fragmentation pattern of each spectrum with the structural features of the compound it represents. This has been done for hydrocarbons, organic acids, ketones, aldehydes, esters, anhydrides, phenols, amines, and amides. The text discusses the origin of the fragments, techniques, innovations, and applications in mass spectrometry. It is interspersed with many illustrations, examples, an adequate but not overwhelming bibliography, and problems for students. It will serve as a lecture text for a one-semester course in mass spectrometry or can be used to teach the mass spectra portion of a broader course in material characterization and chemical analysis.

The Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative aims to move from a paradigm of 'testing quality in' to 'building quality in by design'. It can be defined as the optimal application of process analytical technologies, feedback process control strategies, information management tools, and/or product-process optimization strategies.Recently, there have been significant advances in process sensors and in model-based monitoring and control methodologies, leading to enormous opportunities for improved performance of food manufacturing processes and for the quality of food products with the adoption of PAT. Improvements in process efficiency, reduced product variability, enhanced traceability, process understanding, and decreased risk of contamination are some of the benefits arising from the introduction of a PAT strategy in the food industry. Process Analytical Technology for the Food Industry reviews established and emerging PAT tools with potential application within the food processing industry. The book will also serve as a reference for industry, researchers, educators, and students by providing a comprehensive insight into the objectives, challenges, and benefits of adopting a Process Analytical Technology strategy in the food industry.

This thesis identifies the turning point in chain length, after which alkanes self-solvate into a folded structure instead of an extended stretched conformation. After this turning point, London dispersion forces rearrange isolated n-alkanes into a particular hairpin-structure, while for shorter chain lengths, a simple stretched conformation is energetically preferred. This thesis can locate the experimental turning point for the first time in an interaction-free manner from measurements of unbranched alkanes at low temperatures in supersonic jet expansions. It contains a detailed analysis of the vibrational Raman spectra of the chain molecules, which is supported by comprehensive quantum chemical simulations. In this way, the detailed balance between inter-chain attraction and conformational flexibility can be quantified. The investigations are complemented by measurements of perfluoroalkanes and similarities and differences between the compounds are discussed. Furthermore, Nils Luttschwager determines the stiffnesses (elastic moduli) of two of the most common industrial polymers: polyethylene and polytetrafluorethylene. He uses in this thesis a sophisticated extrapolation to calculate this value from quantities of their building blocks, showing that the single polymer molecules can be as stiff as a rod of steel.

Crystals are everywhere, from natural crystals (minerals) through the semiconductors and magnetic materials in electronic devices and computers or piezoelectric resonators at the heart of our quartz watches to electro-optical devices. Understanding them in depth is essential both for pure research and for their applications. This book provides a clear, thorough presentation of their symmetry, both at the microscopic space-group level and the macroscopic point-group level. The implications of the symmetry of crystals for their physical properties are then presented, together with their mathematical description in terms of tensors. The conditions on the symmetry of a crystal for a given property to exist then become clear, as does the symmetry of the property. The geometrical representation of tensor quantities or properties is presented, and its use in determining important relationships emphasized. An original feature of this book is that most chapters include exercises with complete solutions. This allows readers to test and improve their understanding of the material. The intended readership includes undergraduate and graduate students in materials science and materials-related aspects of electrical and optical engineering; researchers involved in the investigation of the physical properties of crystals and the design of applications based on crystal properties such as piezoelectricity, electro-optics, optical activity and all those involved in the characterization of the structural properties of materials.

Our understanding of the rheological and seismic properties of the Earth's interior relies on interpreting geophysical observations using mineral physics data. The complexity of natural materials complicates these interpretations, but here the key features of such materials in controlling the attenuation of seismic waves are determined by a set of careful experiments. This thesis clearly explains how dynamic mechanical spectroscopy has been used to determine the visco-elastic properties of igneous and sedimentary rocks containing geological fluids. These experiments highlight, for the first time, the importance of mineral and rock microstructures as controls on geophysical properties of solids, particularly near the melting point. The results have impacts in areas ranging from volcanic processes, through the structure of the deep Earth, to fluid-saturated porous media.

"Organic Trace Analysis" presents the basics of trace analysis, from sample preparation to the measurement: Students are introduced to statistical evaluation, quality control technologies, sampling and preparation of organic traces, as well as to enrichment and separation of samples. Spectroscopic techniques as chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and receptor-based bioanalysis are presented in detail.

This volume collects a a number of contributions on spontaneous symmetry breaking. Current studies in this general field are going ahead at a full speed. The book present review chapters which give an overview on the major break throughs of recent years. It covers a number of different physical settings which are introduced when a nonlinearity is added to the underlying symmetric problems and its strength exceeds a certain critical value. The corresponding loss of symmetry, called spontaneous symmetry breaking, alias self-trapping into asymmetric states is extensively discussed in this book. The book presents both active theoretical studies of spontaneous symmetry breaking effects as well as experimental findings, chiefly for Bose-Einstein-Condensates with the self-repulsive nonlinearity, and also for photorefractive media in optics.