Analytica Chimica Acta最新文献

{"title":"Novel strategy for screening aptamers of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A based on active fragments and fusion design","authors":"Shujing Ge, Mengyao Guan, Fei Pan, Yanli Wang, Daodong Pan, Chaoying Zhang, Xinchang Gao, Yali Dang","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344135","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background</h3><em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> enterotoxin A (SEA) is the major toxin responsible for food poisoning caused by <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> infection. Aptamers are an ideal solution for visual detection of SEA. However, screening for aptamers is generally expensive and time-consuming. <strong>Therefore, a new method for efficient screening of high-affinity SEA aptamers needs to be established and supplemented with smartphone image recognition to enable visual and rapid detection of SEA.</strong><h3>Results</h3>A new aptamer for sensitive detection of SEA was screened using active fragments and fusion design. The novel high-affinity aptamer (BX1) was derived by intercepting active nucleotide fragments of several aptamers and fusing them; it was verified to have high affinity, with a <em>K</em>_d value of 4.16 ± 0.22 nM. Molecular dynamic simulation illustrated that BX1 formed a stable complex conformation with SEA, which maintained its stability for 200 ns. This novel aptamer can be used for visual inspection of SEA. A smartphone-assisted aptasensor was designed to sensitively detect SEA in milk with a wide linear range (1-250 ng/mL), low detection limit (0.42 ng/mL), and satisfactory spiked recovery.<h3>Significance</h3>A new method for screening SEA aptamers based on active fragments and fusion design was developed, which can rapidly screen high-affinity aptamers in a short duration and at a low expenditure. In addition, a new strategy for the rapid detection of SEA using a smartphone-assisted colorimetric aptamer sensor was successfully applied. This research method may provide a reference for the highly sensitive detection of other biotoxins.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143890025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How does sensor-wise N-BANDS relate to the of area of feasible solutions?","authors":"Tomass Andersons, Alejandro C. Olivieri, Mathias Sawall, Martina Beese, Klaus Neymeyr","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344079","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background:</h3>The method of sensor-wise N-BANDS aims to compute the envelope of the range of the feasible concentration profiles and the envelope of the range of the feasible spectral profiles. These envelopes are obtained by a sensor-wise maximization and minimization for each chemical species. They describe the rotational ambiguity which can also be explored by the area of feasible solutions. In this paper the results of sensor-wise N-BANDS are compared with the area of feasible solutions.<h3>Results:</h3>Profiles in which sensor-wise N-BANDS takes point-wise extrema are shown to correspond to the boundary of the area of feasible solutions.<h3>Significance:</h3>Sensor-wise N-BANDS is proven to correctly describe certain extremal AFS properties without any restrictions on the number of chemical species.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143885341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An improved and validated p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of urea","authors":"Hany Hassan El-Feky","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344124","url":null,"abstract":"The study introduced an optimized spectrophotometric procedure for quantifying urea using p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (PDAB) as a derivatizing reagent. Its main objective was to address reproducibility issues related to the aging of acidic PDAB solutions, variations in analytical factors, and detecting low urea levels. The color reagent was prepared by dissolving PDAB in a 1:1 volume ratio of glacial acetic acid to water, combined with concentrated sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to optimize the composition of the color reagent. The optimal molar ratio of PDAB to H₂SO₄ for achieving the highest absorbance of urea at a concentration of 10 mg/L was found to be 1:0.89. The analytical method was validated according to part 1040 of the standard methods for examining water and wastewater. This validation included assessments of selectivity, recovery, precision, and ruggedness. Potential interferences from ammonia, ammonium chloride, hydrazine, and thiosemicarbazide were examined. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were established at 2.2 mg/L and 10 mg/L, respectively. The method demonstrated linearity up to 100 ppm of urea, with a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.9999. For the tested matrices, mean recovery rates at three concentrations (10, 50, and 100 mg/L) ranged from 90% to 110%. Moreover, the precision, indicated by relative standard deviations during inter-laboratory comparisons, did not exceed 5%. The method showed robustness, exhibiting minimal sensitivity to changes in critical factors. This enhanced PDAB method is considered effective for determining urea levels in fertilizer laboratories.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143885343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A modified spectral standardization method for uranium ores measurement using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy","authors":"Jianxun Ji, Zongyu Hou, Weilun Gu, Xiang Yu, Zhe Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344125","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;The high signal uncertainty is the key factor hindering the quantification performance of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology. Different plasma parameter compensation algorithms for reducing signal uncertainty have been proposed. Among them, spectral standardization is a representative, which can reduce signal uncertainty by compensating for the variations of plasma parameters, especially using multiple independent spectral lines of the measured element to compensate for the fluctuation of total number density. However, it’s hard to find enough independent lines for cases such as uranium in ores measurement. This work proposes an updated version to reduce the signal uncertainty for these cases.&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;On the basis of spectral standardization method, the new method uses another element information of the matrix to compensate the fluctuation of total number density for the measured element. Specifically, multiple spectral lines of another element are first used to characterize its total number density, and then the total number density of the measured element is obtained through the correlation between the two elements. Finally, the new method is evaluated on uranium ores. Results showed that after using the information of the silicon element to estimate the total number density of uranium, the relative standard deviation(RSD) of the U II 409.01 nm was reduced from the original 23.03%% to 9.41%, the quantitative model determination coefficient (&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style=\"\"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-mathml='&lt;math xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\" /&gt;' role=\"presentation\" style=\"font-size: 90%; display: inline-block; position: relative;\" tabindex=\"0\"&gt;&lt;svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" height=\"0.24ex\" role=\"img\" style=\"vertical-align: -0.12ex;\" viewbox=\"0 -51.7 0 103.4\" width=\"0\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\"&gt;&lt;g fill=\"currentColor\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"0\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 -1 0 0)\"&gt;&lt;/g&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;span role=\"presentation\"&gt;&lt;math xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\"&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;script type=\"math/mml\"&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;/span&gt;) of uranium was increased from the original 0.9129 to 0.9921, and the root mean square error of prediction (&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style=\"\"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-mathml='&lt;math xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\" /&gt;' role=\"presentation\" style=\"font-size: 90%; display: inline-block; position: relative;\" tabindex=\"0\"&gt;&lt;svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" height=\"0.24ex\" role=\"img\" style=\"vertical-align: -0.12ex;\" viewbox=\"0 -51.7 0 103.4\" width=\"0\" xmlns:xlink=\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\"&gt;&lt;g fill=\"currentColor\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"0\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 -1 0 0)\"&gt;&lt;/g&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;&lt;span role=\"presentation\"&gt;&lt;math xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\"&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;script type=\"math/mml\"&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;/span&gt;) was reduced from the original 0.2586 to 0.0670.&lt;h3&gt;Significance&lt;/h3&gt;The modified spectral stan","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143880796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tiny but Mighty! N,N-dimethyl-4-(5-nitrothiophen-2-yl)aniline, a Push-Pull Fluorescent Dye for Lipid Droplet Imaging","authors":"Wen Ann Wee, Tatum Melati Andini, Tomotaka Kumagai, Shanmugavel Chinnathambi, Ganesh N. Pandian, Arthur Millius, Hiroshi Sugiyama, Daron M. Standley, Soyoung Park","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344130","url":null,"abstract":"Lipid droplets (LDs) are ubiquitous cellular organelles with a neutral lipid core containing triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters surrounded by phospholipids. Recent findings indicate that LDs are intricately linked to diseases, such as cancer and neurological disorders, in addition to their roles in cellular senescence and immune responses. Herein, we describe a simple yet robust push-pull molecule, <em>N,N</em>-dimethyl-4-(5-nitrothiophen-2-yl)aniline (<strong>NiTA</strong>), as a versatile LD fluorescent probe. <strong>NiTA</strong> showed an absorption spectrum with a substantial bathochromic shift and a fluorescence spectrum with excellent solvatochromism. Leveraging the remarkable photophysical features of <strong>NiTA</strong>, we stained LDs in major immune cells, including T and B cells, and macrophages, and monitored the changes in LDs under oxidative and starvation conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrated the applicability of <strong>NiTA</strong> for visualizing the organization of medaka fish (<em>Oryzias latipes</em>) embryos during development. We expect the small yet powerful <strong>NiTA</strong> to be utilized in various applications, including fluorescence mapping to observe LD numbers, morphology, and polarity changes in animals and cells.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143885342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Activatable Optical Probe for Non-invasive Detection of APN Activity in Diabetes and Its Complications","authors":"Weibo Zhao, Lidan Lu, Nannan Song, Kai Wang, Yuqing Sun, Peijuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344122","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background</h3>Diabetes is a major global health issue, primarily characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, and can lead to severe complications such as ovarian dysfunction. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical for effective disease management and prevention of long-term complications. This study explores the clinical potential of <strong>Hcy-APN</strong>, a diagnostic probe designed to detect aminopeptidase N (APN) activity in solution, cells, and in vivo.<h3>Results</h3>The Hcy-APN probe incorporates a hemicyanine moiety, remaining non-fluorescent until cleaved by APN, which enhances both fluorescence and photoacoustic (PA) signals. In vitro experiments demonstrated a strong correlation between APN concentration and PA intensity, with minimal interference from other bioenzymes. The probe exhibited high stability and consistent PA signals, enabling deep tissue imaging at depths up to <strong>0.6 cm</strong>. Cellular imaging confirmed its low cytotoxicity, while in vivo studies in diabetic mice highlighted its effectiveness in monitoring APN activity. Additionally, fluorescence assays of human clinical samples revealed significantly higher signals in serum from patients with ovarian dysfunction, suggesting the probe’s diagnostic utility in diabetes-related ovarian conditions.<h3>Significance</h3>This study underscores the potential of <strong>Hcy-APN</strong> as a valuable tool for clinical diagnostics, particularly in monitoring diabetes-associated complications like ovarian dysfunction. The probe’s dual-modality imaging capability (fluorescence and PA) enhances its applicability in deep tissue analysis. Further research is needed to optimize its clinical use and validate its efficacy in improving patient outcomes.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143885345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fluorescence Detection of Phenylethylamine Based on Cucurbit[7]uril Supramolecular Assemblies","authors":"Yan Sun, Shang-Wei Yuan, Qing Chen, Dan-Ping Chen, Xue-Yang Xu, Zhu Tao, Xin Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344126","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background</h3>Phenethylamine (PEA) is a novel psychoactive substance that can cause agitation and hallucinations, posing a threat to human health. In this study, a N1@Q[7] supramolecular assembly with a robust fluorescent probe effect was prepared through the supramolecular self-assembly of cucurbit[7]uril (Q[7]) and a bromophenylpyridine derivative (N1).<h3>Results</h3>In this supramolecular assembly, the isoquinoline moiety of N1 entered the cavity of Q[7], while the 4,4-bromophenylpyridyl moiety remained outside, forming a 1:1 inclusion complex. It was found that the addition of other amines did not significantly affect the fluorescence of the assembly, but the addition of PEA caused a notable decrease in fluorescence intensity and a red shift. N1@Q[7] demonstrated sensitive specificity and high selectivity to PEA. The principle is that PEA molecules, N1 molecules, and Q[7] form a synergistic ternary system. Based on this, the detection of PEA in real urine samples by N1@Q[7] was simulated.<h3>Signiffcance and Novelty</h3>The probe exhibited high selectivity in the presence of major components of real urine and enabled visual detection of PEA through fluorescence color change at different concentrations. This study provides a new fluorescent probe method for the detection of drugs and their metabolites.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143885344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaporation dynamics of sessile droplets in the ablation cell for LA-ICP-MS analysis of liquids","authors":"Petr Rudolf, Kristýna Kantnerová, Alena Randová, Antonín Kaňa","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344127","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background</h3>Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful method for elemental analysis. However, it faces challenges when analysing organic-rich samples due to plasma instability. Laser ablation coupled with ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) offers a suitable alternative by introducing minimal sample amounts into the plasma, maintaining its stability. In the case of liquids, rapid evaporation of liquid droplets limits the applicability of LA-ICP-MS, as it impacts analyte concentration. Understanding droplet evaporation dynamics within the ablation cell, where helium accelerates droplet evaporation, is essential to improve reliability of the analysis. This study explores the evaporation behaviour of organic solvent droplets in LA-ICP-MS. In addition, it aims to enhance liquid sample analysis by modelling observed evaporation processes.<h3>Results</h3>Experiments were conducted with organic solvent droplets evaporating on various sample-holder surfaces, focusing on evaporation within helium and air environments. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was identified as the optimal surface material for sustaining high contact angles of sessile droplets, thus prolonging droplet lifetime. A mathematical model was developed to describe evaporation, incorporating contact angle, droplet geometry, and mass transfer dynamics. The model demonstrates that most droplets initially evaporate in a constant contact radius mode, then transition to a constant contact angle mode. The experimental data align closely with the model predictions, affirming the impact of initial contact angle and droplet volume on evaporation behaviour. Additionally, we established correlations to predict droplet lifetime based on saturated vapour pressure and initial droplet height, contributing a practical reference for management of organic solvents in LA-ICP-MS applications.<h3>Significance and Novelty</h3>This research provides a straightforward approach to understanding and controlling evaporation dynamics of liquid samples in LA-ICP-MS, which is essential for reliable elemental analysis of organic-rich liquid samples. By modelling sessile droplet behaviour and validating it with experimental data, this study lays the groundwork for a wide range of applications, such as the analysis of metals in oils and other low-volatility organic solvents or analysis of microliter-scale liquid samples.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultra-simple nucleic acid extraction using a polystyrene microplastic particles-thermal lysis system for rapid detection of pathogen in nasal mucus","authors":"Yang Li, Xuecheng Yang, Yajing Zhang, Cuiping Ma, Chao Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344123","url":null,"abstract":"Respiratory infections are a leading cause of death and disability globally and have become an important issue of public concern. Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) has been recognized as the gold standard for respiratory infection diagnosis, and played a critical role in epidemic control during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the laborious nucleic acid extraction limits the application of NAAT in the on-site respiratory infection diagnosis, an effective approach for disease control and prevention. Herein, a polystyrene microplastic particle (PSMP)-thermal lysis system was established to extract nucleic acids from nasal mucus in 4 min simply and rapidly without sacrificing sensing performance. The PSMP-thermal lysis system showed a strong protein adsorption capacity, by which nearly eliminating the interference of protein content in nasal mucus on amplification reaction. Moreover, the PCR using this PSMP-thermal lysis system showed excellent selectivity and anti-jamming ability, as well as the high sensitivity comparable to that using commercial kits based on commonly used solid-phase extraction in detecting target pathogens in sticky nasal mucus with protein content of 25.11 μg/μL. Furthermore, the practical use investigation indicated the PCR assay using this system could accurately identify respiratory infection patients by detecting corresponding pathogens in clinical nasal mucus samples. This PSMP-thermal lysis system has the potential for pathogen detection in various respiratory secretions and is anticipated to substantially simplify molecular diagnosis of respiratory infections.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spark Mapping Analysis for Large Samples methodology for quantitative full-scale element imaging of bearing steel bloom with varying reduction processes","authors":"Xiaofen Zhang, Liang Sheng, Yong Lyu, Bao Yang, Hui Zhang, Yunhai Jia, Haizhou Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.aca.2025.344128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344128","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Background</h3>The characterization of chemical compositions in full-scale large size metal materials with varying processes is helpful for the rapid selection of the optimal processes in the improvement and development of new materials. The process of soft and heavy reduction processes at the end of solidification has proven to be an effective method for enhancing the internal quality of bearing steel. However, traditional analytical methods fail to accurately determine the composition distribution of full-scale large-size metal samples due to limitations in spatial resolution or time-consuming.<h3>Results</h3>The Spark Mapping Analysis for Large Samples (SMALS) technique has been used for element imaging of full-scale GCr15 bearing steel bloom section with varying reduction processes. The experimental conditions, including testing energy, the distance between the sample and the electrode, were systematically optimized to improve the repeatability and accuracy of the SMALS methodology. Six tailor-made Fe-based reference materials with concentration gradient were mapped using SMALS to establish calibration curve, and the results were validated by conducting spark atomic emission spectroscopy (Spark-AES). Additionally, the detection limits for elements such as C, Si, Mn, Cr, Ni, Mo, Cu, V, Ti, Nb, and Al were determined using SMALS. The quantitative element imaging of the cross and longitudinal sections of bearing steel bloom demonstrated the presence of frame-type and V-type segregation and indicated that the short-range reduction process could better alleviate V-type segregation compared to the long-range reduction process.<h3>Significance</h3>This study provides a successful application case of production process optimization by comparing the composition distribution of sample sections with varying reduction processes. Furthermore, the SMALS technology not only identified segregation patterns but also detected surface defects in samples. This versatile elemental imaging technique provides an efficient approach for composition analysis and process evaluation of full-scale samples, contributing significantly to the research and development of new materials.","PeriodicalId":240,"journal":{"name":"Analytica Chimica Acta","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}