Real-time mass-spectrometric screening of droplet-scale electrochemical reactions

Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is considered the primary energy source in cells. However, energy can also be stored in the electrochemical gradient of an ion across the plasma membrane, which is determined by two factors: its chemical and electrical gradients.
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an...

Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, or Real-time RT-PCR, is an analytical tool used to determine the expression level of target genes. The method involves converting mRNA to complementary DNA with the help of an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase, followed by the PCR amplification of the cDNA. These two processes can be performed simultaneously in a single tube or separately as a two-step reaction.
The real-time quantification of the number of amplified products is...

Hydronium and hydroxide ions are present both in pure water and in all aqueous solutions, and their concentrations are inversely proportional as determined by the ion product of water (Kw). The concentrations of these ions in a solution are often critical determinants of the solution’s properties and the chemical behaviors of its other solutes. Two different solutions can differ in their hydronium or hydroxide ion concentrations by a million, billion, or even trillion times. A common means of...

The theoretical yield of a reaction is the amount of product estimated to form based on the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation. The theoretical yield assumes the complete conversion of the limiting reactant into the desired product. The amount of product that is obtained by performing the reaction is called the actual yield, and it may be less than or (very rarely) equal to the theoretical yield.

A balanced chemical equation provides a great deal of information in a very succinct format. Chemical formulas provide the identities of the reactants and products involved in the chemical change, allowing classification of the reaction. Coefficients provide the relative numbers of these chemical species, allowing a quantitative assessment of the relationships between the amounts of substances consumed and produced by the reaction. These quantitative relationships are known as the reaction’s...

Polarimetry finds application in chemical kinetics to measure the concentration and reaction kinetics of optically active substances during a chemical reaction. Optically active substances have the capability of rotating the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light passing through them—a feature called optical rotation. Optical activity is attributed to the molecular structure of substances. Normal monochromatic light is unpolarized and possesses oscillations of the electrical...