Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited

Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Mitsubishi Pencil Kabushiki Kaisha

Director General Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology Ministry of International

Kashima-kita, Electric Power Corporation

Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Japan Metals & Chemical Co. Inc.

Kaora Katoh

Hiroko Kaneko

Tsukuba Materials Information Laboratory, Ltd.

Akira Negishi

Ken Nozaki

Yoshihisa Suda

Takamasa Kawakubo

Masahiro Yamada

Hideo Ihara

Keiji Kaneko

Kunitaka Yamada

Takeo Ozawa

Kaoru Katoh

Masayuki Hirabayashi

Hiroshi Gotoh

Masato Nakajima

Ikuo Nagashima

Kanji Sato

Takashi Shimanuki

Atsunori Satake

Wataru Mizutani

Koichi Oku

Shoji Ishibashi

Jun Fukui

Kenji Sato

Ichiro Nakahara

Yukifumi Shigematsu

Harumasa Okamoto

Yoshinori Koga

Kaoru Kato

The invention provides a substrate suitable for cell culture observation and a method of observation using the same. Crystalline carbon such as a graphite powder is mixed into a thermosetting resin such as a furan resin, and the mixture is molded in the shape of a sheet and carbonized to produce a carbon substrate; then, a cell is made to adhere to the carbon substrate, and the cell is caused to proliferate on the carbon substrate and observed using a microscope.

Method of cell culture observation, carbon substrate for cell culture observation, and method for manufacture thereof

The invention provides at a relatively low cost a carbon substrate that is formed from an opaque material and that has an extremely flat surface so that optical measurements can be made on the substrate. Graphite powder with a particle size of 10 &#x3bc;m or less is mixed in a thermosetting resin such as a furan resin, and the mixture is molded into a sheet and calcined at 1400&#xb0; C. in an inert atmosphere to produce a carbon substrate whose surface is then ground flat.

Optical measurement substrate and fabrication method for the same

A carbon microrod that holds a fine object by chemically adsorbing the object on the surface to make a dynamic measurement possible. An organic substance that leaves, after firing, glassy carbon that hardly becomes graphite, such as a chlorinated vinyl chloride resin, is mixed with a fine graphite powder having an average particle size of 1 &#x3bc;m, and the mixture is extrusion molded with a die having a diameter of 50 &#x3bc;m; the molded article is fired to give a carbon microrod comprising glassy carbon and crystalline carbon.

Carbon microrod and method of producing the same

A process for producing a carbon sensor for measuring a composition, includes (a) providing first and second carbon electrodes each comprised of a bundle of linear, thin carbon members; (b) surrounding the first carbon electrode by dipping the first carbon electrode in a solution comprised of a reactive substance which reacts chemically with the composition to be measured; (c) disposing the first carbon electrode and the solution in a cylindrical ion permeable membrane to hold the solution in the first carbon electrode as well as between the first carbon electrode and the cylindrical ion permeable membrane; (d) positioning the cylindrical ion permeable membrane including the first carbon electrode and the solution in an insulating tubular member; and (e) disposing the second carbon electrode between the insulating tubular member and the cylindrical ion permeable membrane. Alternatively, the solution may be poured into a cylindrical ion permeable membrane and the first carbon electrode may be inserted into the cylindrical ion permeable membrane to hold the solution between the first carbon electrode and the ion permeable membrane and thereby surround the bundle.

Method of making a carbon sensor electrode

A carbon electrode is dipped in a solution containing a reactive substance, and the carbon electrode impregnated with the solution is covered with an insulating tubular member; or a solution containing a reactant is poured into an insulating tube, and a carbon electrode is inserted into the tube; whereby the reactant is made coexistent in the periphery of the carbon electrode. Alternatively, a reactive substance such as an active enzyme and graphite particles or activated carbon particles are mixed with a liquid and dispersed therein to prepare a thoroughly wetted paste. The paste is introduced by means of an extruding mechanism such as a syringe into an insulating tubular member in which a bundle of many thin carbon rods as a lead is inserted. Thus, a carbon sensor electrode is produced. Alternatively, a first carbon electrode that has been dipped in an active enzyme or an enzyme-like reactive substance solution is disposed in a wet condition in a cylindrical ion permeable membrane. To prevent the enzyme or enzyme-like reactive substance in the electrode from becoming deactivated with the passage of time, a preliminary electrode is further inserted into the insulating tubular member, whereby the potential can be kept to be oxidation or reduction potential so as to ensure a constant sensor life. A fresh electrode surface having the active enzyme or enzyme-like reactive substance can be easily obtained by cutting or snapping off a tip portion of the sensor including the insulating tubular member.

Carbon sensor electrode and process for producing the same

A method for producing a compound oxide superconducting thin film, comprising forming an oxide thin film on the surface of a substrate of a first metal element having a redox charge by oxidizing the metal, using the oxide thin film thus formed as an electrode for oxidation reaction of a second metal element contained in an electrolyte solution or molten salt to incorporate the second metal element in the oxide thin film, using the compound oxide thin film thus formed as an electrode to obtain a cyclic voltammogram, and electrochemically processing the compound oxide thin film at an electrolytic potential that is determined based on the cyclic voltammogram.

Method of producing compound oxide superconducting thin film

A working micro-electrode with a reference electrode prepared by coating a working micro-electrode with an insulating material except a working electrode portion, forming a silver layer on the coated surface, and then changing a portion of the silver layer into silver chloride which is the reference electrode; a working micro-electrode with a reference electrode and a counter electrode prepared by coating the working micro-electrode with the reference electrode with an insulating material, and then forming the counter electrode on the surface of the insulating material; and methods for preparing these composite micro-electrodes. Heretofore, even if the working electrode is thinly constituted, the merit of the micro-electrode has not been sufficiently utilized, since the reference electrode and the counter electrode have been thick. However, the present invention can solve this problem and can facilitate experiments in which the micro-electrode is necessary. Since an inexpensive material such as carbon can be used, the working electrode may be constituted so as to be disposable or can be cut off the used portion to repeatedly obtain a new electrode surface. Therefore, the working electrode of the present invention is economical.

Micro-electrode and method for preparing it

A carbon micro-sensor electrode is disclosed which is prepared by impregnating, adsorbing or chemically modifying a pure composite carbon wire having many micropores extending to its surface and interior with a reactant such as an enzyme, a metal complex compound, an organic compound or a metabolite; and a method for preparing this carbon micro-sensor electrode is also disclosed. The above-mentioned electrode can be used for a long period of time, since the reactant is received in the many micropores. Furthermore, after used, the electrode may be cut off to expose a new electrode surface, and this new electrode surface may be coated with a material which does not impede an electrode reaction, whereby the reactant can be prevented from flowing out. Thus, the carbon micro-sensor electrode of the present invention can be repeatedly utilized.

Carbon micro-sensor electrode and method for preparing it

A method for the production of a standard oxide sample for X-ray fluorescence analysis of an impurity element contained in an inorganic compound. The standard oxide sample is produced by accurately weighing a high-purity compound of the type of the main-component element of the inorganic compound, dissolving the weighed compound in an acid, adding an element of the type of the impurity element to be subjected to determination in a prescribed amount to the acid solution, evaporating the resultant solution to dryness, and heating the dry residue of evaporation.

Method for production of standard oxide sample for X-ray fluorescence

In a redox battery including an electrolytic cell which has a circulating type electrolytic solution and an intermittent circulating type electrolytic solution which has a membrane and which employs an electrolytic solution permeable porous electrode, a solution of vanadium (II/III) dissolved in sulfuric acid is used as an active material on the negative electrode of a redox couple, and an oxidizing substance in a gas (such as oxygen) or in electrolytic solution is used as an active material on the positive electrode of the redox couple. The redox battery of the invention shows high energy density, and has a small size and a high output, thus it can be used for an electric vehicle or as a portable battery.

Redox battery

A method for producing an oxide superconductor comprises obtaining a cyclic voltammogram using an oxide material containing an element having a redox charge as an electrode, determining an electrolytic potential for the oxide material on the basis of the voltammogram, and electrolyzing the oxide material at the determined potential.

Method of producing oxide superconductor

A method of making a probe electrode includes the steps of kneading a mixture of 75-80% by weight of a carbon material, 10-14% by weight of an organic binder and 7-9% by weight of mineral oil, forming the kneaded mixture into a predetermined shape, heating the shaped mixture in air the temperature of up to 300.degree. C. and raising the temperature in an atmosphere of inert gas up to 1000.degree. C.

Probe electrode

A vanadium electrolytic solution containing highly concentrated and dissolved vanadium is produced by a method wherein a vanadium compound selected from the group consisting of ammonium metavanadate and vanadium pentaoxide is subjected to a reduction operation in the presence of inorganic acids. At this time, by repeating the addition of the concentrated inorganic acids and the vanadium compound, a tetravalent and pentavalent vanadium solution of 3.4 mol/l is obtained. In addition, the resulting vanadium electrolytic solution is electrolyzed, whereby tetravalent vanadium is reduced to be trivalent on the negative electrode and is oxidized into pentavalent vanadium on the positive electrode, and then pentavalent vanadium is reduced into tetravalent vanadium by a reducing agent to form a discharged couple of trivalent and tetravalent vanadium, and an electrolytic solution is obtained which is capable of being charge-discharged. This electrolytic solution can be used as the electrolytic solution for redox batteries using vanadium as the active material in both positive and negative electrodes.

Method for producing vanadium electrolytic solution

A tapered carbon microelectrode is produced by extruding an organic material or a composition composed of crystalline carbon fine powder and an organic binder into a thin rod form, carbonizing said rod by calcining to produce a pure carbon thin rod, soaking the resulting thin rod as an anode in an electrolytic solution, gradually pulling up the thin rod while electrochemically oxidizing the tip portion of the thin rod. Then a lead wire is connected with the thick portion of the thin rod followed by coating all the surface except the conically sharp tip portion. The tapered carbon electrode can be used for various electrochemical measurements and scanning tunneling microscope.

Growing community of inventors

Tsukuba, Japan

Hiroko Kaneko