Abstract: Novel sensor devices composed of a crystalline colloidal array (CCA) polymerized in a hydrogel are disclosed. The hydrogels are characterized as being capable of shrinking and swelling in response to specific stimuli applied thereto. As the hydrogels shrink or swell, the lattice structure of the CCA embedded therein changes, thereby changing the wavelength of light diffracted by the CCA. Thus by monitoring the change in diffracted wavelength, the concentration of a stimulus is determined. The gels can be modified to sense numerous different stimuli. The sensor devices are specific in that they are modified to react with only one species or family of species. These sensors have various applications in areas including, for example, environmental and chemical systems, chemomechanical systems, sensor devices and medical diagnostic tools. Various methods for making and using these devices are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for making bisphenol salt as the result of the reaction between bisphenol and an alkali metal hydroxide. The method comprising steps to obtain the anhydrous alkali metal bisphenoxide salt within about a 0.2 mol % stoichiometry relationship between bisphenol and alkali metal hydroxide. A method for determining stoichiometry error of a sample comprises determining variables and applying the variables to an equation to determine stoichiometry.

Abstract: System for the automatic operation of reactions using several vessels which can be closed by individual closures using a device for automatically opening the closures.

Abstract: A detecting agent for detecting at least one member selected from the group consisting of halogen gases and acidic gases which is contained in a gas, wherein the detecting agent comprises a discoloring component which comprises a hydroxide of a transition metal and Congo Red. Halogen gases and acidic gases which are contained in hydrogen, nitrogen, argon, or helium can be detected under a dry condition with a high sensitivity in accordance with the present invention.

Abstract: A novel method for monitoring the success or the yield of chemical reactions involving a reactant bound to a solid phase support, or to forecast the success of such reactions, or to quantify the number of deuterium containing groups present in a solid-phase bound sample, using infrared spectroscopy and deuterium-carbon absorbances, along with novel compounds and intermediates useful for carring out the method.

Abstract: The present invention is a covered microchannel comprising: a) a substrate; b) an etched material adhered to the substrate; and c) a silicon-carbon material adhered to the etched material in such a manner to form a covered microchannel; wherein the silicon-carbon material comprises SiO.sub.1.8-2.4 C.sub.0.3-1.0 and H.sub.0.7-4.0 containing at least one of the following functional groups:--Si--O--Si--, --Si--CH.sub.2 --, --Si--H, or --Si--OH.The covered microchannel can be prepared by the steps of: a) coating a filler material onto a substrate having a groove, wherein the filler material covering the substrate fills the groove; b) removing filler material from the substrate but not from the groove; c) coating the substrate and the filler with an adhering, formable, capping material; and d) removing the filler from the groove. An etched laminate can also be used to prepare the covered microchannel.

Abstract: A method for the detection of chemical agent present in a material comprising exposing a calixarene, having redox active substituents on its para rim, to a solution or suspension derived by admixture of all or some of the material with a liquid measuring any change in electrical behavior of the calixarene during or after exposure to the solution or suspension as compared to a reference condition, and relating such change in electrical behavior to the presence of chemical agent. Preferably, the calixarene exposed to the solution or suspension is a calix?4!arene or general formula (J), wherein Y.sup.1 to Y.sup.4 are independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, aralkyl or a redox active substituent and R.sup.1 to R.sup.4 are independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, aralkyl, or a polymerisable moiety, wherein at least one of Y.sup.1 to Y.sup.4 is a redox active substituent.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for indicating the presence of organic vapors comprising the steps of determining the color, absorption or emission spectra of a Pt--Pt double-complex salt of platinum or a neutral platinum complex in the absence of organic vapor, exposing said double-complex salt of platinum or a neutral platinum complex to a gaseous environment, determining the color, absorption or emission spectra of said double-complex salt of platinum or a neutral platinum complex after exposure to said gaseous environment, and comparing the color, absorption and/or emission spectra of said double-complex salt of platinum or a neutral platinum complex in the absence of organic vapor with the color, absorption and/or emission spectra of said double-complex salt of platinum or a neutral platinum complex after exposure to said gaseous environment to determine if there is a difference in the color, absorption and/or emission spectra.

Abstract: A new class of techniques been developed which allow inexpensive application of SAW-type chemical sensor devices while retaining high sensitivity (ppm) to chemical detection. The new techniques do not require that the sensor be part of an oscillatory circuit, allowing large concentrations of, e.g., chemical vapors in air, to be accurately measured without compromising the capacity to measure trace concentrations. Such devices have numerous potential applications in environmental monitoring, from manufacturing environments to environmental restoration.

Abstract: The method described comprises the steps of, firstly, a water content of from 3 to 20 wt %, based on the water-containing fluid, being set in the hydraulic fluid to be tested, followed by the water-containing fluid being mixed with at least 1 part by volume of tetrahydrofuran or monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether per part by volume of water-containing fluid, whereupon the formation or nonformation of a precipitate is ascertained.

Abstract: The invention relates to a reaction chamber, which includes a cylindrical vessel, with at one end, at least one inlet or outlet tube or lead-through fitted with a valve for a liquid or gaseous component. The other end of the vessel is open. The reaction chamber further comprises a plunger, which performs a reciprocating movement within the cylindrical vessel in axial direction through the open end of the vessel. The plunger tightens against the inner wall of the cylindrical vessel, and has at least one channel, in substantially axial direction, fitted with a valve or connected to a tube fitted with a valve. The invention relates also to an assay method based on the use of the reaction chamber.

Abstract: A process for analyzing analytes using nebulizer component selected from the group consisting of a desolvation tube, a condenser tube, an aerosol-generator and a transducer, wherein the component has a contact surface selected from the group consisting of CVD silicon carbide, CVD diamond film and glassy carbon.

Abstract: A composition is provided which is a transducing polymer having from 1 to 20 crosslinks per polymer molecule and selected from the group consisting of amphoteric co- or ter-polymers of pI between 6.2 to 8.0 of acrylic acid, alkyl methacrylate, and N,N-dimethly-aminoethyl methacrylate, the amphoteric co- or ter-polymer immobilized on a surface. Also provided is a method for the preparation of an analyte-responsive polymer immobilized on a surface in which the steps are a. mixing a solution of a crosslinker and the claimed transducing polymer, b. applying the solution of step a to a surface, and c. then curing the polymer to a ratio of from 1 to 20 crosslinks per transducing polymer molecule. Acoustic and optical methods for detecting analtyes are also provided which use an analyte-responsive polymer.

Abstract: The invention provides an improved mass spectrometer apparatus, and related method, that characterizes aerosol particles, in real time, according not only to their chemical composition, but also to their size. This added information can be of critical importance when evaluating risks associated with aerosol particles of particular chemical composition. The apparatus achieves this beneficial result in a reliable fashion by first detecting the presence and size of individual aerosol particles moving along a predetermined particle path and by then directing a pulse of high-intensity light at the particle, to desorb and ionize the particle, for analysis of its chemical composition.

Abstract: An interface system for supplying hydrogen isotopes to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) eliminates "memory effects" which are caused by residual water vapor being left in the interface system from a previous sample when a new sample is fed through the system. The system employs a reduction reactor for separating hydrogen isotopes from a water vapor containing sample, a water trap for removing residual water vapor from the separated hydrogen isotopes, and a Pd filter for passing only the hydrogen isotopes into a vacuum supply line for the IRMS. The system can also employ a combustion reactor for forming the water vapor if the initial sample is a hydrocarbon containing sample. Additionally, a second water trap can be provided in the vacuum supply line to the IRMS which removes any residual water vapor that may be desorbed from the Pd filter.

Abstract: A color changing reagent composition for coating onto syringe needles and other needle containing medical devices which upon contact with such bodily fluids as blood, mucous, saliva, and semen will cause the composition coated needle to change in color to signal a prior use and contamination with a possibly infected bodily fluid. The preferred composition is selected from the group consisting of guaiac acid, benzidine, Barfoeds solution, Benedicts solution, cresol, catechol, phenylenediamine, Haynes solution, phenol, leuco malachite green, leuco-crystal violet, peroxidase, pseudoperoxidase, orthotolodine, orthordianisidine, cumene hydroperoxide, tretramethylbenzedene and 2,2-azinodi-(3-ethylbenzyl)azoline sulfunic acid. After the coated needle comes in contact with a bodily fluid having a catalyst it will, upon oxidation, change from being in a colorless state to having a visually detectable color.

Abstract: A pipette tip assembly is provided which includes one or more pipette tips, a tip support and a tip holder which is movable between a tip-holding and a tip-releasing position. The pipette tip assembly also includes a position-maintaining structure which is adapted to hold the tip holder in the tip-releasing position until the tip holder is selectively moved from that position. The position-maintaining structure thus eliminates or reduces the potential for inadvertent lifting of the tip holder relative to the assembly. The invention thus provides a pipette tip assembly that facilitates secure transport, minimal handling, and convenient and user-controlled operation.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope, such as an atomic force microscope (AFM) or a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), is operated in a stationary mode on a site where an activity of interest occurs to measure and identify characteristic time-varying micromotions caused by biological, chemical, mechanical, electrical, optical, or physical processes. The tip and cantilever assembly of an AFM is used as a micromechanical detector of characteristic micromotions transmitted either directly by a site of interest or indirectly through the surrounding medium. Alternatively, the exponential dependence of the tunneling current on the size of the gap in the STM is used to detect micromechanical movement. The stationary mode of operation can be used to observe dynamic biological processes in real time and in a natural environment, such as polymerase processing of DNA for determining the sequence of a DNA molecule.

Abstract: Methods are provided for the remediation of sites containing coal tar compositions that contain polynuclear aromatic compounds. The remediation entails altering the coal tar compositions to substantially decrease the bioavailability of the polynuclear aromatic compounds. The process includes the contacting and blending of the coal tar with petroleum coke for a time sufficient to produce a uniform admixture. The weight ratio of the petroleum coke to coal tar is generally from about 1:1 to about 10:1. Processes are also disclosed for the determination of the proper blending ratio to achieve a necessary level of remediation.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to simplify and accelerate the transfer of tissue biopsy samples from fixative to automatic tissue processing cassettes comprises a strainer device and a preformed filter. The strainer device is constructed from a perforated material such as stainless steel screen and is substantially conical in shape. The device is provided with a support ring attached to an upper edge of the cone; the ring is designed for positioning the device on a fixative collection container and for attaching a convenient handle. The tip of the cone is truncated, providing a planar collection surface. A preformed filter, also of conical shape with a flattened tip matching the collection surface, is inserted into the strainer device. Fixative, containing tissue biopsy samples, is poured into the device, and the samples rest on the flat bottom and sides near the bottom while the fixative flows through into the fixative collection container.

Abstract: A pipette tip assembly is provided which includes one or more pipette tips, a tip support and a tip holder which is movable between a tip-holding and a tip-releasing position. Additionally, a pipette tip assembly is provided which includes one or more pipette tips and a tip holder which has tapered apertures therein. Methods of using such assemblies are further provided. The invention provides pipette tip assemblies that facilitate secure transport, minimal handling and convenient and user-controlled operation.

Abstract: A method is proposed of obtaining a chemical interaction between at least one reagent trapped in sol-gel glass by doping it with the reagent, and diffusible solutes or components in an adjacent liquid or gas phase. The reagents, the solutes or the components can be any organic or inorganic compounds or materials of biological origin including enzymes. The doped sol-gel glass in various forms may be useful as analytical test, chromatographic medium, sensor, catalyst or biocatalyst, electrode or enzyme electrode, or other detection device.

Abstract: A method is proposed of obtaining a chemical interaction between at least one reagent trapped in sol-gel glass by doping it with the reagent, and diffusible solutes or components in an adjacent liquid or gas phase. The reagents, the solutes or the components can be any organic or inorganic compounds or materials of biological origin including enzymes. The doped sol-gel glass in various forms may be useful as analytical test, chromatographic medium, sensor, catalyst or biocatalyst, electrode or enzyme electrode, or other detection device.

Abstract: A procedure for establishing the presence of live housedust mites in a textile sheet-like article, in which the housedust mites are allowed to migrate onto the surface of the article to be tested or are caused to start such a migration, if appropriate by the action of heat, the housedust mites which have migrated being picked up at this point and subsequently identified.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a kit for verifying the source and completeness of urine samples when collected for testing for the presence of drugs of abuse. The method involves observing an individual consume (1) a quantity of a first chemical marker reagent capable of confirming upon chemical analysis the completeness of the urine sample and (2) a quantity of a second chemical marker reagent capable of confirming upon analysis the accuracy of the source of the urine sample. The urine subsequently collected is analyzed by known analytical techniques.

Abstract: A method for determining the time period since the death of a human cadaver deposited on soil by the steps of removing a sample of soil from beneath the cadaver, testing the sample for a concentration of a chemical which is indicative of the time since the death of the human cadaver, and correlating the concentration with the number of accumulated degree days (ADD) to determine the length of time since the death of the human cadaver. The chemicals include fatty acids, such as propionic acid, butyric acid, and valeric acid, and inorganic ions, such as ammonium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate.

Abstract: Container systems for stable storage of pharmaceutical compounds are disclosed. The container systems prevent the formation of adducts between pharmaceutical compounds and aldehydes during storage of these compounds in containers sealed with elastomeric stoppers that leach aldehydes. Methods for determining the presence of these adducts are also disclosed.

Abstract: Radioactively contaminated objects are placed into a borofluoric acid bath following a rough spot test and are precipitated in a measurable geometry on the cathode plates in the course of an electrolytic process, for example. In the course of the subsequent testing, the metals lying below a pre-determined maximum value of radioactive emissions are separated and supplied to the waste reclamation. The materials lying above this threshold value during the spot testing are first decontaminated and then placed in the acid bath. The borofluoric acid is not used up in this process and remains in the system. It is possible to use already radioactively contaminated boric acid from pressurized water reactors, to which it is merely required to add fluoric acid and to distill, for generating borofluoric acid. The method in accordance with the invention reduces the radioactive waste and reduces the testing and administrative effort required for the release of the non-radioactive materials.

Abstract: An automated, high volume process for detecting, identifying and quantifying physical incompatibility between two or more chemicals in solution includes mixing the chemical solutions in all possible orders and reading the light absorption of each at two wavelengths to differentiate between color reactions and other physical reactions.

Abstract: A process for preparing a baseoil blend of predetermined coking tendency, and for measuring the effectiveness of additives for reducing coking tendency in baseoils, utilizing the relationship of the content of volatile fractions and low boiling fractions in baseoil to the onset and/or progression of asphaltene formation.

Abstract: A process for determining the degree of saturation of a solution comprising a solvent and a compound of limited solubility which involves the steps of (1) diluting a feed solution of the compound of limited solubility, (2) passing a sample of the diluted feed solution through a bed of a solid solution of the compound and a tracer in which the tracer is intrinsically incorporated into the crystal structure of the compound, so that the diluted feed solution being tested becomes saturated with the compound by dissolution of a portion of the solid solution in the bed, (3) measuring the concentration of the tracer in the sample after passage through the bed of solid solution, thus measuring the amount of the compound dissolved from the solid solution to saturate the diluted feed solution, and (4) determining the degree of saturation of the compound in the feed solution from the measured values

Abstract: A method for detecting the ability of a compound to prevent development of red-to-green congophilic birefringence. The method is carried out by contacting the compound with dense microspheres which are derived from mammalian brain tissue and which, when disrupted, display red-to-green congophilic birefringence upon staining with Congo Red dye under conditions such that said dense microspheres are disrupted. Thereafter the disrupted dense microspheres are stained with Congo Red dye and any development of red-to-green congophilic birefringence in the stained disrupted dense microspheres is detected.

Abstract: A method for non-destructive testing for approximation of oxygen transmission in hollow fiber blood oxygenators or the like is provided which method includes passing a first fluid at a predetermined temperature and volume flow rate through the hollows of the fibers and a second fluid at a second predetermined input temperature and volume flow rate across the outside of the fibers and measuring the heat rise or fall of the fluids and comparing the results with standards for a given blood oxygenator device.

Abstract: A process for determining the degree of saturation of a solution comprising a solvent and a compound of limited solubility which involves the steps of (1) diluting a feed solution of the compound of limited solubility, (2) passing a sample of the diluted feed solution through a bed of a solid solution of the compound and a tracer in which the tracer is intrinsically incorporated into the crystal structure of the compound, so that the diluted feed solution being tested becomes saturated with the compound by dissolution of a portion of the solid solution in the bed, (3) measuring the concentration of the tracer in the sample after passage through the bed of solid solution, thus measuring the amount of the compound dissolved from the solid solution to saturate the diluted feed solution, and (4) determining the degree of saturation of the compound in the feed solution from the measured values.

Abstract: This is a stochastic method for determining the likely conformations of a molecule by starting with an initial molecular structure along with given atomic coordinate positions and defined bonds between atoms. Each of the atom's initial X, Y and Z coordinates are modified by the combination therewith of random numbers to create a new random coordinate position for each atom. A predetermined constraint is placed on the distance of each new coordinate from each initial coordinate. The steric energy of the reconfigured molecule is then calculated, stored and a new set of randon numbers combined with the atomic coordinates and the steric energy of the new structure calculated. The process is repeated until most, if not all, steric minima are detected and the structures associated therewith are determined.

Abstract: A gender-indicating test of the unborn child is provided. It is a colorimetric test on the pregnancy urine performed on samples obtained after about the 20th week of the pregnancy. The gender-indicating composition for use in the test is a mixture of alkali hydroxide and metallic aluminum. The colored results of the exothermic reaction of the composition with the urine is evaluated--tan solutions indicate a female child and brown solutions indicate a male child. The invention includes the method, the compositions used in the method and a convenient kit containing the subdivided composition in test units for performing the gender-indicating test.

Abstract: A completely water-soluble, solid, labile biochemical-containing diagnostic reagent is prepared without the need of a lyophilization step, by spraying, preferably by a fluidized bed process, an aqueous solution of labile biochemical, e.g., an enzyme, onto small particles, e.g., lower than 20 mesh, of an inert, completely water-soluble solid bulking agent, e.g., mannitol; drying the resultant labile biochemical-coated bulking agent to the desired dryness; and then forming resultant dried labile biochemical-coated bulking agent into a tablet suitable for a diagnostic test reagent, said tablet having a predetermined rate of dissolution.

Abstract: Dense microspheres extracted and purified to homogeneity from whole brains and used in in vitro and in vivo screening tests for the detection of therapies effective in impeding amyloid formation and disease progression in human brain in Alzheimer's disease and related conditions.

Abstract: The invention relates to a procedure to establish the presence of allergen-containing housedust, as results when or after housedust mites occur, in which samples of dust present in buildings are thoroughly suspended in a aqueous-alcoholic alkali metal hydroxide solution and, with the resulting extract, a color reaction using an aromatic diazo compound is carried out, the color reaction being evaluated with respect to its occurrence as an indication of the pollution of the dust with housedust mite residues. According to a particular embodiment, a paper treated with the aromatic diazo compound (and where appropriate with starch) is used for carrying out the color reaction. A further aspect of the invention involves quantitatively determining the allergological activity resulting from housedust mites in housedust samples.

Abstract: An adjustable accumulated thermal exposure indicator device, and method of use, for affixing to and indicating deterioration of perishable goods and the like, comprising (1) a reactant yielding material that reacts via one or more steps at a rate depending on time, temperature, and pH to provide an amine and (2) an indicator that reacts at a time, temperature, concentration and pH dependent rate with the amine to produce a visible reaction that is indicative of the expiration of a predetermined time-temperature history related to the useful life of the goods to which the device is affixed. Also provided is a device or article that is responsive to accumulated thermal exposure for the controlled release of immobilized alcohols and amines.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for generating a continuous solution gradient wherein solutions of differing concentrations are layered in a tube and the tube disposed at an angle with respect to the vertical and is rotated for a predetermined period of time thereby to generate a continuous solution gradient, i.e. continuous variation in concentration between the concentration of the initial solutions.

Abstract: A solid detecting reagent for gaseous hydrides and a gaseous hydride detecting method are disclosed, said reagent comprising a basic copper carbonate as a color changing component and undergoing color change upon contact with at least one gaseous hydride selected from the group consisting of arsine, phosphine, diborane, hydrogen selenide, germane, monosilane, disilane and dichlorosilane. The reagent is applicable to all of these gaseous hydrides and, upon contact therewith, rapidly changes from an initial blue color to a black color, said black color standing for a long period of time.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for measuring aggregation in sponge cells using a clinical aggregometer. In addition, using the marine sponge cell as an in vitro model for neutrophil aggregation, a method to determine the relative anti-inflammatory properties of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical agents by clinical aggregometry is also disclosed.

Abstract: Dyeings on cellulose with direct or reactive dyestuffs are given improved wet fastness properties by aftertreatment with a reaction product or mixture of a polybasic amino compound (A) with an N-methylol compound (B) or with formaldehyde or a formaldehyde donor and optionally a crosslinking catalyst (C). Particular direct or reactive dyestuffs and polybasic amino compounds are determined to be suitable in the dyeing and aftertreatment when the dyestuff and the polybasic amino compound (A) are such that when mixed together in aqueous solution they give a precipitate which, after washing and drying does not redissolve in aqueous alkali at pH.gtoreq.12 at room temperature.

Abstract: A method and means for determining the risk of future cardiac ischemic events in a patient after a sentinel event in that same patient, wherein levels of acid glycoprotein and CK-MB are monitored relative to predetermined threshold levels, within a prescribed time frame after the sentinel event, and these monitored levels are then correlated with the predicted likelihood of future cardiac ischemic events to classify such cardiac patients into categories of risk.

Abstract: An indicator (10) for detecting contact with a naturally occurring polyhydroxyaromatic skin irritant or toxin like that found in poison ivy and the like comprises a carrier (12) treated with a reactant, such as ferric nitrate which reacts with the toxin and produces a distinct color change indicative of such contact.

Abstract: An in vitro method for identifying alcoholism and alcohol abuse in humans is disclosed which comprises the isolation and measurement of a unique and stable form of glycosylated hemoglobin.

Abstract: Disclosed is a toxicity test for chemical substances using the phylum Nematoda.According to this test, substances can be easily, rapidly, and inexpensively analyzed for their ability to induce mutations, promote tumor formation, act as teratogens, and cause abnormalities in development, metabolic function, and neuromuscular function.

Abstract: A dried silica gel containing a reagent in insolubilized form which reagent is normally soluble, especially a dried silica gel containing an insolubilized form of a normally soluble colorimetric analytical agent and a method of preparing such dried silica gel by hydrolyzing a silane having from 1 to 4 alkoxy groups in a homogeneous phase in the presence of a reagent which is normally soluble in a solvent, recovering the resultant gel and drying the same.

Abstract: A method for detecting a condition of permanent waves during a permanent wave hairdressing, by using a chemical liquid which makes permanent waves and which produces a hydrogen sulfide gas at a predetermined temperature, and by exposing a lead acetate test paper to the hydrogen sulfide gas which changes colors to indicate the condition of the permanent wave. An apparatus having a light emitting diode detects the change in color of the test paper and activates a buzzer when a predetermined change of color is detected.