Rosa Damascena mediated ZnO-Red Ochre nanocomposite for the electrochemical determination of 5-Fluorouracil

In this study, ZnO-Red Ochre nanocomposite was green synthesized by Rosa Damascena (RD) extract (RDZRONCs). Proton Induced X-ray Emission microanalysis (Micro-PIXE) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the presence of hematite (Fe₂O₃), and quartz (SiO₂) mineral phases in the Red Ochre (RO) nanoclay. In addition, the XRD pattern shows the ZnO, ZnFe₂O₄, SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, and Si phases in the RDZRONCs that were green synthesized with natural RD extract and RO. The RDZRONCs were used to modify the carbon paste electrode (CPE) for the electrochemical determination of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were employed to investigate the surface behavior of modified CPE (RDZRONCs/CPE). The electrochemical behavior of 5-FU at the RDZRONCs/CPE was exanimated by CV, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), chronoamperometry (CA), and chronocoulometry (CC). Based on the DPV technique, a linear relationship between peak current and concentration of 5-FU was obtained in the dynamic range of 0.05–140.0 μM and with a detection limit equal to 0.0016 μM. The selectivity of RDZRONCs/CPE for 5-FU was studied in the presence of different inorganic and organic species. Also, the content of 5-FU was measured in real samples by RDZRONCs/CPE.     

Fabrication of a novel electrochemical sensor based on tin disulfide/multi-walled carbon nanotunbes-modified electrode for rutin determination in natural vegetation

A tin disulfide and multi-walled carbon nanotube (SnS₂/CNTs) electrochemical sensor was constructed for the sensitive and selective determination of rutin in plants. Tin disulfide nanoflowers with various particle sizes were prepared by controlling the reaction time and composited with multi-walled CNTs. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical composition of these SnS₂/CNTs composites were characterized using XRD, XPS, and SEM-EDS. Results illustrated that the SnS₂/CNTs had a large specific surface area, good conductivity, and remarkable electrocatalytic performance. The pH of the buffer solution, the scanning rate, and the amount of modified material were also optimized for the rapid detection of rutin. A 2-electron-2-proton mechanism, involving a few rapid and consecutive stages, was speculated to occur during rutin oxidation, based on the observed slope of -53 mV/pH. There was an appreciable linear relationship between the reductive peak current from DPV and the rutin concentration, ranging from 0.005-0.05 µmol/L and 0.1-6 µmol/L, with a detection limit of 0.22 nmol/L (S/N = 3). The sensor also demonstrated good selectivity, excellent sensitivity, and reproducibility when analyzing rutin in real plant samples, with satisfactory recovery, and was also highly consistent with results of HPLC, and thus could be used to evaluate the medicinal value of natural vegetation.     

Silver/graphene–polypyrrole composite for levosimendan detection

This study used a facile method to develop a novel silver/Graphene–polypyrrole (Ag/G–PPy)-modified electrode that can be used as an electrochemical sensor for levosimendan detection. The properties of the synthesized Ag/G–PPy-modified electrode were examined through field-emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The Ag/G–PPy-modified electrode exhibited satisfactory current signals toward levosimendan concentrations ranging from 0.21 to 6.88 μM and exhibited a low detection limit (0.12 μM). Accordingly, the proposed electrode can serve as a simple and inexpensive electrochemical sensor for levosimendan detection.     

Comparison of a single-use pH test strip and a glass electrode for potentiometric titration

The potentiometric titration of a carbonate mixture or an acetate solution is a common experiment in analytical laboratories. Typically, a glass electrode combined with a calomel or Ag/AgCl reference electrode is used to locate the equivalence points in neutralization titrations. The dissociation constants of weak acids and bases can be calculated from the pH at the half-neutralization point. Recently, a new commercial product for measuring pH has been developed. This novel acid–base detection strip is a single-use sensor that requires neither storage in a preservation liquid nor calibration prior to use. This study examined its suitability for the continuous monitoring of pH changes in potentiometric titrations of carbonate mixtures, acetate solutions, or ammonia solutions. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of solutions tested using a glass electrode and a pH test strip. The pK_a, pK_b, and pH values determined using the two systems differed by less than 5%. The results confirmed that the pH strips are suitable for continuously monitoring pH changes during neutralization titrations. However, the strips can only be used once.     

Simultaneous studies of pressure effect on charge transport and photophysical properties in organic semiconductors: A theoretical investigation

High-mobility and strong luminescent materials are essential as an important component of organic photodiodes, having received extensive attention in the field of organic optoelectronics. Beyond the conventional chemical synthesis of new molecules, pressure technology, as a flexible and efficient method, can tune the electronic and optical properties reversibly. However, the mechanism in organic materials has not been systematically revealed. Here, we theoretically predicted the pressure-depended luminescence and charge transport properties of high-performance organic optoelectronic semiconductors, 2,6-diphenylanthracene (DPA), by first-principle and multi-scale theoretical calculation methods. The dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method were used to get the electronic structures and vibration properties under pressure. Furthermore, the charge transport and luminescence properties were calculated with the quantum tunneling method and thermal vibration correlation function. We found that the pressure could significantly improve the charge transport performance of the DPA single crystal. When the applied pressure increased to 1.86 GPa, the hole mobility could be doubled. At the same time, due to the weak exciton coupling effect and the rigid flat structure, there is neither fluorescence quenching nor obvious emission enhancement phenomenon. The DPA single crystal possesses a slightly higher fluorescence quantum yield ～ 0.47 under pressure. Our work systematically explored the pressure-dependence photoelectric properties and explained the inside mechanism. Also, we proposed that the external pressure would be an effective way to improve the photoelectric performance of organic semiconductors.     

Monitoring intracellular pH fluctuation with an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer-based ratiometric fluorescent sensor

Intracellular pH is a key parameter related to various biological and pathological processes. In this study, a ratiometric pH fluorescent sensor ABTT was developed harnessing the amino-type excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. Relying on whether the ESIPT proceeds normally or not, ABTT exhibited the yellow fluorescence in acidic media, or cyan fluorescence in basic condition. According to the variation, ABTT behaved as a promising sensor which possessed fast and reversible response to pH change without interference from the biological substances, and exported a steady ratiometric signal (I₄₇₈/I₅₄₆). Moreover, due to the ESIPT effect, large Stokes shift and high quantum yield were also exhibited in ABTT. Furthermore, ABTT was applied for monitoring the pH changes in living cells and visualizing the pH fluctuations under oxidative stress successfully. These results elucidated great potential of ABTT in understanding pH-dependent physiological and pathological processes.     

“蓝瓶子”实验再探究*

利用SPSS 25.0统计软件对“蓝瓶子”实验进行正交实验设计,通过统计学分析得出最佳实验条件。利用氧化还原传感器(ORP)对“蓝瓶子”振荡体系的电极电势变化曲线进行分析,并针对蓝色的产生和消失过程设计3组对比实验深入探究,阐明其反应原理,意在引导学生深刻理解趣味实验现象背后的微观反应本质。     

Fluidization characteristics of sawdust in a cold flow fluidized bed

India has abundance of biomass such as rice husk, bagasse, wheat straw, sawdust etc. which is used as a main or auxiliary fuel in the fluidized bed combustor, gasifier and pyrolizer. Design of such fluidized bed equipments require the knowledge of minimum fluidization velocity (U_mf), complete fluidization velocity (U_cf) and transport disengagement height (TDH). The present work reports the fluidization characteristic, U_mf, U_cf and TDH of the individual size groups of sawdust and mixture thereof. The results indicate that the U_mf and U_cf have a tendency to increase with increase in particle diameter, however the TDH shows the reverse trend. The sawdust particle size of 925 and 1200 ​μm showed significant difference between their U_mf and U_cf, an essential parameter for controlled fluidization. Based on the experimental work new correlations for the prediction of U_mf, U_cf and TDH for sawdust sample are proposed. The proposed correlations of U_mf, U_cf and TDH are in good agreement with experimental values and the deviations found within the range of nearly ±10% for all the samples.     

复合材料柔软性对倒金字塔微结构阵列传感器性能的影响

采用模压成型方法制备了2种柔软性不同的热塑性聚氨酯/短切碳纤维/碳纳米管(TPU/SCF-CNT)复合材料复制物, 其表面上具有倒金字塔微结构阵列, 内部有SCF与CNT共同构成的导电通路. 将复合材料复制物和相应的复合材料平整片封装成柔性传感器. 结果表明, 压力作用下传感器内复制物和平整片之间的接触电阻因倒金字塔底棱的形变而显著降低. 对使用柔软性较高的复合材料封装的传感器, 虽然其相对迟滞稍大, 但压力作用下倒金字塔底棱形变量较大, 且复制物和平整片内导电通路增加量较大, 因此其在0~2.5 kPa的线性区内具有较高的灵敏度(0.32 kPa^?1). 制备的2种传感器均具有快速响应特性, 且能在500 s(约1580次)的循环压缩/释放测试(峰值压力约3 kPa)中保持较稳定的电阻响应. 研究表明, 利用模压成型的表面倒金字塔结构复合材料复制物封装成的柔性压力传感器具有良好的传感性能.     

Recent advances in electrochemical sensors for antibiotics and their applications

The abuse of antibiotics will cause an increase of drug-resistant strains and environmental pollution,which in turn will affect human health.Therefore,it is important to develop effective detection techniques to determine the level of antibiotics contamination in various fields.Compared with traditional detection methods,electrochemical sensors have received extensive attention due to their advantages such as high sensitivity,low detection limit,and good selectivity.In this mini review,we summarized the latest developments and new trends in electrochemical sensors for antibiotics.Here,modification methods and materials of electrode are discussed.We also pay more attention to the practical applications of antibiotics electrochemical sensors in different fields.In addition,the existing problems and the future challenges ahead have been proposed.We hope that this review can provide new ideas for the development of electrochemical sensors for antibiotics in the future.