Internet calibration

The Optical Radiation Measurement (ORM) group at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK, has begun a project to carry out a case study into the development of an Internet calibration service for spectrophotometers. They believe that there would be many benefits of providing such a service to their customers. These include:

Real-time on line analysis of results with uncertainties using proven routines and algorithms developed at NPL. For instance, spectrophotometer wavelength/wavenumber scales would be calibrated using NPL-produced algorithms, potentially reducing associated uncertainties.

Calibration results would be stored in a database for recall by users during calibration and audits. “Data warehousing” would also provide long term access to calibration history and provide robust, paperless audit trails.

The system could be used to share data in a common file format throughout an organisation. Direct traceability to national scales held at NPL would be achieved through the provision of NPL calibrated artefacts to the system users. (Typical calibration artefacts include: colour tile sets, neutral density filters, wavenumber standards, infrared transmittance standards etc.).

Efficiency savings could be made by requiring that all internal users calibrate their spectrophotometers using the Internet based system, thereby ensuring that all equipment is calibrated to a previously agreed schedule and that calibration results are within a specified tolerance without the need for expensive audit visits or generation of paperwork. Automatic flagging of lapses in tolerance and other problems associated with measurements would ensure that any errors due to operator or instrument are seen and addressed promptly.

Ease of use. The remote operator will be guided through the calibration process by the NPL software.

On-line visual monitoring of the calibration process for trouble-shooting purposes.

Manufacturers of spectrophotometers connected to the system could be given limited access to the history of the instruments allowing them to interpret data to see what parts and servicing are likely to be required during service visits and to improve preventative maintenance.

The ORM group would be pleased to hear from any potential users and manufacturers of spectrophotometers that have an interest in the development of this technology in order to understand requirements and offer the opportunity for input into the development of such a service.

For more information please contact: Peter Haycocks, Optical Radiation Measurement Group, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, UK. peter.haycocks@npl.co.uk.

NIR advice

The Internet offers huge potential for those looking for information and help with particular problems. However, it is usually people that can be of the greatest help. A discussion forum for users of NIR spectroscopy and related areas in chemometrics and multivariate calibration is hosted by NIR Publications. Visitors can search or browse existing discussions and post their own questions. Many of the leading experts in NIR are regular contributors. www.nirpublications.com/discus.

Postdoctoral fellow

Professor Yuki Ozaki is looking for a postdoctoral fellow who will be involved in biomedical applications of NIR spectroscopy. The project will start from 1 November. The research of which the postdoctoral fellow will be in charge is concerned with the development of models of calibration, classification and self-modelling curve resolution for clinical diagnosis. A candidate for this position must be experienced in chemometrics.

Contact Professor Yukihiro Ozaki, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Kwansei-Gakuin University, Uegahara, Nishinomiya 662-8501, Japan. ozaki@kwansei.ac.jp, science.kwansei.ac.jp/~ozaki/.

High-power UV laser

An international team of scientists at the DESY research centre in Hamburg, Germany, recently have succeeded in obtaining the maximum light amplification from a “free electron laser” (FEL) for ultraviolet radiation. The electron laser produced an amplification of 10 million, which corresponds to the theoretically expected peak performance for such a device and presents a new world record. In comparison with the best existing light sources used for research that operate in the region of extremely hard ultraviolet radiation, the new laser has over a thousand times the peak brightness.

The free electron laser at DESY produces ultraviolet laser light with wavelengths between 80 and 180 nm. These are the shortest wavelengths ever produced by an FEL. The maximum light amplification (“saturation”) was obtained with a wavelength of 98 nm, providing a new, extremely powerful light source. Moreover, this demonstration is an important milestone towards the X-ray laser which is being developed and planned with international cooperation at DESY within the TESLA project.

The spectacular results were produced using a free electron laser in the test facility for TESLA presently in operation at DESY. There the intensive laser light is produced using a new principle: electrons are brought to high energies in a superconducting accelerator, traverse thereafter on a slalom-like course a special arrangement of magnets and emit thereby laser-like bundles of radiation. The trick to amplification is that the electrons and the emitted radiation influence each other as they traverse the 15 m long magnet structure. In the process, tiny bunches of electrons become more and more dense and radiate even more intensely—a self-amplifying effect. The process repeats itself until all the electrons oscillate in unison. The light emitted by the electrons overlaps and produces extremely intense flashes of laser light. This is the principle of SASE—“self-amplified spontaneous emission”. A remarkable feature of the SASE principle is that, unlike traditional lasers, it is not limited to specific wavelengths. The electron acceleration may simply be selected accordingly. At the SASE free electron laser at DESY, it has been shown for the first time that the self amplifying effect indeed does lead to the theoretically calculated amplification by a factor of ten million in the ultraviolet region. Similar amplification factors have been demonstrated last year at institutes in the USA in the visible region, while the DESY FEL now offers considerably shorter wavelengths. At DESY the first groups of scientists are embarking on research applying this new light source.

In about one year, the existing test facility will be upgraded to a 300 m long free electron laser with wavelengths smaller than 6 nm. This is the region of “soft” X-rays. This light source would then present unique opportunities to scientists from all around the world. At the same time, the facility will serve as a test bed for the future TESLA project in which the new SASE technology will be applied to produce ever shorter wavelengths.

TESLA stands for TeV-Energy Superconducting Linear Accelerator, which will require a 33 km long linear accelerator, within which electrons are brought into collision with positrons. The special feature of the new facility is that the accelerator allows collisions between particles of highest energies while simultaneously serving as a source for intense and extremely short X-ray pulses with laser-like properties. The TESLA X-ray lasers will offer new perspectives for research in may different disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, material science and medicine. A decision regarding the TESLA project is expected after the summer of 2002. TESLA would be founded and operated as an international centre. After its approval and the completion of the planning procedure, TESLA could begin operation after an eight year construction period at the start of the next decade. www.desy.de.

Image of part of the TESLA linear accelerator at DESY.

CCLRC Chair

Professor Sir Graeme Davies has been appointed as Chair of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC) in the UK. Sir Graeme will succeed Dr Brian Eyre on 1 October 2001 and the appointment is for four years. The CCLRC provides national research facilities for very large instruments such as neutron and synchrotron x-ray sources and lasers for the UK science community. Approximately 14,000 people use the various CCLRC facilities. It also co-ordinates UK research programmes in space and particle physics. www.cclrc.ac.uk.

Diamond synchrotron

Professor Gerhard Materlik has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer for the Diamond Synchrotron Project; he will take up this position on 15 October 2001. The Diamond Synchrotron will be based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK. Professor Materlik was previously based at DESY laboratory in Hamburg. He is Honorary Professor at Hamburg University, Member of the DESY Scientific Directorate and an Associate Director of HASYLAB. In addition, Professor Materlik was a Guest Professor at Stanford University and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory during 1993–1994. Since 1995 he has been co-ordinating the X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Project at DESY.

SCI medal

Professor Chunli Bai, Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has been announced as recipient of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) International Medal for 2001. The medal will be presented on 4 October 2001, followed by the International Medal Lecture, at SCI International Headquarters in Belgrave Square, London, UK.

The International Medal recognises major contributions to international cooperation, a central facet of the Society’s interests in the many spheres in which it operates, from agriculture through food and pharmaceuticals to energy, resources and environmental protection.

Announcing the decision at the Society’s international headquarters in London, SCI general secretary Mr Richard Denyer said “For 120 years international leaders of industry, commerce, education, research and public affairs have played an active part in the recognition of excellence through the SCI awards programme. Professor Bai has been selected for this important honour because of his outstanding personal leadership contributions in translating the spirit of the Society’s tagline, ‘Where science meets business’, into reality for China’s research community. Many international links have sprung from his practical encouragement and leadership. On behalf of SCI members in over 70 countries I am looking forward to admitting him to our distinguished roll of honour”.

Professor Bai graduated in chemistry from Peking University before going on to gain a doctorate from the CAS Institute of Chemistry. Following a two-year spell in USA as a research associate at Caltech (the California Institute of Technology) he became successively associate professor, full professor and later deputy director at the Institute. A one-year visiting professorship at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan and election as an Academician preceded his appointment to the prestigious post of CAS vice-president in 1996.

An authority in the field of scanning tunnelling microscopes (STM), Professor Bai initiated and promoted the development of scanning probe microscopy research in China. Leading the research, he successfully developed the first atomic force microscope, STM for cooperation in air, low-temperature STM, UHV-STM, laser-atomic force microscope and the first ballistic electron emission microscope in China.

Professor Bai was elected fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences in 1997; president of Chinese Chemical Society from 1999; and vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology from 2001. He is also chief scientist of the National Steering Committee for Nano Science and Technology.

ASMS Award

Dr George C. Stafford Jr, director of research for Thermo Finnigan, is the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). Dr Stafford is recognised for his work that redefined ion trap mass spectrometry and allowed it to be commercialised in 1983, 30 years after Dr Wolfgang Paul demonstrated key fundamental principles of ion trap technology.

Dr Stafford joined Thermo Finnigan, then Finnigan, in 1976 after completing his doctoral degree in analytical chemistry at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, USA. He is the first recipient of the award whose entire career has been in industry. Dr Stafford’s unique contribution to ion trap mass spectrometry is what has come to be called “mass-selective instability” scanning. This allows nearly all the ions of a substance to be trapped by a three-dimensional electrodynamic field and then selectively released individually for detection.

“I am extremely grateful for the recognition from ASMS,” Dr Stafford said. “It’s important to me to acknowledge that my work builds on the discoveries of many others, most notably Wolfgang Paul and Helmut Steinwedel, who first demonstrated ion trap principles in 1953. My doctoral advisor, Don Hunt (the ASMS award winner in 1994), first introduced me to mass spectrometry and encouraged me to be creative. I became particularly interested in ion trap technology after hearing about the pioneering work of Professors John Todd and Raymond March. I received support in my work from my former boss, Mike Story, one of Thermo Finnigan’s founders. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the work of John Syka, a colleague who now works with Dr Hunt. When we were developing the ion trap mass spectrometer, John was a student at Stanford who was also working at Finnigan. He played a major role in designing and building working models of ion traps.”

Isolating cell types

BD Biosciences and Thermo Finnigan have developed an innovative technique for isolating specific cell types in complex biological samples and then identifying low-abundance proteins from those cells. The technique was presented in a poster at the Fifth International Symposium on Mass Spectrometry in the Health and Life Sciences in San Francisco, 26–30 August. The technique uses BD Biosciences’ fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) to separate a specific cell population from a larger cell sample. Proteins from the isolated, purified sample are then identified by introducing them with Thermo Finnigan’s NanoFlow Solutions Kit into the LCQ Deca XP ion-trap mass spectrometer.

The FACS technology differs from other cell isolation methods because it can sort out samples of sufficient size to work effectively with mass spectrometry. Methods commonly used to isolate specific cell subsets for proteomics studies, such as laser capture microdissection, produce only a few thousand cells per sample. Mass spectrometry analysis of cellular proteomes normally requires several million cells per sample.

The type of sample used to demonstrate the technique was human blood from normal volunteers. The specific proteins of interest were expressed from two different types of T-cells (CD4 and CD8), which are major components of the body’s immune system.

The FACS technology uses cell surface markers, DNA content, biochemistry or morphology to sort a cell subpopulation from a complex sample. Once the cells of interest are isolated, the proteins from the cells are digested into peptides and identified using an LCQ Deca XP and TurboSequest, Thermo Finnigan’s protein identification software. www.thermofinnigan.com, www.bdbiosciences.com.

Astronomical observations

Kingsland Observatory, a new astronomical observatory in Ireland, is currently building a large spectrometer attached to a wide field telescope. The spectrometer will be used to study the spectrum of star fields. In order to ensure maximum flexibility in use, the design incorporates the facility for some of the spectrometer components to move in a closely controlled fashion, relative to each other, while the telescope follows a selected area of the sky.

Spectroscopic & Analytical Developments have been commissioned to design and manufacture the mechanism, which under computer control, can vary the width of the entrance slit and also traverse the slit across the primary optic. In addition, a computer-controlled drive allows the angle of the diffraction grating relative to the incoming light to be varied. The complete spectrometer is undergoing final trials and will be ready to commence observations shortly. www.spectroscopic.co.uk.