Tyrosinase inhibition organic phase biosensor for triazinic and benzotriazinic pesticide analysis (part two)

Several triazine pesticides, such as atrazine, are much more soluble in several organic solvents, such as chloroform, than in water. Our recent research was aimed at analyzing this class of pesticides using tyrosinase OPEE (organic phase enzyme electrodes), exploiting their inhibiting action on the tyrosinase enzyme when operating in water-saturated chloroform medium. In this work we studied the response of a tyrosinase inhibition enzyme sensor to several triazinic (simazine, propazine, terbuthylazine) and benzotriazinic (azinphos-ethyl and azinphos-methyl) pesticides (LOD=0.5×10⁻⁹ mol l⁻¹). Recovery trials were also performed in vegetal matrixes (corn, barley, lentils). Lastly, the effect of the solvent (chloroform or water) on the inhibition process was investigated via Hill’s equation and the diffusion of analyte from the solvent to the enzyme membrane.     

The effect of organic solvent properties on the response of a tyrosinase enzyme sensor

The use of an enzyme tyrosinase sensor capable of being employed in non aqueous media represents a good opportunity to investigate the effects of the organic solvent on enzyme activity. Six different solvents are considered (n-heptane, n-hexane, n-pentane, toluene, chloroform, acetonitrile) and two properties of these solvents are studied in particular, i.e. hydrophobicity (as log P) and dielectric constant, taking into account their influence on sensor response. Results are generally in agreement with those found by other authors, who determined the behaviour of the enzyme activity as a function of organic solvents using different methods.     

Two OPEEs (organic phase enzyme electrodes) used to check the percentage water content in hydrophobic foods and drugs.

The development and optimization of an analytical method using enzymatic biosensors able to operate in organic solvents [organic phase enzyme electrodes (OPEEs)] for the determination of the water content in food fats (butter, margarine) or pharmaceutical or cosmetic ointments is described. The method is based on the increase in enzymatic activity which is related to the increase in the percentage water content in the organic phase into which the biosensor is dipped. The enzymes used to assemble the biosensors were tyrosinase or catalase, the substrates were phenol or p-cresol and tert-butyl hydroperoxide, respectively, and the organic solvents were acetonitrile or dioxane. A gas diffusion amperometric electrode for oxygen measurement was used as electrochemical transducer. The results were compared with those obtained applying the Karl Fischer method to the same food or drug matrices. The correlations among the two methods proved satisfactory, as the difference in the computed values of water content was never higher than 7%. Also, the precision of measurements was acceptable (RSD < 6%) in all the analyses of real matrices.     

Spectrophotometric determination of water in organic solvents with solvatochromic dyes

The correlation between the absorbance at a fixed wave-length of a betaine dye in an organic solvent and the water content of the same solvent has been investigated. The betaine dyes investigated are 2,4,6-triphenyl-N-(3,5-diphenyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)pyiidinium betaine (I), 1-methyl-8-hydroxyquinolinium betaine (II), 1-methyl-6-hydroxyquinolinium betaine (III) and 2-methyl-5-isoquinolinium betaine (IV), and the organic solvents are ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, dioxan, acetonitrile and pyridine. The possibility of determining a trace amount of water in an organic solvent is demonstrated. The sensitivity of the method depends on solvent and dye but for example, 0.06 mg of water in 1 ml of acetonitrile can be detected with III with an ordinary spectrophotometer. The limitations of practical applications are discussed.     

Study of types and mixture ratio of organic solvent used to dissolve polymers for preparation of drug-containing PLGA microspheres

The effects of the types and the ratios of various organic solvents used as a mixtures to dissolve poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) by using a solvent evaporation method, a technique used to prepare polymer particles, were carefully studied in order to investigate their advantages in developing drug delivery system (DDS) formulations for the prepared microspheres. The particle size and drug loading efficiency of drug-containing PLGA microspheres were found to be dependent on the types of solvent used due to the interfacial tension between the organic solvent and water phase. The drug loading efficiency of monodisperse microspheres prepared by using a membrane emulsification technique employing organic solvents and high interfacial tension for dissolving the PLGA was increased in a controlled manner. The organic solvents with high interfacial tension in the water phase used for the preparation of polymer particles by means of the solvent evaporation method were found to be suitable in terms of improvement in the properties of DDS formulations.     

Ionization constants for water and for very weak organic acids in aqueous organic mixtures

A potentiometric method using a glass electrode has been applied to the determination of apparent ionization constants for water in binary mixtures of water with 11 organic solvents at 25°C. Further calculations with these apparent ionization constants permit evaluation of the acid ionization constant for some of the organic solvents as solutes in purely aqueous solvent by two different methods. Resulting values of pK _a derived from this work are: 1,2-propanediol (14.8 and 14.8), 2,3-butanediol (15.0 and 14.7), 1,3-butanediol (15.5 and 14.8), 1,4-butanediol (14.5 and 14.4), 2-butene-1,4-diol (14.0 and 13.9), 2-butyne-1,4-diol (12.1 and 12.4), 2-methoxyethanol (15.2 and 14.8), 2-ethoxyethanol (15.0 and 14.5), and triethylene glycol (14.6 and 14.3). None of the 11 solvents shows appreciable basicity.     

Covalent modification of mushroom tyrosinase with different amphiphic polymers for pharmaceutical and biocatalysis applications

Two different poly(ethylene glycol) derivatives (linear, mol wt 5000 and a branched form, mol wt 10000) and a new polymer (poly [acryloylmorfoline], mol wt 5500) were covalently bound to the enzyme tyrosinase. The polymer-protein conjugates were studied with a view to their potential pharmaceutical application and to their use for the bioconversion of phenolic substrates in organic solvents.V _max andK _m for the dopa-dopaquinone conversion, thermostability, stability toward inactivation by dopa oxidation products, half-life in blood circulation, and behavior in organic solvents for the different adducts were investi gated. Arrhenius plots for the dopa-dopaquinone conversion were also obtained in order to study the effects of temperature on the different enzyme forms. Covalent attachment of the polymers increased enzyme stability in aqueous solution and the solubility in organic solvents. However, organic solvent solubilization brought about loss of enzyme conformation as assessed by CD measurements, which is accompanied by a nonreversible loss of catalytic activity.     

Specific and non-specific interactions of hydropseudohalic acids with water and organic solvents

Partition coefficients P of the HNCS, HNCO and HN₃ hydropseudohalic acids between a number of organic solvents and water were determined. It has been found that log P increases with pKa of the acid and with the basicity of the solvent, but the effect of pKa on P is the smaller the more basic is the solvent. The relationships have been explained in terms of hydrogen bond formation between undissociated acid and solvent molecules. H-bonding between the pseudohalic acids and organic solvents has been confirmed by IR spectra on the example of HN₃ in benzene. Association constants for H-bonding between the three acids and water, benzene, dibutyl ether and tri-n-butyl phosphate were determined from partition data. It has been found that H-bonding increases with the strength of the acid, whereas the contribution to partition from non-specific interactions with water and organic solvents depends on the molecular surface area of the acid molecule.     

血红蛋白在有机溶剂中的电化学行为及其类酶电催化研究

本文研究了Hb/Sol-gel膜修饰碳糊电极在有机溶剂介质中的直接电化学和类过氧化物酶电催化特性。发现在以甲醇、正内醇和乙腈介质中,Hb修饰电极能够实现其与电极之间的直接电子转移,并且电子转移的动力学过程与水溶液体系相似。然而,在这些有机溶剂介质中,电子转移的可逆性不如水介质中好,同时氧化还原峰电位差均不大于水溶液体系,表明有机溶剂对Hb的直接电子转移产生抑制作用。Hb/Sol-gel修饰电极在有机溶剂介质中和水介质中一样,对其特异性底物H2O2产生过氧化物酶的活性,但其活性均不如水溶液体系强。     

Effect of AOT on enzymatic activity of the organic solvent resistant tyrosinase from Streptomyces sp. REN-21 in aqueous solutions and water-in-oil microemulsions

The effect of AOT (sodium-bis(2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate)) on enzymatic activity of the organic solvent resistant tyrosinase (OSRT) in aqueous phosphate buffer solutions and in water-in-oil microemulsions of the water/AOT/isooctane system has been investigated. In contrast to mushroom tyrosinase, AOT does not activate OSRT in aqueous solutions, altering its activity very little at concentrations lower than 2 mM. Increasing contents of AOT in isooctane reduce the observed initial reaction rates of oxidation of t-butylcatechol (tBC) and 4-methylcatechol (4-MC). Similarly to mushroom tyrosinase, the effect has been described using an equation based on preferential binding of the substrates by surfactant interface layers. The apparent Michaelis-Menten substrate binding constants increase linearly with AOT concentration (with slopes of 0.12+/-0.02 and 0.051+/-0.006 for tBC and 4-MC, respectively), and the effective enzyme turnover number in the microemulsions remains practically constant.     

Comparison of microwave-assisted extraction of triazines from soils using water and organic solvents as the extractants

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for the separation of atrazine, simazine and prometryne from synthetic soil samples, using water and some organic solvents as the extractants, was studied in detail. The effects of the soil matrix, the soil moisture and the pH of the aqueous extraction system on the MAE efficiency were also studied. It was found that the three triazines could be efficiently extracted under the conditions of 100% magnetron power output (600 W), the first grade of pressure (from 0.1 MPa to 0.5 MPa), 30 ml solvent and 4 min microwave heating with water or organic solvents, except for prometryne with dichloromethane solvent for 1-4 g sandy loam sample. This interesting result was explained by triazines' solubility in water, their sorption properties in soils and the ability of the solvent to absorb microwave energy. Finally, evaluation of the extraction efficiency, as well as the treatment and determination of MAE extracts, suggested that water, as a cheap, safe and environmentally friendly solvent, can be a good alternative to organic solvents, used as the extractants for MAE of triazines from soils.     

Spectrophotometric determination of water in organic solvents with solvatochromic dyes-II

The correlation between the absorbance of a merocyanine dye in an organic solvent and the water content of the solvent has been investigated. The merocyanine dyes investigated are 1-methyl-4-[(4-oxocyclohexa-2, 5-dienylidene)-ethylidene]-1,4-dihydropyridine (I), 1-methyl-4-[(2-oxocyclohexa-3,5-dienylidene)-ethylidene]-1, 4-dihydropyridine, 1-methyl-2-[(4-oxocyclohexa-2,5-dienylidene)-ethylidene]-1, 2-di-hydropyridine and 1-methyl-2-[(oxocyclohexa-3,5-dienylidene)-ethyl-idene]-1, 2-dihydropyridine, and the organic solvents are isopropanol, acetone, acetonitrile and pyridine. The possibility of determining a trace amount of water in an organic solvent is demonstrated, and a procedure is proposed for the determination of trace water in pyridine. The sensitivity of the method depends on the solvent, being more sensitive in an aprotic solvent than in a protic one ; for example, 0.05 or 0.27 mg of water in 1 ml of acetonitrile or of isopropanol respectively can be detected with I, by use of an ordinary spectrophotometer.     

Green chemistry oriented organic synthesis in water

The use of water as solvent features many benefits such as improving reactivities and selectivities, simplifying the workup procedures, enabling the recycling of the catalyst and allowing mild reaction conditions and protecting-group free synthesis in addition to being benign itself. In addition, exploring organic chemistry in water can lead to uncommon reactivities and selectivities complementing the organic chemists' synthetic toolbox in organic solvents. Studying chemistry in water also allows insight to be gained into Nature's way of chemical synthesis. However, using water as solvent is not always green. This tutorial review briefly discusses organic synthesis in water with a Green Chemistry perspective.     

A liquid–liquid extraction technique for phthalate esters with water-soluble organic solvents by adding inorganic salts

In the presence of inorganic salts, the mixture solution of some water-soluble organic solvents and water can form two clearly separated phases. One is the organic solvent rich phase, the other is the water rich phase. In the phase separation process, hydrophobic solutes dissolved in the mixture solution such as phthalate esters can be extracted into the organic solvent rich phase quantitatively. Based on this phase separation phenomenon, a liquid–liquid extraction technique of phthalate esters using water-soluble organic solvents as organic phases was developed. Several important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency including the kind and the amount of water-soluble organic solvents, the kind and the amount of inorganic salts and the pH of the sample solutions were carefully studied. This new extraction technique has been applied to the HPLC analysis for water lixivium of plastic wrapping film. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits of 1.5, 2.3, 1.0, 2.6, 1.3 and 3.0 ng mL⁻¹ were obtained for diethylphthalate, di-n-propylphthalate, di-iso-butylphthalate, dicyclohexylphthalate, di-n-octylphthalate and di-n-nonylphthalate ester respectively. The strongpoints of this new liquid–liquid extraction technique are the easy phase separation, rapid partition equilibrium, less toxicity and very good compatibility with subsequent HPLC determinations.     

Extraction of organic compounds with room temperature ionic liquids

Room temperature ionic liquids are novel solvents with a rather specific blend of physical and solution properties that makes them of interest for applications in separation science. They are good solvents for a wide range of compounds in which they behave as polar solvents. Their physical properties of note that distinguish them from conventional organic solvents are a negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and relatively high viscosity. They can form biphasic systems with water or low polarity organic solvents and gases suitable for use in liquid–liquid and gas–liquid partition systems. An analysis of partition coefficients for varied compounds in these systems allows characterization of solvent selectivity using the solvation parameter model, which together with spectroscopic studies of solvent effects on probe substances, results in a detailed picture of solvent behavior. These studies indicate that the solution properties of ionic liquids are similar to those of polar organic solvents. Practical applications of ionic liquids in sample preparation include extractive distillation, aqueous biphasic systems, liquid–liquid extraction, liquid-phase microextraction, supported liquid membrane extraction, matrix solvents for headspace analysis, and micellar extraction. The specific advantages and limitations of ionic liquids in these studies is discussed with a view to defining future uses and the need not to neglect the identification of new room temperature ionic liquids with physical and solution properties tailored to the needs of specific sample preparation techniques. The defining feature of the special nature of ionic liquids is not their solution or physical properties viewed separately but their unique combinations when taken together compared with traditional organic solvents.     

Enzyme catalytic promiscuity: asymmetric aldol addition reaction catalyzed by a novel thermophilic esterase in organic solvent

The asymmetric aldol addition of 2-butanone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde catalyzed by a novel thermophilic esterase (APE1547) from the archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 was successfully conducted in organic solvents. APE1547 exhibited a good enzyme activity and enantioselectivity in the reaction. The effects of organic solvent, temperature, water content, and substrate concentration were investigated. The reaction provided optically active secondary alcohol with satisfying enantioselectivity (71.2 %ee) and enzyme activity (38.1 µmol/g/h) under the optimum conditions. A high yield (68.7%) could be obtained when the reaction time was approximately 120 h.     

Enzyme catalysis in organic solvents: a promising field for optical biosensing

The ability of enzymes to work in non-aqueous media offers new and almost unexploited possibilities for the development of new optical biosensors. The advantages of performing biocatalytic reactions in non-aqueous media are discussed in relation to their possible application in optical biosensor design. Attention is focused on the factors that influence enzymatic catalysis in organic solvents, including the role of enzyme-associated water, criteria for solvent selection and the alteration of enzyme specificity. Recent examples of relevant applications and future prospects of organic-phase optical biosensing are discussed.     

Determination of water traces in various organic solvents using Karl Fischer method under FIA conditions

Flow injection methods utilising the Karl Fischer (KF) reaction with spectrophotometric and potentiometric detection are described for the determination of the trace water content in various organic solvents. Optimisation of the methods resulted in an accessible (linear) working range of 0.01-0.2% water for many solvents studied with a typical precision of 1-2% R.S.D. Only 50 mul of organic solvent was injected and the sampling frequency was about 120 samples per h. Since the slopes of the calibration curves were different for different solvents appropriate calibration was required. Problems associated with spectrophotometric detection and caused by refractive index changes were pointed out and a nested-loop configuration was proposed to overcome this kind of interference. The potentiometric method with a novel flow-through detector cell was shown to surpass the performance of spectrophotometric detection in any respect. The characteristics of the procedures developed made them well applicable for on-line monitoring of technical solvent distillations in an industrial plant.     

Formation of colloid crystals from polymer-modified monodisperse colloidal silica in organic solvents

The formation of colloid crystals from monodisperse and polymer-modified silica particles in organic solvents was investigated. Maleic anhydride–styrene copolymer-modified silica formed crystals in polar organic solvents, which dissolve the copolymer, while the original colloidal silica formed crystals in organic solvents which were miscible with water. The critical volume fraction in the crystal formation of the polymer-modified silica was lower than that from the unmodified silica in the same solvent. Polystyrene- and poly(methyl methacrylate)-modified silica particles also crystallized in organic solvents, but the features of the formation were different from those of poly(maleic anhydride-styrene)-modified particles. Received: 19 September 1998 Accepted in revised form: 1 January 1999     

Organophosphorus and carbamate pesticide analysis using an inhibition tyrosinase organic phase enzyme sensor; comparison by butyrylcholinesterase+choline oxidase opee and application to natural waters

Recent research performed in our laboratory (using a butyrylcholinesterase + choline oxidase enzyme electrode) suggested the validity of the biosensor approach using enzyme inhibition OPEEs (i.e. enzyme electrodes working in organic phase) in the case of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides, which are poorly soluble in aqueous solutions. Since these pesticides are generally much more soluble in chloroform than in water, the present research aimed at analysing this class of pesticides using a tyrosinase inhibition OPEE operating in water-saturated chloroform medium. The tyrosinase biosensor was assembled using an oxygen amperometric transducer coupled to the tyrosinase enzyme, immobilized in kappa-carrageenan gel. Lastly a detailed comparison between the inhibition monoenzymatic tyrosinase and inhibition bienzymatic (butyrylcholinesterase + choline oxidase) OPEEs was performed and discussed in this work.