Analysis of 8000 proteins and reduced carry over significantly increase the throughput of single-shot proteomics

In the field of LC-MS based proteomics, increases in sampling depth and proteome coverage have mainly been accomplished by rapid advances in mass spectrometer technology. The comprehensiveness and quality of data that can be generated do however also depend on the performance provided by nano liquid chromatography (nanoLC) separations. Proper selection of reversed-phase separation columns can be of paramount importance to provide the MS instrument with peptides at the highest possible concentration and separated at the highest possible resolution. As an alternative to traditional packed bed LC column technology that uses beads packed into capillary tubing, we present a novel LC column format based on photolithographic definition and Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) into silicon wafers. With a next generation pillar array column designed for universal use in bottom-up proteomics, the critical dimensions of the stationary phase support structures have been reduced by a factor of 2 to provide further increases in separation power. To demonstrate the potential for single-shot proteomics workflows, we report on a series of optimization and benchmarking experiments where we combine LC separation on a new generation of pillar array columns using Vanquish Neo UHPLC with fast Orbitrap Tribrid MS data-dependent acquisition (DDA) and High-Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS). In addition to providing superior proteome coverage, robust operation over more than 1 month with a single nanoESI emitter and reduction of the column related sample carry over are additional figures of merit that can help improve proteome research sensitivity, productivity and standardization.

Comparison of supercritical fluid extraction and thermal desorption methods for analysing organic compounds in house-dust

<p>This study has been focused on the comparison of the application of Thermal Desorption (TD) and Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) methods for the identification and quantification of organic chemicals in house dust samples. To investigate how the results obtained by SFE and TD of house dust compare to one another and whether the SFE has advantages over the TD method, an aliquot of a house dust sample has been subjected to desorption at successively increasing temperatures. The thermal desorption unit used cryo - focusing on capillary tubing and was connected to a GC-MS combination. A quantity of the same house dust sample was extracted, using a method consisting of a two-step SFE with CO2 and CO2 + 5% of methanol, and GC-MS analysis of the eluates. The comparison of the results showed that the SFE method was superior to the TD for analysing indoor dust samples because of the pre-separation and the absence of thermal degradation, particularly for compounds of low volatility. However, TD could be more appropriate for relatively volatile or lower molecular weight range compounds and thermally stable compounds.</p>

Restoring Technical Potential of Deep-Water Well Impaired by Hydrate Plug Embedded with Wax Deposit with Improved Characterization and Innovative Chemistry

Hydrate occurrence is synonymous in deep water wells, notably when the well experience significant reduction in fluid temperature during production. Hence, the operating philosophy must take into consideration the ability to maintain the well-fluid outside the hydrate or wax phase envelope and ensure the contingencies are in place to mitigate any plug, deposit or gel formation. This paper illustrates the characterization of hydrate and wax plug encountered and devise of innovative solution to remediate the blockage in two wells in Sabah waters which were plugged due to cooling of the wells during an unplanned shut down. The solution devised is to set precedence to manage temperature dependent blockages in similar Deepwater wells or facilities. Hydrate and wax models were created to predict blockage severity and its location. Nodal analysis was used to model thermodynamic equilibrium at target location of the plug where the temperature is below the melting point and ultimately to predict the required heat to dissolve the blockages. A Thermo-chemical system was identified, selected, and customized and then injected into well to ensure the temperature generated at the location of the plug was above the melting point of hydrate and wax. Thermo-chemical injection was identified as a viable method of In-situ Heat Generating Technique to generate heat at desired location. The chemical solution was injected via capillary tubing to transmit the heat via conduction and convection to melt the hydrate and paraffinic plug in these 2 wells. An arriving temperature of 40°C at the target zones was required to melt the plug. A positive pressure was maintained in the production tubing during chemical injection to avoid rapid pressure increase as the hydrate plugs dissolved. A temperature of 100 °C was recorded at the wellhead throughout the injection. The downhole gauge indicated positive response, suggesting the heat generated transmitted effectively. After a short duration of injection, communication was established. Hydrate inhibitor was injected to secure the well prior to unloading. The wells were successfully relieved and stabilized production of 1,200 bopd and 800 bopd respectively. The simulation was redesigned based on data collected from the operation to improve the model and to be used for future works. The ability to integrate laboratory analysis, computer aided simulation and operational data was integral to this paper demonstrating an effective way to characterize temperature dependent blockages in production system. Design of experiments provided better insight to address the problem. Innovative use of novel chemistry to produce heat, in-situ heat solved hydrate and wax related issues in a most cost-effective manner. The process of customizing a chemical system based on laboratory and simulation results was effective in ensuring delivery of the results. The bull-heading operation to inject the chemical system proved to be a cost-effective remedial method to unlock the barrels and can be considered preventive or as a contingency measure in dealing with temperature dependent blockages or plugs in future.

Third-Party Damage Monitoring: Internal Fiber Optic Installation on a Transmission Pipeline Using a Pig, a Disengagement System and a Pack-Off Hanger

The risk associated with third-party damage to transmission pipelines in areas of urban development is high. Distributed monitoring is a modern technique that uses fiber optic cables as sensors to continuously monitor pipeline parameters such as acoustics, vibration, strain and temperature. The fiber optic system notifies the operator in real-time of ongoing events allowing decisions to be made to prevent external interference or quickly address an incident that has already occurred. Traditional methods used to install distributed monitoring systems on pipelines have limitations and are not feasible for all transmission pipelines. For instance, it can be both challenging and expensive to trench in fiber optics in developed areas and other installation techniques require the pipeline to be temporarily taken out of service. SaskEnergy Incorporated’s transmission line subsidiary, TransGas Limited partnered with a Canadian pipeline monitoring service provider to install fiber optics inside of a natural gas transmission pipeline using a pig, steel capillary tubing and a pack-off hanger. A disengagement system was incorporated to release the fiber optics after the desired monitoring distance was reached. It was decided to perform the pilot project on a newly constructed NPS 6 natural gas transmission pipeline located in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Nitrogen was used as a medium to simulate an in-service pipeline in order to reduce the risks associated with the first attempt of the project designs. The fiber optics were inserted into steel capillary tubing and connected to a disengagement system located at the back of a pig. A pack-off hanger was used to maintain pipeline pressure during and after the installation was completed. The spool holding the steel capillary tubing was stopped once the maximum monitoring distance was reached and the differential pressure activated the disengagement system located at the back of the pig. The pig continued to the receive location and the fiber optics remained in the pipeline for continuous monitoring. The deployment was successful and the fiber optics will remain in the pipeline for a one (1) year monitoring period. The primary limitation to this pilot project was the strength of the steel capillary tubing. The steel capillary tubing’s ultimate tensile strength would have to be higher to accommodate a pipeline with a larger outside diameter, multiple bends, large changes in wall thickness or large elevation changes. In addition, the steel capillary tubing must be removed from the pipeline in order to perform pigging activities.

A Report on Design & Setup of Peltier Module Based Air Cooler

With the increase in global warming levels day by day leading to the increase in average temperature throughout the year which makes people living in areas infested with loadshedding more hectic and troublesome. As the contemporary cooling method including Coolers and Air-conditioners do not work on the inverter for backup electricity purposes which make them useless as such during the peak heat hours. So, as to combat the problem with portability, economy and cost-effectiveness in mind the concept of alternative air conditioning using TEC while being used of the grid and rechargeable. While it is a common knowledge that co-efficient of performance of TEC is sub-par when compared to vapor compression air refrigeration used today but with optimized manufacturing techniques and forced convection of cold liquid increasing the effective cooling for the device and humidity controlling using moisture absorbent along with capillary tubing as thermal siphoning for heat reduction at the hot sink instead of air fin to reduce ambient heat radiation. Basically in this research we tried to increase the coefficient of performance of the Peltier Module using various techniques. The Module is also not power efficient , so in long run we can’t use plenty of them either two or three also we need to create the cooling effect . So keeping everything in mind we use the module accordingly to achieve the goal and make it a model for mass production

Characterization of electrochemical flow cell configurations with implemented disposable electrodes for the direct coupling to mass spectrometry

The characterization of the redox behavior of analytes is a very important aspect for many applications. Pure electrochemical approaches can provide useful information on electroactive species, but are of limited use regarding the identification of generated species. The hyphenation of electrochemistry and mass spectrometry (EC-MS) is a powerful method to investigate redox systems. In the present work, we show a simple approach to on-line EC-MS based on the application of electrochemical flow cells with implemented disposable electrodes. They are connected to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) via fused silica capillary tubing. The modularity of the flow cells offers a high flexibility of experimental setup and settings, so that a fast detection of oxidation or reduction products can be achieved. The usage of disposable electrodes guarantees a high level of quality assurance for EC-MS measurements.

Water Based Propellant for Cold Gas Thruster

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have produced ideas and techniques for creating new devices at the micro/nano scale. Nano/pico satellites have limited orientation capability partly due to the current state of microthruster devices. Development of a self-contained micro propulsion system would enable dynamic orbital maneuvering of pico- and nano-class satellites. The act of vaporizing a fluid via nanochannels to vacuum has not been studied and the limitations are unknown, but it could provide a novel method of propulsion for small satellites. However, solution properties are transient during vaporization which affects fluid flow. Thus, experiments have been designed to measure solution properties including density, evaporation rate, and vaporization pressure. A setup has been designed monitor the solution mass and volume inside a vacuum chamber. Evaporation of the solution is affected by the vacuum pressure, capillary tubing diameter, solution temperature, and solution concentration. When maintained at the solution vapor pressure, the vaporization rate has ranged from 0.003 to 0.025 grams per minute across the varying concentrations. Preliminary results have indicated some interesting trends regarding solution composition and vaporization rate. The results obtained from preliminary experiments will be used in conjunction with future experiments to determine the viability of nanochannels to be used in the small satellite propulsion system.

Qualification of Chemicals/Chemical Injection Systems for Downhole Continuous Chemical Injection

Downhole Continuous Injection (DHCI) Systems are increasingly being installed in wells for the delivery of a range of chemicals, including application-specific formulations and multi-component chemicals. Although costly, these systems offer the advantage of controlling chemical doses, preventing interruptions to production by providing constant delivery of chemicals and can be used in place of squeeze treatments that can be costly or inappropriate if formation damage is a risk. However, such systems are not without challenges for engineering design, operation and the effective qualification required for the chemicals before use. DHCI involves chemical injection through multi-kilometre capillary tubing, as well as injection through inline filters and one or more injection valves. Failures of continuous injection systems have been linked to a variety of causes such as corrosion, particulate formation or chemical gunking, resulting in line plugging or blockage of injection valves and filters. The work described in this paper was initiated to investigate known DHCI issues within Statoil fields and to develop laboratory tests to identify characteristics of chemical formulations that result in similar behaviour, and thus allow such formulations to be de-selected prior to use. The paper describes a range of chemical qualification methods for DHCI systems, focusing on qualifying the chemical for use in a DHCI. Test methods have been developed which demonstrate the ways in which changes in physical properties can readily occur under downhole injection which can have a considerable detrimental impact on the integrity and effectiveness of the DHCI system. These methods have now been finalised into a set of chemical qualification protocols for Statoil. This paper will present the basis of these test protocols and thereby intends to present best practice for chemical/system qualification for DHCI. Results from both extensive laboratory method development studies and field case histories will be included throughout the paper to illustrate the challenges faced and the qualification solutions developed.