Raman-Activated, Interactive Sorting of Isotope-Labeled Bacteria.

Due to its high spatial resolution, Raman microspectroscopy allows for the analysis of single microbial cells. Since Raman spectroscopy analyzes the whole cell content, this method is phenotypic and can therefore be used to evaluate cellular changes. In particular, labeling with stable isotopes (SIPs) enables the versatile use and observation of different metabolic states in microbes. Nevertheless, static measurements can only analyze the present situation and do not allow for further downstream evaluations. Therefore, a combination of Raman analysis and cell sorting is necessary to provide the possibility for further research on selected bacteria in a sample. Here, a new microfluidic approach for Raman-activated continuous-flow sorting of bacteria using an optical setup for image-based particle sorting with synchronous acquisition and analysis of Raman spectra for making the sorting decision is demonstrated, showing that active cells can be successfully sorted by means of this microfluidic chip.

Crystal Chemical Substitution at Ca and La Sites in CaLa4(SiO4)3O To Design the Composition Ca1- xM xLa4-xRE x(SiO4)3O for Nuclear Waste Immobilization and Its Influence on the Thermal Expansion Behavior.

The oxysilicate apatite host CaLa4(SiO4)3O has been explored for immobilization of radioactive nuclides. Divalent ion, trivalent rare earth ion, and combined ionic substitutions in the silicate oxyapatite were carried out to optimize the simulated wasteform composition. The phases were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, TGA, SEM-EDS, and HT-XRD techniques. The results revealed the effect of ionic substitutions on the structure and thermal expansion behavior. The investigation resulted in the formulation of simulated wasteforms such as La3.4Ce0.1Pr0.1Nd0.1Sm0.1Gd0.1Y0.1(SiO4)3O (WF-1) and Ca0.8Sr0.1Pb0.1La3.4Ce0.1Pr0.1Nd0.1Sm0.1Gd0.1Y0.1(SiO4)3O (WF-2). In comparison to the average axial thermal expansion coefficients of the hexagonal unit cell of the parent CaLa4(SiO4)3O measured in the temperature range 298-1073 K (α' a = 9.74 × 10-6 K-1 and α' c = 10.10 × 10-6 K-1), rare earth ion substitution decreases the thermal expansion coefficients, as in the case of La3.4Ce0.1Pr0.1Nd0.1Sm0.1Gd0.1Y0.1(SiO4)3O (α' a = 8.67 × 10-6 K-1 and α' c = 7.94 × 10-6 K-1). However, the phase Ca0.8Sr0.1Pb0.1La3.4Ce0.1Pr0.1Nd0.1Sm0.1Gd0.1Y0.1(SiO4)3O shows an increase in the values of thermal expansion coefficients: α' a = 11.74 × 10-6 K-1 and α' c = 11.70 × 10-6 K-1.

Fabrication, chemical and thermal stability studies of crystalline ceramic wasteform based on oxyapatite phosphate host LaSr4(PO4)3O for high level nuclear waste immobilization.

Reprocessed high-level nuclear waste (HLW) contains range of radioactive components. Crystalline oxyphosphate apatite ceramic of the formula LaSr4(PO4)3O [LSS] was investigated as a host for HLW immobilisation. The systematic study of solid solubility limit of individual rare earth ion substitution leads to the formulation of simulated wasteform of the formula La0.6Pr0.1Nd0.1Sm0.1Gd0.1Sr4(PO4)3O (WF1) with the waste loading of 17.95 wt% of rare-earth ions. Both parent and WF1 were synthesized by precipitation method. The thermal stress and groundwater inventory at the repository site can severely affect the wasteform performance, in addition to radiation and mechanical effects. Hence, the fabricated composition with high-level nuclear waste loading must be screened basically for chemical, thermal and radiation resistance. The present study investigated the thermal stability (by TGA), thermal expansion behaviour (by HT-XRD) and chemical durability (MCC-5) of the composition (WF1). The weight loss of WF1 being 2.2% and the average thermal expansion co-efficient (αavg) of 10.7 ± 1.2 × 10-6 K-1 in the temperature range (298-973 K) were comparatively lower than the parent phase, LaSr4(PO4)3O. The WF1 showed resistance to leaching of RE3+ and P5+ with only the leaching of Sr2+ ion whose leach rate was of the order 10-3-10-4 gm-2d-1.