Aerobic Oxidation of Primary Alcohols by a New Mononuclear CuII-Radical Catalyst

Primary alcohols such as ethanol or benzyl alcohol are selectively and catalytically oxidized by the mononuclear copper(II ) radical complex 1 —a functional model of the metalloenzyme galactose oxidase—with oxygen from air at 20°C to give the corresponding aldehydes and H₂O₂ in about 60 % yield.     

High temperature gas chromatography on narrow bore capillary columns

The use of high-temperature-stable, medium polarity glass capillary columns coated with immobilized PS-090 (a 20 % diphenyl-substituted, CH₃O-terminated polydimethylsiloxane) has made it possible to analyze routinely, and with good separation efficiency, high molecular weight compounds such as triglycerides and free base porphyrins. Cold on-column injection was used throughout this work to avoid discrimination against involatile compounds, and disposable (fused silica) retention gaps were used to protect the column against contamination with involatile material. On-column injection into narrow bore glass columns was achieved by using glass-to-silica connections to attach wider bore (0.2 mm i.d.) deactivated fused silica tubing to the columns.     

Glucose concentration determination based on silica sol-gel encapsulated glucose oxidase optical biosensor arrays

Optical biosensor arrays for rapidly determining the glucose concentrations in a large number of beverage and blood samples were developed by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOD) on oxygen sensor layer. Glucose oxidase was first encapsulated in silica based gels through sol-gel approach and then immobilized on 96-well microarrays integrated with oxygen sensing film at the bottom. The oxygen sensing film was made of an organically modified silica film (ORMOSIL) doped with tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium dichloride (Ru(dpp)₃Cl₂). The oxidation reaction of glucose by glucose oxidase could be monitored through fluorescence intensity enhancement due to the oxygen consumption in the reaction. The luminescence changing rate evaluated by the dynamic transient method (DTM) was correlated with the glucose concentration with the wide linear range from 0.1 to 5.0 mM (Y = 13.28X − 0.128, R = 0.9968) and low detection limit (0.06 mM). The effects of pH and coexisting ions were systemically studied. The results showed that the optical biosensor arrays worked under a wide range of pH value, and normal interfering species such as Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, PO₄³⁻, and ascorbic acid did not cause apparent interference on the measurement. The activity of glucose oxidase was mostly retained even after 2-month storage, indicating their long-term stability.     

An in-tube SPME device for the selective determination of chlorophyll a in aquatic systems

We report a new device for the estimation of the content of chlorophyll a pigment in water samples as an indicator of water quality. The extraction of the pigment from water was also optimized. 10 mL of water was filtered through a nylon filter (45 μm pore size and 13 mm of diameter), after the chlorophylls were dissolved by immersing the filter in 1 mL of a low non-hazardous solvent as ethanol. An in-valve in-tube SPME device coupled to capillary liquid chromatography with diode array detection was designed. A capillary column of 70 cm in length (0.32 mm i.d. coated with 5% diphenyl-95% polydimethylsiloxane, 3 μm coating thickness) was used as the loop of the injection valve for preconcentration and a Zorbax SB C₁₈ (SiO₂-based) 150 mm × 0.5 mm i.d., 5 μm column (Agilent) was used as analytical column. The achieved detection limit was 0.05 μg L⁻¹ and the working range of concentrations was 0.1-1 μg L⁻¹. % RSD values between 2 and 11 were obtained. Chlorophyll a in several water matrices was determined with good results in presence of other pigments such as chlorophyll b, pheophytin a and pheophytin b.     

Bioelectrocatalytic Activity of Immobilized Alcohol Oxidase on 4‐(pyrrole‐1‐yl) Benzoic Acid Modified Carbon Nanotubes

A novel bioelectrocatalytic system was prepared by immobilizing alcohol oxidase (AOx) onto multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) modified with 4‐(pyrrole‐1‐yl) benzoic acid (PyBA). Functional carboxylic groups from PyBA create covalent amide linkages with amine groups from the enzyme molecule and provide an anchor for the effective immobilization of AOx improving the stability of the whole system. The immobilized enzyme displayed a pair of reversible redox peaks of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) cofactor with the formal potential E^0’=?0.451 V. The response showed a surface‐controlled electrode process with the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant k_s=2.7 s^?1. Under aerobic conditions AOx(FADH₂) can be oxidized to AOx(FAD) by oxygen, which then reacts with ethanol decreasing the cathodic response, which could be used for ethanol detection with a high sensitivity 13.1 μA mM^?1 cm^?2. The lack of bioactivity towards ethanol in anaerobic conditions suggests the presence of two types of AOx molecules in the system: active with oxygen maintaining the direct electron transfer feature and not active without a redox mediator, due to the deeply embedded FAD cofactor. The polarization curve showed that the electrooxidation current of ethanol appears at ?410 mV and reaches 2.0 µA cm^?1 at ?300 mV. In this case, the bioactivity of AOx to ethanol can be observed offering promising solution for the development of mediatorless systems for application to biosensors and biofuel cells.     

A Simple Contactless Conductivity Detector Employing a Medium Wave Radio Integrated Circuit for the Signal Treatment

A new procedure has been tested for the treatment of the alternating signal coming from a contactless conductivity detection cell. The cell consists of a polyethylene (2 mm o.d., 1.5 mm i.d.) or polytetrafluoroethylene (1.6 mm o.d., 0.8 mm i.d.) tubing, with 5 mm wide tubular electrodes placed over the tubing and separated by a 5 mm gap. An unmodulated or an amplitude‐modulated AC voltage is applied to the cell and the AC current passing through the cell is treated by a TDA 1072A integrated circuit, obtaining a signal depending on the conductivity of the quiescent or flowing solution inside the cell. Under optimized conditions, the solution conductance can be measured within a range from ca. 10 to 700 μS cm^?1, corresponding to ca. 9×10^?5 to 5×10^?3 M KCl. The detector was used to measure the conductivities of various drinking waters and the values obtained were in a good agreement with those provided by a commercial contact conductometer. It has been found that the use of unmodulated input voltage is advantageous both experimentally, and from the point of view of the quality of the analytical characteristics. The integrated circuit tested is not, however, sufficiently sensitive for application to capillary detection cells with diameters of a few tens of μm, employed in microseparation procedures.     

Novel determination system for urea in alcoholic beverages by using an FIA system with an acid urease column.

A novel determination method for urea using an acid urease column-FIA system was developed, and the system was applied to the determination of urea in rice wine. This novel FIA system was characterized by CO2 detection due to the property of acid urease and by a microfluidic gas-diffusion device with the use of an ultra-thin hollow fiber membrane. A biosensing system fabricated in this study was assembled with a double-plunger pump, a sample-injection valve, an immobilized acid urease column as a recognition element for the assay of urea, a gas-diffusion unit, and a flow-type spectrophotometer. The gas-diffusion unit consisted of a double-tubing structure in which the outer tubing was made of PTFE (i.d. 1.0 mm; o.d. 1.5 mm) and the inner tubing was of porous PTFE (i.d. 0.19 mm; o.d. 0.25 mm). Standard urea solutions (20 microl) were measured through monitoring variations in the absorbance of a coloring agent solution resulting from a pH shift due to carbon dioxide molecules being enzymatically generated. A wide and linear relationship was obtained between the concentration of urea (16 microM - 1.0 mM) and the change in absorbance. This FIA system has great advantages that the system did not suffer from ammonia and ethanol in samples. This system, armed with a microfluidic gas-diffusion device, was applicable to the determination of various substrates of many kinds of decarboxylase, amino-acid oxidase, and amino-acid oxygenase, producing CO2 and NH3 molecules.     

Preparation of an Electrode Modified with an Electropolymerized Film as a Mediator of NADH Oxidation and Its Application in an Ethanol/O2 Biofuel Cell

This paper reports a novel mediator for the oxidation of β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺/NADH), an electropolymeric film (pAPRu) of [Ru(NH₂‐phen)₃]²⁺. A pAPRu‐modified electrode was prepared via electropolymerization and exhibited catalytic activity toward the electrochemical oxidation of NADH due to the imine moieties of pAPRu. The electrochemical oxidation of ethanol was observed using an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)‐immobilized electrode. A compartmentless ethanol/O₂ biofuel cell composed of an ADH anode and a bilirubin oxidase cathode was constructed. The maximum current density and the maximum power density of the biofuel cell were 190 µA cm^?2 and 31 µW cm^?2 (at 0.29 V), respectively.     

Metal-Organic Framework Glass Catalysts from Melting Glass-Forming Cobalt-Based Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Boosting Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics and serious charge recombination restrict the development of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The advancement of novel metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) catalysts bears practical significance for improving PEC water splitting performance. Herein, a MOF glass catalyst through melting glass-forming cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (Co-a_gZIF-62) was introduced on various metal oxide (MO: Fe₂O₃, WO₃ and BiVO₄) semiconductor substrates coupled with NiO hole transport layer, constructing the integrated Co-a_gZIF-62/NiO/MO photoanodes. Owing to the excellent conductivity, stability and open active sites of MOF glass, Co-a_gZIF-62/NiO/MO photoanodes exhibit a significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation activity and stability in comparison to pristine MO photoanodes. From experimental analyses and density functional theory calculations, Co-a_gZIF-62 can effectively promote charge transfer and separation, improve carrier mobility, accelerate the kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and thus improve PEC performance. This MOF glass not only serves as an excellent OER cocatalyst on tunable photoelectrodes, but also enables promising opportunities for PEC devices for solar energy conversion.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering characteristics of 4-nitrobenzenethiol adsorbed on palladium and silver thin films

Palladium is an important catalytic metal, and it is desirable to develop a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique to investigate the reagent and product species adsorbed on its surface. Unfortunately, Pt-group metals, e.g., Pt and Pd, have been commonly considered as non- or weak-SERS-active substrates. In this work, Ag and Pd thin films were deposited very efficiently and evenly onto the surface of glass substrates by using only corresponding metal nitrate salts (AgNO₃ and Pd(NO₃)₂) with butylamine in ethanolic solutions. In this process, pure ethanol was used for Ag deposition, while an ethanol–water (8:2) mixture was used for Pd deposition. The as-prepared Ag and Pd films exhibited SERS activity over a large area. The surface-induced photoconversion capabilities of these Ag and Pd films were then tested on 4-nitrobenzenethiol by means of SERS. It was found that at least under visible laser irradiation, the surface-catalyzed photoreaction occurs more readily on a Ag film than on a Pd film for the conversion of 4-nitrobenzenethiol to 4-aminobenzenethiol, even though Pd is known to be an important transition metal with high catalytic activity.     

Determination of glucose in blood by flow injection analysis and an immobilized glucose oxidase column

A flow-injection system for glucose determination is described. Glucose oxidase is immobilized on controlled porosity glass (CPG) and used in a glass column (2.5 mm diameter × 2.5 cm). The hydrogen peroxide produced by the enzymatic reaction (? 1 × 10^?6 M) is detected by the current produced in a flow-through cell, with two platinum electrodes having a potential difference of 0.6 V. Glucose (0–20 mmol l^?1) can be determined in blood plasma either with a dialyser in the system or, better, by incorporating a column of copper(II) diethyldithiocarbamate on CPG before the enzyme column. The results compared well with those obtained by a conventional analyser system. The glucose oxidase column showed little change in activity over a 10-month period.     

Synthesis,characterization and crystal structures of oxidovanadium(V) hydrazone complexes with antibacterial activity

Abstract

Reaction of VO(acac)₂ with the hydrazone ligands N’-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)-3methylbenzohydrazide (H₂L¹) and N’-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)-3-methyl-4-nitrobenzohydrazide (H₂L²) afforded two oxidovanadium(V) complexes, [VOL¹(OMe)(MeOH)] (1) and [VOL²(OEt)(EtOH)] (2), respectively. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR, UV-Vis, molar conductivity and X-ray single crystal diffraction techniques. The hydrazone ligands coordinate to the V ions through the phenolate oxygen, imino nitrogen and enolate oxygen atoms. The V ions in both complexes are in octahedral coordination, with the three donor atoms of the hydrazone ligands, and with the other three sites furnished by one methanol or ethanol oxygen atom, one deprotonated methanol or ethanol oxygen atom, and one oxo oxygen. The complexes were assayed for their antibacterial activity on the bacteria B. subtilis, E. coli, P. putida and S. aureus.     

Steering the Selectivity of Electrocatalytic Glucose Oxidation by the Pt Oxidation State

Electrocatalytic glucose oxidation can produce high value chemicals, but selectivity needs to be improved. Here we elucidate the role of the Pt oxidation state on the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose with a new analytical approach, using high-pressure liquid chromatography and high-pressure anion exchange chromatography. It was found that the type of oxidation, i.e. dehydrogenation of primary and secondary alcohol groups or oxygen transfer to aldehyde groups, strongly depends on the Pt oxidation state. Pt⁰ has a 7-fold higher activity for dehydrogenation reactions than for oxidation reactions, while PtO_x is equally active for both reactions. Thus, Pt⁰ promotes glucose dialdehyde formation, while PtO_x favors gluconate formation. The successive dehydrogenation of gluconate is achieved selectively at the primary alcohol group by Pt⁰, while PtO_x also promotes the dehydrogenation of secondary alcohol groups, resulting in more complex reaction mixtures.     

Water-Soluble Polymeric Carbon Nitride Colloidal Nanoparticles for Highly Selective Quasi-Homogeneous Photocatalysis

Heptazine-based polymeric carbon nitrides (PCN) are promising photocatalysts for light-driven redox transformations. However, their activity is hampered by low surface area resulting in low concentration of accessible active sites. Herein, we report a bottom-up preparation of PCN nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (ca. 10±3 nm), which are fully soluble in water showing no gelation or precipitation over several months. They allow photocatalysis to be carried out under quasi-homogeneous conditions. The superior performance of water-soluble PCN, compared to conventional solid PCN, is shown in photocatalytic H₂O₂ production via reduction of oxygen accompanied by highly selective photooxidation of 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol and benzyl alcohol or lignocellulose-derived feedstock (ethanol, glycerol, glucose). The dissolved photocatalyst can be easily recovered and re-dissolved by simple modulation of the ionic strength of the medium, without any loss of activity and selectivity.     

Development of a long-life capillary enzyme bioreactor for the determination of blood glucose

A long-life capillary enzyme bioreactor was developed that determines glucose concentrations with high sensitivity and better stability than previous systems. The bioreactor was constructed by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto the inner surface of a 0.53 mm i.d. fused-silica capillary that was part of a continuous-flow system. In the presence of oxygen, GOx converts glucose to gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Hydrogen peroxide detection was accomplished using an amperometric electrochemical detector. The integration of this capillary reactor into a flow-injection (FIA) system offered a larger surface-to-volume ratio, reduced band-broadening effects, and reduced reagent consumption compared to packed column in FIA or other settings. To obtain operational (at ambient temp) and storage (at 4 °C) stability for 20 weeks, the glucose biosensing system was prepared using an optimal GOx concentration (200 mg/mL). This exhibited an FIA peak response of 7 min and a detection limit of 10 μM (S/N = 3) with excellent reproducibility (coefficient of variation, CV < 0.75%). It also had a linear working range from 10¹ to 10⁴ μM. The enzyme activity in this proposed capillary enzyme reactor was well maintained for 20 weeks. Furthermore, 20 serum samples were analyzed using this system, and these correlated favorably (correlation coefficient, r² = 0.935) with results for the same samples obtained using a routine clinical method. The resulting biosensing system exhibited characteristics that make it suitable for in vivo application.     

The Influence of Defects on Mo‐Doped TiO2 by First‐Principles Studies

TiO₂ doped with transition metals shows improved photocatalytic efficiency. Herein the electronic and optical properties of Mo‐doped TiO₂ with defects are investigated by DFT calculations. For both rutile and anatase phases of TiO₂, the bandgap decreases continuously with increasing Mo doping level. The 4d electrons of Mo introduce localized states into the forbidden band of TiO₂, and this shifts the absorption edge into the visible‐light region and enhances the photocatalytic activity. Since defects are universally distributed in TiO₂ or doped TiO₂, the effect of oxygen deficiency due to oxygen vacancies or interstitial Mo atoms is systemically studied. Oxygen vacancies associated with the Mo dopant atoms or interstitial Mo will reduce the spin polarization and magnetic moment of Mo‐doped TiO₂. Moreover, oxygen deficiency has a negative impact on the improved photocatalytic activity of Mo‐doped TiO₂. The current results indicate that substitutional Mo, interstitial Mo, and oxygen vacancy have different impacts on the electronic/optical properties of TiO₂ and are suited to different applications.     

Comparison of immobilized enzyme reactors for flow-injection systems

Straight, coiled, beaded, and packed-bed reactors containing immobilized glucose oxidase or l-(+)-lactate dehydrogenase were compared in terms of reaction rate, sensitivity, sample throughput, and sample dispersion. The enzymes were covalently attached to the inside walls of 5.0-cm long, 1.12-mm i.d. nylon tubes, and the resulting reactors were tested in a flow-injection system. The beaded enzymatically-active reactors (BEARs) were filled with solid glass beads of 0.5-mm or 1.0-mm diameter. Reactors with the larger beads had 2–4 times the activity, twice the sensitivity, and better throughput than the open reactors; they also minimized the physical and chemical contributions to dispersion. Packed-bed reactors were superior in the lactate determination, but the beaded reactors were better for the determination of glucose. With BEARs containing 1.0-mm beads, glucose was determined in the range 10–800 μM with a conversion efficiency of 0.056 mol of product per mole of substrate; for lactate, the range was 8–64 μM with a conversion efficiency of 0.13 mol mol^?1.     

Direct coupling of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with supercritical fluid extraction using modified carbon dioxide

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography has been directly coupled with supercritical fluid extraction using modified carbon dioxide. The mixed fluids were prepared with a single pump on-line mixing system. The most important step in the SFE-SFC interface was the elimination of the modifier solvent. This was achieved by use of a coupled trap, 0.1 mm i.d. and 0.53 mm i.d. capillary tubing connected in series, with the collected solutes refocused on the second (0.53 mm i.d.) trap before transfer into the separation column. This enabled complete elimination of various modifier solvents and high efficiency collection of the solutes. The effect of the modifier on trapping efficiency was investigated using methanol, ethanol, dichloromethane, hexane, and toluene at a variety of concentrations. n-Eicosane was, for example, trapped quantitatively by modified carbon dioxide containing up to 13 % (w/w) methanol. The use of the technique has been demonstrated by selective extraction of n-paraffins, fatty acid methyl esters, and alcohols from a silica matrix; the effect of different modifiers on the extraction of a mixture of pesticides from soil has also been investigated.     

Ethanol splitting in bipolar membranes: Evidence from NMR analysis

Bipolar membranes were reported to split alcohol into alkoxide ions and H⁺; however, there is no direct evidence for ethanol splitting, i.e., the existence of ethoxide ions. This work uses ethanol for alcohol splitting test and ¹H NMR for the identification of ethoxide ions. According to the spectra analysis, the chemical shifts of proton H, δ 3.736–3.666 (q, 2H) and δ 1.255–1.209 (t, 3H) can only be ascribed to CH₃CH₂O⁻. Therefore, this work first proves ethanol splitting in bipolar membranes by detecting the existence of sodium ethoxide. To further extend the application of electrodialysis to non-aqueous systems (as in organic synthesis), membranes of better solvent-resistance are needed to be developed.     

Protease determination using an optimized alcohol enzyme electrode

A new method for the determination of protease activities is described. In this large family, trypsin is used as a protease model that cleaves the enthyl or methyl ester of artificial substrates producing ethanol or methanol. Alcohol is detected using an alcohol oxidase enzyme electrode. The H₂O₂ production that occurs is measured amperometrically. At 30°C, in a 0.1M phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, the enzyme electrode response for ethanol was calibrated at 3.10^?6–3.10^?3 M and for methanol from 3.10^?7 to 4.10^?4 M in the cell measurement. Trypsin levels as determined by the proposed method and by a conventional spectrophotometric method are in good agreement when using the same measurement conditions. A detection limit of 10 U·L^?1 and a linear calibration curve of 10–100,000 U·L^?1 in the sample were obtained. Measuring time for the required trypsin solution concentration was from 4 min (for the most dilute samples) to 1 min (for the most concentrate samples). In a typical experiment, protease measurements did not inactivate the alcohol oxidase on the probe, nor did a more classical use for alcohol detection. The procedure developed could permit any protease estimation on the condition that they hydrolyze ester bonds from synthetic substrate.