This review describes advances made toward the application of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in sensitive analysis and diagnostics. In the early sections of this review we briefly introduce the fundamentals of SERS including a discussion of SERS at the single-molecule level. Applications relevant to trace analysis, environmental monitoring, and homeland security and defense, for example high explosives and contaminant detection, are emphasized. Because the key to wider application of SERS analysis lies in the development of highly enhancing substrates, in the second half of the review we focus our attention on the extensive progress made in designing innovative soluble, supported, and ordered SERS-active nano-architectures to harness the potential of this technique toward solving current and emerging analytical tasks. No attempt or claim is made to review the field exhaustively in its entirety nor to cover all applications, but only to describe several significant milestones and progress made in these important areas and to provide some perspective on where the field is quickly moving.

There is at present an urgent need for trace detection of high explosives, with applications to screening of people, packages, luggage, and vehicles. A great concern, because of recent terrorist activities, is for the development of methods that might allow detection and identification of explosives at a stand off distance. Nearly every analytical chemical method has been or is being applied to this problem. This review outlines the properties of explosives that might be utilized in detection schemes, discusses sampling issues, presents recent method developments with particular attention to detection limits, speed of analysis, and portability, and looks towards future developments.

Shigella flexneri, the causative agent of shigellosis, is a gram-negative bacterial pathogen that initiates infection by invading cells within the colonic epithelium. Contact with host cell surfaces induces a rapid burst of protein secretion via the Shigella type III secretion system (TTSS). The first proteins secreted are IpaD, IpaB, and IpaC, with IpaB and IpaC being inserted into the host cell membrane to form a pore for translocating late effectors into the target cell cytoplasm. The resulting pathogen-host cross talk results in localized actin polymerization, membrane ruffling, and, ultimately, pathogen entry. IpaD is essential for host cell invasion, but its role in this process is just now coming to light. IpaD is a multifunctional protein that controls the secretion and presentation of IpaB and IpaC at the pathogen-host interface. We show here that antibodies recognizing the surface-exposed N terminus of IpaD neutralize Shigella's ability to promote pore formation in erythrocyte membranes. We further show that MxiH and IpaD colocalize on the bacterial surface. When TTSS needles were sheared from the Shigella surface, IpaD was found at only the needle tips. Consistent with this, IpaD localized to the exposed tips of needles that were still attached to the bacterium. Molecular analyses then showed that the IpaD C terminus is required for this surface localization and function. Furthermore, mutations that prevent IpaD surface localization also eliminate all IpaD-related functions. Thus, this study demonstrates that IpaD localizes to the TTSA needle tip, where it functions to control the secretion and proper insertion of translocators into host cell membranes.

Shigella flexneri uses its type III secretion apparatus (TTSA) to deliver invasins into human cells. This TTSA possesses an external needle with IpaD at its tip. We now show that deoxycholate promotes the stable recruitment of IpaB to the needle tip without inducing a rapid burst of type III secretion. The maintenance of IpaB at the needle tip requires a stable association of IpaD with the Shigella surface. This is the first demonstration of a translocator protein being stably associated with the TTSA needle.

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Although the mineral dolomite is abundant in ancient lowtemperature sedimentary systems, it is scarce in modern systems below 50°C. Chemical mechanism(s) enhancing its formation remain an enigma because abiotic dolomite has been challenging to synthesize at low temperature in laboratory settings. Microbial enhancement of dolomite precipitation at low temperature has been reported; however, it is still unclear exactly how microorganisms influence reaction kinetics. Here we document the abiotic synthesis of low-temperature dolomite in laboratory experiments and constrain possible mechanisms for dolomite formation. Ancient and modern seawater solution compositions, with identical pH and pCO 2 , were used to precipitate an ordered, stoichiometric dolomite phase at 30°C in as few as 20 d. Mg-rich phases nucleate exclusively on carboxylated polystyrene spheres along with calcite, whereas aragonite forms in solution via homogeneous nucleation. We infer that Mg ions are complexed and dewatered by surface-bound carboxyl groups, thus decreasing the energy required for carbonation. These results indicate that natural surfaces, including organic matter and microbial biomass, possessing a high density of carboxyl groups may be a mechanism by which ordered dolomite nuclei form. Although environments rich in organic matter may be of interest, our data suggest that sharp biogeochemical interfaces that promote microbial death, as well as those with high salinity may, in part, control carboxyl-group density on organic carbon surfaces, consistent with origin of dolomites from microbial biofilms, as well as hypersaline and mixing zone environments.biomineralization | carbonates A lthough synthesis of dolomite in laboratory settings at high temperature (80-250°C) has yielded valuable information regarding dolomite formation (1, 2), the validity of extrapolating kinetic data at 250°C down to 25°C is questionable. Synthesis of low-temperature dolomite is hindered by slow reaction kinetics (2). Kinetic inhibition is attributed to lack of solution supersaturation (3), sulfate inhibition (1), cation desolvation (4), and lack of nucleation sites (5). Laboratory precipitation at low temperature has only been successful in producing disordered dolomite: from solutions with high salinity (6); through intermittent (7) or complete dehydration (8); by using organic or inorganic compounds that effectively dewater Mg 2+ ions (9-11); or in the presence of microorganisms, their exudates, or surfaces (12, 13).Microbial dolomite has been produced in the presence of several different metabolic pathways including sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, methanotrophy, sulfide oxidation, and aerobic respiration (12-16), which may drive precipitation through the supersaturation of solutions with respect to dolomite. Recent work, however, has focused on the role of microbial cells and exopolymeric substances (EPS) as surfaces for dolomite nucleation (17). Whereas these studies clearly demonstrate that these surfaces are involved in dolomite formation, specific ...

The hepatotoxicity of thioacetamide (TA) has been known since 1948. In rats, single doses cause centrilobular necrosis accompanied by increases in plasma transaminases and bilirubin. To elicit these effects TA requires oxidative bioactivation leading first to its S-oxide (TASO) and then to its chemically reactive S,S-dioxide (TASO2) which ultimately modifies amine-lipids and proteins. To generate a suite of liver proteins adducted by TA metabolites for proteomic analysis, and to reduce the need for both animals and labeled compounds, we treated isolated hepatocytes directly with TA. Surprisingly, TA was not toxic at concentrations up to 50 mM for 40 hr. On the other hand, TASO was highly toxic to isolated hepatocytes as indicated by LDH release, cellular morphology and vital staining with Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide. TASO toxicity was partially blocked by the CYP2E1 inhibitors diallyl sulfide and 4-methylpyrazole, and was strongly inhibited by TA. Significantly, we found that hepatocytes produce TA from TASO relatively efficiently by back-reduction. The covalent binding of [14C]-TASO is inhibited by unlabeled TA which acts as a “cold-trap” for [14C]-TA and prevents its re-oxidation to [14C]-TASO. This in turn increases the net consumption of [14C]-TASO despite the fact that its oxidation to TASO2 is inhibited. The potent inhibition of TASO oxidation by TA, coupled with the back-reduction of TASO and its futile redox cycling with TA may help explain phenomena previously interpreted as “saturation toxicokinetics” in the in vivo metabolism and toxicity of TA and TASO. The improved understanding of the metabolism and covalent binding of TA and TASO facilitates the use of hepatocytes to prepare protein adducts for target protein identification.

Because of the edge states and quantum confinement, the shape and size of graphene nanostructures dictate their electrical, optical, magnetic and chemical properties. The current synthesis methods for graphene nanostructures do not produce large quantities of graphene nanostructures that are easily transferable to different substrates/solvents, do not produce graphene nanostructures of different and controlled shapes, or do not allow control of Gn dimensions over a wide range (up to 100 nm). Here we report the production of graphene nanostructures with predetermined shapes (square, rectangle, triangle and ribbon) and controlled dimensions. This is achieved by diamond-edge-induced nanotomy (nanoscalecutting) of graphite into graphite nanoblocks, which are then exfoliated. our results show that the edges of the produced graphene nanostructures are straight and relatively smooth with an I D /I G of 0.22-0.28 and roughness < 1 nm. Further, thin films of Gn-ribbons exhibit a bandgap evolution with width reduction (0, 10 and ~35 meV for 50, 25 and 15 nm, respectively).