A Thermodynamic Study on the Binding of Cobalt(II) and Iron(III) Ions with Bovine Carbonic Anhydrase II at Different Temperatures

A thermodynamic study on the interaction of bovine carbonic anhydrase II, CAII, with cobalt(II) and iron(III) ions was made using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) at 300.15 K and 310.15 K in Tris buffer solutions at pH=7.5. The enthalpies of interaction of Co²⁺+ CAII and Fe³⁺+ CAII are reported and analyzed in terms of the extended solvation theory. The results indicate that there are three identical and non-cooperative binding sites for Co²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions. Binding of these ions with CAII occurs exothermically with dissociation equilibrium constants of 87.15 and 91.00 μmol⋅L⁻¹ at 300.15 K, for Co²⁺ and Fe³⁺, respectively.     

Electrochemistry and Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Amoxicillin on a Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

The study of electrochemical behavior of amoxicillin (AMX), a β‐lactam antibiotic, is described on a multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified electrode by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry for sensitive determination of AMX in pharmaceutical and human urine samples within a wide pH range from 2.0 to 10.0. Also, studies by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode show that iron oxide impurities in the MWCNTs are not active sites for sensing of amoxicillin. Under optimized conditions, the oxidation peak has two linear dynamic ranges of 0.6–8.0 and 10.0–80.0 μM with a detection limit of 0.2 μM and a precision of <4%.     

Electrocatalytic determination of dopamine in pharmaceutical and human serum samples by using [N,N′-bis(2-pyridine carboxamido)-1,2-benzene] nickel(II) modified carbon paste electrode

The main purpose of this study is to develop an inexpensive, simple, selective and especially sensitive modified carbon paste electrode (MCPE) for the determination of dopamine (DA) in pharmaceutical and human serum samples. The carbon paste electrode (CPE) has been modified by using [N,N′-bis(2-pyridine carboxamido)-1,2-benzene] nickel(II) complex (Ni(II)bpb) and the electrochemical behavior of the modified electrode has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. The modified electrode shows an excellent electrocatalytic effect on the oxidation of DA. Under optimum conditions, calibration plots are found to be linear in the range of 7.0 × 10⁻⁷−1.0 × 10⁻⁵ M (r ₂ = 0.9940) and 1.0 × 10⁻⁵−1.0 × 10⁻⁴ M (r₂ = 0.9945); the detection limit is 6.2 × 10⁻⁸ M. The preparation of MCPE is very easy. The electrode can be renewed by simple polishing. The proposed method shows good sensitivity, reproducibility (RSD ∼ 2.9%), high stability (more than two month) without any considerable change in response and recovery for the determination of DA. The prepared electrode has been successfully applied to the voltammetric determination of DA in pharmaceutical and biological samples. The article is published in the original.     

A high performance method for thermodynamic study on the binding of copper ion and glycine with Alzheimer’s amyloid β peptide

The interaction of Cu²⁺ to the first 16 residues of the Alzheimer’s amyloid β peptide, Aβ(1–16) was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry at pH 7.2 and 37°C in aqueous solution. The Gholamreza Rezaei Behbehani (GRB) solvation model was used to reproduce the enthalpies of interactions of Aβ(1–16) with glycine, Gly+Aβ(1–16), and Cu²⁺ ions, Cu²⁺ +Aβ(1–16), over the whole range of Cu2+ concentrations. The binding parameters recovered from the solvation model were attributed to the structural change of Aβ(1–16) due to the glycine and Cu²⁺ interactions. It was found that there is a set of two identical binding sites for Cu²⁺ ions. p=2 indicates that the binding has positive cooperativity in the two binding sites. Aβ(1–16) structure is destabilized greatly as a result of binding to Cu²⁺ ions.     

On Einstein Matsumoto metrics

Einstein metrics are solutions to Einstein field equation in General Relativity containing the Ricci-flat metrics. Einstein Finsler metrics which represent a non-Riemannian stage for the extensions of metric gravity, provide an interesting source of geometric issues and the (α,β)-metric is an important class of Finsler metrics appearing iteratively in physical studies. It is proved that every n-dimensional (n≥3) Einstein Matsumoto metric is a Ricci-flat metric with vanishing S-curvature. The main result can be regarded as a second Schur type Lemma for Matsumoto metrics.     

Electronic structure and nonlinear optical properties of a two-dimensional hexagonal quantum dot

In this work electronic structure, the linear and the third-order nonlinear refractive index changes as well as optical absorption coefficients of a two-dimensional hexagonal quantum dot are investigated. Energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the system are calculated by the matrix diagonalization technique, and optical properties are also obtained using the compact density matrix approach. As our results indicate, both the dot size and the confinement potential have a great influence on the intersubband energy intervals, the transition probability and consequently, the linear and the third-order nonlinear refractive index changes and optical absorption coefficients.     

Infrared spectra of acetylene–water complexes: C2D2–H2O,C2D2–HDO,and C2D2–D2O

Infrared spectra of C₂D₂–water complexes are studied in the 4.1 μm region of the C₂D₂ ν₃ fundamental band using a tunable diode laser source to probe a pulsed supersonic slit jet. Relatively large vibrational red shifts (?27.7 to ?28.0 cm^?1) are observed which are more easily interpretable than for the analogous C₂H₂ vibration thanks to the absence of Fermi resonance effects for C₂D₂. Noticeable homogeneous line broadening leads to estimates of upper state predissociation lifetimes of about 0.5, 0.9 and 1.1 ns for C₂D₂–H₂O, –HDO, and –D₂O, respectively. Transitions involving K_a = 0 and 1 levels are observed for C₂D₂–HDO, but there is a puzzling absence of K_a = 1 for C₂D₂–H₂O and C₂D₂–D₂O.     

Tuning of full band gap in anisotropic photonic crystal slabs using a liquid crystal

We analyze the tunability of full band gap in photonic crystal slabs created by square and triangular lattices of air holes in anisotropic tellurium background, considering that the regions above and below the slab are occupied by SiO₂ and the holes are infiltrated with liquid crystals. Using the supercell method based on plane wave expansion, we study the variation of full band gap by changing the optical axis orientation of liquid crystal. Our results demonstrate the existence and remarkable tunability of full band gap in both square and triangular lattices, largest band gap and tunability being obtained for the triangular lattice.     

Multiwall carbon nanotubes decorated with FeCr2O4, a new selective electrochemical sensor for amoxicillin determination

Direct writing aims to deposit materials onto substrates in localised positions. In this paper, we demonstrate a new method for direct writing of nanoparticles at ambient-air-pressure. An electrical discharge is used to generate gold nanoparticles of the order of 10?nm diameter, which are then transported and ??focused?? by an electric field in air, through the process of electric field-assisted diffusion, as opposed to normal ballistic focusing since the mean free path in air is very short. This process is novel and allows for practical normal atmospheric-pressure focused deposition of nanoparticles. The focusing mechanism is capable of producing patterned arrays of deposited nanoparticles with widths that are less than 10?% of the diameter of the focusing apparatus; in the present experimental configuration, gold spots with diameters of a few tens of micrometres were achieved, with ultimate size being limited by transverse diffusion and by charged particle mutual repulsion. In this study, the process of generating nanoparticles from bulk material, transporting and focusing these particles takes place in one operation, which is a key advantage in rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques.