Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection with dual top-bottom cell configuration for microchip electrophoresis.

An optimized capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector for microchip electophoresis is presented. The detector consists of a pair of top-bottom excitation electrodes and a pair of pickup electrodes disposed onto a very thin plastic microfluidic chip. The detection cell formed by the electrodes is completely encased and shielded in a metal housing. These approaches allow for the enhancement of signal coupling and extraction from the detection cell that result in an improved signal-to-noise-ratio and detection sensitivity. The improved detector performance is illustrated by the electrophoretic separation of six cations (NH(4) (+), K(+), Ca(2+), Na(+), Mg(2+), Li(+)) with a detection limit of approximately 0.3 microM and the analysis of the anions (Br(-), Cl(-), NO(2) (-), NO(3) (-), SO(4) (2-), F(-)) with a detection limit of about 0.15 microM. These LODs are significantly improved compared with previous reports using the conventional top-top electrode geometry. The developed system was applied to the analysis of ions in bottled drinking water samples.

Distinct Molecular Trajectories Converge to Induce Naive Pluripotency.

Understanding how cell identity transitions occur and whether there are multiple paths between the same beginning and end states are questions of wide interest. Here we show that acquisition of naive pluripotency can follow transcriptionally and mechanistically distinct routes. Starting from post-implantation epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs), one route advances through a mesodermal state prior to naive pluripotency induction, whereas another transiently resembles the early inner cell mass and correspondingly gains greater developmental potency. These routes utilize distinct signaling networks and transcription factors but subsequently converge on the same naive endpoint, showing surprising flexibility in mechanisms underlying identity transitions and suggesting that naive pluripotency is a multidimensional attractor state. These route differences are reconciled by precise expression of Oct4 as a unifying, essential, and sufficient feature. We propose that fine-tuned regulation of this "transition factor" underpins multidimensional access to naive pluripotency, offering a conceptual framework for understanding cell identity transitions.