Hydroxyundecanethiol-Modified Steel Fibers for the Selective Solid-Phase Microextraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from River and Wastewater

A novel organic–inorganic composite-coated fiber was developed for selective solid-phase microextraction (SPME) by direct electrodeposition of zinc oxide microparticles on a pretreated stainless steel wire followed by self-assembly of hydroxyundecanethiol with zinc–sulfur bonds. The performance of the hydroxyundecyl-modified zinc oxide-coated steel fiber was then assessed for SPME of polar aromatic compounds coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Excellent extraction and selectivity were obtained for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The extraction and desorption times, temperature, stirring rate, and ionic strength were optimized. The limits of detection were from 0.034 to 0.132?µg?L^?1. The relative standard deviations were from 3.4 to 4.9% for a single fiber and from 5.1 to 6.4% for multiple fibers. The recovery of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water fortified at 5.0 and 50?µg?L^?1 was from 83.1 to 103% with relative standard deviations below 8.4%. This fiber was shown to withstand at least 200 extraction and desorption cycles. The method was used for the preconcentration and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water.     

Candida antarctica B Lipase-Loaded Microreactor for the Automated Derivatization of Lipids

A key bottleneck in the profiling of lipids is the multistep derivatization required prior to gas chromatography (GC) analysis. A single in-vial lipid derivatization and analysis may significantly minimize sample loss and improve analytical sensitivity. A cotton fiber-supported poly(glycidylmethacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) polymer microbrush microreactor loaded with Candida antarctica lipase B was developed for the facile conversion of triacylglycerols into fatty acid ethyl ester derivatives for gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. The polymer microbrush microreactor was fabricated in effort to provide efficient, simplified, cost effective, and high-throughput GC–MS determination of triacylglycerols. The polymer microbrush microreactor was used as an in-vial triacylglycerol transesterification platform, with economical sample consumption of less than or equal to 100?µL and significant reduction of reagents. To evaluate the polymer microbrush microreactor performance for lipids, a triolein standard and camelina oil triacylglycerols were quantitatively transformed into ethyl oleate and fatty acid ethyl esters, respectively, following a 3?h reaction time. The lipase-loaded cotton fiber-supported poly(glycidylmethacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) polymer microbrush microreactors were reusable for up to five times for quantitative transesterification with minimal loss of lipase activity.     

Electrochemical Characterization of the Interaction of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Doxorubicin

It has been suggested that multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) interacting with pharmaceutics may be introduced into the body as nanocarriers. To deliver the anticancer drugs, covalent or noncovalent functionalization of MWCNTs is required. In this study, the influence of oxidation on MWCNTs in the interaction with chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin, was characterized. The binding of doxorubicin with MWCNTs decreased rapidly with the increasing oxidation period with sulfuric acid. However, with nitric acid, the interaction increased initially and slowly decreased with time. The best results were obtained for sulfuric and nitric acid following 1 and 3?h of oxidation, respectively. The results show that sulfuric acid provided more favorable interaction for MWCNTs with doxorubicin than nitric acid.     

Elemental Analysis of Stone Fruits by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Direct Mercury Analysis

This study reports the concentrations of eight trace essential (Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, V, and Se) and four toxic elements (Pb, As, Cd, and Hg) in commonly consumed stone fruits from South Korea. The samples were digested by microwave-induced combustion and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of mercury were analyzed by direct mercury analysis (DMA). The analytical techniques were validated by linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision, recovery, and for accuracy by analyzing a spinach leave-certified reference material; satisfactory results were obtained in all cases. The concentrations of essential trace elements varied considerably among the stone fruits. Generally stone fruits contained comparatively high concentrations of Zn (0.946 to 7.86?µg/g) and Mn (below the limit of detection to 1.66?µg/g), while lower contents of Cu (0.214 to 1.24?µg/g), Cr (0.032 to 0.114?µg/g), Ni (0.006 to 0.091?µg/g), Co (0.004 to 0.016?µg/g), V (below the limit of detection to 0.023?µg/g), and Se (0.0002 to 0.005?µg/g) were obtained. The concentrations (µg/g) of toxic metals were 0.007 (peach) to 0.016 (cherry) for Pb, 0.001 (plum) to 0.007 (cherry) for As, 0.002 (apricot and cherry) to 0.003 (peach) for Cd, and 0.0003 (peach) to 0.0016 (jujube) for Hg. The values for the estimated dietary intakes, target hazard quotients, and hazard indices were lower than the recommended safety limits by World Health Organization. Therefore, the analyzed stone fruits were deemed to be safe for human consumption.     

Geographic Characterization of Leccinum rugosiceps by Ultraviolet and Infrared Spectral Fusion

Leccinum rugosiceps is an edible mushroom belonging to genus Leccinum of Boletaceae. Its fruiting bodies are richer in nutrients than many vegetables and fruit. The model of support vector machine was established for the discrimination of L. rugosiceps from regions based on rapid and low-cost ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopies. The mid-level data fusion was performed by support vector machine. Compared to a single spectroscopic technique, mid-level data fusion provided higher accuracy by selecting the most significant variance from data matrixes based on partial least squares discriminant analysis. The accuracy of the classification of samples in the calibration and test sets were 85.00 and 94.74%, higher than separate measurements by ultraviolet or infrared spectroscopy. This approach has applications for authentication and quality assessment of L. rugosiceps.     

Characterization of Antioxidant Activity of Momordica Charantia Fruit by Infrared-Based Fingerprinting

Momordica charantia is widely consumed edible fruit. The food and pharmaceutical industries use it as a natural antioxidant. However, the quality control of M. charantia-based medicinal products is questionable due to the complexity of metabolites in this fruit. Hence, this study has developed a statistical model in predicting the antioxidant value through the 2, 2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power based on infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance. This technique was reliably used for quality control. Six ethanol extracts (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% in water) of this plant’s fruit were prepared. The radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power activities were measured and the chemical profiling of the extracts was fingerprinted by infrared spectroscopy between 4,000 and 600?cm^?1 at a resolution of 4?cm^?1. Statistical analysis was developed by correlating the bioactivity and infrared spectra of each extract using orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis. The C–N, C?O, C–O, C–H, and OH infrared signals were positively correlated with biological activity. The antioxidant activity of the fruit of M. charantia may be due to the presence of several antioxidants that work synergistically.     

In vitro anticancer activity of binuclear Ru(II) complexes with Schiff bases derived from 5-substituted salicylaldehyde and 2-aminopyridine with notably low IC50 values

The binuclear Ru(II) complexes with Schiff bases derived from 5-chlorosalicyladehyde and 2-aminopyridine and its 5-substituted salicylideneimine homologues were tested in vitro against cervical carcinoma (HeLa), metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW620), lung adenocarcinoma (A549), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and human lung fibroblast (WI-38) cell lines. All compounds showed strong antiproliferative activity with extremely low IC₅₀ values. The compounds expressed strong activity against gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis.     

Synthesis,characterization, speciation and biological studies on metal chelates of 1-benzoyl(1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)thiourea

Proton-ligand association constants of 1-benzoyl(1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)thiourea (BTTU) and its complex formation constants with some bivalent metal ions Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), and Cu(II), have been determined potentiometrically in 50% EtOH–H₂O and 0.1 M NaNO₃. The complexes formed in solution have a stoichiometry of 1:1 and 1:2 [M:L], where M represents the metal ion and L the BTTU ligand. The corresponding thermodynamic parameters are derived and discussed. The complexes are stabilized by enthalpy changes and the results suggest that complexation is an enthalpy-driven process. The effects of metal ion, ionic radius, electronegativity, and nature of ligand on the formation constants are discussed. The formation constants of the complexes with 3d transition metals follow the order Mn²⁺ < Co²⁺ < Ni²⁺ < Cu²⁺ > Zn²⁺. The metal complexes were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, conductance, IR, ¹H NMR, and magnetic measurements. The low magnetic moment of 0.11 BM for the Cu(II) complex is suggestive of dimerization through Cu–Cu interaction. The concentration distribution diagrams of the complexes were evaluated. The ligands and their metal complexes have been screened in vitro against some bacteria and fungi.     

Two copper(II)-bbtz modified Keggin and β-octamolybdate compounds captured in one-pot under hydrothermal conditions

Under hydrothermal conditions two compounds based on Keggin and β-octamolybdate, respectively, [Cu₂(bbtz)₄(SiMo₁₂O₄₀)] (1) and [Cu₂(bbtz)₄(Mo₈O₂₆)]_1/2·H₂O (2) (bbtz = 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene), were synthesized in one-pot and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analyses, and IR spectroscopy. In compound 1, two adjacent wave-like Cu^II-bbtz lines are connected by SiMo₁₂ anions and bbtz to generate a ladder-like chain. Adjacent chains share the same Cu^II ions to build a three-dimensional (3-D) framework. In compound 2, the β-Mo₈ anions link Cu₃(bbtz)₂ subunits alternately to form a one-dimensional (1-D) chain. These chains connect each other through sharing Cu^II ions and a 3-D network is constructed. Moreover, we studied the electrocatalytic and photocatalytic activities of these two compounds. The results indicate that 1 and 2 show good electrocatalytic performance for the reduction of nitrite and bromate; they also exhibit photocatalytic properties for degradation of MB and RhB.     

Ternary and binary copper(II) complexes: synthesis,characterization, ROS-inductive,proteasome inhibitory,and anticancer properties

Three ternary copper(II) complexes, [Cu(phen)(L-phe)Cl]·2H₂O, [Cu(phen)(L-leu)Cl]·4½H₂O, and [Cu(phen)(L-tyr)Cl]·3H₂O, and four binary copper(II) complexes, [Cu(phen)Cl₂]_, Cu(L-phe)₂·½H₂O, Cu(L-leu)₂·½H₂O, and Cu(L-tyr)₂·H₂O (where phen = 110-phenanthroline, L-phe = L-phenylalanine, L-tyr = L-tyrosine, L-leu = L-leucine and Cl^- = chloride), were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, UV–visible, fluorescence spectroscopy), magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity, and lipophilicity measurement. X-ray diffraction determination of a single crystal of [Cu(phen)(L-tyr)Cl] showed two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit, each with the same distorted square pyramidal geometry about copper(II). p-Nitrosodimethylaniline assay revealed that the three ternary complexes were better inducers of reactive oxygen species over time than binary complexes, CuCl₂, and free ligands. All the copper(II) complexes in this series inhibited the three proteolytic activities in the order Trypsin-like > Caspase-like > Chymotrypsin-like. In terms of anticancer properties, the copper(II)-phen complexes had GI50 values of less than 4 μM against MCF-7, HepG2, CNE1 and A549 cancer cell lines, more potent than cisplatin.