Investigations on antibody binding to a micro-cantilever coated with a BAM pesticide residue

The attachment of an antibody to an antigen-coated cantilever has been investigated by repeated experiments, using a cantilever-based detection system by Cantion A/S. The stress induced by the binding of a pesticide residue BAM (2,6 dichlorobenzamide) immobilized on a cantilever surface to anti-BAM antibody is measured using the CantiLab4© system from Cantion A/S with four gold-coated cantilevers and piezo resistive readout. The detection mechanism is in principle label-free, but fluorescent-marked antibodies have been used to subsequently verify the binding on the cantilever surface. The bending and increase in mass of each cantilever has also been investigated using a light interferometer and a Doppler Vibrometer. The system has been analyzed during repeated measurements to investigate whether the CantiLab4© system is a suited platform for a pesticide assay system

Spatial distribution of major and trace elements in a mining dam: sources and relationships among elements of environmental concern

The concentration of major and trace elements have been determined in sediments samples taken from a mining dam, located in the upper area of the Tinto River basin (SW Spain). This dam, built to fulfil water needs for mining operations, is now completed clogged by accumulation of fine sediments. The results obtained for vertical and horizontal distribution of chemical elements showed highest average concentrations of Fe and Al, both with 10 %, and S (about 4 %). Toxic elements, such as As and Pb occur also with high concentrations (2515 and 5172 mg/kg, respectively). Determination of Enrichment Factors (EF) showed that sediments are enriched in elements related with the massive sulphide ore bodies and subsequent acid mine drainage processes. The elements Pb and As are that of major environmental concern, with enrichment factors higher than 10. Application of cluster analysis put in evidence the main sources of elements, allowing for the modelling of the origin of the accumulated matter. Therefore, in addition to contributions from sulphide (Fe, S) and gangue (Al, Mg), there are grouping of elements mobilized from phyllosilicates and feldspars, (e.g. Ca and K) as well as a specific group that reflects the geochemical affinity of rare earth elements in such acidic environment. Moreover, the way how elements are grouped testify the heterogeneity of geological contributions as well as the mining cycles over 4000 years of mining history in this worldwide known river basin.This study is a contribution of the DGCICYT-CGL2010-21268-C02-01 project, which has been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and the Andalusian Autonomous Government Excellence Projects, P10-RNM-6570 project. The Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) is funding under contract with FCT (the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, Reference UID/GEO/04683/2013. The authors greatly appreciate the efforts of the three anonymous reviewers who carefully review the paper, and their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio