Electrochemical aptamer based assay for the neonicotinoid insecticide acetamiprid based on the use of an unmodified gold electrode

The authors report on an aptamer-based electrochemical assay for the insecticide acetamiprid. It is based on the target-induced release of the redox probe Methylene Blue (MB) from the dsDNA formed between aptamer and complementary strand (Apt/CS), exonuclease I (Exo I) and silica nanoparticles coated with streptavidin (SiNP-Streptavidin). MB is detected electrochemically using an unmodified gold electrode. In the presence of acetamiprid, MB is released from the Apt/CS dsDNA and accumulated in the close environment of the gold electrode. This results in a strong electrochemical signal for MB at fairly low working voltage of typically ?0.27 V. In the absence of target, however, the SiNP-streptavidin conjugate modified MB-dsDNA remains intact. Hence, the electrochemical signal remains weak. The method displays high selectivity for acetamiprid and a limit of detection as low as 153 pM. The assay was successfully applied to the determination of acetamiprid in (spiked) water and serum samples, with LODs of 161 and 209 pM, respectively.

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Graphical abstract Schematic illustration of acetamiprid detection based on electrochemical assay. In the absence of acetamiprid, MB-dsDNA-modified SiNP-Streptavidin complex is intact and redox probe (MB) does not exist in the environment of electrode, resulting in a weak electrochemical signal (a). In the presence of target, Apt binds to acetamiprid and CS and MB leave the SiNP-Streptavidin. Exo I digests CS. So, a huge amount of MB is present in the environment of electrode and a strong electrochemical signal is observed (b).

     

Effect of conductive particles on the mechanical,electrical, and thermal properties of maleated polyethylene

Inclusion of conductive particles is a convenient way for the enhancement of electrical and thermal conductivities of polymers. However, improvement of the mechanical properties of such composites has remained a challenge. In this work, maleated polyethylene is proposed as a novel matrix for the production of conductive metal–thermoplastic composites with enhanced mechanical properties. The effects of two conductive particles (iron and aluminum) on the morphological, mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of maleated polyethylene were investigated. Morphological observations revealed that the matrix had excellent adhesion with both metal particles. Increase in particle concentration was shown to improve the tensile strength and modulus of the matrix significantly with iron being slightly more effective. Through‐plane electrical conductivity of maleated polyethylene was also substantially improved after adding iron particles, while percolation was observed at particle contents of around 20–30% vol. In the case of aluminum, no percolation was observed for particle contents of up to 50% vol., which was linked to the orientation of the particles in the in‐plane direction due to the squeezing flow. Inclusion of particles led to substantial increase (over 700%) in the thermal conductivities of both composites. The addition of high concentrations of metal particles to matrix led to the creation of two groups of materials: (i) composites with high electrical and thermal conductivities and (ii) composites with low electrical and high thermal conductivities. Such characteristics of the composites are expected to provide a unique opportunity for applications where a thermally conductive/electrically insulating material is desired. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tandem dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with micro-sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for rapid determination of lead(II) and cadmium(II) ions in environmental water samples

ABSTRACT

Tandem dispersive liquid liquid microextraction coupled with micro - sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for rapid determination of lead2 and cadmium2 ions in environmental water samples. A simple method termed as tandem dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with micro-sampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry is used for determination of the lead(II) and cadmium(II) ions in different environmental water samples. According to the proposed method, the target analytes are extracted from an aqueous sample solution (10 mL) into a micro-volume of an organic solvent, and then they are selectively back-extracted into an aqueous acceptor solution (150 μL) to increase the compatibility of the extractant phase with a final analyser system and provide a suitable enrichment factor. The developed method is very fast, implemented in just about 7 min, and provides a high sample clean-up. The factors influencing the extraction efficiency including the type and volume of the organic solvent, pH and volume of the acceptor solution, and number of extractions are thoroughly examined and optimised. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the developed method provides a good linearity (in the range of 0.4–300 ng mL^?1 (R² ≥ 0.994)), and low limits of detection (in the range of 0.07–0.31 ng mL^?1). Finally, the method is successfully applied for the direct determination of the understudied analytes in the river, dam, and well water samples.     

Degradation behavior of maleated polyethylene/ground tire rubber thermoplastic elastomers with and without stabilizers

This work investigates the effects of different degradation processes (weathering, thermal ageing and re-extrusion) on maleated polyethylene (MAPE), as well as MAPE/ground tire rubber (GTR) thermoplastic elastomers with and without stabilizers (thermal stabilizer, UVA and HALS). Mechanical characterizations revealed that GTR addition reduced compounds stability against thermal ageing at both 80 and 90 °C. But addition of stabilizers increased thermal stability of the MAPE phase. However, the results suggest that the stabilizers had no effect on the GTR phase. Mechanical characterizations also showed that weathering caused degradation in MAPE, while presence of stabilizers decreased the effects of degradation. Addition of GTR also increased significantly the stability of MAPE against weathering (due to presence of carbon black in GTR). Re-extrusion resulted in lower MAPE modulus (due to decreased molecular weight), while the modulus of GTR filled compounds increased. Re-extrusion also led to decreased GTR average particle size, especially at higher GTR contents. Morphological analyses showed that thermal ageing and re-extrusion did not change significantly blend morphology, but weathering, on the other hand, led to severe degradation of both MAPE and GTR filled compounds surface. Compression set of MAPE/GTR compounds was found to decrease with increasing degradation level (due to crosslinking). Finally, sample density slightly increased with degradation level (also due to crosslinking).     

Spectral Characterization of Some Cubic Graphs

It is proved that the Cartesian product of an odd cycle with the complete graph on 2 vertices, is determined by the spectrum of the adjacency matrix. We also present some computational results on the spectral characterization of cubic graphs on at most 20 vertices.     

A comparison between optical properties of TiO2 nanowires obtained by EMA method and experiment

Optical properties of TiO₂ nanowires, synthesized by two-step thermal evaporation process, have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Based on the theoretical method optical constants of nanowires have been calculated with the use of the effective medium approximation (EMA). As evidenced by X-ray diffraction patterns our synthesized nanowires, whose diameters and lengths were within the ranges of 50-90 nm and 500-1500 nm, respectively, were found to be crystalline rutile TiO₂ with the major refraction being along the (1 1 0) direction. The experimental data of the reflectance of TiO₂ nanowires has been obtained using spectrometer in wavelength 250-800 nm, and then, compared with the spectrum of reflectance predicted by the EMA theoretical model. Our measured experimental optical data has been found to be in good accord with our predicted results spectrum with the use of the EMA modeling; this agreement indicates that our estimation of the volume fraction from atomic force microscopy (AFM) data was accurate.     

A novel polymeric catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of xanthene derivatives under solvent-free conditions

A simple, efficient, and environmentally benign route was developed for the preparation of 14-aryl or alkyl-14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthene, 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene and 12-aryl??8,9,10,12-tetrahydrobenzo[a]xanthene-11-ones from condensation of various aldehydes with (i) ??-naphthol, (ii) cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and (iii) ??-naphthol and cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, using novel polymeric catalyst [poly(AMPS-co-AA)] under solvent-free conditions. Use of easily available catalyst, shorter reaction times, better yields, simplicity of the reaction, heterogeneous system, and easy work-up are the advantages of the present method.     

Commuting Graphs of Group Algebras

The commuting graph of a ring R, denoted by Γ(R), is a graph of all whose vertices are noncentral elements of R, and 2 distinct vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if xy = yx. In this article we investigate some graph-theoretic properties of Γ(kG), where G is a finite group, k is a field, and 0 ≠ |G| ∈k. Among other results it is shown that if G is a finite nonabelian group and k is an algebraically closed field, then Γ(kG) is not connected if and only if |G| = 6 or 8. For an arbitrary field k, we prove that Γ(kG) is connected if G is a nonabelian finite simple group or G′ ≠ G″ and G″ ≠ 1.     

Comparison of Flow Cytometry and ELASA for Screening of Proper Candidate Aptamer in Cell-SELEX Pool

Aptamers are single-stranded RNA or DNA, which bind to their target with high affinity and specificity. Method of isolating aptamers against cell surface protein is called cell-SELEX. Common approach for monitoring cell-SELEX developed aptamers is flow cytometry. Since flow cytometry is costly and requires sophisticated equipments, we suggested implementing easy access, high throughput enzyme-link apta-sorbent assay test (ELASA) to confirm the specificity of aptamers selected through cell-SELEX process. In this regard, we compared ELASA and flow cytometry techniques in order to screen potent candidate aptamers against A2780 Rcis cell line, which were selected by cell-SELEX. The obtained results demonstrated that both ELASA and flow cytometry are identical in terms of sensivity and precision for aptamers selection. Then it could be concluded that ELASA method could be used as a versatile, inexpensive procedure for in vito evaluation of isolated aptamers from cell-SELEX based process.