Separation and preconcentration of Pb(II) using ionic liquid-modified silica and its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method based on microcolumn packed with ionic liquid-modified silica combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry has been developed for the determination of lead in environmental samples. Several factors influencing the preconcentration efficiency of lead and its subsequent determination, such as pH of the sample, flow rate, mass of ionic liquid, and interfering effect, have been investigated. Lead could be quantitatively retained by ionic liquid-modified silica in the pH range of 5-7, and then eluted completely with 3.0 mL 1.0 mol L⁻¹ HCl. The detection limit of this method for lead was 0.7 μg L⁻¹ with preconcentration factor of 185, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.2% at 0.1 μg mL⁻¹ Pb(II). This method has been applied for the determination of trace amount of lead in NIST standard reference material 2709 (San Joaquin Soil) and river water samples with satisfactory results.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of New Schiff Bases Having the –SiOR Group (R = CH 3or CH2CH3), and their Transition Metal Complexes

Two new Schiff base ligands containing −SiOCH₃ or −SiOCH₂CH₃ groups, 4-{[(3-trimethoxysilanepropyl)imino]methyl}benzene-1,3-diol (1) Hmsb and 4-{[(3-triethoxysilanepropyl)imino]methyl}benzene-1,3-diol (5) Hesb, have been synthesized by the reaction of 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Six new transition metal [Cu^II, Ni^II and Co^II complexes of these Schiff Base ligands were prepared. The complexes are formed by coordination of N, O atoms of the ligands. Their structures were confirmed by elemental analyses, ¹H nmr, i.r. and u.v.–vis. spectral data. The analytical data shows that the metal-to-ligand ratio in the Schiff Base complexes contains silane in 1:2. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of (1) Hmsb and (5) Hesb Schiff ligands, and their [M(msb)₂] and [M(esb)₂] type coordination compounds, were investigated     

A novel approach to produce monodisperse hollow pure silica spheres

In this work, we report an efficient method to produce pure hollow silica spheres (HSS) using phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) compound. The production of HSS was carried out via hydrolysis of PTMS in the aqueous media and followed by a condensation reaction to form silica spheres with phenyl groups. The product was then calcined to remove phenyl groups and obtain pure silica spheres with >95% fine structure. The chemical nature of pure silica was confirmed by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy. The calcined HSS were stable beyond the temperature of 900 °C as confirmed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The calcined spheres preserved their spherical appearance and hollow core as shown by SEM and TEM micrographs. Interestingly, the average size of the spheres was reduced significantly after calcination from 760 to 510 nm, confirming further the removal of phenyl groups. The calcined HSS offered much higher surface area (A_s) when analysed by BET; A_s for calcined product was ～406 and mere ～4.8 m²/g for uncalcined HSS. Finally, drug release study of cisplatin/HSS showed over 45% of steady cumulative release for 72 h. The prepared HSS can be dispersed in water opening the possibility of many novel bio/non-bio applications.     

Cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of a Schiff base ligand: synthesis,structural characterization and luminescence properties

A Schiff base ligand (HL), 2,4-dimethoxy-N-(5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-benzenamine, derived from 5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 2,4-dimethoxyaniline, and its metal complexes [Co(L)₂]·CH₃OH (1), [Ni(L)₂] (2), [Cu(L)₂] (3) have been synthesized. The compounds were characterized by analytical and spectroscopic methods. In addition, the structures of the Schiff base HL and its Co(II) complex were determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The Co(II) center is six-coordinate, being coordinated to two imine nitrogen, two phenolate oxygen and two methoxy oxygen atoms of two crystallographically independent Schiff base ligands. Luminescence properties of HL and its complexes were investigated both in solution and in the solid state.     

EPR study of Cu(2+)-doped tetraaqua-di(nicotinamide)Co(II) saccharinate single crystals

The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of Cu(2+) impurities in [Co(nicotinamide)(2)(H(2)O)(4)](saccharinate)(2) single crystals have been studied at ambient temperature in three mutually perpendicular planes. The angular variation of the spectra shows that the Cu(2+) ion substitutes the Co(2+) site in the lattice. The EPR spectra of Cu(2+) ions are characteristic of tetragonally elongated octahedral site. The spin-Hamiltonien parameters were obtained from the single crystal EPR analysis. The ground-state wave function of Cu(2+) ion in the lattice has been constructed.     

Use of ionic liquid based chitosan as sorbent for preconcentration of fluoroquinolones in milk,egg, fish,bovine, and chicken meat samples by solid phase extraction prior to HPLC determination

The possibility of using ionic liquid based chitosan sorbent for the separation and preconcentration of fluoroquinolone antibiotics (marbofloxacin, enoxacin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin) has been studied. For this reason, different ionic liquids were prepared and coated on the chitosan sorbent. The conditions of the preconcentration of fluoroquinolones on a microcolumn have been optimized and the extraction efficiencies of the prepared sorbents have been compared. The compounds were eluted with 5 mL of 20% NH₃ (v/v, MeOH) solution and determined by HPLC with diode array and fluorescence detector. The limits of detection were found as 4.23 µ g L^?1 for marbofloxacin, and 1.09 µg L^?1 for enoxacin; 3.23 × 10^?3 µg L^?1 for ofloxacin; 8.39 × 10^?3 µg L^?1 for ciprofloxacin; and 19.50 × 10^?3 µg L^?1 for enrofloxacin. The developed method was applied for the analysis of fluoroquinolone in milk, egg, fish, bovine, and chicken samples and the recoveries were obtained in the range 70–100%.     

Synthesis and proton conductivity studies of azole functional organic electrolytes

As an attempt to produce azole functional proton conductors, organic electrolytes with triazole and tetrazole functional groups were synthesized via substitution reaction of 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride with aminotriazole and aminotetrazole. The samples were doped with triflic acid with molar ratios of 0.25 and 0.50. FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and elemental analysis were used to characterize the resulting materials. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the samples are thermally stable up to 150?°C. The effect of acid doping on proton conductivity was investigated with impedance spectrometer. Both pure samples and the doped ones revealed high proton conductivity. In anhydrous conditions (TMA)-TriTA_0.50 and TMA-TetTA_0.50 have proton conductivities of 1.8 and 19?mS/cm at 150?°C, respectively. Solid-state NMR studies revealed that there are three different types of hydrogen-bonded acidic proton in the systems. Moreover, these different types of acidic protons present at different ratio in triazole and tetrazole systems.     

On the spectral norms of Cauchy–Toeplitz and Cauchy–Hankel matrices

In this study, we have found upper and lower bounds for the spectral norm of Cauchy–Toeplitz and Cauchy–Hankel matrices in the forms T_n=[1/(a+(i−j)b)]ⁿ_i,j=1, H_n=[1/(a+(i+j)b)]ⁿ_i,j=1.     

Immobilization of Invertase in a Novel Proton Conducting Poly(vinylphosphonic acid) – poly(1-vinylimidazole) Network

A novel proton conducting polymer blend was prepared by mixing poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA) with poly(1-vinylimidazole) (PVI) at various stoichiometric ratios via changing molar ratio of monomer repeating unit to achieve the highest protonation. The polymer network having the most suitable stoichiometric ratio for substantial proton conductivity was prepared and characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and proton conductivity measurements. The network was used for immobilization of invertase and some important kinetic parameters such as the maximum reaction rate (V_max) and Michaelis-Menten constant (K_m) were investigated for the immobilized invertase. Additionally, optimum temperature and pH were determined to acquire the best conditions for the highest enzyme activity. Operational stability of the entrapped enzyme was also examined. The results reveal that the most stable and highly proton conducting polymer network may play a pioneer role in the biosensors applications as given by FT-IR, elemental analysis, impedance spectroscopy and storage stability experiments.