News & Events

CIQTEK X-Band Benchtop Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy EPR200M was successfully delivered to Prof. Chen Xiaoyuan's group at the National University of Singapore (NUS).   CIQTEK EPR helps with diagnosis and treatment integration research Founded in 1905, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is one of the finest research universities in Singapore and ranks among the world's top researchers in the fields of chemistry and materials science. The main research direction of Prof. Chen Xiaoyuan's group, which introduced the CIQTEK EPR200M, is diagnostic and therapeutic integration. The research utilizes nanotechnology to achieve precise delivery of drugs, including small molecule drugs, peptides and mRNAs, etc. Combined with multimodal imaging technology, the group evaluates the tissue distribution and pharmacokinetic process of drugs in vivo and ultimately realizes the integration of diagnosis and treatment.   Jianhua Zou, the relevant person in charge of the project team, said: The stability, sensitivity index and data accuracy of the CIQTEK EPR200M product are fully in line with the requirements of the project team's experimental testing. The team will use the device to test the generation or scavenging of a variety of reactive oxygen species, such as monoclinic oxygen, superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, etc. By measuring the changes in the signal parameters of these radical substances, EPR can dynamically and quantitatively monitor the increase or decrease of their concentration in biological samples, so as to test the effectiveness of antioxidant substances in scavenging reactive oxygen species.   X-Band Benchtop EPR Spectroscopy | EPR200M The EPR200M is a newly designed and engineered benchtop electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer. Based on high sensitivity, high stability, and a variety of experimental scenarios, it provides a cost-effective, low-maintenance, simple and easy-to-use experience for every EPR experimental user.

CIQTEK is pleased to announce BK Instruments Inc. as our sole distributor for the range of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR or ESR) equipment in the Republic of Korea. BK Instruments Inc. (BKI) is a Korean company that provides experimental analysis equipment and related consumables and services. Since its establishment in January 1999, BK Instrument Inc. has been constantly striving to achieve customer satisfaction as the top priority without obsessing over momentary profits. As a leader in the next-generation environmental field, it will take the lead in developing science and industry technology.   BKI will work closely with the CIQTEK team to provide the best local service to Korean customers.     

Recently, Zhichao Jin's research team at Guizhou University has demonstrated that heteroatomic anions can be used as super-electron donors to initiate free-radical reactions to easily synthesize 3-substituted benzofurans. The resulting products have broad application prospects in organic synthesis and pesticide development.     The results were published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications under the title "Facile access to benzofuran derivatives through radical reactions with heteroatom-centered super-electron-donors". In the study, CIQTEK's X-band continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer EPR200-Plus was used to confirm the generation of free radical species in the reaction system.   Benzofurans are among the 100 major cyclic structures widely found in human clinical drugs. In particular, 3-substituted benzofurans are frequently found as core structures in many natural and non-natural drug molecules with proven biological activity. In order to obtain 3-substituted benzofuran derivatives with a wide range of functionalities rapidly and selectively, the development of new and efficient synthetic methods is essential. Single-electron transfer reaction is one of the most efficient ways to construct functionalized 3-substituted benzofurans, and a suitable electron donor is crucial for the success of the single-electron transfer process. However, to date, no study has reported the use of heteroatom-centered anions as direct super-electron donors for single-electron transfer reactions.   The research team of Zhichao Jin at Guizhou University has easily synthesized 3-substituted benzofuran molecules with various heteroatom functionalities by utilizing heteroatom anions as SEDs to initiate the free radical reactions in their studies. Phosphines, thiols, and anilines with different substitution patterns performed well in this intermolecular free radical coupling reaction, and the 3-substituted benzofuran products with heteroatom functionalities showed moderate to excellent yields.   Fig. 1 | Bioactivities, syntheses of 3-substituted benzofurans and SEDs for radical reactions. a Commercial drugs containing 3-substituted benzofuran structures. b Typical methods for access to 3-substituted benzofurans. c Representative organic small molecular SEDs. d Heteroatom anions as SEDs for 3-heteroalkylbenzofuran synthesis.   The generation of free radical species in the reaction system was confirmed in the study using EPR technique (CIQTEK EPR200-Plus). The EPR spectra of the mixture of 1a, HPPh2 and LDA in 25°C DME showed a signal similar to the phenyl g factor at g = 2.0023. Fig. 4 | EPR spectrum of the reaction mixtures and control experiments. a EPR spectrum of the reaction mixtures. b Feasibilities of the heteroatomic anions as SEDs for the radical reactions. c Cross-radical coupling reactions with mercaptans. d The X-band EPR spectrum of 1:2:2 stoichiometric reaction of 1a (0.1 mmol), HPPh2 (0.2 ...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!   We wish you peace, joy and prosperity throughout the coming year.   Thank you for your continued support and partnership.   As this year draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the trust you've placed in us and your invaluable collaboration. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season, and we eagerly look forward to engaging in exciting new projects together in the upcoming year of 2024.

Energy storage is considered to be the last step in the development of new energy, and is the key to whether new energy can play a major role and whether it can realize the goal of "carbon neutrality". As a new type of energy storage technology, supercapacitors, with high power density, low temperature, long cycle life, wide operating temperature range, and other characteristics, can be widely used in new energy vehicles, wind power, photovoltaic power generation, as well as consumer electronics, has attracted much attention in recent years. To further improve the performance of supercapacitors, in addition to the existing technology, but also to consider the development of new technologies and new materials, the Shandong Advanced Electromagnetic Drive Technology Research Institute of Researchers Sun has deep and extensive research on this.     To meet the demand for research on various types of energy storage materials, the group of researcher Sun introduced in October 2021 a tungsten filament scanning electron microscope (SEM) independently developed by CIQTEK. It is understood that scanning electron microscopy is an important research tool in materials science, which is mainly applied in the study of material structure, morphology, composition, properties, and failure analysis. At present, the materials tested by the Institute using the CIQTEK SEM include activated carbon, metal oxides, soft carbon, hard carbon, and other electrode materials. At the same time, the group also uses SEM to analyze the causes of failure of supercapacitors and battery monomers.   "The previous electron microscope required taking a picture with a cell phone to remember the sample location before selecting the sample. The scanning electron microscope of CIQTEK has an optical navigation function, which makes it very intuitive to find the sample after it is put in. Compared with past electron microscopes, the biggest feature of the scanning electron microscope of CIQTEK is the convenient operation and high degree of automation, all the operations can be completed through the mouse point and click, with no need to operate the mouse and knob, it is convenient to move the sample and select the sample, and it is very easy to get started." Talking about the experience of using CIQTEK SEM, researcher Sun gave this example.     This perfect automation function is suitable for students without too much experience and greatly optimizes the cost of personnel training. The good experience of using the scanning electron microscope makes researcher Sun look forward to the development of the CIQTEK scanning electron microscope.

Recently, CIQTEK Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope SEM5000 was delivered to the Major Platform Center of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of China and officially put into use.   SEM5000 can provide morphological observation services: (1) For the observation of already dried tissue samples, you can directly book the use of the instrument reservation platform. (2) Fresh tissue samples that need to be dried and processed can be fixed with fixative and then sent to the platform for sample processing. (3) Notes on fixation of fresh tissue samples:   Samples are taken within 3 mm and fixed with glutaraldehyde (animal tissues) or FAA (plant tissues) fixative, a vacuum pump can be used to assist fixation to improve fixation efficiency. After fixation is completed, the sample is placed in a 2 ml centrifuge tube, replenished with fixative, and sent to the 115 electron microscopy room.     SEM5000 Performance Characteristics    SEM5000 is a field emission scanning electron microscope with high resolution and rich features. The advanced barrel design, high-voltage tunneling technology (SuperTunnel), and low aberration magnetic leakage-free objective lens design realize low-voltage high-resolution imaging, while magnetic samples can be applied. Optical navigation, perfect automatic functions, well-designed human-machine interaction, optimized operation, and use of the process, regardless of experience, can quickly get started to complete high-resolution shooting tasks.   1、 High-resolution, high-resolution imaging at a low accelerating voltage 2、Electromagnetic complex mirrors, reducing aberrations, significantly improving resolution at low voltages, and allowing observation of magnetic samples.3、High-voltage tunneling technology (SuperTunnel), the electrons in the tunnel can maintain high energy, reducing the space charge effect, and low voltage resolution is guaranteed. 4、The electron optical path has no cross, which effectively reduces the system aberration and improves the resolving power. 5、Water-cooled thermostatic objective lens to ensure the stability, reliability, and repeatability of the objective lens work. 6、Magnetic deflection six-aperture adjustable diaphragm, automatic switching of diaphragm aperture without mechanical adjustment, realizing rapid switching of high-resolution observation or large-beam analysis mode.   Test Sample Display      

       Recently, the group of Jiangfeng Du and Development Shi at the Key Laboratory of Microscopic Magnetic Resonance, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), together with Yuefeng Nie and Yurong Yang at Nanjing University, has made progress in the experimental study of scanning magnetic imaging of antiferromagnetic thin films by using diamond nitrogen-vacancy chromatography (NV chromatography for short) to perform in situ stress-tuned scanning imaging of self-supported films of antiferromagnetic BiFeO3. The research results were published as "Observation of uniaxial strain tuned spin cycloid in a freestanding BiFeO3 film" in Advanced Functional Materials [Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023, 2213725].            BiFeO3 (BFO) is an antiferromagnetic material with cycloidal order due to Dzyalonshinskii-Moriya interaction, and the mechanism of interaction between cycloidal order and stress within BFO is a major research focus in this field. Current studies have used epitaxial methods to regulate stress in BFO materials, which are difficult to modulate in situ and continuously. This makes it difficult to experimentally investigate some important issues in the magnetic-stress interaction, such as the change of magnetic order under arbitrary orientation stress and the evolution process near the phase transition of the magnetic order.          In this work, the researchers prepared a self-supported BFO film by a process of molecular beam epitaxy and soluble sacrificial layer, and performed scanning magnetic imaging of the film under stress modulation with a scanning NV microscope. The imaging results show that the cycloidal sequence twists about 12.6° at a strain of 1.5%. First principles calculations show that the experimentally observed inverse magnetic sequence twist has the lowest energy at the corresponding stress.     Figure 1. (a), (b) Real-space scanning magnetic imaging results of the BFO in the free state and at 1.5% strain. (c), (d) Fourier transform results of the scanned imaging data. (e) Statistical results of the angular distribution of the Fourier transform results in the free state and 1.5% strain state showing 12.6° of torsion.   This work is the first study of the magnetic order of BFO self-supported thin films, and the in situ modulation and high spatial resolution of the scanning imaging technique provide a new way of thinking for the study of magnetic-stress interactions. This result is valuable for the theoretical study of antiferromagnetic thin films and the application of new magnetic memory devices.     Fig. 2. The energy-pendulum line sequence period relationship curve calculated by the first nature principle. The calculated results for the pendulum line sequence direction parallel to the crystal direction are shown in blue curves, and the energy curves for the angles of 7°, 14°, ...

On May 31, "How to accurately measure pore size?" held by the Magnetic Resonance Laboratory of Tsinghua University Analysis Center. The lecture series was officially opened, and Xia Pan, General Manager of State Instrument Precision Measurement, shared the report of "Key points of accurate determination of material pore size and analysis of testing examples", and nearly 60 researchers in related fields attended and exchanged in-depth exchanges offline and online.   Off-line venue of the seminar          Prof. Yang Haijun pointed out that the pore structure of materials directly affects the performance of materials, and the precise measurement of material pore size is widely used in many disciplines and industries. The lecture series will focus on the theme of "How to accurately measure pores" and invite experts in related fields to continue to share different methods of pore analysis.      Prof. Yang Haijun, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University          Xia Pan from CIQTEK said in his report that the principle of low-temperature nitrogen adsorption for specific surface area and pore size analysis is a commonly used test method in the international arena, with mature theoretical support and perfect standard guidance. In the actual testing process, the testing requirements are different for different types of materials and different pore size ranges. Combining with a variety of gas adsorption analysis instruments independently developed by CIQTEK, he explained in his report the analysis and testing for different types of ultramicroporous, microporous and mesoporous. In particular, he shared in detail about the pore size analysis of ultra-microporous and microporous materials, which are increasingly widely used, from the selection of instruments to the setting of parameters in the testing process, the selection of models for test data analysis and the interpretation of test results, especially the pore size analysis of ultra-microporous materials with pore size less than 0.7 nm.     CIQTEK General Manager Xia Pan          Recently, the  EASY-V 1440, a high-performance microporous analyzer, was officially delivered to Tsinghua University Analysis Center. Xia Pan introduced that this instrument focuses on the surface characterization of microporous materials. Based on the stainless steel pipeline, the device has a breakthrough design of VCR metal surface sealed sample tube, which improves the overall sealing during the flow of gas pipeline and has the advantages of long time vacuum retention, ultra-low partial pressure ratio, constant temperature control and multiple fluxes. It can be widely used in environmental protection, fuel cell, pharmaceutical and catalytic industries, and is especially suitable for researchers who have higher requirements for microporous and ultra-microporous analysis. After the presentation, Mr. Yang and Mr. X...