Ferrocene-modified Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanoparticles as building blocks for construction of reagentless enzyme-based biosensors

A novel amperometric glucose biosensor was developed by entrapping glucose oxidase (GOD) in chitosan (CS) composite doped with ferrocene monocarboxylic acid-modified magnetic core-shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ nanoparticles (FMC-AFSNPs). It is shown that the obtained magnetic bio-nanoparticles attached to the surface of a carbon paste electrode (CPE) with the employment of a permanent magnet showed excellent electrochemical characteristics and at the same time acted as mediator to transfer electrons between the enzyme and the electrode. Under optimal conditions, this biosensor was able to detect glucose in the linear range from 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 4.0 × 10⁻³ M with a detection limit of 3.2 μM (S/N = 3). This immobilization approach effectively improved the stability of the electron transfer mediator and is promising for construction of biosensor and bioelectronic devices.     

On the existence of temperature induced changes in the magnetic topology of crystals that show no first-order crystallographic phase transitions

The First-Principles Bottom–Up study of the 88 K and 273 K X-ray diffraction structures of the bis-2,3-dimethylpyridinium tetrabromocuprate molecular magnet shows that the analysis of the magnetic properties of a molecule-based magnet, that does not present any first order polymorphic transition in the range of temperature studied, depends on the X-ray structure employed. The reason is the thermal expansion anisotropy when the crystal goes from the low temperature phase to 273 K, which induces changes in the radical–radical J_AB interactions. As a consequence, the magnetic topology of the low temperature and 273 K structures change, a fact that induces a change in the macroscopic magnetic susceptibility curve (only the 88 K structure of bis-2,3-dimethylpyridinium tetrabromocuprate reproduces well the two-leg spin ladder experimental properties of this magnet). When anisotropic thermal effects are suspected one should use low temperature structures to study the magnetic properties at low temperature, and high temperature structures for the study of the magnetic properties in that range of temperatures.     

Multinuclear NMR and theoretical investigation on interactions between diperoxovanadate complex and 4-picoline-like ligands

To understand the 4-substituting group effects of organic ligands in pyridine ring on the reaction equilibrium, the interactions between a series of 4-picoline-like ligands and [OV(O₂)₂(D₂O)]^?/[OV(O₂)₂(HOD)]^? in solution were explored by the combined use of multinuclear (¹H, ¹³C, and ⁵¹V) magnetic resonance, DOSY, and variable-temperature NMR in 0.15 mol/L NaCl ionic medium for mimicking the physiological condition. Some direct NMR data are given for the first time. The reactivity among the 4-picoline-like ligands is 4-picoline > isonicotinate > isonicotinamide > ethyl isonicotinate. The competitive coordination results in the formation of a series of new six-coordinated peroxovanadate species [OV(O₂)₂L]^n? (L = 4-picoline-like ligands, n = 1 or 2). The results of density functional calculations provide a reasonable explanation on the relative reactivity of the 4-picoline-like ligands. Solvation effects play an important role in these reactions.     

Heat capacities,third-law entropies and thermodynamic functions of the geometrically frustrated antiferromagnetic spinels GeCo2O4 and GeNi2O4 from T=(0 to 400) K

The molar heat capacities of GeCo₂O₄ and GeNi₂O₄, two geometrically frustrated spinels, have been measured in the temperature range from T=(0.5 to 400) K. Anomalies associated with magnetic ordering occur in the heat capacities of both compounds. The transition in GeCo₂O₄ occurs at T=20.6 K while two peaks are found in the heat capacity of GeNi₂O₄, both within the narrow temperature range between 11.4<(T/K)<12.2. Thermodynamic functions have been generated from smoothed fits of the experimental results. At T=298.15 K the standard molar heat capacities are (143.44 ± 0.14) J · K⁻¹ · mol⁻¹ for GeCo₂O₄ and (130.76 ± 0.13) J · K⁻¹ · mol⁻¹ for GeNi₂O₄. The standard molar entropies at T=298.15 K for GeCo₂O₄ and GeNi₂O₄ are (149.20 ± 0.60) J · K⁻¹ · mol⁻¹ and (131.80 ± 0.53) J · K⁻¹ · mol⁻¹ respectively. Above 100 K, the heat capacity of the cobalt compound is significantly higher than that of the nickel compound. The excess heat capacity can be reasonably modeled by the assumption of a Schottky contribution arising from the thermal excitation of electronic states associated with the CO²⁺ ion in a cubic crystal field. The splittings obtained, 230 cm⁻¹ for the four-fold-degenerate first excited state and 610 cm⁻¹ for the six-fold degenerate second excited state, are significantly lower than those observed in pure CoO.     

Controllable growth of gold nanowires and nanoactuators via high-frequency AC electrodeposition

An electrochemical deposition method using high-frequency alternating current (AC) signal is reported here for the in situ synthesis and assembly of Au nanowires and nanoactuators on microelectrodes without using any masks or templates. High conductivity of 3.79 ± 0.14 × 10⁷ Ω^− 1 m^− 1 is achieved on the Au nanowires assembled between electrodes. Au nanoactuators with expansion ratio of more than 500% can be fabricated at higher frequency. The actuators can act as claws to grab SiO₂ nanoparticles in a water solution when driven by an alternating electric field. Disconnected nanowires and nanoparticles which self-aligned around the electrodes were also obtained at lower gold ion concentration, indicating a different current transfer mode in AC electrodeposition.     

Antiferromagnetic resonance in quasi-one-dimensional ferromagnet γ-p-NPNN

The low frequency (∼300 MHz) and low-temperature (0.4 K) ESR were performed in the γ-phase of p-NPNN, which is considered to be as a quasi-one-dimensional ferromagnet above the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature (0.65 K without a static magnetic field). Below 0.6 K, we succeeded in observing the antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) for the first time. The frequency–field relation is well reproduced by the two-sublattice model with orthorhombic anisotropy. In addition, we measured magnetic torque using small single crystal, which has the dimension of 0.25 × 0.10 × 0.10 mm³. A spin–flop transition and AF-paramagnetic (AF-P) transition are observed at 470 and 2100 G at 0.4 K, respectively. Both AFMR and magnetic torque measurements indicate that the spin-easy axis is almost parallel to the direction to phenyl ring from the ONCNO fragments.     

Solid-state high-resolution NMR studies on spin fluctuation associated with valence tautomerism of metal–benzoquinone system: Cobalt complex in the stable and meta-stable phases

Equilibrium between low-spin [Co^III(SQ)(Cat)(N–N)] and high-spin [Co^II(SQ)₂(N–N)] redox isomers, where SQ is semiquinonate (charge: −1, spin: 1/2), Cat is catecholate (charge: −2, spin: 0) and N–N is chelating nitrogen donor ligand, respectively, is a representative valence tautomeric phenomenon. To elucidate independently the spin state of the cobalt ion and that of benzoquinone-derived ligands in the solid state, we measured ¹³C MAS NMR spectrum of 3,5-di-t-butyl-1,2-benzoquinone and ²H MAS NMR spectrum of deuterated 2,2′-bipyridine for [Co(3,5-di-t-butyl-1,2-benzoquinone)₂(2,2′-bipyridine)] · x(C₆H₅CH₃) and its deuterated analogue in a temperature range of 200–350 K. Irreversible change of an effective magnetic moment μ_eff of a virgin sample was observed around 370 K due to a partial loss of crystal solvent and a change of crystal structure, whereas the sample annealed at 390 K showed a crystal structure different from the reported one and a reversible change of μ_eff, which is ascribed to equilibrium between Co(III)-form (S = 1/2) and Co(II)-form (S = 3/2). Based on the shifts and the number of NMR peaks for the annealed sample, we concluded that (1) interconversion between redox isomers occurs faster than NMR time scale (>10⁴ s⁻¹) in the solid state, (2) intraconversion between SQ and Cat in Co(III)-form also occurs much faster than 5 × 10⁴ s⁻¹ even at 198 K and (3) electron spins on SQ ligands in Co(II)-form are quenched probably due to a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the two SQ ligands. The enthalpy and the entropy of the interconversion were estimated to be 17 kJ/mol and 54 J/(K mol), respectively. For the virgin metastable phase, SQ and Cat were clearly distinguished by ¹³C MAS NMR spectrum. The solid-state high-resolution NMR spectrum is useful to detect independently the change of spin states of benzoquinone-derived radical and metal ion.     

Functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene iridium complexes: Synthesis,structure and addition polymerization of norbornene

Picolyl, pyridine, and methyl functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene iridium complexes [Cp¹Ir(C^N)Cl]Cl (4, C^N = 3-Methyl-1-picolyimidazol-2-ylidene), [Cp¹Ir(C^N)Cl][Cp¹IrCl₃] (5), [Cp¹Ir(C-N)Cl]Cl (6, C-N = 3-Methyl-1-pyridylimidazol-2-ylidene) and [Cp¹Ir(L)Cl₂] (7, L = 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) have been synthesized by transmetallation from Ag(I) carbene species, and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR spectra and elemental analyses. The molecular structures of 5–7 have been confirmed by X-ray single-crystal analyses. The iridium carbene complexes 4 and 6 show moderate catalytic activities (3.03 × 10⁵ g PNB (mol Ir)^?1 h^?1 and 1.70 × 10⁶ g PNB (mol Ir)^?1 h^?1) for the addition polymerization of norbornene in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO) as co-catalyst. The produced polynorbornene have been characterized by IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra, showing it follows the vinyl-addition-type of polymerization.     

Synthesis,characterization and biological properties of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes with an SNO functionalized ligand

Some new metal(II) complexes, ML₂[M = Co, Ni, Cu and Zn], of 2-acetylthiophene benzoylhydrazone ligand (HL) containing a trifunctional SNO-donor system have been synthesized and characterized on the basis of physicochemical data by elemental analysis, magnetic moment, molar conductance, thermogravimetric and spectroscopic (electronic, IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR) data. The ligand functions as monobasic SNO tridentates where the deprotonated enolic form is preferred in the coordination producing distorted octahedral complexes.     

Effects of an applied magnetic field on the anodic dissolution of nickel in HNO3 + Cl− solution

All types of the magnetic field effects on the anodic dissolution of metallic materials have been found in one electrochemcial system: the Ni/0.40 M HNO₃ + 5.0 mM NaCl system. The effects are similar to those of a stirring on all occasions. With the presence of the magnetic field, the current decreases in the active region. However, the current oscillations are changed to active dissolution in the prepassive region and induced in the transitive potential from the prepassive region to the passive region by the magnetic field. In the passive region, the magnetic field has little influence. Those effects are discussed with different rate-determining steps. The study of the effects of the magnetic field on this system may help us understand why the magnetic field enhances the corrosion rates in some conditions while suppressing them in others.     

Extraction and preconcentration of trace levels of cobalt using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles in a sequential injection lab-on-valve system with detection by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A new approach to performing extraction and preconcentration employing functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for the determination of trace metals is presented. Alumina-coated iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized and used as the solid support. The nanoparticles were functionalized with sodium dodecyl sulfate and used as adsorbents for solid phase extraction of the analyte. Extraction, elution, and detection procedures were performed sequentially in the sequential injection lab-on-valve (SI-LOV) system followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Mixtures of hydrophobic analytes were successfully extracted from solution using the synthesized magnetic adsorbents. The potential use of the established scheme was demonstrated by taking cobalt as a model analyte. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curve showed an excellent linearity in the concentration range of 0.01–5 μg L^?1, and the relative standard deviation was 2.8% at the 0.5 μg L^?1 level (n = 11). The limit of detection was 6 ng L^?1 with a sampling frequency of 18 h^?1. The present method has been successfully applied to cobalt determination in water samples and two certified reference materials.     

On the structural and magnetoelectrical characterization of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown on (001) SrTiO3 substrates

High-quality epitaxial thin films of the ferromagnetic metallic oxide SrRuO₃ (SRO) were fabricated by dc-sputtering at high oxygen pressure and their structural and magnetoelectrical properties were carefully studied. The films featured a Curie temperature T_C ～ 160 K and a magnetic moment of ～0.7 μ_B per Ru ion. The temperature dependent magnetization could be well described by the scaling relation M(T) ∝ (T_C ? T)^β with a critical exponent β = 0.53 over the entire ferromagnetic temperature range. A negative magnetoresistance, MR, on the order of a few percent was found up to room temperature. MR showed a maximum of ～4% right at T_C where a kink structure of the resistivity, ρ, at zero field was flattened out on magnetic field application. This ρ contribution could be related to scattering due to orientational disorder of the Ru magnetic moments which become aligned by an external magnetic field. In addition, an equally strong MR effect, related to localization phenomena, could be observed at lower temperature. Particularly, the second MR peak at ～35 K might be related to a Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid crossover. A scaling behavior dρ/dT ∝ |T ? T_C|^α was observed only above T_C. Here, values for the exponent α ≈ ?0.4 and α ≈ ?1.4 were obtained in zero field and in a field of 9 T, respectively. The commonly observed ρ minimum, appearing at low temperatures (～3 K in the present case), is correlated with the structural disorder of the SRO films and is believed to have its origin in quantum corrections to the conductivity (QCC).     

Molecular spin ladders self-assembly from [Ni(dmit)2]− building blocks: Syntheses,structures and magnetic properties

Two ion-pair compounds, consisting of 1-(4′-R-benzyl)pyridinium ([RBzPy]⁺, R = NO₂ (1) and Br (2)) and [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ (dmit²⁻ = 2-thioxo-1,3-dithion-4,5-dithiolato), have been synthesized and structurally characterized. The anions of [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ stack into dimers, which further construct into two-leg ladder through terminal S⋯S interactions in 1, lateral S⋯S interactions in 2. The weak H-bonding interactions of C–H⋯S were observed in 2, while only weak van de Waals interactions between anion and cations in 1. The magnetic susceptibilities measured in 2–300 K indicate AFM exchange interaction domination both two compounds. A peculiar magnetic transition at ∼100 K was observed in 1. An AFM ordering below ∼11 K was found in 2, and the best fit to magnetic susceptibility above 45 K in this compound, using a dimer model with s = 1/2, give rise to Δ/k_B = 36.1 K, zJ = −0.91 K, C = 3.2 × 10⁻³ emu K mol⁻¹ and χ₀ = −4.0 × 10⁻⁶ emu mol⁻¹ with g of 2.0 fixed.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of 4-mercaptopyridine on thin films of nanoscale Pd cubes,boxes, and cages

We have synthesized a variety of Pd nanoparticles of 8–50 nm in size including solid cubes, hollow boxes, and porous cages. Using 4-mercaptopyridine (4MP) as a probe molecule, we have characterized thin films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity, and have found a significant level of enhancement (with factors ranging from 170 for 8-nm cubes to 1.3 × 10⁴ for boxes). For the cubes and boxes, we observed a trend of stronger enhancement with more red-shifted SPR bands. We evaluated the sensitivity of this approach, and also used SERS to monitor monolayer formation on these particles.     

Design and application of a magnetic field gradient electrode

A platinum coated electrode, which creates a magnetic field of 25 mT and a field gradient of order 10⁵ T m⁻¹ within 100 nm of the electrode surface is produced by embedding an array of CoPt nanowires in an alumina membrane. There is an enhancement by up to a factor of three for a model oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline medium when the nanowires in the electrode are in a magnetized state. We suggest that the enhancement of the oxygen reduction current is associated with an increase of concentration of ${\text{HO}}_2^{-}$ on the surface of the electrode by the magnetic field gradient.     

Partial least squares modeling of combined infrared, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra to predict long residue properties of crude oils

Research has been carried out to determine the potential of partial least squares (PLS) modeling of mid-infrared (IR) spectra of crude oils combined with the corresponding ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, to predict the long residue (LR) properties of these substances. The study elaborates further on a recently developed and patented method to predict this type of information from only IR spectra. In the present study, PLS modeling was carried out for 7 different LR properties, i.e., yield long-on-crude (YLC), density (D_LR), viscosity (V_LR), sulfur content (S), pour point (PP), asphaltenes (Asph) and carbon residue (CR). Research was based on the spectra of 48 crude oil samples of which 28 were used to build the PLS models and the remaining 20 for validation. For each property, PLS modeling was carried out on single type IR, ¹³C NMR and ¹H NMR spectra and on 3 sets of merged spectra, i.e., IR + ¹H NMR, IR + ¹³C NMR and IR + ¹H NMR + ¹³C NMR. The merged spectra were created by considering the NMR data as a scaled extension of the IR spectral region. In addition, PLS modeling of coupled spectra was performed after a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the IR, ¹³C NMR and ¹H NMR calibration sets. For these models, the 10 most relevant PCA scores of each set were concatenated and scaled prior to PLS modeling. The validation results of the individual IR models, expressed as root-mean-square-error-of-prediction (RMSEP) values, turned out to be slightly better than those obtained for the models using single input ¹³C NMR or ¹H NMR data. For the models based on IR spectra combined with NMR data, a significant improvement of the RMSEP values was not observed neither for the models based on merged spectra nor for those based on the PCA scores. It implies, that the commonly accepted complementary character of NMR and IR is, at least for the crude oil and bitumen samples under study, not reflected in the results of PLS modeling. Regarding these results, the absence of sample preparation and the straightforward way of data acquisition, IR spectroscopy is preferred over NMR for the prediction of LR properties of crude oils at site.     

New 14-membered octaazamacrocyclic complexes of divalent transition metal ions with their antimicrobial and spectral studies

A novel series of macrocyclic complexes of the type [M(C₁₈H₁₄N₁₀S₂)X₂]; where M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II); X = Cl^?, NO₃^?, CH₃COO^? has been synthesized by [2+2] condensation of thiocarbohydrazide and isatin in the presence of divalent metal salts in methanolic medium. The complexes have been characterized with the help of elemental analyses, conductance measurements, magnetic measurements, electronic, NMR and infrared spectral studies. The low value of molar conductance indicates them to be non-electrolytes. On the basis of various studies a distorted octahedral geometry may be proposed for all of these complexes. These metal complexes were also tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against some Gram-positive bacteria viz.Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and some Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and some fungal strains Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus (molds), Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeasts). The results obtained were compared with standard antibiotic: Ciprofloxacin and the standard antifungal drug: Amphotericin-B.     

NADH oxidation on screen-printed electrode modified with a new phenothiazine diazonium salt

NADH oxidation catalysts are extremely important in the field of electrochemical biosensors and enzymatic biofuel cells. Based on the growing diazonium chemistry, we synthesized the diazonium salt of the well-known NADH mediator toluidine blue O. The electrochemical reduction of the diazonium moiety by cyclic voltammetry onto a screen-printed electrode leads to an electrocatalyst suitable for the oxidation of NADH. The amperometric response for its oxidation shows a maximal current of 1.2 μA ([NADH] = 100 μM). Based on electrochemical measurements, the surface coverage is found to be 3.78 × 10^? 11 mol cm^? 2 and the heterogeneous standard rate constant k_h is 1.21 ± 0.16 s^? 1. The sensitive layer for the oxidation of NADH is improved by electrografting the diazonium salt with a potentiostatic method. Both the surface coverage and the heterogeneous standard rate constant k_h are improved and found to be 6.08 ± 0.63 × 10^? 11 mol cm^? 2 and ~ 5.02 s^? 1, respectively. The amperometric response is also improved by an 8 fold factor, reaching 9.87 μA ([NADH] = 120 μM). These remarkably high values for screen-printed electrodes are comparable to glassy carbon electrodes making this method suitable for low-cost bioelectronical devices.     

Fraunhofer-type absorption line splitting and polarization in confocal double-pulse laser induced plasma

Strong line splitting and polarization are observed in Fraunhofer-type absorption lines in Pb, Sn, Si, Cd, In, and Zn in confocal double-pulse laser induced plasma (DP-LIP) experiments. This effect is detectable using medium laser power densities: (~ 1–2) × 10¹³ W/m² for the first laser pulse and 1 × 10¹⁴ W/m² for the second laser pulse. Polarization and splitting effects exist only during the second laser pulse (~ 7 ns). Absorption line polarization and splitting phenomena may be explained by a high overall magnetic field and motional Stark effect caused by the second laser pulse inside the laser plasma created by the first pulse.     

A forensic study: Lead determination in gunshot residues

Electrochemical lead analyses of gunshot residues (GSRs) were performed using an acidic solution with a bare gold microelectrode in the presence of chloride ions. GSRs from four different guns (0.38 in. revolver, 12 caliber pump-action shotgun, 0.38 repeating rifle, and a 0.22 caliber semi-automatic rifle) and six different types of ammunition (CleanRange®, normal, semi-jacketed, especial 24g®, 3T®, CBC®, and Eley®) were analyzed. Results obtained with the proposed methodology were compared with those from an atomic absorption spectrometry analysis, and a paired Student's t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between them at the 95% confidence level. With this methodology, a detection limit of 1.7 nmol L^? 1 (3σ/slope), a linear range between 10 and 100 nmol L^? 1, and a relative standard deviation of 2.5% from 10 measurements were obtained.