Synergistic effect of graphene oxide nanoplatelets and cellulose nanofibers on mechanical,thermal, and barrier properties of thermoplastic starch

In recent years, because of the limited availability of oil resources and the increasing concerns regarding environment protection, much attention has been drawn to produce packaging films based on degradable biopolymers instead of synthetic polymers. On the other hand, because of the high costs of oil extraction, raw materials and film production, and disposing of the waste products of synthetic films, the need to replace these films with less pollutant and more cost‐effective films is growing globally. In this study, to answer the need for replacing synthetic polymer films, nanocomposite films based on thermoplastic starch reinforced with cellulose nanofibers and graphene oxide nanoplatelets were produced and characterized. The results implied that the synergistic effect of cellulose nanofibers and graphene oxide nanoplatelets has played an important role in improving the mechanical properties of the films. The results showed that with the addition of cellulose nanofibers and graphene oxide nanoplatelets, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of starch film were increased from 3 and 32 MPa to 13 and 436 MPa, which corresponds to 438% and 1435% improvement, respectively. In addition, the oxygen permeability resistance and the water vapor transmission for samples containing 3 wt% of graphene oxide nanoplatelets was decreased by 78% and 30% compared with the thermoplastic starch film, respectively. The permeability coefficient of the samples containing 3 wt% graphene oxide nanoplatelets for oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide have proved to be 0.051, 0.054, and 0.047 barrer, which shows that these films can perform well as packaging films.     

Nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor for determination of glutathione in hemolysed erythrocytes and urine

A sensitive and selective electrochemical method was developed for the determination of glutathione (GSH) in hemolysed erythrocyte using vinylferocene modified carbon nanotubes paste electrode (VFMCNTPE). The results indicate that the electrode is efficient in terms of its electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of GSH, leading to a reduced overpotential by more than 470 mV. Also, the values of catalytic rate constant (k), and diffusion coefficient (D) for GSH were calculated. The electrocatalytic oxidation peak current of GSH showed two linear dynamic ranges with a detection limit of 0.09 μM GSH. The linear calibration ranges were obtained between 0.2–4.0 and 4.0–250.0 μM GSH using square wave voltammetry (SWV) method. The proposed method was also examined as a selective, simple and precise electrochemical sensor for the determination of GSH in real samples such as urine and hemolysed erythrocyte.     

On the Use of Amperometry for Real Time Assessment of Drug‐Release Profile from Therapeutic Nanoparticles

A simple electrochemical method was used to directly assess the drug‐release profile. The method is based on the multiple pulse amperometric measurement of the oxidation and reduction of doxorubicin released from liposome at a MWCNTs‐modified glassy carbon electrode (MWCNT‐GCE). The released doxorubicin was detected at +0.60 and ?0.60 V by two different oxidation and reduction processes, respectively. The third potential pulse (?1.00 V) was applied for the regeneration of MWCNT‐GCE. The main advantage of this method is that there is no need for any operation for the quantitative analysis during the release of the drug from nanoparticles.     

Aromatization of Hantzsch Ester 1,4‐Dihydropyridines with Iodine under Normal Conditions and Ultrasound Irradiation

A variety of Hantzsch ester 1,4‐dihydropyridines are efficiently oxidized to their corresponding pyridine compounds with iodine under normal conditions and ultrasound irradiation. The reactions were carried out in refluxing CH₃CN.     

Common Intersection Points of Bulk Modulus for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Mixtures

During recent developments on the theories and experimental techniques of compressed liquids and liquid mixtures, it has been revealed that there exist some regularities. Among these, the regularity found by Huang and O'Connell is that the isotherms of reduced bulk modulus of compressed liquids as a function of molar volume intersect at a common point. This intersection is a useful tool for evaluating the reliability of an equation of state (EOS) for producing equilibrium properties of matter. This paper also deals with an extension of the above regularity to some liquefied natural gas (LNG) mixtures including: N₂+CH₄, N₂+C₂H₆, CH₄+C₂H₆, CH₄+C₃H₈, and CH₄+C₄H₁₀ at different temperatures. The present work gives a theoretical analysis for the common bulk modulus point in terms of a statistical‐mechanical equation of state for mixtures. In addition, we have calculated excess molar volume of N₂+CH₄ mixture in terms of temperature and compared it with experimental values.     

A Novel Electrochemiluminesence Sensor Based on Silver Prussian Blue Analogue/Carboxylated Sulfur-doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposite for Determination of Lamotrigine

In this study, for the first time an electrochemiluminescence sensor for ultra-trace monitoring of lamotrigine is reported. The sensing probe was fabricated using silver prussian blue analogue as a new effective co-reaction accelerator and carboxylated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite as a new green luminophore. Also potassium peroxydisulfate was utilized as a strong co-reactant. The proposed ECL sensor exhibited excellent wide linear range (3.45×10⁻¹⁵ to 2.98×10⁻⁸ M), low detection limit (4.89×10⁻¹⁶ M), the relative standard deviation of 1.07 %, outstanding reproducibility and superior long-term stability. The prominent advantages of the sensor showed that it can be used to determine LMT in clinical samples.     

Crystal structures and in vitro anticancer studies on new unsymmetrical copper(II) Schiff base complexes derived from meso-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethylenediamine: a comparison with related symmetrical ones

Two new unsymmetrical copper(II) Schiff base complexes, [CuLⁿ(py)]ClO₄ (n = 1, 2) in which Lⁿ represents a tridentate N₂O type Schiff base ligand, were synthesized. Lⁿs were derived from monocondensation of meso-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethylenediamine with salicylaldehyde or 3-methoxysalicylaldehyde. The reaction between [CuLⁿ(py)]ClO₄ and other salicylaldehyde derivatives resulted in new N₂O₂ unsymmetrical tetradentate Cu^II complexes, CuL^3–6. Crystal structures of [CuL¹(py)]ClO₄, CuL⁴, and CuL⁵ were obtained. These new complexes as well as a series of related symmetrical ones (i.e. CuL^7–12) were tested for their in vitro anticancer activity against human liver cancer cell line (Hep-G2) by MTT and apoptosis assay. All of the complexes showed considerable cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines (IC₅₀ = 5.13–16.24 μg mL^?1). The symmetrical CuL⁷ was the most potent anticancer derivative (IC₅₀ = 5.13 μg mL^?1) compared to the control drug 5-FU (IC₅₀ = 5.4 μg mL^-1, p < 0.05). Flow cytometry experiments showed that the copper derivatives especially [CuL²(py)]ClO₄ and CuL⁷ induced more apoptosis on Hep-G2 tumor cell lines compared to 5-FU.     

Synthesis of layered zinc hydroxide intercalated with dodecyl sulfate organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite as a fiber coating for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from water

We describe the synthesis of a layered zinc hydroxide‐dodecyl sulfate organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite as a new solid‐phase microextraction fiber. The fiber coating can be prepared easily in a short time and the reaction is at room temperature; it is mechanically stable and exhibits relatively high thermal stability. The synthesized layered zinc hydroxide‐dodecyl sulfate nanocomposite was successfully prepared and immobilized on a stainless steel wire and evaluated for the extraction of aromatic compounds from aqueous sample solutions in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The method yields good results for some validation parameters. Under optimum conditions (extraction time: 15 min, extraction temperature: 50°C, desorption time: 1 min, desorption temperature: 250°C, salt concentration: 0.5 g/mL), the limit of detection and dynamic linear range were 0.69–3.2 ng/L and 10–500 ng/L, respectively. The method was applied to the analyses of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o‐, p‐, and m‐xylenes in two real water samples collected from the Aji river and Mehran river, Tabriz, Iran. Under optimum conditions, the repeatability and reproducibility for one fiber (n = 3), expressed as the relative standard deviation, was 3.2–7.3% and 4.2–11.2% respectively. The fibers are thermally stable and yield better recoveries than conventional methods of analysis.