Publications

Publications by Urban Lab (established in August 2011)

2023

(96) Abu Bakar N.H., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2023, Mass specthoscope: a handheld extendable probe for localized non-invasive sampling of skin volatome for online analysis. Analytical Chemistry 95:17143-17150.
(95) Hsu C.-Y., Prabhu G.R.D., Chang C.-H., Hsu P.-C., Buchowiecki K., Urban P.L. 2023, Are most micrometer droplets (>10 μm) wasted in electrospray ionization? An insight from real-time high-speed imaging. Analytical Chemistry 95:14702-14709.
(94) Huang L.-L., Chua Z.Q., Buchowiecki K., Raju C.M., Urban P.L. 2023, Hydrogel-enzyme micropatch array format for chemical mapping: a proof of concept. Biosensors & Bioelectronics 239:115599.
(93) Shiu R.-T., Prabhu G.R.D., Elpa D.P., Urban P.L. 2023, Observation of protein unfolding during pH ramp evoked by lipase-catalyzed ester hydrolysis. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 34:2308-2315.
(92) Raju C.M., Buchowiecki K., Urban P.L. 2023, An economical setup for atmospheric pressure chemical ionization drift tube ion-mobility mass spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta 1268:341359.
(91) Elpa D.P., Raju C.M., Chiu H.-Y., Wu S.-P., Urban P.L. 2023, Rapid skin biomarker discovery using hydrogel-phase sampling followed by semi-automated liquid-phase re-extraction high-resolution mass spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta 1252:341028.
(90) Prabhu G.R.D., Williams E.R., Wilm M., Urban P.L. 2023, Mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization. Nature Reviews Methods Primers 3:23.
(89) Yu K.-C., Hsu C.-Y., Prabhu G.R.D., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2023, Vending-machine-style skin excretion sensing. ACS Sensors 8:326-334.
(88) Lin Y.-H., Tu W.-C., Urban P.L. 2023, Kinetic profiling of homogeneous and heterogeneous biocatalysts in continuous flow by on-line mass spectrometry. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 34:109-118.

2022

(87) Prabhu G.R.D., Yang T.-H., Shiu R.-T., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2022, Scanning pH-metry for observing reversibility in protein folding. Biochemistry 61:2377-2389.
(86) Tan J.I., Tu W.-C., Urban P.L. 2022, Profiling selected volatiles in whiskey by fizzy extraction time-of-flight mass spectrometry: correlation with perceived quality and age. ACS Food Science & Technology 2:1622-1630.
(85) Ou H.-T., Buchowiecki K., Urban P.L. 2022, Remote monitoring of volatiles by ion mobility spectrometry with wireless data transmission and centralized data analysis. Digital Discovery 1:806-815.
(84) Huang Y.-J., Tu W.-C., Urban P.L. 2022, Rapid acid/base switching in flow injection analysis and isocratic elution liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection for improved sensitivity. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 33:1865-1873.
(83) Wang Y.-W., Prabhu G.R.D., Hsu C.-Y., Urban P.L. 2022, Tuning electrospray ionization with low-frequency sound. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 33:1883-1890.
(82) Chen C.-H., Prabhu G.R.D., Yu K.-C., Elpa D.P., Urban P.L. 2022, Portable fizzy extraction ion-mobility spectrometry system. Analytica Chimica Acta 1204:339699.

2021

(81) Hsu C.-Y., Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2021, Telechemistry 2.0: Remote monitoring of fluorescent chemical reactions. HardwareX 10:e00244.
(80) Ni H.-T., Prabhu G.R.D., Elpa D.P., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2021, Flat disc-shaped sampling probe and on-line re-extraction apparatus for mass spectrometric analysis of skin metabolites: a proof of concept. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 32:2803-2811.
(79) Chao Y.-T., Prabhu G.R.D., Yu K.-C., Syu J.-Y., Urban P.L. 2021, BioChemPen for a rapid analysis of compounds supported on solid surfaces. ACS Sensors 6:3744-3752.
(78) Raju C.M., Yu K.-C., Shih C.-P., Elpa D.P., Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2021, Catalytic oxygenation-mediated extraction as a facile and green way to analyze volatile solutes. Analytical Chemistry 93:8923-8930.
(77) Abu Bakar N.H., Yu K.-C., Urban P.L. 2021, Robotized noncontact open-space mapping of volatile organic compounds emanating from solid specimens. Analytical Chemistry 93:6889-6894.
(76) Shih C.-P., Yu K.-C., Ou H.-T., Urban P.L. 2021, Portable pen-probe analyzer based on ion mobility spectrometry for in situ analysis of volatile organic compounds emanating from surfaces and wireless transmission of the acquired spectra. Analytical Chemistry 93:2424-2432.
(75) Elpa D.P., Chiu H.-Y., Wu S.-P., Urban P.L. 2021, Skin metabolomics. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 32:66-75.

2020

(74) Prabhu G.R.D., Ponnusamy V.K., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2020, Sample flow rate scan in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry reveals alterations in protein charge state distribution. Analytical Chemistry 92:13042-13049.
(73) Dutkiewicz E.P., Hsieh K.-T., Urban P.L., Chiu H.-Y. 2020, Temporal correlations of skin and blood metabolites with clinical outcomes of biologic therapy in psoriasis. The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine 5:877-888.
(72) Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2020, Elevating chemistry research with a modern electronics toolkit. Chemical Reviews 120:9482-9553. (featured on the supplementary cover)
(71) Urban P.L. 2020, Please avoid plotting analytical response against logarithm of concentration. Analytical Chemistry 92:10210-10212.
(70) Alexovič M., Urban P.L., Tabani H., Sabo J. 2020, Recent advances in robotic protein sample preparation for clinical analysis and other biomedical applications. Clinica Chimica Acta 507:104-116.
(69) Prabhu G.R.D., Yang T.-H., Hsu C.-Y., Shih C.-P., Chang C.-M., Liao P.-H., Ni H.-T., Urban P.L. 2020, Facilitating chemical and biochemical experiments with electronic microcontrollers and single-board computers. Nature Protocols 15:925-990.
(68) Elpa D.P., Wu S.-P., Urban P.L. 2020, Rapid extraction and analysis of volatile solutes with an effervescent tablet. Analytical Chemistry 92:2756-2763.
(67) Liao P.-H., Yang H.-H., Wu P.-C., Abu Bakar N.H., Urban P.L. 2020, On-line coupling of simultaneous distillation-extraction using Likens-Nickerson apparatus with gas chromatography. Analytical Chemistry 92:1228-1235.
(66) Elpa D.P., Prabhu G.R.D., Wu S.-P., Tay K.S., Urban P.L. 2020, Automation of mass spectrometric detection of analytes and related workflows: a review. Talanta 208:120304.

2019

(65) Chang C.-M., Yang H.-C., Urban P.L. 2019, On the mechanism of automated fizzy extraction. PeerJ Analytical Chemistry 1:e2.
(64) Liao P.-H., Urban P.L. 2019, Agarose-based gel-phase microextraction technique for quick sampling of polar analytes adsorbed on surfaces. ACS Omega 4:19063-19070.
(63) Yang T.-H., Yang H.-C., Chang C.-H., Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2019, Microanalysis using acoustically actuated droplets pinned onto a thread. IEEE Access 7:154743-154749.
(62) Prabhu G.R.D., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2019, Telechemistry: monitoring chemical reactions via the cloud using the Particle Photon Wi-Fi module. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 4:1616-1622.
(61) Chang C.-M., Prabhu G.R.D., Tseng C.-M., Urban P.L. 2019, Temporal analysis of conformers in the course of pH scan directed by urea-urease reaction – a “protein clock”. Analytical Chemistry 91:8814-8819.
(60) Yang H.-C., Chang C.-M., Urban P.L. 2019, Automation of fizzy extraction enabled by inexpensive open-source modules. Heliyon 5:e01639.
(59) Yang H.-C., Urban P.L. 2019, On-line coupling of fizzy extraction with gas chromatography. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 411:2511-2520. (selected as a “Paper in Forefront”)
(58) Wu P.-C., Dutkiewicz E.P., Liao P.-H., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2019, Blotting paper as a disposable tool for sampling chemical residues from skin surface. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis 27:610-613.
(57) Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2019, Connected chemistry. The Analytical Scientist 3:24-25. (short article)
(56) Prabhu G.R.D., Elpa D.P., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2019, Mass spectrometry | Clinical analysis by mass spectrometry. In Worsfold P., Poole C., Townshend A., Miró M. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Analytical Science, (3rd ed.). vol. 6, pp 318–333, Elsevier.
(55) Urban P. 2019, 3D-printed lab parts can contaminate experiments. Nature 566:326. (correspondence)
(54) Yang H.-H., Urban P.L. 2019, Dry ice fog extraction of volatile organic compounds. Journal of Chromatography A 1585:196-201.
(53) Prabhu G.R.D., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2019, Programmable flow rate scanner for evaluating detector sensitivity regime. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 282:992-998.

2018

(52) Chang C.-H., Urban P.L. 2018, Automated dual-chamber sampling system to follow dynamics of volatile organic compounds emitted by biological specimens. Analytical Chemistry 90:13848-13854. (featured on the journal front cover)
(51) Yang H.-H., Dutkiewicz E.P., Urban P.L. 2018, Kinetic study of continuous liquid-liquid extraction of wine with real-time detection. Analytica Chimica Acta 1034:85-91.
(50) Urban P.L. 2018, Prototyping instruments for chemical laboratory using inexpensive electronic modules. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 57:11074-11077. (Deutsche Ausgabe)
(49) Prabhu G.R.D., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2018, Chemical clocks, oscillations, and other temporal effects in analytical chemistry: oddity or viable approach? Analyst 143:3514-3525. (featured on the journal front cover)

2017

(48) Liu P.-H., Urban P.L. 2017, Spontaneous luminescence color change in the firefly luciferase assay system. Analytical Biochemistry 539:54-59. (see also the highlight in Science Trends)
(47) Urban P.L., Goodall D.M. 2017, Bioparticles, molecules, and complexes analyzed by “chromatography” without a stationary phase. American Laboratory 10/17.
(46) Wu P.-C., Dutkiewicz E.P., Urban P.L. 2017, Cool mist scavenging of gas-phase molecules. Analytical Sciences 33:1161-1167.
(45) Yang H.-C., Chang C.-H., Urban P.L. 2017, Fizzy extraction of volatile organic compounds combined with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization quadrupole mass spectrometry. JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments e56008.
(44) Dutkiewicz E.P., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2017, Probing skin for metabolites and topical drugs with hydrogel micropatches. Analytical Chemistry 89:2664-2670.
(43) Tang Y.-R., Yang H.-H., Urban P.L. 2017, Prototype of an interface for hyphenating distillation with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Mass Spectrometry (Tokyo) 6:S0061.
(42) Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2017, The dawn of unmanned analytical laboratories. Trends in Analytical Chemistry 88:41-52. (featured on the journal front cover)
(41) Chen C.-L., Chen T.-R., Chiu S.-H., Urban P.L. 2017, Dual robotic arm “production line” mass spectrometry assay guided by multiple Arduino-type microcontrollers. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 239:608-616.

2016

(40) Liu P.-H., Urban P.L. 2016, Plug-volume-modulated dilution generator for flask-free chemistry. Analytical Chemistry 88:11663-11669.
(39) Prabhu G.R.D., Urban P.L. 2016, In-oleo microgasometry of nanoliter-scale gas volumes with image-based detection. Analytical Chemistry 88:11368-11372.
(38) Dutkiewicz E.P., Urban P.L. 2016, Quantitative mass spectrometry of unconventional human biological matrices. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 374:20150380. (part of theme issue on Quantitative Mass Spectrometry)
(37) Urban P.L. 2016, Quantitative mass spectrometry: an overview. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 374:20150382. (part of theme issue on Quantitative Mass Spectrometry)
(36) Chen T.-R., Hsu C.-F., Chen C.-L., Witek H.A., Urban P.L. 2016, Nucleotide-dependent bioautocatalytic timer reaction. ACS Synthetic Biology 5:962-968. (see also “Introducing Our Authors” highlight)
(35) Chang C.-H., Urban P.L. 2016, Fizzy extraction of volatile and semivolatile compounds into the gas phase. Analytical Chemistry 88:8735-8740. (see also the highlights in: C&EN magazine and spectroscopyNOW)
(34) Dutkiewicz E.P., Hsieh K.-T., Wang Y.-S., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2016, Hydrogel micropatch and mass spectrometry-assisted screening for psoriasis-related skin metabolites. Clinical Chemistry 62:1120-1128.
(33) Chen S.-Y., Wu C.-Y., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2016, One-step detection of major lipid components in sub-microliter volumes of unpurified liposome and cell suspensions. Analytical Chemistry 88:7337-7343.
(32) Chen T.-R., Urban P.L. 2016, Mass spectrometry-guided refinement of chemical energy buffers. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 472:20150812.
(31) Urban P.L. 2016, Clarifying misconceptions about mass and concentration sensitivity. Journal of Chemical Education 93:984-987.
(30) Urban P. 2016, Self-built labware stimulates creativity. Nature 532:313. (correspondence)
(29) Urban P.L., Chen Y.-C., Wang Y.-S. 2016, Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry: From Concept to Applications. Wiley, Chichester, ISBN 9781118887325. (monograph)
(28) Tang Y.-R., Huang H.-Y., Hu J.-B., Rattinam R., Li C.-H., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2016, Capillary hydrodynamic chromatography reveals temporal profiles of cell aggregates. Analytica Chimica Acta 910:75-83. (see also the highlight in the American Laboratory blog)
(27) Chen C.-L., Hsieh K.-T., Hsu C.-F., Urban P.L. 2016, Facile multi-dimensional profiling of chemical gradients at the millimetre scale. Analyst 141:150-156.

2015

(26) Dutkiewicz E.P., Chiu H.-Y., Urban P.L. 2015, Micropatch-arrayed pads for non-invasive spatial and temporal profiling of topical drugs on skin surface. Journal of Mass Spectrometry 50:1321-1325.
(25) Hsieh K.-T., Liu P.-H., Urban P.L. 2015, Automated on-line liquid-liquid extraction system for temporal mass spectrometric analysis of dynamic samples. Analytica Chimica Acta 894:35-43.
(24) Chiu S.-H., Urban P.L. 2015, Fusion of microlitre water-in-oil droplets for simple, fast and green chemical assays. Analyst 140:5145-5151.
(23) Chen S.-Y., Urban P.L. 2015, On-line monitoring of Soxhlet extraction by chromatography and mass spectrometry to reveal temporal extract profiles. Analytica Chimica Acta 881:74-81.
(22) Hu J.-B., Chen T.-R., Chang C.-H., Cheng J.-Y., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2015, A compact 3D-printed interface for coupling open digital microchips with Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry. Analyst 140:1495-1501. (selected as ‘Hot’ article in March 2015)
(21) Urban P.L. 2015, Universal electronics for miniature and automated chemical assays. Analyst 140:963-975. (featured on the journal cover)
(20) Hu J.-B., Chen T.-R., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2015, Microcontroller-assisted compensation of adenosine triphosphate levels: instrument and method development. Scientific Reports 5:8135.
(19) Chiu S.-H., Urban P.L. 2015, Robotics-assisted mass spectrometry assay platform enabled by open-source electronics. Biosensors & Bioelectronics 64:260-268.

2014

(18) Urban P.L. 2014, Name concepts in analytical science. Journal of Chemical Education 91:1753-1756.
(17) Urban P.L. 2014, Compartmentalised chemistry: from studies on the origin of life to engineered biochemical systems. New Journal of Chemistry 38:5135-5141.
(16) Hsieh K.-T., Urban P.L. 2014, Spectral imaging of chemical reactions using computer display and digital camera. RSC Advances 4:31094-31100. (work highlighted in Chemistry World magazine)
(15) Hu J.-B., Gunathilake S., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2014, On the dynamics of kefir volatome. RSC Advances 4:28865-28870.
(14) Ting H., Hu J.-B., Hsieh K.-T., Urban P.L. 2014, A pinch-valve interface for automated sampling and monitoring of dynamic processes by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. Analytical Methods 6:4652-4660.
(13) Urban P.L. 2014, Open-source electronics as a technological aid in chemical education. Journal of Chemical Education 91:751-752.
(12) Czerniec-Michalik E., Hsieh K.-T., Urban P.L. 2014, In quest for chemomarkers to classify Taiwanese teas. Analytical Methods 6:3013-3018.
(11) Dutkiewicz E.P., Lin J.-D., Tseng T.-W., Wang Y.-S., Urban P.L. 2014, Hydrogel micropatches for sampling and profiling skin metabolites. Analytical Chemistry 86:2337-2344.
(10) Hu J.-B., Chen S.-Y., Wu J.-T., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2014, Automated system for extraction and instantaneous analysis of millimeter-sized samples. RSC Advances 4:10693-10701. (selected as ‘Hot’ article in February 2014; see video)
(9) Ting H., Urban P.L. 2014, Spatiotemporal effects of a bioautocatalytic chemical wave revealed by time-resolved mass spectrometry. RSC Advances 4:2103-2108.

2013

(8) Huang H.-Y., Lo T.-J., Chen Y.-C., Hu J.-B., Urban P.L. 2013, Liquid-phase and gas-phase investigation of biomolecules in a single experiment. Analytical Methods 5:5908-5911.
(7) Kandiah M., Urban P.L. 2013, Advances in ultrasensitive mass spectrometry of organic molecules. Chemical Society Reviews 42:5299-5322.
(6) Li P.-H., Huang S.-Y., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2013, A hybrid nanoparticle matrix for mass spectrometry. RSC Advances 3:6865-6870.
(5) Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2013, Time-resolved mass spectrometry. Trends in Analytical Chemistry 44:106-120.
(4) Hu J.-B., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2013, Coffee-ring effects in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta 766:77-82.

2012

(3) Tseng T.-W., Wu J.-T., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2012, Isotope label-aided mass spectrometry reveals the influence of environmental factors on metabolism in single eggs of fruit fly. PLOS ONE 7:e50258.
(2) Li P.-H., Ting H., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2012, Recording temporal characteristics of convection currents by continuous and segmented-flow sampling. RSC Advances 2:12431-12437.
(1) Hu J.-B., Chen Y.-C., Urban P.L. 2012, On-target labeling of intracellular metabolites combined with chemical mapping of individual hyphae revealing cytoplasmic relocation of isotopologues. Analytical Chemistry 84:5110-5116.

Patents

(4) Urban P.L., Yang T.-H., “Acoustically actuated droplet apparatus and a chemical analysis method by using acoustically actuated droplet”, (US 11,401,542 B2, granted USA patent on 02/08/2022).
(3) Urban P.L., Elpa D.P., “Method for extracting and detecting volatile organic compounds”, (US 11,119,011 B2, granted USA patent on 14/09/2021).
(2) Urban P.L., Yang T.-H., “聲波致動液滴裝置及利用聲波致動液滴進行化學分析之方法”, (I724680, granted Taiwan patent on 11/04/2021).
(1) Urban P.L., Elpa D.P., “萃取及檢測揮發性有機化合物之方法”, (I680006, granted Taiwan patent on 21/12/2019).

Link to pre-Hsinchu publications of Dr Urban (work until 31/07/2011, 38 items)