Enzyme electrode probes obtained by electropolymerization of monomers with PMS and selected dehydrogenase enzymes

5-methylphenazonium methylsulphate, (commonly named phenazine methosulphate, PMS) mediated electroxidation of beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate), reduced form, (NAD(P)h), on platinum, gold and carbon electrodes has been studied by electropolymerization of 1,2-, 1,3-, 1,4-diaminobenzene (DAB), pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid (PY-2-COOH) and 4,4'-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHB) in presence of PMS using cyclic voltammetry. The electroxidation of ascorbic acid has been evaluated on the electrodes electropolymerized in absence and in presence of PMS. The same experiments have been carried out with NAD(P)H in solution. Results showed that the NAD(P)H is oxidised by PMS coimmobilized with the polymer film on the electrode surface. NAD(P)H has been measured in the range 10(-6)-10(-2)mol l(-1) with a detection limit of 5 x 10(-7) mol 1(-1). Amperometric measurements of NAD(P)H have been carried out at -0.10 V and the efficiency of different elecrodes based on different materials has been studied. The electropolymerization has been also carried out in presence of PMS and selected dehydrogenase enzymes. The activity of these enzymes has been tested amperometrically at -0.1 V. Enzyme substrates such as glucose, lactate and glutamate have been measured in the range 5 x 10(-6)-1 x 10(-2) mol 1(-1) with a detection limit 1 x 10(-6) mol 1(-1). Also the stability of these probes during time has been evaluated.     

Synthesis and microstructure-mechanical property relationships of segmented polyurethanes based on a PCL-PTHF-PCL block copolymer as soft segment

The goal of this work has been the synthesis of novel materials based on a biodegradable polycaprolactone-block-polytetrahydrofurane-block-polycaprolactone diol (PCL-b-PTHF-b-PCL). The segmented thermoplastic polyurethanes (STPU) have been synthesised in bulk without catalyst at different molar ratios and their characterization has been performed by different techniques. The physic-chemical interactions, responsible for the unique polyurethane properties, have been evaluated by total attenuated Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) in the amide I region using a Gaussian deconvolution technique and, on the other hand, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been employed to determine the phase microstructures. The effect of increase the hard segment content (HS) has been discussed from the viewpoint of the miscibility of hard and soft segments, analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The influence of HS content on the microstructure-mechanical property relationships has also been investigated. Special attention has been focused on the wettability of the samples, measured through water contact angle measurements (WCA), to determine the tendency for biocompatibility of the samples.     

Spectroscopic properties of Pr(3+) doped in tellurite glass

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of Pr(3+) doped in tellurite glass has been recorded and analyzed in terms of Judd-Ofelt theory. The lifetime of (3)P(0) and (3)P(1) levels has been measured. Fluorescence quenching has been observed for higher concentrations of Pr(3+) ion. The temperature dependence of the fluorescence intensity and the lifetime of the (3)P(0) level has been investigated and found that they decrease with the increase of the temperature.     

Determination of cadmium and copper with ET-AAS after electrochemical deposition on a graphite electrode

The electrodeposition of cadmium and copper on a special graphite disk electrode has been performed at controlled potential. The electrode with the deposit has been inserted into the graphite atomizer HGA-400 by an adapted automatic sampler for the final determination by ET-ASS. The sensitivity of determination has been 0.371 (microg l(-1))(-1) for cadmium and 0.025 (microg l(-1))(-1) for copper for 2 min electrodeposition and increased linearly with the time of deposition. The limit of detection (3s(bl)) has been 7.9 ng l(-1) Cd(2+) and 0.11 microg l(-1) Cu(2+) for 2 min deposition and it has been improved with increased time of electrodeposition. The technique has been applied to the determination of both metals in seawater and to speciation in the presence of EDTA complexing agent.     

Hydrogen and higher shell contributions in Zn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ aqueous solutions: an X-ray absorption fine structure and molecular dynamics study

A detailed investigation of the hydration structure of Zn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ in water solutions has been carried out combining X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The first quantitative analysis of EXAFS from hydrogen atoms in 3d transition metal ions in aqueous solutions has been carried out and the ion-hydrogen interactions have been found to provide a detectable contribution to the EXAFS spectra. An accurate determination of the structural parameters associated with the first hydration shell has been performed and compared with previous experimental results. No evidence of significant contributions from the second hydration shell to the EXAFS signal has been found for these solutions, while the inclusion of the hydrogen signal has been found to be important in performing a quantitative analysis of the experimental data. The high-frequency contribution present in the EXAFS spectra has been found to be due to multiple scattering (MS) effects inside the ion-oxygen first coordination shell. MD has been used to generate three-body distribution functions from which a reliable analysis of the MS contributions to the EXAFS spectra of these systems has been carried out.     

Cobalt(III) tetrabenzoporphyrin: Synthesis,spectral and coordination properties

Comparison of tetrabenzoporphyrin complexation reactions and transmetalation of cadmium(II) tetrabenzoporphyrinate with cobalt(II) acetate and chloride in dimethylformamide (DMF) has been carried out Cobalt(III) tetrabenzoporphyrinate has been prepared and identified. Acido ligands displacement in Co(III) tetrabenzoporphyrinate by pyridine, imidazole, and quinuclidine molecules has been studied.     

Quenching of fluorescence of 1-hydroxypyrene-3,6,8-trisulfonate (HPTS) by Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, I-, and cetylpyridinium (CP+) ions in water/AOT/heptane microemulsion

The quenching of the fluorescence of HPTS (1-hydroxypyrene-3,6,8-trisulfonate) by Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Co(2+), I(-), and CP(+) (cetylpyridinium cation) has been studied in the w/o microemulsion medium formed with water, AOT [sodium salt of bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinic acid], and heptane as components at two [H(2)O]/[AOT] ratios (omega), 6 and 20. The quenching process has been found to be dynamic in nature. The lifetimes of HPTS in the microemulsion medium in the absence and in the presence of quencher have been determined. The analysis of the results has been performed in terms of the Stern-Volmer equation and the quenching sphere of action model. The Poisson distribution equation has been also used in the analysis of the probability of quencher distribution in the microemulsion compartment. The quenching of HPTS has been found to be much lower in microemulsion than in bulk water.     

Electron microtomography: A new method for studying the spatial structure of catalysts

The spatial arrangement of active component (Pt) particles on the surface of a support (Sibunit globule) has been studied by bright-field electron tomography. A tomographic attachment for a standard specimen holder and tomographic grids have been designed. The tomographic procedure has been refined, and adequate tilt series alignment and tomographic reconstruction algorithms have been chosen. The 3D distribution of the active component in the catalyst grain has been studied: particles hidden in micropores have been directly observed, and the size of the pores connecting internal cavities with the exterior has been estimated.     

Surface and in-depth characterization of TiC/C and Ti(C,N) layers by means of AES and Factor Analysis

Magnetron sputtered TiC/C multilayers and Plasma Vapour Deposited Ti(C,N) layers have been investigated by AES. The carbon sensivity factor has been calibrated for the correct composition of a TiC standard sample. Nitrogen has been measured indirectly based on the Ti(L3M23M23)/Ti(L3M23V) peak area ratio in the direct E.N(E) spectrum using Ti, TiC and TiN standard samples. The influence of Tougaard background removal has been tested. As the less accurate method taking the Ti peak-to-peak ratio has been found to give adequately good results. It has been possible to recalculate AES depth profiles, where only peak-to-peak values and no peak areas in the direct spectrum are available. Factor Analysis has been applied to AES depth profiling results. The data matrix in each column contains the linked experimental spectra of the measured elements. Based on the standard spectra the main components of a TiN layer on silicon have been identified by Factor Analysis. The structure of a TiC/C multilayer system has been resolved by the characteristic C(KLL) peak shape in C and TiC. Factor Analysis enables to calculate the individual profiles for Ti, TiC and C.     

Radioimmunoassay of human placental lactogen

A sensitive and specific radioimmunossay procedure (RIA) has been developed for the measurement of Human Placental Lactogen (HPL). Pure HPL has been labelled with¹²⁵I and a specific activity of 100 μCi/μgm of HPL has been attained. Dextran-coated charcoal has been employed to separate the bound from the free hormone in radioimmuno-assay. The sensitivity of this technique has been found to be 0.2 ng of HPL. Intraassay and inter assay variations have been found to be less than 10%. This procedure has been adopted to establish the normal range of HPL in pregnant women at different periods of gestation, and to evaluate risk pregnancies.     

焦磷酸盐溶液中铜电沉积过程 Ⅱ. 用旋转电极的研究

焦磷酸铜络合物还原过程中要经过一价铜这个中间产物在一些文献中都假设过。这个问题不仅是有兴趣的理论问题,而且也很有实际价值。因为在工业电镀中经常出现的所谓“铜粉”,常常影响镀层的质量。简单的Cu~(2+)离子在氧化物溶液中进行阴极还原时,曾经用旋转圆环-圆盘电极(RRDE)的方法实验证实了一价铜中间产物的存在。但是在铜以络离子存在时,尤其是在过剩的焦磷酸离子存在下,使得还原在较负的电位下进行。这时是否有一价铜中间产物,尚未见到RRDE的研究。用RRDE研究络离子还原的工作还很少。可是这一有力方法的应用将会揭示许多一般方     

Effect of the intercalated cation on the properties of poly(o-methylaniline)/maghnite clay nanocomposites

A detailed study about the synthesis, characterization and properties of poly(o-methylaniline)(PoMea)/maghnite nanocomposites has been performed. Changes in the characteristics of the nanocomposites, depending on the intercalated cation between the clay layers before the synthesis, have been observed. Intercalated morphology has been detected by TEM in nanocomposites containing copper-treated maghnite (Magh-Cu), while when maghnite treated with strong acids was used (Magh-H); an exfoliated material has been obtained. Also, remarkable differences in the properties of the polymers have been observed by TG-MS and FTIR, suggesting that the polymer produced with Magh-H has a higher degree of branching. The electrochemical behavior of the polymers extracted from the nanocomposites has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. Good electrochemical response has been observed for PoMea grown into Magh-Cu but not for the one polymerized into Magh-H.     

Cytotoxicity of PMMA-Based Nanoparticles Synthesized Adopting SDS and Tween 80

Summary: in this work the cytotoxicity of PMMA-based nanoparticles against mouse mammary cancer cells (4T1) has been investigated. NPs have been synthesized using either monomer starved semi-batch emulsion polymerization (MSSEP) or standard batch emulsion polymerization (BEP) processes adopting potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator and two different emulsifiers: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Tween 80. The toxicity of NPs produced using SDS has been confirmed in in vitro experiments while it has been found that NPs stabilized with Tween 80 show a good biocompatibility. Moreover, the absence of toxicity of NPs in which the SDS is substituted with Tween 80 adopting ion exchange resins (IER) has been proved. Finally the biocompatibility of the sulfate chain end groups coming from the adopted initiator has been assessed.     

Optical properties of Sm3+ ions doped in tellurite glass

Judd-Ofelt analysis of Sm(3+) ions doped in a tellurite glass has been accomplished. Fluorescence and life-time measurements have been carried out using Ar(+) laser and excimer laser. Stark splitting has been observed in the upper and lower levels in fluorescence. The life-time of 4G(5/2) level as a function of Sm(3+) concentration has been measured. Concentration quenching and the mechanism responsible for the same have been found.     

A fluorimetric and circular dichroism study of hemoglobin--effect of pH and anionic amphiphiles

In this work, bovine hemoglobin (Hb) has been studied mainly by the fluorescence method. pH has been found to exert a profound effect on Hb structure. This has been confirmed by fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) studies. The pH-induced change in quaternary structure of Hb indirectly affects its secondary structure. This in turn affects ligand binding to Hb at various pH. The binding of two amphiphiles, a bile salt and a surfactant, have been investigated. The pH-induced structural modification of Hb has been confirmed by studies with the well-known denaturant urea and the polarity probe ANS, which has been used as an extrinsic fluorophore.     

Fabrication and evaluation of single- and dual-channel (Pi-design) microchip electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A new dual-channel microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) has been developed on glass substrates for the first time with electrochemical detection. Dual-channel (called Pi-design) as well as single-channel microchips have been fabricated on soda-lime glass using photolithography, wet etching and thermal bonding. Moreover, a laser writing system has been applied for the fabrication of photomasks with the different microchip designs (single- and dual-channel configurations). The microfabricated channels have been characterized by optical, confocal and scanning electron microscopy. The resulting single- and dual-channel microchips have been evaluated using an end-channel amperometric detector based on one (single-channel) or two (dual-channel) 100-mum gold wires aligned at the outlet of the separation channel. Parameters affecting the separation of several phenolic compounds (dopamine, p-aminophenol and hydroquinone) have been studied in the glass microchips. Thus, the influence of separation voltage, detection potential and background electrolyte has been examined in the single-channel microchip. Different total length microchannel has been compared. Furthermore, the possibility of carrying out two simultaneous measurements has been demonstrated in the new dual-channel microchip electrophoresis. The injection format has been checked and resulted to be critical, in such a way that a special and new form is employed for obtaining simultaneous signals at both channels. Analytical characteristics, such as sensitivity and reproducibility have been evaluated and resulted very adequate.     

Studies on extraction of Cu(II), Ga(III), In(III) and Tl(III) with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoylpyrazol-5-one Separation and spectrophotometric determination of copper and gallium

The extraction of Cu(II), Ga(III), In(III) and Tl(III) with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoylpyrazol-5-one (HPMBzP) from aqueous solutions has been investigated. The mechanism of extraction and the composition of the species extracted has been determined. The effect of equilibration time, various organic solvents and salting-out agents on the extraction of copper and gallium has also been investigated. The green Cu(PMBzP)₂ chelate has absorption maxima at 298 and 670 nm, and PMBzP has maximum absorbance at 290 nm. A new and sensitive spectrophotometric method for copper has been devised, based on the absorbance at 670 nm. The presence of excess of reagent does not interfere and no special treatment is necessary to destroy it. The proposed method has some advantages and has been applied for the determination of copper in various soil samples. Gallium has been separated from indium, thallium, copper, iron and many other elements. The recovery of gallium and copper was 100 ± 0.2%.     

Effect of chemical structure and crystallinity on sorption,diffusion and chemical stability of polyurethaneacetals

The diffusion of water in non-isocyanate polyurethaneacetals (PUA) of various kinds and compositions has been studied. The direct relationship between the composition of polymers, their degree of crystallinity, morphology and diffusional characteristics has been demonstrated. It has been shown that by changing the polymer composition one can obtain hydrated polymer systems of every type, hydrophobic, hydrophilic and moderately hydrophilic. The kinetics of hydrolytic degradation of PUA in HCl solutions (pH = 0·1) between 20 and 75°C has been investigated. Hydrolysis of acetal bonds has been found to occur in the amorphous phase of a polymer sample, which is mostly formed by the fragments of urethane glycol.The influence of morphology on PUA diffusional characteristics and their stability to hydrolysis has been determined.It has been shown that the physico-chemical properties of PUA can be regulated without the introduction of new compounds.     

Solvent extraction of Sb(III) with malachite green into chloroform

A rapid and selective method for the solvent extraction of Sb(III) using malachite green (C. I. Basic green 4) has been described. Effect of different parameters affecting the extraction coefficient value of Sb(III) such as acidity, time of equilibration, KI concentration, solvents, anions, etc. has been studied. For various elements the separation factor has been evaluated. The stoichiometry of the extracted species has been determined by the method of substoichiometric extraction. The decontamination factor for some elements using substoichiometric quantities of the extracting agent has been evaluated. Radiotracers were employed for the extraction studies. The method elaborated has been employed for the quantitative determination of antimony in normal, benign and cancerous tissues of the human brain.     

Polyamide-6 nanocomposites with electron-beam-treated clay

The “in situ” polymerisation principle has been applied in our work to modify the efficiency of montmorillonite (MMT) as a reinforcement in polymer composites. The dry silica powder of MMT has been dispersed in (2-hydroxyethyl)-methacrylate (HEMA) monomer, and it has been treated by electron-beam (EB) and by heat. The treated silica powder has been mixed in polyamide (PA) melt by a Brabender kneader. The solid polymer samples have been tested for mechanical features as well as for dynamic-mechanical properties (DMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surprisingly the thermally initiated “in situ” polymerisation was more efficient than 150 kGy EB dose in improving the composite properties.