Platinum complexation with glutamate amino acid: Computational study

In this research work, complex formation of platinum (Pt) metal particle with the glutamate (Glu) amino acid was investigated by performing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Such application could be very much important regarding the importance of developing metal based biosensors for biological media. To achieve the purpose of this work, two spin numbers of 0 and 1 were considered for Pt for locating separately towards neutral and anionic forms of Glu for Pt / Glu complexes formations. The obtained results of optimization and QTAIM analyses indicated various configurations for different spin numbers of Pt metal particle towards each of neutral and anionic forms of Glu. Existence of covalent bond was observed for most cases in addition to existence of weak van der Waals interactions for the complexes.

Microfluidic Airborne Metal Particle Sensor Using Oil Microcirculation for Real-Time and Continuous Monitoring of Metal Particle Emission

Airborne metal particles (MPs; particle size > 10 μm) in workplaces result in a loss in production yield if not detected in time. The demand for compact and cost-efficient MP sensors to monitor airborne MP generation is increasing. However, contemporary instruments and laboratory-grade sensors exhibit certain limitations in real-time and on-site monitoring of airborne MPs. This paper presents a microfluidic MP detection chip to address these limitations. By combining the proposed system with microcirculation-based particle-to-liquid collection and a capacitive sensing method, the continuous detection of airborne MPs can be achieved. A few microfabrication processes were realized, resulting in a compact system, which can be easily replaced after contamination with a low-priced microfluidic chip. In our experiments, the frequency-dependent capacitive changes were characterized using MP (aluminum) samples (sizes ranging from 10 μm to 40 μm). Performance evaluation of the proposed system under test-bed conditions indicated that it is capable of real-time and continuous monitoring of airborne MPs (minimum size 10 μm) under an optimal frequency, with superior sensitivity and responsivity. Therefore, the proposed system can be used as an on-site MP sensor for unexpected airborne MP generation in precise manufacturing facilities where metal sources are used.