Behavior of thermo- and pH-responsive copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide and maleic acid in aqueous solutions

A thermo- and pH-responsive copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide with maleic acid was studied using light scattering and turbidimetry methods. Aqueous solutions with pH values from 1.8 to 10.9 and in the concentration range from 0.001 to 0.015 g/cm³ were investigated. At all pH values and concentrations, phase separation was observed at temperatures T > 33°C. The temperatures of the start and the width of the phase separation interval increased with decrease of copolymer concentration and increase in pH. The redistribution of scattering entities, namely, macromolecular unimers, micelle-like structures, and loose aggregates, and growth of aggregate hydrodynamic radius took place during heating.     

Simultaneous Determination of Tranexamic Acid and Losartan Potassium in Dosage Formulations and Human Serum by RP-LC

Rapid liquid chromatographic procedure for analytical quality control of pharmaceutical preparations and human serum containing drugs, tranexamic acid together with losartan potassium are proposed, using acetonitrile: water (50:50), adjusting pH to 2.6 with phosphoric acid as a mobile phase, UV detection at 205 nm and propylparaben sodium was used as internal standard. The results obtained showed a good agreement with the declared contents. The method shows good linearity in the range of 40–10,000 ng mL^?1 for tranexamic acid serum concentrations with a correlation coefficient 0.9999 (inter- and intra-day CV <3.18) and in the range 5–10,000 ng mL^?1 for losartan potassium serum concentrations with a correlation coefficient 0.9999 (inter- and intra-day CV <3.61). The recovery was >97.8%. The proposed method may be used for the quantitative analysis of tranexamic acid and losartan potassium alone or in combination from raw materials, in bulk drugs, dosage formulations and in serum.     

A combined spectroscopic and light scattering study of hydrolysis of uranium(VI) leading to colloid formation in aqueous solutions

This study mainly focuses hydrolysis reactions of uranium(VI) under an ambient atmosphere leading to colloid formation in near neutral solution using light scattering, UV–Vis and FTIR-ATR studies. UV–Vis and IR spectrum was recorded for uranyl solution at different pH range. U(VI) hydrolyzed colloids were detected and it was confirmed by the appearance of a band at 941 cm^?1 in the IR spectra. Light scattering measurements were performed on colloidal U(VI) solutions formed at pH range of 7–8. The average particle diameter was determined as 32–36 nm using dynamic light scattering. Well defined colloidal species are formed with no considerable change in particle size with increasing U(VI) concentration. The weight average molecular weight of colloidal species was predicted as 763 Da by Debye plot. The second virial coefficient (A₂) was found to be ?0.1139 ml g^?1 Da. The present study confirms that behaviour of U(VI) contradicts conventional Zr(IV), Th(IV) and Pu(IV) solution chemistry. U(VI) polymerization is less extensive and in neutral solutions it forms only oligomers with 2–3 uranyl units.     

Decontamination of media filters in a groundwater treatment plant by dissolution processes using organic acid solutions

Ground water was collected from a depth of 1,200 m in the Al-Qasim area in mid-Saudi Arabia. This underground water contains minerals, mainly Fe and Mn and radio-nuclides like radium and other ionic materials. This water was filtered through a sand bed, which contains layers of sands of different sizes in order to remove those impurities from water. Mn and Fe were deposited on outer layer of each sand granule during filtration and radium was adsorbed on surfaces of these minerals. Ra was separated from these minerals by dissolving them in various acids such as ascorbic acid, citric acid, tannic acid, salicylic acid, tartaric acid and lactic acid under different experimental conditions like acid concentration, contact time, shaking speed, particle size, temperature and liquid/solid ratio. The effectiveness of these acids on radium removal was found as follows: ascorbic acid ≈ citric acid > tartaric acid > tannic acid > lactic acid > salicylic acid. Various reaction parameters were also optimized. Reaction kinetic and mechanism parameters of dissolution process were studied and compared with other published data.     

A novel solid-phase extraction method for separation and preconcentration of zirconium

This work assesses the use of modified natural clinoptilolite as an adsorptive material for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of zirconium ions. A simple, rapid and economical method was developed for the preconcentration of trace amounts of zirconium in aqueous medium using 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol as a complexing agent. Effect of sample pH, flow rate of sample and elution solutions, breakthrough volume and interference of several ions were studied. Determination of zirconium was made by ICP-AES technique. The sorption was quantitative in the pH range from 3.0 to 4.0, whereas quantitative desorption occurred instantaneously with 2 mol L^?1 hydrochloric acid. Linearity was maintained between 0.05 and 9.0 μg mL^?1. Relative standard deviations range from ±0.9% to ±2.3% (n?=?5). The detection limit was 0.1 ng mL^?1. Because of good recovery (>97%), this method is suitable for preconcentration and determination of zirconium in effluents containing trace amount of zirconium.     

Determination of Heparin in Plasma by HPLC Coupled with Resonance Light Scattering Detection

High performance liquid chromatography coupled with resonance light scattering detection was developed for separation and determination of heparin in plasma. A good chromatographic separation was achieved using an aminex HPX-87H column (300 mm × 7.8 mm, 9 μm) and a mobile phase of 5.0 mmol L^?1 H₂SO₄ at the flow rate of 0.5 mL min^?1. The enhanced resonance light scattering signals were derived from a large aggregate formation between heparin and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide used as the molecular recognition probe. The parameters of the post-column reaction (pH, concentration and flow rate of the reagent, length of the reaction coil, and temperature) were optimized. The limit of detection for heparin in plasma was 0.2 mg L^?1. The method has been applied to the determination of heparin in dialysis patient plasmas.     

Studies on the Uptake of Rare Earth Elements on Polyacrylamidoxime Resins from Natural Concentrate Leachate Solutions

Synthesis of poly(acrylamidoxime) resin from polyacrylonitrile performed with different crosslinking ratios 2, 5, and 10 wt% of divinylbenzene as crosslinking agent, using methylbenzoate and dioctylphthalate as pore producing solvent, the reaction mixture occurred under nitrogen. Studies carried out on diluted solution from rare earth elements (REEs) concentrate contains impurities as Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Si⁴⁺, Th⁴⁺, U⁶⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺. Changing some parameters as pH of the solution, time of feeding and type of acid as HCl, HNO₃, H₂SO₄. The adsorption efficiency of resin is in the order pH 6 > pH 5 > pH 4 > pH 2 with excluding pH 6 due to the precipitation of some of REEs with the impurities and complete precipitation of Dy ion during pH adjustment, the adsorption in HNO₃ > HCl > H₂SO₄ media.     

Determination of Vecuronium Bromide in Pharmaceuticals: Development, Validation and Comparative Study of HPLC and CZE Analytical Methods

Vecuronium bromide is a neuromuscular blocking agent used for anesthesia to induce skeletal muscle relaxation. HPLC and CZE analytical methods were developed and validated for the quantitative determination of vecuronium bromide. The HPLC method was achieved on an amino column (Luna 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) using UV detection at 205 nm. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile:water containing 25.0 mmol L^?1 of sodium phosphate monobasic (50:50 v/v), pH 4.6 and flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. The CZE method was achieved on an uncoated fused-silica capillary (40.0 cm total length, 31.5 cm effective length and 50 μm i.d.) using indirect UV detection at 230 nm. The electrolyte comprised 1.0 mmol L^?1 of quinine sulfate dihydrate at pH 3.3 and 8.0% of acetonitrile. The results were used to compare both techniques. No significant differences were observed (p > 0.05).     

Determination of Heparin in Plasma by HPLC Coupled with Resonance Light Scattering Detection

High performance liquid chromatography coupled with resonance light scattering detection was developed for separation and determination of heparin in plasma. A good chromatographic separation was achieved using an aminex HPX-87H column (300 mm × 7.8 mm, 9 μm) and a mobile phase of 5.0 mmol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ at the flow rate of 0.5 mL min⁻¹. The enhanced resonance light scattering signals were derived from a large aggregate formation between heparin and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide used as the molecular recognition probe. The parameters of the post-column reaction (pH, concentration and flow rate of the reagent, length of the reaction coil, and temperature) were optimized. The limit of detection for heparin in plasma was 0.2 mg L⁻¹. The method has been applied to the determination of heparin in dialysis patient plasmas.

     

Simultaneous Determination of the Endogenous Free ��-Lipoic Acid and Dihydrolipoic Acid in Human Plasma and Erythrocytes by RP-HPLC with Electrochemical Detection

A highly sensitive, precise, and accurate reversed-phase high-performance liquid-chromatography/electrochemical detection method for simultaneous determination of the endogenous free ??-lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid in biological matrices was developed and validated. The two analytes were extracted from the samples with acetonitrile/10% metaphosphoric acid solution_(aqueous) (50/50 v/v). To determine the total lipoic acid, samples were treated with tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine solution in phosphate buffer, pH 2.5 with 85% orthophosphoric acid prior to deproteination. The two analytes were separated on a C₁₈ (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 ??m) analytical column using acetonitrile-50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 2.5 with 85% orthophosphoric acid (35/65 v/v) as the isocratic mobile phase pumped at a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^?1 at the column oven temperature of 35 °C. The column eluents were monitored at a potential of 0.9 V. These analytes were efficiently resolved in <7 min. The present method was sufficiently robust and specific for simultaneous determination of the two analytes and demonstrated acceptable values for linearity (r ² = 0.999 in the range of 0.1?C500 and 0.25?C1,000 ng mL^?1 for ??-lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid, respectively), recovery (>97%), precision (RSD% <2), and sensitivity (on column limit of detection, 150 and 375 fg for ??-lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid, respectively and limit of quantification: 0.5 and 1.25 pg for ??-lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid, respectively), indicating that the proposed method was more sensitive, precise, economical, and versatile, and has higher throughput than the previously reported methods for simultaneous determination of the two analytes.     

Automatic Multipumping Flow System for Handling Viscous Solutions: Application to the Spectrophotometric Determination of Trimipramine

Abstract

The present work describes the implementation, by using MultiPumping Flow Analysis System (MPFS), of a spectrophotometric method for the determination of trimipramine in commercially available pharmaceutical formulations, based on the reaction with ammonium monovanadate in acidic medium yielding a colored compound with a maximum of absorbance at 620 nm. The improved flow mixing conditions during sample and reagents insertion and transport, as a result of the chaotic movement of the solutions originated by the MPFS pulsed flow, assured a fast reaction zone homogenization in a reduced residence time, which was particularly advantageous for carrying out analytical determinations that involved highly viscous solutions, as is the case of the sulfuric acid solution used in the determination of trimipramine, without impairing the sampling rate.

A linear working range for trimipramine concentrations of up to 50 mg L^?1 (r = 0.9998; n = 6) was obtained, and the determined detection limit was about 1.15 mg L^?1. The sampling rate was approximately 50 determinations per hour. The obtained results were in agreement with those furnished by the reference procedure, with relative deviations lower than 4.7%. With the developed MPFS, the consumption of the reagents ammonium monovanadate and sulfuric acid was reduced by approximately 41.02% and 54.29%, respectively, compared with a previously proposed multicommutated flow analysis system.     

Polyvinyl alcohol fibers with functional phosphonic acid group: synthesis and adsorption of uranyl (VI) ions in aqueous solutions

PVA functionalized with vinylphosphonic acid was prepared as a new adsorbent for uranyl (VI) adsorption from aqueous solutions. The vinylphosphonic acid was cografted onto PVA fibers by preirradiation grafting technique. The adsorbent were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The adsorbent was observed to possess a fibrous structure and was bonded with phosphonic acid groups successfully. The adsorbent was used for the adsorption of low levels uranyl (VI) ions from aqueous solutions. The influence of analytical parameters including pH, adsorption time, amount of adsorbent, metal ion concentration, and temperature were investigated on the recovery of uranyl (VI) ion in aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity (32.1 mg g^?1) and fast equilibrium time (30 min) were achieved at pH of 4.5 at room temperature. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH° = 2.695 kJ mol^?1; ΔS° = 31.15 J mol^?1 K^?1; ΔG° = ?6.748 kJ mol^?1) show the adsorption of an exothermic process and spontaneous nature, respectively. The possible coordination mechanism was illustrated. Adsorption and desorption coexist in aqueous solutions and then the system becomes equilibrium.     

Molecular-weight distribution and structural transformation in water-soluble complexes of poly(acrylic acid) and bovine serum albumin

Interaction of polyacrylic acid (PAA) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) at different pH values and in a wide range of mixing molar ratios, γ = n_BSA/n_PAA, of components was investigated by size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography with on-line refractive index, UV, light scattering and viscometer detectors. The results revealed the formation of stable water-soluble polymer-protein complexes at pH 5.0. For the soluble complexes thus formed, the number of the bound BSA molecules with one PAA molecule was expressed by a Langmuir-type equation as a function of the amount of excess BSA existing free in the solution. At saturation, one BSA molecule is bound to about 48 acrylic acid residues.The γ-dependencies of molecular properties and structural parameters (molecular weights, molecular-weight distribution, radius of gyration, and the Mark-Houwink equation constants) of aqueous solutions of polycomplex particles have been studied. It has been concluded from these results that the complex molecule is formed by the molecular association-dissociation processes between particles depending on protein molecules in mixtures. We assume that side-by-side association of BSA-PAA complex particles took place at γ ? 5. At γ > 5, dissociation of the aggregates occurred by the including certain protein molecules into composition and by the compactization of polycomplex particles.     

Interaction of U(VI) with Na-attapulgite in the presence and absence of humic acid as a function of pH, ionic strength and temperature

The interaction of U(VI) with Na-attapulgite was studied by using batch technique at different experimental conditions. The effect of contact time, solid content, pH, ionic strength and temperature on the sorption of U(VI) onto Na-attapulgite in the presence and absence of humic acid was also investigated. The results showed that the sorption of U(VI) on Na-attapulgite achieved sorption equilibrium quickly. Sorption of U(VI) on Na-attapulgite increased quickly with increasing pH at pH < 6.5, and then decreased with pH increasing at pH > 6.5. The sorption curves were shifted to left in low NaClO₄ solutions as compared those in high NaClO₄ solutions. The sorption was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. The sorption was dominated by ion exchange or outer-sphere surface complexation at low pH values, and by inner-sphere surface complexation or surface precipitation at high pH values. The thermodynamic parameters (i.e., ΔH ⁰, ΔS ⁰, and ΔG ⁰) for the sorption of U(VI) were calculated from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms, and the results suggested that the sorption reaction was an endothermic and spontaneous process. The Na-attapulgite is a suitable material in the removal and preconcentration of U(VI) from large volumes of aqueous solutions in nuclear waste management.     

Stability Constants for the Equilibrium Models of Iron(III) with Several Biological Buffers in Aqueous Solutions

The complexation equilibria of Fe(III) with two buffer families, which are ubiquitous in biological system studies, were studied by potentiometric measurements at a constant ionic strength of I = 0.1 mol·dm^?3 NaNO₃ in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. The members of TRIS family are tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS), N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (TES), N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid (TAPS), N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-3-amino-2-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid (TAPSO), and N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-4-aminobutanesulfonic acid (TABS) buffers. The members of morpholine family are 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid (MES), 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid (MOPS), 3-morpholino-2-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid (MOPSO), and 4-(N-morpholino) butanesulfonic acid (MOBS) buffers. The overall stability constants were determined from pH-metric data using the least-squares curve-fitting program HYPERQUAD 2008. Based on the best-fit results, the species formed at equilibrium are ML, ML₂, ML₂H_?1, and ML₃ in the systems with TRIS family buffers. The complex species ML, ML₂, ML₂H_?1, and MLH_?1 are formed in the MOPSO-containing system, while ML, ML₂, and ML₂H_?1 are formed in the systems with MES, MOPS, and MOBS. The stabilities of the complexes fall in the order TABS > TRIS > TAPS > TAPSO > TES and MOBS > MOPS > MOPSO > MES for the TRIS family and morpholine families, respectively.     

Determination of Tannic Acid by Flow Injection Analysis with Inhibited Chemiluminescence Detection

A novel flow injection procedure has been developed for the determination of tannic acid based on the inhibition of the chemiluminescences in luminol-H₂O₂-Manganese tetrasulfonatophthalocyanine (MnTSPc) system by tannic acid. The method is simple, rapid and sensitive with a detection limit of 8 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol·L⁻¹ and a linear range of 7 × 10⁻⁹–5 × 10⁻⁶ mol·L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation is 1.9% for eleven measurements of 5 × 10⁻⁷ mol·L⁻¹ tannic acid. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of tannic acid in real Chinese gall and hop pellets samples.     

Fluorescence Spectroscopic Studies on the Interaction of Oleanolic Acid and its Triterpenoid Saponins Derivatives with Two Serum Albumins

The interaction of oleanolic acid (OA) and its glycosylated derivatives (LL-2 and LL-4) with human and bovine serum albumins were investigated using the methods of fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectroscopic analysis of the fluorescence quenching that occurs when OA and its derivatives interact with serum albumin indicates that these quenching constants are inversely correlated with temperature and the quenching process involves static interactions. The binding affinity of OA and OA-derived compounds to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) follow the trend LL-4 > LL-2 > OA, suggesting that glycosylation of OA can facilitate its binding to serum albumins. Additionally, the binding affinity of these compounds to HSA is stronger than it is to BSA. The calculated thermodynamic parameters suggest that hydrophobic interactions dominate these interaction processes. We also found that only a single type of binding site exists for OA and its derivatives to HSA and BSA. Synchronous fluorescence results indicate that the binding of OA, LL-2 and LL-4 to BSA and HSA can lead to the conformational changes around the tryptophan residues of the two serum albumins. These results provided valuable clues to the pharmacokinetics and the pharmacologic activities of OA and its types of triterpenoid saponins derivatives.     

Simultaneous Identification and Quantification of Dextran 20 and Sucrose in Lyophilized Thrombin Powder by Size Exclusion Chromatography with ELSD

A rapid and accurate size exclusion chromatography method for the simultaneous identification and quantification of dextran 20 and sucrose with optical activity in the lyophilized thrombin powder was developed and validated. The assay was conducted on a Hitachi model D-2000 Elite HPLC system with a TOSOH TSKgel G3000 PWxl column (30 cm × 7.8 mm, 7 μm particle size) and an Alltech 3300 evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). The mobile phase was acetonitrile–water (46:54, v/v) mixture delivered at a flow rate of 0.7 mL min⁻¹ at 25 °C. The ELSD was operated at a nebulizer-gas flow rate of 2.0 L min⁻¹ and drift tube temperature of 90 °C, and the gain was set at one. Afterward, method validation system for the size exclusion chromatography analysis was developed. The linear range was 0.1–1.6 and 0.1–1.0 g L⁻¹ for dextran 20 and sucrose, respectively, and the detection limits were <0.02 g L⁻¹ for dextran 20 and <0.015 g L⁻¹ for sucrose. Inter-day and intra-day variabilities showed that RSD ranged from 0.27 to 4.20%. Recovery validation showed that average recovery was between 96.00 and 103.98%. The developed analytical procedure was successfully applied to determine the contents of dextran 20 and sucrose in the lyophilized thrombin powder.

     

Simultaneous Determination of Pyridoxine, Meclizine and Buclizine in Dosage Formulations and Human Serum by RP-LC

Rapid liquid chromatographic procedures for analytical quality control of pharmaceutical preparations and human serum containing antihistamine drugs, meclizine and buclizine alone or in combination with pyridoxine are proposed, using acetonitrile:water (80:20) as a mobile phase (pH adjusted to 2.6), methylparaben as internal standard and UV detection was made at 230 nm. The results obtained showed a good agreement with the declared content. The method shows good linearity in the range of 30–10,000 ng mL^?1 for pyridoxine and 25–10,000 ng mL^?1 for meclizine and buclizine serum concentrations with a correlation coefficient 0.9999 (inter- and intra-day CV < 3.91%). The recovery was >97.8%. The proposed method may be used for the quantitative analysis of meclizine and buclizine alone or in combination with pyridoxine from raw materials, in bulk drugs, dosage formulations and in serum.     

Flow injection system for hydrolysable tannin determination

A flow injection system was proposed to evaluate the transient product of a colorimetric reaction between hydrolysable tannin and potassium iodate (KIO₃) solution. The system optimization was accomplished by using statistical methods based on experimental design. Flow rate of KIO₃ solution, sample volume, carrier flow rate, and reaction coil were the selected factors for evaluation. On screening step, complete factorial 2⁴ was used and two levels for each selected factor were studied. For the optimization phase, a centered face composite design 2² + star was employed to evaluate sample volume and flow rate of KIO₃ solution, which were the factors identified in the screening phase as having more influence on the absorbance signal. After optimization, the proposed system was compared with batch determination. Some characteristics, such as analytical frequency, reagent consumption and chemical residues generation presented better results by the use of the proposed system if compared with batch method. The system presented good repeatability with standard deviation lower than 3%, for n = 10, linearity (R² = 0.9974) for tannic acid standard, analytical frequency of 15 injections h^− 1 and limit of quantification of 24 mg L^− 1 of tannic acid. Good results were obtained when the proposed system was applied to hydrolysable tannin determination in Stryphnodendron barbatimão, Eucalyptus citriodora and Phyllanthus niruri, samples of plants commonly used in popular medicine.