3,4-Dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (dopa) has been shown to account for the cofactor activity for tyrosinase contained in extracts of hamster melanoma. Dopa has been identified by several different comparisons with an authentic sample and by conversion to two derivatives. The amount of dopa in the tumor (4 to 8 pg per g) has been estimated by cofactor assay and fluorometry. A Km value for dopa as a ...

On-chip transformation of Escherichia coli cells was accomplished for the first time using a microbial array chip. The continuous E. coli transformation procedures were performed on a chip in which the microcompartment was composed of PDMS microfluidic channels and a silicon substrate predeposited with different plasmid DNAs. The PDMS microfluidic device enabled the parallel transformation of E...

Aliquots (0.1 mL) of whole-blood pools prepared to contain various concentrations of phenylalanine were applied to filter-paper collection cards, dried, and stored in sealed bags. We measured the phenylalanine content of the dried blood spots by bioassay, fluorometry, and "high-performance" liquid chromatography, and found that the concentrations remained constant for two years when samples wer...

We describe the use of Florisil chromatography to purify and fractionate porphyrins into uro-, copro-, and protoporphyrins before their measurement by quantitative fluorometry. Porphyrinogens in fresh urine may be rapidly oxidized to porphyrins by chloranil, or slowly in weakly alkaline solution, before the sample is applied to the Florisil column. Aliquots of the separate ammoniacal eluates ma...

A microfluidic immunoassay based on Europium nanoparticles has been developed for rapid and sensitive detection of HIV-1. The core polymer microfluidic device contains immunoreactors anchored with monoclonal capture antibodies highly specific to p24, the capsid protein of HIV-1. To report the capturing events, biotinylated secondary antibody followed by streptavidin-conjugated Europium nanopart...

We developed a chemiluminometric assay of beta-galactosidase in coliform bacteria, using a phenylgalactose-substituted 1,2-dioxetane derivative as a substrate. Permeabilization of cells is required to ensure the efficient cellular uptake of this compound. By this method, one coliform seeded in 100 ml of sterile water can be detected after a 6- to 9-h propagation phase followed by a 45-min enzym...

We describe an ultramicromethod for determination of uric acid by a manual procedure. Hydrogen peroxide, formed when uric acid is oxidized in the presence of uricase, oxidatively couples two molecules of p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid in the presence of peroxidase to produce a highly fluorescent compound. The specificity of the uricase reaction is retained, and the fluorometry results in a higher s...

Hb Köln, one of the common mutant hemoglobins responsible for unstable hemoglobin disease, was found to be degraded to a fluorescent yellow pigment (FYP) in circulating erythrocytes. FYP is responsible for a strong green fluorescence observed in the cytoplasm and is particularly abundant in the Heinz bodies of Köln RBC. Front face fluorometry and fluorescence microscopy showed that Heinz bodies...