Spectrofluorimetric quantification of bromazepam using a highly selective optical probe based on Eu–bromazepam complex in pharmaceutical and serum samples

A rapid, simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for determination of trace amount of bromazepam is developed. In phosphate buffer of pH 7.4. The bromazepam enhance the luminescence intensity of the Eu³⁺ ion in Eu³⁺–bromazepam complex at λ_ex = 390 nm. The produced luminescence intensity of Eu³⁺–bromazepam complex is in proportion to the concentration of bromazepam. The working range for the determination of bromazepam is 2.3 × 10⁻⁸ to 6.2 × 10⁻⁷ M with detection limit (LoD) and quantitative detection limit (LoQ) of 3 × 10⁻⁹ and 1.2 × 10⁻⁸ M, respectively. While, the working range, detection limit (LoD) and quantitative detection limit (LoQ) in case of the quantum yield calculations are 3.7 × 10⁻⁸ to 3.4 × 10⁻⁷ M with of 3.4 × 10⁻⁹ and 9.2 × 10⁻⁸ M, respectively. The enhancement mechanism of the luminescence intensity in the Eu³⁺–bromazepam system has been also explained.     

Fabrication of a template-synthesized gold nanorod-modified electrode for the detection of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid

Gold nanorods (GNRs) with suitable aspect ratio were synthesized with a template technique and then dispersed in a saturated sodium citrate solution by ultrasonication to form a GNR suspension. A GNR-modified electrode was fabricated using the GNR suspension. The oxidation of dopamine at the GNR/GC electrode exhibited surprisingly high electrocatalytic activity and adsorption-controlled characteristics. Square-wave voltammetry was used to detect dopamine. At the GNR/GC electrode, the linear concentration range of DA is from 1 × 10⁻⁸ M to 1 × 10⁻⁷ M and the detection limit (s/n = 3) is as low as 5.5 × 10⁻⁹ M. The current sensitivity is 3.280 μA/μM, and 1000-fold ascorbic acid (AA) cannot interfere with the determination of DA. All these performances are greatly superior to those of the bare GC electrode.     

The study of oxidization fluorescence sensor with molecular imprinting polymer and its application for 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) determination

This paper developed optical fiber sensor based on molecular imprinted polymer as artificial recognition element for the determination of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in human serum. This approach displayed high sensitivity by oxidizing 6-MP to a strong fluorescent compound with H₂O₂ in the alkaline media. It offered a relatively nice selectivity for 6-MP detection by molecular imprinted polymer's recognition. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 5% for a same sensor (n = 5) when 6-MP concentration was 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ g mL⁻¹ in serum. The developed method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of 6-MP in human serum without any necessity for sample treatment or time-consuming extraction steps prior to the analysis.     

Voltammetric determination of quercetin at a multi-walled carbon nanotubes paste electrode

Quercetin can effectively accumulate at multi-walled carbon nanotubes-paraffin oil paste electrodes (CNTPE) and cause a sensitive anodic peak at around 0.32 V (vs. SCE) in a 0.10 M phosphate buffer solution (pH = 4.0). Under optimized conditions, the anodic peak current is linear to quercetin concentration in the ranges of 2.0 × 10^− 9−1.0 × 10^− 7 M and 1.0 × 10^− 7−2.0 × 10^− 5 M, and the regression equations are i_p (μA) = 0.0017 + 0.928c (μM, r = 0.999) and i_p (μA) = 0.183 + 0.0731c (μM, r = 0.995), respectively. This paste electrode can be regenerated by repetitively cycling in a blank solution for about 2 min. A 1.0 × 10^− 6 M quercetin solution is measured for 10 times using the same electrode regenerated after every determination, and the relative standard deviation of the peak current is 1.7%. The method has been applied to the determination of quercetin in hydrolysate product of rutin and the recovery is 99.2–102.6%. In comparison with graphite paste electrode, carbon nanotubes-nujol paste electrode and carbon nanotubes casting film modified glassy carbon electrode, the CNTPE gives higher ratio of signal to background current and better defined voltammetric peak.     

Determination of trace amounts of mercury(II) in water samples using a novel kinetic catalytic ligand substitution reaction of hexacyanoruthenate(II)

A simple, sensitive, selective and rapid kinetic catalytic method has been developed for the determination of Hg(II) ions at micro-level. This method is based on the catalytic effect of Hg(II) ion on the rate of substitution of cyanide in hexacyanoruthenate(II) with nitroso-R-salt (NRS) in aqueous medium and provides good accuracy and precision. The concentration of Hg(II) catalyst varied from 4.0 to 10.0 × 10⁻⁶ M and the progress of reaction was followed spectrophotometrically at 525 nm (λ_max of purple-red complex [Ru(CN)₅NRS]³⁻,  = 3.1 × 10³ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) under the optimized reaction conditions; 8.75 × 10⁻⁵ M [Ru(CN)₆⁴⁻], 3.50 × 10⁻⁴ M [nitroso-R-salt], pH 7.00 ± 0.02, ionic strength, I = 0.1 M (KCl), temp 45.0 ± 0.1 °C. The linear calibration curves, i.e. calibration equations between the absorbance at fixed times (t = 15, 20 and 25 min) versus concentration of Hg(II) ions were established under the optimized experimental conditions. The detection limit was found to be 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M of Hg(II). The effect of various foreign ions on the proposed method has also been studied and discussed. The method has been applied to the determination of mercury(II) in aqueous solutions.     

Surface-enhanced oxidation and detection of Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine using multi-walled carbon nanotubes film-modified electrode

The insoluble multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) was successfully dispersed into water in the presence of hydrophobic surfactant. After that, MWNT film-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was achieved via dip-coating and evaporating water. Owing to huge surface area, high sorption capacity and subtle electronic properties, MWNT film exhibits highly efficient accumulation efficiency as well as considerable surface enhancement effects to Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine. As a result, the oxidation peak currents of Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine remarkably increase at the MWNT film-modified GCE. Based on this, a novel electrochemical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine. The limits of detection are 10.0 ng mL⁻¹ (2.2 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹) and 0.1 μg mL⁻¹ (1.88 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹) for Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine. Finally, the proposed method was successfully used to detect Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine in soft drinks.     

Binding of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil to human serum albumin destabilized by chemical denaturants

We compared the binding affinity of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) with native and destabilized human serum albumin (HSA) as a model to assess the binding ability of albumin in patients suffering from chronic liver or renal diseases. Urea (U) and guanidine hydrochloride (Gu·HCl) at a concentration of 3.0 M were used as denaturation agents.Increasing the concentration of PTU from 0.8 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.20 × 10⁻⁴ M in the systems with HSA causes a decrease in fluorescence intensity of the protein excited with both 280 and 295 nm wavelengths. The results indicate that urea and Gu·HCl bind to the carbonyl group and then to the NH-group. To determine binding constants we used the Scatchard plots. The presence of two classes of HSA–PTU binding sites was observed. The binding constants (K_b) are equal to 1.99 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ and 1.50 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ at λ_ex = 280 nm, 5.20 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ and 1.65 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ at λ_ex = 295 nm. At λ_ex = 280 nm the number of drug molecules per protein molecule is a_I = 1.45 and a_II = 1.32 for I and II binding sites, respectively. At λ_ex = 295 nm they are a_I = 0.63 and a_II = 1.54 for the I and II binding sites.The estimation of the binding ability of changed albumin in the uremic and diabetic patients suffering from chronic liver or renal diseases is very important for safety and effective therapy.     

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence aptamer-based method for the determination of thrombin incorporating quenching of tris(2,2-bipyridine)ruthenium by ferrocene

A novel electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) aptamer-based biosensing method for the determination of thrombin was developed on basis of a structure-switching ECL-dequenching mechanism. A thiolated ss-DNA capture probe, composing of a ss-DNA sequence to adopt two distinct structures-a DNA double strand with a complementary DNA sequence tagged with a ECL signal producer tris(2,2^′-bipyridyl)ruthenium derivative and a DNA duplex with a thrombin-binding aptamer tagged with a ECL-quencher ferrocene (FcDNA), was self-assembled onto surface of a gold electrode. In the presence of thrombin, the aptamer sequence prefers to form the aptamer-thrombin complex and the switch of the binding partners occurs in conjunction with the generation of a strong ECL signal owing to the dissociation of FcDNA. The integrated ECL intensity versus the concentration of thrombin was linear in the range from 2.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ M to 2.0 × 10⁻⁷ M. The detection limit was 6 × 10⁻¹¹ M. The relative standard derivation for 2.0 × 10⁻⁹ M was 5.7% (n = 7). This work demonstrates that the sensitivity and specificity of ECL aptamer-based method for proteins can be greatly improved using quenching ECL signal producer by a chemical quencher such as ferrocene.     

Palladized aluminum electrode covered by Prussian blue film as an effective transducer for electrocatalytic oxidation and hydrodynamic amperometry of N-acetyl-cysteine and glutathione

The mediated oxidation of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and glutathione (GL) at the palladized aluminum electrode modified by Prussian blue film (PB/Pd–Al) is described. The catalytic activity of PB/Pd–Al was explored in terms of Fe^III[Fe^III(CN)₆]/Fe^III[Fe^II(CN)₆]¹⁻ system by taking advantage of the metallic palladium layer inserted between PB film and Al, as an electron-transfer bridge. The best mediated oxidation of NAC and GL on the PB/Pd–Al electrode was achieved in 0.5 M KNO₃ + 0.2 M potassium acetate of pH 2. The mechanism and kinetics of the catalytic oxidation reactions of the both compounds were monitored by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The charge transfer-rate limiting step as well as overall oxidation reaction of NAC or GL is found to be a one-electron abstraction. The values of transfer coefficients α, catalytic rate constant k and diffusion coefficient D are 0.5, 3.2 × 10² M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 2.45 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ for NAC and 0.5, 2.1 × 10² M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 3.7 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ for GL, respectively. The modifying layers on the Pd–Al substrate have reproducible behavior and a high level of stability in the electrolyte solutions. The modified electrode is exploited for hydrodynamic amperometry of NAC and GL. The amperometric calibration graph is linear in concentration ranges 2 × 10⁻⁶–40 × 10⁻⁶ for NAC and 5 × 10⁻⁷–18 × 10⁻⁶ M for GL and the detection limits are 5.4 × 10⁻⁷ and 4.6 × 10⁻⁷ M, respectively.     

A study on terbium sensitized chemiluminescence of ciprofloxacin and its application

A novel rapid flow injection method with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was established for the determination of ciprofloxacin (CPLX), which is an antibiotic commonly used. The method is based on CL of Ce(IV)–SO₃²⁻ sensitized by Tb³⁺–CPLX, and showed the intensive bands characteristic of Tb³⁺ (⁵D₄→⁷F₅). The optimum conditions for CL emission were investigated. The linear relationship between the relative CL intensity and the concentration of CPLX is in the range of 9.0×10⁻⁹–1.0×10⁻⁶ mol/l with a detection limit of 3.1×10⁻¹⁰ mol/l. The relative standard deviation is 2.8% (n=11) for a level of 5.0×10⁻⁸ mol/l. The method was applied to the analysis of CPLX in human serum and urine samples with satisfactory results. The possible mechanism for this sensitized CL reaction is also discussed.     

C60 trianion-mediated electrocatalysis and amperometric sensing of hydrogen peroxide

Heterogeneous electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) by C₆₀ is reported for the first time. C₆₀ is embedded in tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB) film and is characterized by scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Electrocatalytic studies show that the trianion of C₆₀ mediates the electrocatalytic reduction of H₂O₂ in aqueous solution containing 0.1 M KCl. Application of such film modified electrode as an amperometric sensor for H₂O₂ determination is also examined. The sensor shows a fast response within 1 s and a linear response is obtained (R = 0.9986) in the concentration range from 3.33 × 10⁻⁵ to 2.05 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ for H₂O₂, with the detection limit of 2 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ and the sensitivity of 1.65 μA mM⁻¹. A good repeatability and stability is shown for the sensor during the experiment.     

Resonance Rayleigh scattering and resonance non-linear scattering method for the determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics with water solubility CdS quantum dots as probe

In pH 6.6 Britton–Robinson buffer medium, the CdS quantum dots capped by thioglycolic acid could react with aminoglycoside (AGs) antibiotics such as neomycin sulfate (NEO) and streptomycin sulfate (STP) to form the large aggregates by virtue of electrostatic attraction and the hydrophobic force, which resulted in a great enhancement of resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) and resonance non-linear scattering such as second-order scattering (SOS) and frequency doubling scattering (FDS). The maximum scattering peak was located at 310 nm for RRS, 568 nm for SOS and 390 nm for FDS, respectively. The enhancements of scattering intensity (ΔI) were directly proportional to the concentration of AGs in a certain ranges. A new method for the determination of trace NEO and STP using CdS quantum dots probe was developed. The detection limits (3σ) were 1.7 ng mL⁻¹ (NEO) and 4.4 ng mL⁻¹ (STP) by RRS method, were 5.2 ng mL⁻¹ (NEO) and 20.9 ng mL⁻¹ (STP) by SOS method and were 4.4 ng mL⁻¹ (NEO) and 25.7 ng mL⁻¹ (STP) by FDS method, respectively. The sensitivity of RRS method was the highest. The optimum conditions and influence factors were investigated. In addition, the reaction mechanism was discussed.     

Investigation of the spectral properties of a squarylium near-infrared dye and its complexation with Fe(III) and Co(II) ions

The spectral features of the squarylium near-infrared (NIR) dye NN525 in different solutions and its complexation with several metal ions were investigated. The absorbance maximum of the dye is λ=663 nm in methanol. This value matches the output of a commercially available laser diode (650 nm), thus making use of such a source practical for excitation. The emission wavelength of the dye in methanol is λ_em=670 nm. The addition of either Fe(III) ion or Co(II) ion resulted in fluorescence quenching of the dye. The Stern–Volmer quenching constant, K_SV, was calculated from the Stern–Volmer plot to be K_SV=2.70×10⁷ M⁻¹ for Co(II) ion. The K_SV value for Fe(III) ion could not be established due to the non-linearity of the Stern–Volmer plot and the modified Stern–Volmer plot for this ion. The detection limit is 6.24×10⁻⁸ M for Fe(III) ion and 1.55×10⁻⁵ M for Co(III) ion. The molar ratio of the metal to the dye was established to be 1:1 for both metal ions. The stability constant, K_S, of the metal–dye complex was calculated to be 3.14×10⁶ M⁻¹ for the Fe–dye complex and 2.64×10⁵ M⁻¹ for the Co–dye complex.     

Fluorescein labeling of estrogen for application of fluorescence polarization binding assays for antibody and receptor

The fluorescence polarization binding assay (FPBA) using fluorescein-labeled estrogen tracer is a homogeneous assay applicable to both estrogen antibody and estrogen receptor-binding assays. Two estrogen-ethylendiamine fluoresceinthiobamyl (E-EDF) tracers were synthesized; estrogen-6-EDF (E-6-F) derived from 6-ketoestradiol 6-(o-carboxymethyl) oxime and estrogen-17-EDF (E-17-F) was from 17β-estradiol 17-hemisuccinate. In both FPBAs using antibody and receptor, E-6-F tracer (Rf_365nm=0.58) showed a better binding response than E-17-F (Rf_365nm=0.70) indicating that the 17-position of estrogen seems to play an essential role as a binding site for antibody or receptor. In the optimized conditions of FPBA for E₂ using E-6-F tracer, antibody binding (K_d=9.4×10⁻⁹ M) is 50 times sensitive than receptor binding (K_d=4.6×10⁻⁸ M). Binding responses of estrogen and its related chemicals by FPBA indicate that antibody binding assay is able to screen the structural similarity of estrogen showing some response with methyltestosterone (K_i=2.1×10⁻⁵ M). On the other hand, the receptor assay is able to screen for estrogenic chemicals such as tamoxifen (K_i=4.5×10⁻⁹ M) and diethylstilbesterol (K_i=8.1×10⁻⁷ M). Therefore, E-6-F tracer is useful as a tracer for FPBA that is able to screen for chemicals structurally similar to estrogen using antibody, and that is able to screen for chemicals functionally similar to estrogen using receptor binding assay.     

Simultaneous determination of pethidine and methadone by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)

In this paper, we described a simple and rapid method, capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence (CE–ECL) detection using tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)₃²⁺), to simultaneously detect pethidine and methadone. Analytes were injected to separation capillary of 67.5 cm length (25 μm i.d., 360 μm o.d.) by electrokinetic injection for 10 s at 10 kV. Under the optimized conditions: ECL detection at 1.20 V, 30 mM sodium phosphate (pH 6.0) as running buffer, separation voltage at 14.0 kV, 5 mM Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ with 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 6.5) in the detection cell, the linear range from 2.0 × 10^− 6 to 2.0 × 10^− 5 M for pethidine and 5.0 × 10^− 6 to 2.0 × 10^− 4 M for methadone and detection limits of 0.5 μM for both of them were achieved (S/N = 3). Relative standard derivations of the ECL intensity were 2.09% and 6.59% for pethidine and methadone, respectively.     

An investigation of the chemiluminescence reaction in the sodium hypochlorite–folic acid–emicarbazide hydrochloride system

A chemiluminescence method for the determination of folic acid by the sodium hypochlorite–folic acid–semicarbazide hydrochloride system with a new flow injection technique has been established. The new method can perform simple, sensitive and rapid determinations of folic acid. The response to the concentration of folic acid, in the range of 1.0×10⁻⁷5.0×10⁻⁵ g/ml, is linear. The relative standard deviation of the method is 2.3% (C_s=4.0×10⁻⁶ g/ml, n=11). The detection limit is 2.7×10⁻⁸ g/ml. This method is suitable for automatic and continuous analysis, and has been successfully tested for the determination of folic acid in a folic acid tablet.     

One-step fabrication of three-dimensional porous calcium carbonate–chitosan composite film as the immobilization matrix of acetylcholinesterase and its biosensing on pesticide

This work reports on a novel nanosized calcium carbonate–chitosan (nanoCaCO₃–chi) composite film fabricated by a one-step co-electrodeposition method. The generated nanoCaCO₃-based matrix possessed a three-dimensional (3D) porous, network-like structure, providing a favorable and biocompatible microenvironment to immobilize enzyme. By using such a composite film as enzyme immobilization matrix, a highly sensitive and stable acetylcholinesterase (AChE) sensor was achieved for determination of methyl parathion as a model of organophosphate pesticides (OPs) compounds. The inhibition of methyl parathion was proportional to its concentration ranging from 0.005–0.2 to 0.75–3.75 μg mL⁻¹. The detection limit was found to be as low as 1 ng mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The designed biosensor exhibited good reproducibility and acceptable stability.     

Determination of benzhexol hydrochloride by capillary zone electrophoresis with an end-column electrochemiluminescence detection

A capillary zone electrophoresis with end-column electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detector was described for the determination of benzhexol hydrochloride. The detection was based on the tris(2,2′-bypyridine)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy)₃²⁺] ECL reaction with the analyte. Electrophoresis was performed using a 25 μm i.d. uncoated capillary. 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH=8.0) was used as the running buffer. The solution in the detection cell was 80 mM sodium phosphate (pH=8.0) and 5 mM Ru(bpy)₃²⁺. A linear calibration curve of three-orders of magnitude was obtained (with a correlation coefficient of >0.999) from 1.0×10⁻⁸ to 1.0×10⁻⁵ M and the limit of detection was 6.7×10⁻⁹ M (S/N=3). This just provides an easy and sensitive method to determine the active ingredient in pharmaceutical formulations.     

Kinetic determination of organosulphur ligands by inhibition: Trace determination of cysteine and maleonitriledithiolate (MNDT)

Some organosulphur ligands have been found to inhibit the mercury(II) catalyzed substitution of cyanide in hexacyanoferrate(II) by N-methylpyrazinium ion (Mpz⁺). The inhibitory effect is due to the binding tendency of catalyst Hg²⁺ with these inhibitors. This effect has been used as a basis to develop a kinetic method for the determination of trace amounts of two organosulphur ligands viz. cysteine and MNDT. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically at 655 nm by measuring the decrease in absorbance of the product [Fe(CN)₅Mpz]²⁻. The influence of the reaction variables has also been studied. A general mechanistic scheme of the indicator reaction system including the role of inhibitor has been proposed and applied to determine the organosulphur ligands. Under the selected experimental conditions cysteine and MNDT have been determined in the range of 2–20 × 10^− 7 M and 5 × 10^− 8 M to 12 × 10^− 7 M respectively in various aqueous samples. The analytical concentration range depends upon the amount of Hg²⁺ present in the indicator reaction and also on the stability of the Hg²⁺-inhibitor complex in question. Under specified conditions, the detection limit for cysteine and MNDT are 2 × 10^− 7 M and 5 × 10^− 8 M respectively. The influences of possible interference by major amino acids, on the determination of cysteine and their limits have been investigated.     

Theoretical investigation of the kinetics for the hydrogen abstraction reaction of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) by chlorine radical

The hydrogen abstraction reaction of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) by chlorine radical is investigated by theoretical calculations. Equilibrium geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the reactants, transition state, and products are calculated using high-level ab initio methods. Rate constants of forward and backward reactions for the temperatures from 200 to 1000 K are calculated using classical transition state theory with Eckart tunneling correction, fitted in the expressions k_f (T) = 1.19 × 10⁻²³T^3.93exp (−1110/T), and k_b (T) = 8.86 × 10⁻²⁴T^3.32exp (−959/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ for forward and backward reactions, respectively, and are in reasonable agreement with the available experimental values.