Portable Apparatus for Electrochemical Sensing of Ethylene

A small, lightweight, portable apparatus based on an electrochemical sensing principle has been developed for monitoring low concentrations of ethylene in air. Ethylene has long been known to be produced by plants and to stimulate the growth and other aspects of the development of plants (including, notably, ripening of fruits and vegetables), even at concentrations as low as tens of parts per billion (ppb). The effects are magnified in plant-growth and -storage chambers wherein ethylene can accumulate. There is increasing recognition in agriculture and related industries that it is desirable to monitor and control ethylene concentrations in order to optimize the growth, storage, and ripening of plant products. Hence, there are numerous potential uses for the present apparatus in conjunction with equipment for controlling ethylene concentrations. The ethylene sensor is of a thick-film type with a design optimized for a low detection limit. The sensor includes a noble metal sensing electrode on a chip and a hydrated solid-electrolyte membrane that is held in contact with the chip. Also located on the sensor chip are a counter electrode and a reference electrode. The sensing electrode is held at a fixed potential versus the reference electrode. Detection takes place at active-triple-point areas where the sensing electrode, electrolyte, and sample gas meet. These areas are formed by cutting openings in the electrolyte membrane. The electrode current generated from electrochemical oxidation of ethylene at the active triple points is proportional to the concentration of ethylene. An additional film of the solid-electrolyte membrane material is deposited on the sensing electrode to increase the effective triple-point areas and thereby enhance the detection signal. The sensor chip is placed in a holder that is part of a polycarbonate housing. When fully assembled, the housing holds the solid-electrolyte membrane in contact with the chip (see figure). The housing includes a water reservoir for keeping the solid-electrolyte membrane hydrated. The housing also includes flow channels for circulating a sample stream of air over the chip: ethylene is brought to the sensing surface predominately by convection in this sample stream. The sample stream is generated by a built-in sampling pump. The forced circulation of sample air contributes to the attainment of a low detection limit

Persufflation (gaseous oxygen perfusion) as a method of heart preservation

Persufflation (PSF; gaseous oxygen perfusion) is an organ preservation technique with a potential for use in donor heart preservation. Improved heart preservation with PSF may improve outcomes by maintaining cardiac tissue quality in the setting of longer cold ischemia times and possibly increasing the number of donor hearts available for allotransplant. Published data suggests that PSF is able to extend the cold storage times for porcine hearts up to 14 hours without compromising viability and function, and has been shown to resuscitate porcine hearts following donation after cardiac death. This review summarizes key published work on heart PSF, including prospective implications and future directions for PSF in heart transplantation. We emphasize the potential impact of extending preservation times and expanding donor selection criteria in heart allotransplant. Additionally, the key issues that need to be addressed before PSF were to become a widely utilized preservation strategy prior to clinical heart transplantation are summarized and discussed