Magnetic Co‐doped NiFe2O4 Nanocomposite: A Heterogeneous and Recyclable Catalyst for the One‐Pot Synthesis of Benzimidazoles,Benzoxazoles and Benzothiazoles under Solvent‐Free Conditions

A simple and efficient procedure for the synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles via the condensation of o‐phenylenediamine, o‐aminophenol, and o‐aminothiophenol with various benzaldehydes by using magnetic Co‐doped NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles has been developed. This nanocatalyst has advantages such as excellent product yields, solvent‐free conditions, and very short reaction times. After any experiment, the magnetic nanocatalyst could be easily separated with the aid of an external magnet and reused at least four times without any loss of its catalytic performance.     

Controlled Synthesis of Fe3O4/ZIF‐8 Nanoparticles for Magnetically Separable Nanocatalysts

Fe₃O₄/ZIF‐8 nanoparticles were synthesized through a room‐temperature reaction between 2‐methylimidazolate and zinc nitrate in the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals. The particle size, surface charge, and magnetic loading can be conveniently controlled by the dosage of Zn(NO₃)₂ and Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals. The as‐prepared particles show both good thermal stability (stable to 550 °C) and large surface area (1174 m²g^?1). The nanoparticles also have a superparamagnetic response, so that they can strongly respond to an external field during magnetic separation and disperse back into the solution after withdrawal of the magnetic field. For the Knoevenagel reaction, which is catalyzed by alkaline active sites on external surface of catalyst, small Fe₃O₄/ZIF‐8 nanoparticles show a higher catalytic activity. At the same time, the nanocatalysts can be continuously used in multiple catalytic reactions through magnetic separation, activation, and redispersion with little loss of activity.     

Gold Nanoparticles Doped Three‐Dimensional Sol‐gel Matrix for Amperometric Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin Immunosensor

A novel electrochemical immunosensor for human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) was proposed by immobilization of hCG in gold nanoparticles doped three‐dimensional (3D) sol‐gel matrix and an interfacial competitive immunoreaction. The 3D organized composite structure was prepared by assemble of gold nanoparticles into a hydrolyzed (3‐mercaptopropyl)‐trimethoxysilane sol‐gel matrix, which showed good biocompatibility. After the interfacial competitive immunoreaction the formed HRP‐labeled immunoconjugate showed good enzymatic activity for the oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine by H₂O₂. With a competitive format, a method comprising of o‐phenylenediamine‐H₂O₂‐immobilized HRP labeled hCG immunoconjugate system for immunoassay of hCG from 5.0 to 30.0 mIU mL^?1 was developed. The immunosensor showed good precision, high sensitivity, acceptable stability and reproducibility and could be used for detection of hCG in human serum with the consistent results in comparison with those obtained by a commercial analyzer.     

Poly(p‐vinylbenzoic acid)‐block‐polystyrene Self‐assembled Structures as Templates in the Synthesis of ZIF‐8

Hybrid nanocrystals of PVBA‐b ‐PS/ZIF‐8 were prepared by the growth of ZIF‐8 on the surface of the self‐assembled structures from poly(p ‐vinylbenzoic acid)‐block‐polystyrene. Two different morphologies—micelles and vesicles—were obtained in selective solvents owing to the different ratios of PVBA to PS blocks. The structure and morphology of the PVBA‐b ‐PS/ZIF‐8 composites were characterized by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. PVBA‐b ‐PS/ZIF‐8 showed high catalytic performance in Knoevenagel condensation reactions at room temperature, which were attributed to the more exposed active sites of the small ZIF‐8 nanocrystals grown in a confined space and a high concentration of reactants in the polymeric aggregates.     

Electrochemical Immunoassay of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin Based on Its Immobilization in Gold Nanoparticles‐Chitosan Membrane

A human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) doped gold nanoparticles–chitosan membrane was prepared for forming an immunoconjugate of horseradish peroxidase labeled hCG antibody and hCG on glassy carbon electrode. The nanoparticles provided a congenial environment of the adsorbed proteins. Thus, the immobilized HRP‐labeled immunoconjugate showed good enzymatic activity for the oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine by H₂O₂. With a competitive mechanism, an amperometric method for immunoassay of hCG up to 30 mIU mL^?1 with a relatively low detection limit of 0.26 mIU mL^?1 at 3σ was developed. The hCG immunosensor showed good precision, high sensitivity, acceptable stability and reproducibility.     

Kinetic Study of Peroxidase‐Catalyzed Coupling of Benzene‐1,4‐diamine and N‐(2‐Aminoethyl)naphthalen‐1‐amine: Development of Micromolar Hydrogen Peroxide Reaction System

A novel chromogenic method to measure the peroxidase activity using para‐phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (=benzene‐1,4‐diamine hydrochloride; PPDD) and N‐(1‐naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (=N‐(2‐aminoethyl)naphthalen‐1‐amine; NEDA) is presented. The PPDD entraps the free radical and gets oxidized to electrophilic diimine, which couples with NEDA to give an intense red‐colored chromogenic species with maximum absorbance at 490 nm. This assay was adopted for the quantification of H₂O₂ between 20 and 160 μM . Catalytic efficiency and catalytic power of the commercial peroxidase were found to be 4.47×10⁴ M ^?1 min^?1 and 3.38×10^?4 min^?1, respectively. The catalytic constant (k_cat) and specificity constant (k_cat/K_m) at saturated concentration of the co‐substrates were 0.0245×10³ min^?1 and 0.0445 μM ^?1 min^?1, respectively. The chromogenic coupling reaction has a minimum interference from the reducing substances such as ascorbic acid, L ‐cystein, citric acid, and oxalic acid. The method being simple, rapid, precise, and sensitive, its applicability has been tested in the crude vegetable extracts that showed peroxidase activity.     

Hydroxylation of 4‐Amino‐5‐hydroxynaphthalene‐2,7‐disulfonic Acid Monosodium Salt Catalysed by Horseradish Peroxidase and Hydrogen Peroxide: Computation of Kinetic Parameters Including Its Application to Crude Plant Extracts

The new spectrophotometric assay method for the quantification of peroxidase activity uses 4‐amino‐5‐hydroxynaphthalene‐2,7‐disulfonicacid monosodium salt (AHNDSA) as chromogenic co‐substrate. The method is based on hydroxylation of AHNDSA in presence of H₂O₂/peroxidase forming quinone, having λ_max = 460 nm in the acetate buffer (pH = 4.0) at 30 °C. The linearity of H₂O₂ by kinetic method was 10–332 µM and for peroxidase by kinetic and fixed time methods were 1.18–18.92 and 1.18–9.46 nM, respectively. Catalytic efficiency and catalytic power for peroxidase assay were 7.965 × 10⁴ M^?1min^?1 and 3.76 × 10^?4 min^?1, respectively. From the plot of d(1/A_o) vs d(1/V_o) and d(1/H_o) vs d(1/V_o), the apparent Michaelis‐Menten constants for H₂O₂ and AHNDSA were K = 68 and K = 275 µM, respectively. The method was tested with some plant extracts and also compared with guaiacol/peroxidase system. Except Boerhavia diffusa, all other tested plant samples showed highest peroxidase activity. The proposed method is a rapid and convenient method to determine peroxidase activity by spectrophotometer. This method for the first time reports peroxidase activity in Lantana camara and Oplismenus compositus plants. Kinetic results showed that AHNDSA/peroxidase system can be better hydrogen donor for peroxidase assay than guaiacol system.     

Tetra(p‐tolyl)borate‐Functionalized Solvent Polymeric Membrane: A Facile and Sensitive Sensing Platform for Peroxidase and Peroxidase Mimetics

The determination of peroxidase activities is the basis for enzyme‐labeled bioaffinity assays, peroxidase‐mimicking DNAzymes‐ and nanoparticles‐based assays, and characterization of the catalytic functions of peroxidase mimetics. Here, a facile, sensitive, and cost‐effective solvent polymeric membrane‐based peroxidase detection platform is described that utilizes reaction intermediates with different pK_a values from those of substrates and final products. Several key but long‐debated intermediates in the peroxidative oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine (o‐PD) have been identified and their charge states have been estimated. By using a solvent polymeric membrane functionalized by an appropriate substituted tetraphenylborate as a receptor, those cationic intermediates could be transferred into the membrane from the aqueous phase to induce a large cationic potential response. Thus, the potentiometric indication of the o‐PD oxidation catalyzed by peroxidase or its mimetics can be fulfilled. Horseradish peroxidase has been detected with a detection limit at least two orders of magnitude lower than those obtained by spectrophotometric techniques and traditional membrane‐based methods. As an example of peroxidase mimetics, G‐quadruplex DNAzymes were probed by the intermediate‐sensitive membrane and a label‐free thrombin detection protocol was developed based on the catalytic activity of the thrombin‐binding G‐quadruplex aptamer.     

Metal‐organic framework ZIF‐8 nanocrystals as pseudostationary phase for capillary electrokinetic chromatography

The outstanding properties such as large surface area, diverse structure, and accessible tunnels and cages make metal organic frameworks (MOFs) attractive as novel separation media in separation sciences. However, the utilization of MOFs in EKC has not been reported before. Here we show the exploration of zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8), one of famous MOFs, as the pseudostationary phase (PSP) in EKC. ZIF‐8 nanocrystals were used as the PSP through dispersing in the running buffer (20 mM phosphate solution containing a 1% v/v methanol (pH 9.2)) to enhance the separation of the phenolic isomers (p‐benzenediol, m‐benzenediol, o‐benzenediol, m‐nitrophenol, p‐nitrophenol, and o‐nitrophenol). ZIF‐8 nanocrystals in the running buffer were negatively charged, and interacted with the phenolic hydroxyl groups of the analytes, and thus greatly improved the separation of the phenolic isomers. Inclusion of 200 mg L?¹ ZIF‐8 in the running buffer as the background electrolyte gave a baseline separation of the phenolic isomers within 4 min. The relative standard deviations for five replicate separations of the phenolic isomers were 0.2–1.1% for migration time and 4.5–9.7% for peak area. The limits of detection varied from 0.44 to 2.0 mg L?¹. The results show that nanosized MOFs are promising for application in EKC.     

Selective Synthesis of 2‐Aryl‐1‐benzylated‐1H‐benzimidazoles

An efficient and simple procedure was developed for the green synthesis of various 2‐aryl‐1‐ben‐zylated‐1H‐benzimidazoles in high yields by condensation of o‐phenylenediamine with aldehydes with P₂O₅/SiO₂ as catalyst under solvent‐free and ambient conditions.     

β‐AgVO3 Nanorods as Peroxidase Mimetic for Colorimetric Determination of Glucose

β‐AgVO₃ nanorods have been demonstrated to exhibit intrinsic peroxidase‐like activity. The oxidation of glucose can be catalyzed by glucose oxidase (GOx ) to generate H₂O₂ in the presence of O₂ . The β‐AgVO₃ nanorods can catalytically oxidize peroxidase substrates including o‐phenylenediamine (OPD ), 3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethylbenzidine (TMB ), and diammonium 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonate) (ABTS ) by H₂O₂ to produce typical color reactions: OPD from colorless to orange, TMB from colorless to blue, and ABTS from colorless to green. The catalyzed reaction by the β‐AgVO₃ nanorods was found to follow the characteristic Michaelis–Menten kinetics. Compared with horseradish peroxidase and AgVO₃ nanobelts, β‐AgVO₃ nanorods showed a higher affinity for TMB with a lower Michaelis–Menten constant (K _m) value (0.04118 mM ) at the optimal condition. Taking advantage of their high catalytic activity, the as‐synthesized β‐AgVO₃ nanorods were utilized to develop a colorimetric sensor for the determination of glucose. The linear range for glucose was 1.25–60 μM with the lower detection limit of 0.5 μM . The simple and sensitive GOx ‐β–AgVO₃ nanorods–TMB sensing system shows great promise for applications in the pharmaceutical, clinical, and biosensor detection of glucose.     

Biosensing of Aromatic Amines in Reversed Micelles with Self‐Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide at Glucose Oxidase‐Peroxidase Bienzyme Electrodes

The amperometric biosensing of aromatic amines using a composite glucose oxidase (GOD)‐peroxidase (HRP) biosensor in reversed micelles is reported. Rigid composite pellets of graphite and Teflon, in which GOD and HRP were coimmobilized by simple physical inclusion, were employed for the biosensor design. This design allows the in situ generation of the H₂O₂ needed for the enzyme reaction with the aromatic amines, thus preventing the negative effect that the presence of a high H₂O₂ concentration in solution has on HRP activity. The H₂O₂ in situ generation is performed by oxidation of glucose catalyzed by GOD. The effect of the composition of the reversed micelles, i.e., the nature of the organic solvent used as the continuous phase, the nature and concentration of the surfactant used as emulsifying agent, the aqueous 0.05 mol L^?1 phosphate buffer percentage used as the dispersed phase, and the glucose concentration in the aqueous phase, on the biosensor response was evaluated. Reversed micelles formed with ethyl acetate, a 5% of phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 3.0×10^?3 mol L^?1 glucose, and 0.1 mol L^?1 AOT (sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate), were selected as working medium. Well‐defined and reproducible amperometric signals at 0.00 V were obtained for p‐phenylenediamine, 2‐aminophenol, o‐phenylenediamine, m‐phenylenediamine, 1‐naphthylamine, o‐toluidine and aniline. The useful lifetime of one single biosensor was of 60 days. The trend in sensitivity observed for the aromatic amines is discussed considering the effect of their structure on the stabilization of the radicals formed in the enzyme reaction which are electrochemically reduced. The behavior of the composite bienzyme electrode was also evaluated in a FI (flow injection) system using reversed micelles as the carrier. The suitability of the composite bienzyme electrode for the analysis of real samples was demonstrated by determining aniline in spiked carrots.     

Bis(1,2‐diaminobenzene‐N)­bis(1,1,1,5,5,5‐hexa­fluoro­pen­tane‐2,4‐dion­ato‐O,O′)­iron(II), ‐cobalt(II) and ‐nickel(II) at low temperature

Addition of 1,2‐phenylenediamine to solutions ofbis(1,1,1,5,5,5‐hexafluoropentane‐2,4‐dionato‐O,O′)cobalt(II),‐iron(II) and ‐nickel(II) resulted in crystals containing centrosymmetric octahedral complexes with two amines per metal atom. In all three iso­structural complexes, i.e. [M(C₅HF₆O₂)₂(C₆H₈N₂)₂] where M = Fe, Cu and Ni, the two C—N bonds differ significantly in length by an average of 0.031 (3) Å. The phenyl C—C bonds display a pattern of small differences, the C—C bond between the amines being longer than the shortest phenyl C—C bonds by an average of 0.022 (4) Å.     

In Situ Fabrication of Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Based on Cu/Co‐ZIF and Cu2O

We successfully fabricate a well‐defined inorganic/organic hybrid Cu₂O@Cu/Co‐ZIF (ZIF=zeolitic imidazolate frameworks) by use of growth of dual‐metal Cu/Co‐ZIF on the obtained Cu₂O hollow spheres. The key point of the strategy is coupling the in situ self‐sacrificing template. Cu₂O and the coordination of metal ions (Cu⁺ and Co²⁺) with 2‐methylimidazole. This new hybrid was characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, (scanning) transmission electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive spectroscopy mapping, in situ FT‐IR spectroscopy, UV/Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, N₂ sorption measurements, and electron spin resonance. It was evidenced that Cu/Co‐ZIF nanocrystals have been assembled to continuous shells surrounding the Cu₂O cores as well as in the voids between layers and inner pores. Cu₂O@Cu/Co‐ZIF exhibits visible light responsiveness and holds potential as narrow band gap semiconductor and visible photocatalyst.     

Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon with Atomically Dispersed FeN4 for Ultraefficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Proton‐Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The low catalytic activity and poor mass transport capacity of platinum group metal free (PGM‐free) catalysts seriously restrict the application of proton‐exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Catalysts derived from Fe‐doped ZIF‐8 could in theory be as active as Pt/C thanks to the high intrinsic activity of FeN₄; however, the micropores fail to meet rapid mass transfer. Herein, an ordered hierarchical porous structure is introduced into Fe‐doped ZIF‐8 single crystals, which were subsequently carbonized to obtain an FeN₄‐doped hierarchical ordered porous carbon (FeN₄/HOPC) skeleton. The optimal catalyst FeN₄/HOPC‐c‐1000 shows excellent performance with a half‐wave potential of 0.80 V in 0.5 m H₂SO₄ solution, only 20 mV lower than that of commercial Pt/C (0.82 V). In a real PEMFC, FeN₄/HOPC‐c‐1000 exhibits significantly enhanced current density and power density relative to FeN₄/C, which does not have an optimized pore structure, implying an efficient utilization of the active sites and enhanced mass transfer to promote the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).     

HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 Ternary Lamellar Composite and the Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA block copolymers were prepared by the sequential RAFT polymerization of DMAEMA and tBMA, followed by hydrolysis. Phosphotungstic acid (HPW) was anchored to the PDMAEMA blocks through electrostatic interactions and the as‐obtained HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA was added to the synthesis of ZIF‐8. During the formation of ZIF‐8, the PMAA blocks coordinated to the Zn²⁺ ions through their carboxy groups, along with the HPW groups that were anchored to the PDMAEMA blocks. In this way, the block copolymer could consolidate the interactions between HPW and ZIF‐8 and prevent the leakage of HPW. Finally, the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 ternary lamellar composite was obtained and the structure of the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 hybrid material was characterized by using powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a photocatalyst, the HPW/PDMAEMA‐b‐PMAA/ZIF‐8 ternary lamellar composite showed excellent photoactivity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The rate of degradation of MB was 0.0240 min^?1, which was 7.5‐times higher than that of commercially available P25 (0.0032 min^?1). In the presence of H₂O₂, the kinetic degradation parameters of the composite reached 0.0634 min^?1, which was about 19.8‐times higher than that of P25.     

Synthesis of 1‐H‐1,5‐benzodiazepines derivatives using SiO2/ZnCl2

A general and easy method for the synthesis of several 1‐H‐1,5‐benzodiazepines using SiO₂/ZnCl₂ under solvent‐free conditions is described. This efficient and improved method furnishes selectively and in good yields the corresponding 1‐H‐1,5‐benzodiazepines derivatives starting from o‐phenylenediamine and cyclic or acyclic ketones. The catalytic system was reused up four times, and the use of focused microwaves accelerates the reaction. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 22:180–185, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20674     

Insight into How Telomeric G‐Quadruplexes Enhance the Peroxidase Activity of Cellular Hemin

The toxic oxidative damage of G‐quadruplexes (G4), linked to neurodegenerative diseases, may arise from their ability to bind and oxidatively activate cellular hemin. However, there have been no precise studies on how telomeric G4 enhances the low intrinsic peroxidase activity of hemin. Herein, a label‐free and nanopore‐based strategy was developed to explore the enhancement mechanism of peroxidase activity of hemin induced by telomeric G4 (d(TTAGGG)_n). The nanopore‐based strategy demonstrated that there were simultaneously two different binding modes of telomere G4 to hemin. At the single‐molecule level, it was found that the hybrid structural telomeric G4 directly binds to hemin (the affinity constant (K_a)≈10⁶ m ^?1) to form a tight complex, and some of them underwent a topological change to a parallel structure with an enhancement of K_a to approximately 10⁷ m ^?1. Through detailed analysis of the topology and peroxidase activity and molecular modeling investigations, the parallel telomere G4/hemin DNAzyme structure was proven to be preferable for high peroxidase activity. Upon strong π–π stacking, the parallel structural telomere G4 supplied a key axial ligand to the hemin iron, which accelerated the intermediate compound formation with H₂O₂ in the catalytic cycle. Our studies developed a label‐free and single‐molecule strategy to fundamentally understand the catalytic activity and mechanism of telomeric DNAzyme, which provides some support for utilizing the toxic, oxidative‐damage property in cellular oxidative disease and anticancer therapeutics.     

Rapid magnetic solid‐phase extraction of Congo Red and Basic Red 2 from aqueous solution by ZIF‐8@CoFe2O4 hybrid composites

Core–shell metal–organic framework materials have attracted considerable attention mainly due to their enhanced or new physicochemical properties compared with their single‐component counterparts. In this work, a core–shell heterostructure of CoFe₂O₄‐Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework‐8 (ZIF‐8@CoFe₂O₄) is successfully fabricated and used as an solid‐phase extraction adsorbent to efficiently extract Congo Red and Basic Red 2 dyes from contaminated aqueous solution. Vibrating sample magnetometry indicates that the saturated magnetization of ZIF‐8@CoFe₂O₄ is 3.3 emu/g, which is large enough for magnetic separation. The obtained hybrid magnetic metal‐organic framework based material ZIF‐8@CoFe₂O₄ can remove the investigated dyes very fast within 1 min of the contact time. The adsorbent ZIF‐8@CoFe₂O₄ also shows a good reusability. After regeneration, the adsorbent can still exhibit high removal efficiency (～97%) toward Congo Red for five cycles of desorption–adsorption. This work reveals the great potential of core–shell ZIF‐8@CoFe₂O₄ sorbents for the fast separation and preconcentration of organic pollutants in aqueous solution before high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis.     

Strategy for Low Background‐Current Levels in the Electrochemical Biosensors Using Horse‐Radish Peroxidase Labels

This article describes an electrochemical strategy to achieve low background‐current levels in horse‐radish peroxidase (HRP)‐based electrochemical immunosensors. The strategy consists of (i) the use of an HRP substrate/product redox couple whose formal potential is high and (ii) the use of an electrode that shows moderate electrocatalytic activity for the redox couple. The strategy is proved by a model biosensor using a catechol/o‐benzoquinone redox couple and an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The combined effect of high formal potential and moderate electrocatalytic activity allows o‐benzoquinone electroreduction with minimal catechol electrooxidation and H₂O₂ electroreduction. The detection limit for mouse‐IgG is 100 pg/mL.