Biosorption of reactive dye from aqueous media using Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass. Equilibrium and kinetic study

The biosorption Brilliant Red HE-3B reactive dye by nonliving biomass, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in batch procedure was investigated. Equilibrium experimental data were analyzed using Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin — Radushkevich isotherm models and obtained capacity about 104.167 mg g^?1 at 20°C. The batch biosorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The multi-linearity of the Weber-Morris plot suggests the presence of two main steps influencing the biosorption process: the intraparticle diffusion (pore diffusion), and the external mass transfer (film diffusion). The results obtained in batch experiments revealed that the biosorption of reactive dye by biomass is an endothermic physical-chemical process occurring mainly by electrostatic interaction between the positive charged surface of the biomass and the anionic dye molecules. The biosorption mechanism was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy and microscopy analysis      

The first synthesis of 3-deoxyoripavine and its utilization in the preparation of 10-deoxyaporphines and cyprodime

The synthesis of 3-deoxyoripavine (7) was realized as a novel and promising intermediate towards the synthesis of the important class of dopaminergic and/or serotonergic 10-deoxyaporphines and the special pharmacological tool µ opioid antagonist cyprodime. Generally, the preparation of these valuable biologically active compounds was achieved in remarkable yields.      

Adsorption studies and release of selected dyes from functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 silica

Functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 silica was subjected to adsorption and release studies of encapsulated guest molecules of three chosen dyes. These mesoporous systems were composed of three different capping reagents introduced by grafting method on the silica surface to control the release of dye molecules at two different pH values. The amounts of dyes adsorbed on the silica surface were measured using ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometry. The efficiency of grafting was calculated on the basis of differential thermal analysis (TG) results and elemental analysis. The release profiles were determined for all obtained systems using USP Dissolution Apparatus 2. Adsorption of the two azo dyes used was the most efficient after the positively charged functionalization and lower after functionalization with neutral and negatively charged capping reagents, while the phthalocyanine dye adsorption was almost functionalization-independent. Grafting efficiency was the highest for neutral capping reagent and much lower for electrically charged molecules of other reagents. Release studies showed clearly that desorption was pH-dependent for azo dyes and pH independent for Alcian Blue. The adsorption and release seem to be connected with the electrical charge of all constituents of these systems. Results obtained can be used for further analysis of different electrically charged molecules.      

Reaction of barbituric acid with organic azides and phosphonium ylides

Amination by organic azides has been carried out to provide aminobarbiturates by fusion of a triazole ring to the 5,6-positions of barbituric acid followed by cleavage and thermal elimination of nitrogen, whereas aza-Wittig reaction gave phosphoranylidene barbituric acid salts.      

Preparation of selectively protected protoescigenin derivatives for synthesis of escin analogs and neoglycoconjugates

Protoescigenin, the main aglycone of horse chestnut saponin mixture known as escin, was selected as substrate for exploratory chemistry towards selective protection, followed by propargyl ether formation and subsequent condensation with azido-monosaccharides, to obtain novel triazole linked conjugates of the triterpene.      

Salutaridine and its derivatives as thebaine-equivalents in the synthesis of aporphines

Here we report the transformation of tetracyclic morphinan salutaridine (1) into 2,3,10,11-tetrasubstituted (R)-aporphines. This method serves as another chemical proof of the previously verified biosynthetic connection with pentacyclic morphinan-6,8-diene-type thebaine. In the presence of nucleophiles, this procedure could lead to pharmacologically interesting new tetrasubstituted aporphinoids. The enantioselective synthesis of 7S-salutaridinol (2) has been also achieved in order to investigate the acid-catalyzed reactions of this natural morphinan.      

Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies of Basic Blue 9 dye sorption on agro-industrial lignocellulosic materials

The sorptive potential of some lignocellulosic agro-industrial wastes (sunflower seed shells and corn cob) for Basic Blue 9 cationic dye removal from aqueous solutions was examined using the batch technique. The Freundlich, Langmuir, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models were used in order to determine the quantitative parameters of sorption. The Langmuir isotherm model indicated a maximum sorption capacity for these materials in the range of 40–50 mg dye per g (25°C), slightly higher for corn cob than for sunflower seed shells. The values of the thermodynamic parameters showed that the retention of cationic dye is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The application of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order intraparticle diffusion models, and a Boyd — Reichenberg model for kinetic data interpretation suggested that sorption of Basic Blue 9 dye onto the studied materials is a process where both surface sorption and intraparticle diffusion contributed to the rate-limiting step. These lignocellulosic wastes can be used with good efficiency for dye removal from aqueous effluents.      

Enantioselective Michael additions of aldehydes to nitroalkenes catalyzed with ionically tagged organocatalyst

Enantioselective organocatalytic Michael additions affords useful building blocks for many biologically and medicinally relevant compounds. Ionically-tagged diphenylprolinol silyl ether efficiently catalyzes several Michael additions of aldehydes to nitroalkenes in ionic liquids. The Michael additions work well in ionic liquids; yields up to 95% and enantioselectivities up to 95% ee were achieved. Furthermore, in some cases, the catalytic system was reusable.      

Polymer conjugates with potential biological activity based on new derivatives of 2-mercaptobenzoxazole-synthesis and characterization

New potentially biologically active compounds derived from 2-mercapto-benzoxazole were synthesized and coupled on polymeric support of poly (maleic anhydride-alt-vinyl acetate) for the preparation of polymer-drug conjugates with controlled drug release. All compounds were characterized by elemental and spectroscopy (FT-IR, ¹H-NMR) analysis. The toxicological tests recommend the products for further laboratory screening.      

Hydroconversion of parafine LTP56-H over nickel/Na-mordenite catalysts

Nickel catalysts supported on Na-mordenite were used for paraffin LTP56-H hydroconversion into liquid material as a possible component for engine fuels. The effects of none-catalytic thermal treatment and catalytic conditions-zeolite type and reaction conditions (solvent) on the process of liquefaction of LTP56-H paraffin and physicochemical properties of catalysts were studied. The physicochemical properties of catalytic systems were investigated using XRD, TPR, TPD-NH3 and SEM-EDS methods.      

Application of positron spectroscopy for investigation of threshold space of oil-gas rocks

This article considers the possibility of applying the positron annihilation spectroscopy method for investigating the pore space of rocks from oil-gas and methane-coal deposits. The diagnostics of the structure was performed using the method of spectrometry of angular correlation of annihilation rays (ACAR). Using the samples of porous silicon, the authors have shown the applicability of the ACAR method for determination of the average dimensions of spherical and cylindrical nanosized objects and their concentration      

QSAR of caffeines by similarity cluster prediction

A novel QSAR approach based on correlation weighting and alignment over a hypermolecule that mimics the investigated correlational space was performed on a set of 40 caffeines downloaded from the PubChem database. The best models describing log P and LD50 values of this set of caffeine derivatives were validated against the external test set and in a new predictive model by using clusters of similarity.      

Dynamic pressure thermal analysis of double-base propellants containing RDX

The thermal decomposition of five double-base propellants modified with RDX was studied by dynamic pressure thermal analysis to determine the effect of RDX content (20–60 wt.%) on performance. All have good stability. Both stability and activation energy increase as RDX increases from 20% to 50% then decrease; 50% RDX performs best. The decomposition mechanism is affected by RDX content and temperature. Increasing temperature induces autocatalysis and accelerates decomposition.      

Surface tension study of cationic gemini surfactants binding to DNA

Binding of cationic gemini surfactants alkanediyl-a-ω-bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromides) with variable polymethylene spacer length ranging from 2 to 12 methylene groups to DNA in NaBr solution is investigated utilizing the tensiometry method. A simple method is presented for calculating the number of surfactant molecules bound to DNA. The results are evaluated in terms of the gemini surfactant spacer length, showing that gemini molecules with either short spacers (2 methylene groups) or long spacers are most efficiently adsorbed to DNA. A weak adsorption to DNA was found for gemini molecules with a medium spacer length (6 methylene groups in the spacer). The binding properties of cationic gemini surfactants as a function of spacer length are consistent with the results obtained by other experimental methods (dynamic light scattering measurements, fluorescence spectroscopy), indicating identical adsorption behaviour of gemini molecules as a function of the spacer length.      

Application of NRTL activity coefficient model to describe the kinetics of gas adsorption

The Non-Random Two-Liquid activity coefficient model is applied to describe the kinetics of pure gas adsorption on energetically heterogeneous solid surfaces. The surface energetic heterogeneity has been represented by the Gaussian-like function of the adsorption energy distribution. Two different kinetic isotherms have been presented. One of them, determined by using the statistical rate theory, has been critically discussed. The applicability of the presented approach has been demonstrated by a quantitative analysis of two sets of experimental data previously reported in the literature.      

Spectroscopic route to monitoring individual surfactant ions and micelles in aqueous solution: A case study

Using a very popular and commonly used surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS, C₁₈H₂₉SO₃Na) for a case study, we report a new method of monitoring different forms of surfactant molecules in aqueous solution and measuring their critical micelle concentration (CMC) by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The forms of SDBS micelles are also investigated by synthesizing and characterizing NiB nanoparticles using the micelles as molecular templates. In addition, the observed shifts of UV-Vis bands are analysed from the viewpoint of the electrons locations and distributions within the molecules and the possible overlap of their electronic orbitals between neighbouring molecules in each micelle.      

Application of UV detection in HPLC in the total antioxidant potential assay

HPLC has been already used for the TAP estimation. Phenylalanine, salicylic, p-hydroxybenzoic (pHBA) or terephthalic (TPA) acids have been used as sensor compounds. Products of their reaction with the hydroxyl radicals, generated in the Fenton-like reaction, were analyzed using electrochemical or fluorescence detection. This paper describes the TAP assay based on the hydroxyl radicals reaction with pHBA, reversed-phase-HPLC separation and UV photometric detection. The elaborated assay has been used to evaluate TAP values of some apiculture products.      

Metals content of soil,leaves and wild fruit from Serbia

The concentrations of Zn, Mn, Fe, Pb, Ni, Cu and Cd in soil, leaves and edible wild fruit (Crataegus laevigata L., Cornus mas L. and Prunus spinosa L.) from southeast Serbia were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Metal translocations from soil to fruit were calculated as well as their oral intake and health risk indices. Positive correlations were found among metal concentrations in soil, leaves and fruit.      

Effect of oxidation of nitride coatings on corrosion properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in 0.9% NaCl at 40°C

The corrosion properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with oxidized thermodiffusion nitride coatings were investigated in isotonic 0.9% solution of NaCl at temperature of 40°C. It was shown that modification of nitride coatings by oxygen leads to a deterioration of the protective properties of nitrided surface of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The protective properties of the alloy with nitride coatings modified by oxygen are determined by the composition of formed surface oxynitride film.