Abstract: A method of solubilising in an aqueous medium a hydrocarbon or a hydrophobic compound having a hydrocarbon skeleton that carries one or more heteroatom-containing functional groups, e.g. hydroxyl, carboxylic acid or aldehyde (CHO) groups. The method comprises contacting the hydrocarbon or the hydrophobic compound with the aqueous medium that includes at least one non-ionic surfactant containing a hydrophilic part and a hydrophobic part, the hydrophilic part comprising a polyhydroxylated moiety and the hydrophobic part comprising a hydrocarbon chain containing at least 12 carbon atoms, e.g. ethoxylated sorbitol. The amount of surfactant used is sufficient to form micelles including a core formed of the hydrocarbon or the hydrophobic compound.

Abstract: Reaction of a dialdehyde, particularly phthaldialdehyde (I), with R—Z where Z is a nucleophilic group (preferably SH) and R is polymerisable (e.g. allyl) gives a reactive thioacetal (V) which can react with an amine ligand L—NH2 to produce an isoindole (IV) which may be fluorescent. At some stage, generally before interaction with L—NH2, the R groups are polymerised, possibly leading to self-assembly of the polymer on a metal or SH-bearing surface. Such a coated surface is useful as a transducer in assays or as a binding medium e.g. for chromatography.

Abstract: High purity water, particularly that intended for the pharmaceutical or electronics industry, is analyzed for the presence of pyrogen or other impurities by causing the water to come into contact with a direct affinity sensor, which may be a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device or other sensor relying on an evanescent wave phenomenon. A property of the surface—refractive index in the case of SPR—changes on the binding of impurity, thereby enabling impurity to be detected. The invention overcomes the cumbersome nature and batch-to-batch variability of the conventional in vivo tests as well as the in vitro Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay and for the first time allows the continuous or real time monitoring of high purity water for pyrogen.