Determination of Nitrite,Phosphate, and Silicate by Valveless Continuous Analysis with a Bubble-Free Flow Cell and Spectrophotometric Detection

A continuous flow analysis system, composed of a 1.2-cm laboratory-made antibubble flow cell and a spectrophotometer, was established. The system was evaluated for the determination of nitrite, phosphate, and silicate. Different from flow injection analysis and other flow analysis modes, an injection or multiposition valve was not needed. Even better, the system was free from interferences from air bubbles without the use of a debubbler device or electronic bubble gate. Without the formation of air bubbles, the chemical reaction was accelerated using a water bath. The experimental parameters for nutrient analysis, including reagent concentration, flow strategy, flow rate, and reaction temperature, were optimized based on a univariate experimental design. The carry-over effect was comprehensively evaluated and may be ignored using this protocol. The established system and analytical methods were especially suitable for laboratories with only basic instruments and limited budgets. The system had the advantages of high sample throughput (>60?h^?1); great convenience without valve utilization; long linear dynamic ranges (0.2–80?µM for nitrite, 0.3–14?µM for phosphate, and 0.5–120?µM for silicate); low detection limits (0.06?µM for nitrite, 0.08?µM for phosphate, and 0.11?µM for silicate); and high recovery values (91.5?±?1.01 to 108.7?±?3.18%). In addition to water samples, national reference materials were analyzed, and the results were in good agreement with the certified values.     

Determination of Thiols by Fluorescence using Au@Ag Nanoclusters as Probes

A simple and label-free fluorescent assay for the sensitive determination of biological thiols was developed using Au@Ag nanoclusters. The sensing approach was based on the strong affinity of thiols to silver on the surface of the nanoclusters. In the presence of thiol-containing amino acids, the fluorescence of the Au@Ag nanoclusters was quenched due to the formation of a non-fluorescent coordination complex via the robust Ag-S bond, which allowed the determination of thiol-containing amino acids in a very simple and rapid way. Under the optimal conditions, an excellent linear relationship was present due to quenching of the Au@Ag nanoclusters over cysteine concentrations between 20 nM and 80 µM with a low detection limit of 5.87 nM. Glutathione was determined between 2 µM and 70 µM with a detection limit of 1.01 µM. In addition, the results reveal that the fluorescent assay has excellent selectivity toward thiol-containing amino acids compared to non-thiol containing amino acids. Moreover, the assay was successfully used to determine cysteine in human plasma, and thus Au@Ag nanoclusters are a suitable fluorescent probe for biological applications.     

Electrochemical Detection of NADH,Cysteine, or Glutathione Using a Caffeic Acid Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

A modified electrode was prepared using electrodeposition methods to immobilize caffeic acid (CAF) onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to create a polymer suitable for biosensor development. The polymer film coverage of the surface bound species was further optimized using electrodeposition methods, thus increasing the surface coverage to ca. 10^?9 mol cm^?2. Using cyclic voltammetry, the modified carbon electrode was used to facilitate and observe the electrocatalytic oxidation of coenzymes such as NADH, cysteine, and glutathione at different concentrations. A calibration curve was determined in each case within the concentration range; 300 nM to 10 mM, with the limits of detection (LOD) of 246 µM, 99 µM, 2.2 µM for NADH, cysteine, and glutathione respectively.     

A Sensitive Simultaneous Determination of Epinephrine and Piroxicam Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with a Nickel Hydroxide Nanoparticles/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Composite

The electrooxidation of epinephrine (EPI) and piroxicam (PRX) has been investigated by application of nickel hydroxide nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite electrode (MWCNTs‐NHNPs/GCE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and chronoamperometry (CA) methods. The modified electrode showed suitable electrochemical responses for EPI and PRX determination. Under the optimum conditions the electrode provides a linear response versus EPI and PRX concentrations in the range of 1–220 µM and 0.7–75 µM, respectively using the DPV method. Linear responses versus EPI and PRX concentrations in the range of 1–1000 µM and 1–800 µM, respectively, were obtained using the CA method. The modified electrode was used for determination of EPI and PRX in human urine with satisfactory results.     

Detection of Thiols by o‐Quinone Nanocomposite Modified Electrodes

A chemically modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was developed as an amperometric sensor for detection of biological thiols. The electrode was modified by inclusion of co‐enzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and a co‐catalyst of oxidized single wall carbon nanotubes (Ox‐SWNT) into a gold polypyrrole (Au‐PPy) nanocomposite matrix. The electrode (PQQ/Ox‐SWNT/Au‐PPy/GC) was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Optimal conditions for the PQQ/Ox‐SWNT/Au‐PPy/GC electrode were determined and then utilized for the amperometric detection of L‐cysteine, N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine, L‐penicillamine and D, L‐glutathione. The electrochemical response for each thiol in pH 3.2 citrate phosphate buffer at +450 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) was found to be linear with limit of detections (LOD, S/N=3) ranging from 0.50 µM for L‐penicillamine to 1.55 µM for D, L‐glutathione with sensitivities of 30.2 nA/µM and 3.6 nA/µM respectively. The electrode design is simple and easy to construct using a minimum amount of co‐enzyme and co‐catalyst, resulting in detection methods with very good stability and improved sensitivity for thiol detection.     

Determination of Levodopa in Pharmaceuticals Using a Disposable Electrochemically Activated Carbon-Paste Electrode by Linear Sweep Voltammetry

A simple disposable electrochemically activated carbon-paste electrode was developed for the determination of levodopa in pharmaceuticals and the optimal conditions for carbon-paste electrode electrochemical activation were studied. The study of the oxidation process of levodopa on the proposed electrode was performed using cyclic voltammetry and the irreversibility of levodopa with a kinetic-controlled current was established. The determination of levodopa is possible in the concentration range of 5–100?µM. The detection and quantification limits were 0.65 and 0.79?µM, respectively. The proposed procedure was satisfactorily applied in the levodopa determination in pharmaceuticals with relative standard deviation 3.4%.     

Synthesis and Evaluation of Substituted Pyrazoles: Potential Antimalarials Targeting the Enoyl‐ACP Reductase of Plasmodium Falciparum

A series of 1,5‐ and 1,3‐diarylsubstituted pyrazoles were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their ability to inhibit enoyl‐ACP reductase of Plasmodium falciparum. The inhibitory activity of these synthesized compounds was evaluated in a continuous spectrophotometric assay. Of all the compounds analyzed, NAS‐81 and NAS‐39 inhibited the enzyme with IC₅₀ values of 30 µM and 50 µM, respectively. The mode of ligand binding was investigated by docking the synthetic inhibitors at the active site of the crystal structure of the enzyme.     

A microconductometric biosensor based on lipase extracted from Candida rugosa for direct and rapid detection of organophosphate pesticides

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) have been intensively used as insecticides in agriculture; after entering the aquatic environment, they may affect a wide range of organisms. A conductometric enzymatic biosensor based on lipase extracted from Candida rugosa (CRL) has therefore been developed for the direct and rapid quantitative detection of organophosphate pesticides: diazinon, methyl parathion and methyl paraoxon in water. The biosensor signal and response time were obtained under optimum conditions, the enzyme being immobilised in the presence of gold nanoparticles. Under these conditions, the enzymatic biosensor was able to measure concentrations as low as 60 µg/L of diazinon, 26 µg/L of methyl parathion and 25 µg/L of methyl paraoxon very rapidly (response time: 3 min). Moreover, this CRL biosensor was not sensitive to interferences such as carbamates. It presented good storage stability for 21 days when kept at 4°C and it was successfully applied to real samples.     

Voltammetric Determination of Iron(III) in Water

A square wave voltammetric procedure for the determination of trace amounts of Fe(III) was developed at an unmodified edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG) electrode and a screen printed electrode (SPE). This simple procedure was applied to real samples of commercially bottled mineral water. Sensitive results in the micromolar region could be achieved without modification of the electrode. Using the WHO guideline limits for the Fe(III) concentration in drinking water, recovery percentages at an EPPG gave 103 % and 107 %, and 98.6 % and 95.0 % at a SPE for the 5.36 µM (0.3 mg L^?1) and 53.6 µM (3.0 mg L^?1) additions of Fe(III), respectively.     

The first validated HPLC method for separation and quantification of imiprothrin and deltamethrin in insecticide spray formulation

This work is concerned with novel, accurate and precise determination of two common insecticides, imiprothrin and deltamethrin, using HPLC. The chromatographic conditions were optimised for the best separation. The column was Intersil ODS (4.6 x 250 mm with 5 µm particle size). The mobile phase consists of a mixture of acetonitrile and water (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. UV detection was accomplished at 230 nm using chlorpyriphos as an internal standard. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines and was found to be linear over the range 7.5–45 µg/mL for imiprothrin and 5–30 µg/mL for deltamethrin. The method was applied to the assay of both insecticides in the combined spray formulation from the Egyptian market. Statistical comparison between the proposed and the reported methods showed no significant difference. The method can be applied for simultaneous determination of both compounds in different market products with high specificity and in quality control laboratories for insecticide residue monitoring.     

First electrochemical investigation of organophosphorus pesticide azametiphos and its quantification using electroanalytical approach

ABSTRACT

In this work, the electrochemical behaviour and the subsequent development of an analytical procedure for quantification of pesticide azamethiphos, using boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode are reported for the first time. It was found that azamethiphos electrochemical behaviour is irreversible oxidation at the potential of around 1.70 V, in 1 M nitric acid (pH 0). Also, it was found that potential of this oxidation was not pH dependent which can be attributed to the no proton involvement in electrochemical reaction on the electrode surface. The square wave voltammetric method was most appropriate for azamethiphos quantification. Under optimised experimental conditions, linear working range from 2 to 100 µM was estimated with the detection limit of 0.45 µM. Negligible effect of the possible interfering compound was observed. The obtained results show that the developed analytical methodology can be an adequate replacement for the, up to date, used methods for detection of organophosphorous pesticide.     

Nonenzymatic Hydrogen Peroxide Electrochemical Sensor Based on Au‐HS/SO3H‐PMO (Et) Nanocomposite

A newly nonenzymatic sensor for hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) based on the (Au‐HS/SO₃H‐PMO (Et)) nanocomposite is demonstrated. The electrochemical properties of the as‐prepared nanocomposite were studied. It displayed an excellent performance towards H₂O₂ sensing in the linear response range from 0.20 µM to 4.30 mM (R=0.9999) with a sensitivity of 6.35×10² µA µM^?1 cm^?2 and a low detection limit of 0.0499 µM. Furthermore, it was not affected by electroactive interference species. These features proved that the modified electrode was suitable for determination of H₂O₂.     

Label Free Determination of Potassium Ions Using Crystal Violet and Thrombin-Binding Aptamer

A label-free method for sensitive determination of potassium ions was developed. The most commonly studied thrombin-binding aptamer was used as the molecular probe and crystal violet was chosen as a fluorescence signal reporter. The fluorescence of crystal violet was significantly enhanced when the crystal violet solution was mixed with the single-stranded thrombin-binding aptamer. However, in the presence of potassium ions, due to the formation of potassium induced G-quadruplex structures, the fluorescence decreased. Potassium ions were determined using the change in fluorescence. The conformational transformation was investigated by circular dichroism, and interferences caused by sodium ions were studied. This label-free method offers a simple procedure that induces minimum effects on the G-quadruplex formation. Under the optimized conditions, the method exhibited a linear range from 30–420 µM for potassium ions with a detection limit of 6 µM.     

Glucose Dehydrogenase Based Bioelectrode Utilizing a Synergistic Scheme of Substrate Conversion

A Bioelectrode utilizing a synergistic scheme of substrate conversion was built using glucose dehydrogenase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus immobilized on the surface of a graphite electrode. At saturated glucose concentration the bioelectrode responded to the low reactive substrate hexacyanoferrate(III) with a sensitivity of 0.0035 µA/µM cm². The response of the bioelectrode increased up to the 3.4×10⁴ fold in the presence of high reactive organic electron acceptors (mediators). The increase of the response depended on the concentration of the mediators and their chemical nature. The sensitivity of the bioelectrode to mediators reached 7.3–77 µA/µM cm². The comparison of the bioelectrode sensitivity with kinetic parameters of enzyme action in homogeneous solution revealed good correlation between the sensitivity of the bioelectrode and the predicted value from the kinetic scheme of the reactivity of mediators. This confirms a synergistic scheme of bioelectrode action.     

Simple,Rapid and Sensitive Electrochemical Method for the Determination of the Triketone Herbicide Sulcotrione in River Water Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode

We report a novel, simple, rapid and sensitive electrochemical method for the determination of sulcotrione, a member of the relatively new class of triketone herbicides, using differential pulse voltammetry on a glassy carbon electrode. Its electrochemical behavior including influences of electrolyte composition, pH and scan rate was studied to select optimal experimental parameters for its determination. In Britton? Robinson buffer at pH 3 sulcotrione provided a well‐defined reduction peak at ?0.84 V (vs. Ag/AgCl electrode), with good repeatability (relative standard deviation of 2.3 % for 8 measurements at 10 µM concentration level). With optimized parameters differential pulse voltammetry rendered two linear concentration ranges from 0.2 to 2 µM and from 2 to 50 µM with a detection limit of 0.05 µM. The proposed procedure was successfully applied to the determination of sulcotrione in spiked river water samples with satisfactory recoveries (93–109 %). The developed method may represent a simple, rapid and sensitive alternative to highly toxic mercury electrodes and chromatographic methods.     

A Highly Sensitive and Selective Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes/Nafion/Au Microarrays Electrode for Dopamine Determination

This work presents the fabrication of Nafion (Nf) or Nafion/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (Nf/MWCNTs) modified gold microarray (Au‐µA) and macro‐(Au‐M)electrode biosensors. The surface morphologies of the above electrodes were examined using SEM. The catalytic properties of the above electrodes towards dopamine were tested using square wave voltammetric technique. The Nf/MWCNT/Au‐µA electrode exhibited a wide range (0.1–1000 nM) of linearity among the other electrodes. The LOD of Nf/MWCNT/Au‐µA electrode was 50 pM for dopamine in the presence of 5000 µM ascorbic acid. Therefore, the Nf/MWCNT/Au‐µA biosensor was applied for the determination of dopamine in human serum.     

Determination of Pyrethroid and Organophosphorus Insecticides in Indoor Air by Microwave-Assisted Extraction with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of microwave-assisted extraction for the recovery of pyrethroid and organophosphorus insecticides adsorbed on quartz fiber filters and C18 disks used for indoor air sampling. The extraction solvent, temperature, and time were optimized by spiking tests. The recoveries for the insecticides obtained by microwave-assisted extraction with acetone at 50°C for 5 min were between 71.9% and 119.2% with relative standard deviations between 0.3% and 9.3% at two spike levels (0.1 µg and 1.0 µg). The results of the microwave-assisted extraction under the validation conditions were comparable to those obtained by Soxhlet extraction, which was used as a reference technique. In a preliminary analysis, resmethrin and tetramethrin were determined in the indoor air of an apartment unit at concentrations of 7.8 ng/m³ and 66.0 ng/m³, respectively, using the microwave-assisted extraction-based method with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

Development of a Liquid Chromatography/Amperometric Detection Method for the Determination of Multiresidue Sulfonamide Antibiotics in Meat‐Based Baby Foods

Sulfonamides were oxidized at a polycrystalline gold electrode in neutral buffered phosphate medium at pH 7 and the electrochemical behavior was investigated using cyclic voltammetry technique. A liquid chromatography methodology based on the C₁₈ reverse phase for the simultaneous separation of nine sulfamides, was studied and optimized. The amperometric detector using a polycrystalline gold substrate as working electrode and operating under pulsed amperometric detection mode (PAD) was tested for the determination of the selected molecules. Under optimal chromatographic and amperometric conditions, the limit of detection of the investigated sulfamides are comprised between 1 µM and 0.05 µM and the dynamic linear range spanned generally over three orders of magnitude. A liquid extraction procedure based on the use of acetonitrile solvent was tested and proposed for the quantitative extraction of sulfonamides from homogenized meat samples. The analytical method was successful tested for the determination of sulfonamides in homogenized meat‐based baby foods with reproducibility and recovery levels ranged between 5.0 % and 7.6 %. and 86 %–106 %, respectively.     

Enhancement of Enzymatic IDE Biosensor Response Using Gold Nanoparticles. Example of the Detection of Urea

A new conductometric biosensor based on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) has been developed for the detection of enzymatic substrates using gold nanoparticles (GNPs), synthesized bellowing the citrate process, with an average diameter of 23 nm and functionalized with urease using layer‐by‐layer technique. A detection limit of 100 µM of urea is obtained when cross‐linked urease is directly immobilized on top of the IDEs (interdigitated distance: 20 µm) whereas a detection limit of 2 µM is obtained when urease functionalized gold nanoparticles are deposited on the top of the IDEs. The use of gold nanoparticles allows the increase of the sensitivity of detection (from 10 µS/mM to 107 µS/mM) due to the decrease of the thickness of probed zone.     

Synthesis, <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Glucuronidase</Emphasis> Inhibition,and Molecular Docking Studies of 1,2,4-Triazole Hydrazones

A series of 1,2,4-triazole hydrazones 1–25 has been synthesized and characterized using different spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, and ESI MS spectrometry. The synthetic derivatives were evaluated for their β-glucuronidase enzyme inhibition properties. Among them, 17 compounds demonstrated potential inhibitory activity towards β-glucuronidase with IC₅₀ values ranging between 2.50 and 53.70 µM. Compounds 1 having IC₅₀?=?2.50?±?0.01 µM was found to be the most active compound of the series and showed remarkable activity and found to be far more potent than the standard d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (IC₅₀?=?48.4?±?1.25 µM). Furthermore, the possible binding interaction of active compounds was explored by in silico studies. These compounds can be used for anti-diabetic drug development process.