Thermodynamic Consistency Test of Vapor–liquid Equilibrium Data of Binary Systems Including Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) and Ionic Liquids Using the Generic Redlich–Kwong Equation of State

The thermodynamic consistency test of solubility P–T–x data for binary mixtures including carbon dioxide (CO2) + a room temperature ionic liquid has been investigated. Experimental solubility data taken from the open literature for 32 binary mixtures of CO2/RTILs contains 80 isotherms. The applied consistency test is based on the fundamental Gibbs–Duhem equation with use of the generic Redlich–Kwong (GRK) equation of state (EoS) coupled with the van der Waals–Berthelot (GRK/vdWB) mixing rule. The optimum parameters were obtained by minimizing the summation of per cent relative deviations between modeled and experimental data, based on the bubble pressure algorithm. Modeling was found acceptable for all isotherms, which demonstrated the usability of the GRK equation of state. Results of the thermodynamic consistency test showed that 36 of the isothermal data sets were thermodynamically consistent, 37 were not fully consistent, 6 were thermodynamically inconsistent and only one data set was found to need another model.     

Effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet for determination of methadone in water and biological samples prior to GC‐flame ionization and GC‐MS

A novel effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplet was developed to determine methadone prior to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. In this method, a tablet composed of citric acid, sodium carbonate, and 1‐undecanol was utilized. The resulting effervescent tablet generated carbon dioxide in situ to disperse 1‐undecanol in the sample. Thus, the dispersive and extraction processes were performed in one synchronous step. An aliquot of acetonitrile as the demulsifier solvent was used for the separation of two phases instead of centrifugation. Under optimal conditions, the developed method was linear up to 50 000 µg/L with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Moreover, limits of detection and limits of the quantification were in the range of 3‐10  and 7‐30 µg/L in water and biological samples, respectively. Intra‐ and interday precisions (n = 6) of the spiked methadone at a concentration level of 50 µg/L were over ranges of 5.1‐6.8% and 5.7‐7.1%, respectively. The preconcentration factors and recovery values were obtained in the range of 140‐145 and 98.1 to 101.6% in real samples, respectively.     

The most representative shape of a family of curves

Suppose that we are given a family of curves, either continuous or discrete, and we wish to determine a curve that is most representative of the family. Using least squares theory, we find that in both cases we seek the dominant eigenvalue and eigenvector of a symmetric matrix. Numerical approaches to the eigenvalue problem are then given. One involves the standard inverse power method, and the other involves a new differential equation approach. Faddeev's method for obtaining the characteristic polynomial is also employed. Two illustrative examples, one for a family of continuous curves and one for a family of discrete curves, are presented.     

Carbon dioxide hydrogenation: Efficient catalysis by an NHC-amidate Pd(II) complex

The utilization of carbon dioxide as a carbon source has long been a challenge in modern organic chemistry due to its low reactivity, yet high abundance. Herein we demonstrate the highly efficient hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into formic acid in the presence of an NHC-amidate Pd(II) complex. Excellent turnover number was observed when the catalyst was used under heterolytic conditions. This catalytic system provides a new and efficient carbon dioxide hydrogenation method.     

Non-linear vibrations and frequency response analysis of piezoelectrically driven microcantilevers

Microcantilevers have recently received widespread attentions due to their extreme applicability and versatility in both biological and non-biological applications. Along this line, this paper undertakes the non-linear vibrations of a piezoelectrically driven microcantilever beam as a common configuration in many scanning probe microscopy and nanomechanical cantilever biosensor systems. A part of the microcantilever beam surface is covered by a piezoelectric layer (typically ZnO), which acts both as an actuator and sensor. The bending vibrations of the microcantilever beam are studied considering the inextensibility condition and the coupling between electrical and mechanical properties in the piezoelectric materials. The non-linear terms appear in the form of quadratic expression due to presence of piezoelectric layer, and cubic form due to geometrical non-linearities. The Galerkin approximation is then utilized to discretize the equations of motion. In addition, the method of multiple scales is applied to arrive at the closed form solution for the fundamental natural frequency of the system. An experimental setup consisting of a commercial piezoelectric microcantilever attached on the stand of a state-of-the-art microsystem analyzer for non-contact vibration measurement is utilized to verify the theoretical developments. It is found that the experimental results and theoretical findings are in good agreement, which demonstrates that the non-linear modeling framework could provide a better dynamic representation of the microcantilever than the previous linear models. Due to microscale nature of the system, excitation amplitude plays an important role since even a small change in the amplitude of excitation can lead to significant vibrations and frequency shift.     

In Vivo Endoscopic Tissue Identification by Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS)

Gastrointestinal cancers are a leading cause of mortality, accounting for 23 % of cancer‐related deaths worldwide. In order to improve outcomes from these cancers, novel tissue characterization methods are needed to facilitate accurate diagnosis. Rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS) is a technique developed for the in vivo classification of human tissue through mass spectrometric analysis of aerosols released during electrosurgical dissection. This ionization technique was further developed by utilizing surface induced dissociation and was integrated with an endoscopic polypectomy snare to allow in vivo analysis of the gastrointestinal tract. We tested the classification performance of this novel endoscopic REIMS method in vivo. It was shown to be capable of differentiating between healthy layers of the intestinal wall, cancer, and adenomatous polyps based on the REIMS fingerprint of each tissue type in vivo.