Theoretical calculations of extraction selectivity: Alkali cation complexes of calix[4]-bis-crown6 in pure water,chloroform, and at a water/chloroform interface

We report theoretical calculations of ion extraction selectivity by ionophores, based on molecular dynamics simulations coupled with the free energy perturbation technique. This method is applied to the Calix[4]-bis-crown6 ( L ) ionophore, which displays remarkable selectivity for Cs⁺ over Na⁺ extraction from an aqueous to a chloroform phase. Using a thermodynamic cycle, we model the cation extraction selectivity of L from water to chloroform and calculate a peak for Cs⁺, in agreement with the experiment. This high Cs⁺ ionophoricity is accounted for mostly by differential solvation effects, with standard 1–6–12 pairwise potentials without need of “special π interactions” with the ionophore. The effect of a picrate (Pic⁻) counterion on structures and selectivities is investigated. Finally, we report simulations on the L ionophore free and on the LCs⁺ and LCs⁺Pic⁻ complexes at the water/chloroform interface. We find that all these species are “adsorbed” at the interface like surfactants instead of diffusing spontaneously to the organic phase. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Electrochemistry of dopamine at the polarised liquid|liquid interface facilitated by an homo-oxo-calix[3]arene ionophore

The homo-oxo-calix[3]arene-facilitated electrochemistry of dopamine at the polarised liquid|liquid interface is presented. Cyclic voltammetry indicated that the dopamine: homo-oxo-calix[3]arene complex formed at the interface between water and 1,2-dichloroethane had a 1:2 stoichiometry, which was confirmed by ¹H NMR titration. The electrochemically-determined association constants for the homo-oxo-calix[3]arene complexes with dopamine (log β 8.3), Na⁺ (8.0) and K⁺ (7.5) showed that the ionophore was more selective for dopamine over the two alkali metal cations than the dibenzo-18-crown-6 ionophore. Square wave voltammetry was employed for assessment of low concentration measurements, with a limit of detection of 3.8 μM dopamine achieved. These results show that oxo-calixarene-based ionophores are useful reagents for the detection of dopamine at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions.     

Napthaquinone derived ionophores: interaction with biologically important metal ions (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+)

The synthetic model systems based on the study of supramolecular compounds are proficient in mimicking the biological processes so as to get the insight of their processes. In this perspective, a series of naphthaquinone derived redox switchable ionophores namely D₁ (2,3,5,6,8,9,11,12-octahydronaphtho [2,3b] [1,4,7,10,13] pentaoxacyclo octadecine-14,19-dione) and D₂ (2,3,5,6,8,9-hexahydronaphtho[2,3-b] [1,4,7,10] tetraoxacyclododecine-11,16-dione) have been synthesized and interacted with Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ cations. The isolated solid state soft materials obtained after interaction were characterized by melting point, TLC, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and CHN estimation. The extraction, transport potential and stability constant determination of these ionophores towards cations helped in investigating their binding strength in solution. The selective extraction of Na⁺ and Li⁺ by D₁ and D₂ correspondingly proves them an efficient compound for the manufacturing of chemosensor. Whereas efficient transport of Mg²⁺ by both the ionophores especially by D₁ may assist in developing biomodels for understanding its transport through membrane in living system. The selectivity of these ionophores towards metal ions can be modulated by molecular tailoring.     

Effect of macrocyclic lactam receptors on extraction of heavy metals and chromate anions

The article presents the syntheses and extraction properties of new lactam ionophores. These lactam derivatives were easily synthesized via aminolysis of 2,2??-methylenebis(4-chlorophenol) dimethylester with corresponding diamine compounds in methanol?Cdichloromethane solvent systems at one step, respectively. The extraction studies of lactam ionophores were performed toward dichromate anion and alkaline and transition metals such as Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺. All the structures of the ionophores were confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and elemental analysis.     

Novel potentiometric and optical silver ion-selective sensors with subnanomolar detection limits

Ten Ag⁺-selective ionophores have been characterized in terms of their potentiometric selectivities and complex formation constants in solvent polymeric membranes. The compounds with π-coordination show much weaker interactions than those with thioether or thiocarbamate groups as the coordinating sites. Long-term studies with the best ionophores show that the lower detection limit of the best Ag⁺ sensors can be maintained in the subnanomolar range for at least 1 month. The best ionophores have also been characterized in fluorescent microspheres. The so far best lower detection limits of 3 × 10⁻¹¹ M (potentiometrically) and 2 × 10⁻¹¹ M Ag⁺ (optically) are found with bridged thiacalixarenes.     

A sodium ion-selective electrodebased on methyl p-t-butylcalix[4]aryl acetate as the ionophore

The performance of sodium-selective electrode based on the ligand methyl p-t-butylcalix[4]aryl acetate, one of a new series of ionophores, is described. The selectivity pattern with respect to clinically common cations is better than those of some currently available sodium-selective ionophores. Near-Nernstian response is obtained in the range 10^?1?10^?4 M. Response times are typically around 3 s and membrane resistances are of the order of 10⁶Ω.     

864 — Electrochemistry of asymmetric membranes

The ion transport behaviour of neutral carriers (ionophores) in asymmetric membrane environments has been investigated. Composite solvent-polymeric membranes consisting of two segments of different polarity exhibit two different selectivities, depending on the orientation of the membrane and on the direction of ion transport, respectively. From zero-current membrane potentials and electrodialytic ion transport numbers, the permeability selectivity Ca²⁺ > Na⁺ is found when the ions enter the polar membrane side, and the selectivity Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ for the non-polar entry. The asymmetry effects expected for ionophores in bilayer membranes are also discussed.     

Synthesis of novel lactam ionophores containing crown ether moieties and investigation of their extraction abilities towards heavy metal cations

The article describes the syntheses and extraction properties of new lactam ionophores. These lactam derivatives were easily synthesized via aminolysis of dimethyl 2,2′-(6,6′-methylenebis(2-tert-butyl-4-methyl-6,1-phenylene)bis(oxy))diacetate or dimethyl 2,2′-(2,2′-methylenebis(4-chloro-2,1-phenylene))bis(oxy)diacetate with corresponding diamine compounds at one step. The extraction studies of lactam ionophores were performed toward dichromate anion and alkaline and transition metals such as Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺. All the structures of the ionophores were confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and elemental analysis.     

Aluminum(III) Porphyrins as Ionophores for Fluoride Selective Polymeric Membrane Electrodes

Aluminum(III) porphyrins are examined as potential fluoride selective ionophores in polymeric membrane type ion‐selective electrodes. Membranes formulated with Al(III) tetraphenyl (TPP) or octaethyl (OEP) porphyrins are shown to exhibit enhanced potentiometric selectivity for fluoride over more lipophilic anions, including perchlorate and thiocyanate. However, such membrane electrodes display undesirable super‐Nernstian behavior, with concomitant slow response and recovery times. By employing a sterically hindered Al(III) picket fence porphyrin (PFP) complex as the membrane active species, fully reversible and Nernstian response toward fluoride is achieved. This finding suggests that the super‐Nernstian behavior observed with the nonpicket fence metalloporphyrins is due to the formation of aggregate porphyrin species (likely dimers) within the membrane phase. The steric hindrance of the PFP ligand structure eliminates such chemistry, thus leading to theoretical response slopes toward fluoride. Addition of lipophilic anionic sites into the organic membranes enhances response and selectivity, indicating that the Al(III) porphyrin ionophores function as charged carrier type ionophores. Optimized membranes formulated with Al(III)‐PFP in an o‐nitrophenyloctyl ether plasticized PVC film exhibit fast response to fluoride down to 40 μM, with very high selectivity over SCN^?, ClO₄^?, Cl^?, Br^? and NO₃^? (k^pot<10^?3 for all anions tested). With further refinements in the membrane chemistry, it is anticipated that Al(III) porphyrin‐based membrane electrodes can exhibit potentiometric fluoride response and selectivity that approaches that of the classical solid‐state LaF₃ crystal‐based fluoride sensor.     

Coordinating sites in non-cyclic neutral ionophores determined by Mn2+ induced 13C-spin-lattice relaxation

¹³C-Spin-lattice relaxation times induced by Mn²⁺ were measured for some ionophores and interpreted in terms of the ion-ligand interaction and position of the metal ion relative to the carbon atoms.     

A calixarene-based ion-selective electrode for thallium(I) detection

Three new calixarene Tl⁺ ionophores have been utilized in Tl⁺ ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) yielding Nernstian response in the concentration range of 10⁻²–10⁻⁶ M TlNO₃ with a non-optimized filling solution in a conventional liquid contact ISE configuration. The complex formation constants (log β_IL) for two of the calixarene derivatives with thallium(I) (i.e. 6.44 and 5.85) were measured using the sandwich membrane technique, with the other ionophore immeasurable due to eventual precipitation of the ionophore during these long-term experiments. Furthermore, the unbiased selectivity coefficients for these ionophores displayed excellent selectivity against Zn²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Al³⁺ with moderate selectivity against Pb²⁺, Li⁺, Na⁺, H⁺, K⁺, NH₄⁺ and Cs⁺, noting that silver was the only significant interferent with these calixarene-based ionophores. When optimizing the filling solution in a liquid contact ISE, it was possible to achieve a lower limit of detection of approximately 8 nM according to the IUPAC definition. Last, the new ionophores were also evaluated in four solid-contact (SC) designs leading to Nernstian response, with the best response noted with a SC electrode utilizing a gold substrate, a poly(3-octylthiophene) (POT) ion-to-electron transducer and a poly(methyl methacrylate)–poly(decyl methacrylate) (PMMA–PDMA) co-polymer membrane. This electrode exhibited a slope of 58.4 mV decade⁻¹ and a lower detection limit of 30.2 nM. Due to the presence of an undesirable water layer and/or leaching of redox mediator from the graphite redox buffered SC, a coated wire electrode on gold and graphite redox buffered SC yielded grossly inferior detection limits against the polypyrrole/PVC SC and POT/PMMA–PDMA SC ISEs that did not display signs of a water layer or leaching of SC ingredients into the membrane.     

Synthesis and 1H NMR titration study of 7‐deoxycholic amide or cholane ionophores containing different ion‐recognizing groups at C3 and C12

Tweezer‐type ionophores containing C3‐carbamoylpropanamidoacetoxy and C12‐dithiocarbamoyl groups on a 7‐deoxycholic amide or cholane derivative were designed and synthesized. A representative ¹H NMR titration study indicated that newly synthesized ionophores form 1:1 complexes with the Ca^{2 +} ion. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 23:187–194, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.21002     

Highly sensitive and selective solid-contact calcium sensor based on Schiff base of benzil with 3-aminosalycilic acid covalently attached to polyacrylic acid amide for health care

Solid-state potentiometric calcium sensors based on newly synthesized Schiff’s base of 3-aminosalycilic acid with benzil [2-hydroxy-3-(2-oxo-1,2-diphenylethylidene)amino) benzoic acid] ionophore I and with isatin [2-hydroxy-3-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene amino)benzoic acid] ionophore II ionophores and their covalently attached to polyacrylamide ionophores III and IV, respectively, were developed. The all-solid-state sensors were constructed by the application of a thin film of polymeric membrane cocktail onto gold electrodes that were pre-coated with the conducting polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophen) as an ion and electron transducer. More than 40 sensors with membranes containing plasticized PVC or poly(butyl methacrylate-co-dodecyl methacrylate as a plasticizer-free membrane matrix were investigated. The constructed sensors contained various amounts of the different ionophores with and without anionic lipophilic additive. The sensor containing 10% of ionophore III and 3% tetra (p-chlorophenyl) borate in acrylate copolymer exhibited a stable potentiometric response over a wide pH range of 4–9. It possessed a linear concentration range of 6 10^?10 to 1 10^?2 mol L^?1 with a Nernstian slope of 28.5 mV/decade and a limit of detection (LOD) of 2 10^?10 mol L^?1. It exhibited a good selectivity for calcium to other cations. The selectivity coefficients towards different mono-, di- and trivalent cations were determined with the fixed interference method (FIM) and separate solution method (SSM). The sensor’s life time is more than 3 months, without significant deterioration in the slope. The proposed sensors were utilized for the determination of calcium concentration in serum. The results were compared with those obtained from routine clinical laboratory electrolyte analyser. The results reveal that the all-solid-state calcium sensor is promising for the point of care testing.     

QSPR Modeling of Potentiometric Mg2+/Ca2+ Selectivity for PVC‐plasticized Sensor Membranes

The development of novel ionophores for ion‐selective sensors is a time‐consuming and tedious process requiring synthesis of candidate substances, preparation of plasticized polymeric membranes, and their thorough characterization with traditional protocols to assess sensitivity, selectivity and detection limits for target ions. The vast amount of literature data accumulated on various ion‐selective sensors allows for significant facilitation of the development through in silico experiments. In this report, we performed the feasibility study on the prediction of potentiometric Mg²⁺/Ca²⁺ selectivity for various amide ligands using quantitative structure‐property relationship (QSPR) modeling. The approach proved to be promising for ionophore screening purposes with achieved precision in prediction of the selectivity coefficient logK(Mg²⁺/Ca²⁺) of 0.5 in the range from ?1.7 to +2.3. The study also shows a route for prediction of new potential ionophores with high selectivity values.     

Selective transport of zinc and copper ions by synthetic ionophores using liquid membrane technology

This work highlights the role of synthetic carrier (ionophore) in the separation of heavy metal ions. A new series of ionophores; 4,4′-nitrophenyl-azo-O,O′-phenyl-3,6,9-trioxaundecane-1,10-dioate (R₁), bis[4,4′nitro-phenylazo-naphthyl-(2,2-dioxydiethylether)] (R₂) 1,8-bis-(2-naphthyloxy)-3,6-dioxaoctane (R₃), 1,11-bis-(2-naphthyloxy)-3,6,9-trioxaunde-cane (R₄), 1,5-bis-(2-naphthyloxy)-3-oxa-pentane (R₅) have been synthesized and used as extractant as well as carrier for the transport of various metal ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺) through liquid membranes. Effect of various parameters such as metal ion concentration, ionophore concentration, liquid–liquid extraction, back extraction, comparison of transport efficiency of BLM and SLM and different membrane support (hen’s egg shell and PTFE) have been studied. In BLM ionophores (R₂–R₅) transport Zn⁺ at greater extent and the observed trend for the transport of Zn²⁺ is R₂?>?R₄?>?R₃?>?R₅ respectively. Further transport efficiency is increased in SLM. In egg shell membrane ionophores (R₂–R₅) transport Zn⁺ due to their non-cyclic structure and pseudo cavity formation while ionophore R₁ transports Cu²⁺ ions at greater extent due to its cyclic structure and cavity size. Among the membrane support used egg shell membrane is found best for the transport of zinc ions because of its hydrophobic nature and exhibits electrostatic interactions between positively charged zinc ions and –COOH group of egg shell membrane. Thus structure of ionophores, hydrophobicity and porosity of the membrane support plays important role in separation of metal ions.     

Calix[4]Resorcinarene Macrocycles Interactions with Cd2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ Cations: A QCM‐I and Langmuir Ultra‐thin Monolayers Study

Stable ultra‐thin Langmuir monolayers of calix[4]resorcinarene derivatives, namely: C‐dec‐9‐enylcalix[4]resorcinarene‐O‐(R+)‐α‐methylbenzylamine (Ionophore I ), and C‐dec‐9‐enylcalix[4]resorcinarene‐O‐(S‐)‐α‐methylbenzylamine (Ionophore II ), were prepared at the air‐water interface. Their interactions with a series of heavy metals (HM) ions (Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Cd²⁺) present in the aqueous subphase were investigated by measuring surface pressure‐area isotherms, at different concentrations. The surface pressure‐area (Π‐A) isotherms were stable and demonstrated the HM amounts influence on the limiting area (A_lim) values, therefore confirming the examined macrocycles capability to host the metallic toxicants. Additionally, a HM concentration dependence was realized and interpreted by a selective tendency of both ionophores towards Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions over Pb²⁺ and Hg²⁺, especially at high concentrations. The HM ions interactions with the applied calix[4]resorcinarene Langmuir ultra‐thin monolayers were interpreted based on the Gibbs‐Shishkovsky adsorption equation. Moreover, quartz crystal microbalance with impedance measurement (QCM‐I), was applied for the detection of HM ions in solutions. The QCM‐I results showed the effectiveness of the coated QCM‐I crystals in detecting the ions at different concentrations. The detection limit values were in the order of 0.16, 0.3, 0.65, 1.1 ppm (Ionophore I), as well 0.11, 0.45, 0.2, 0.89 (Ionophore II) for the Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Cd²⁺ cations, respectively. Additionally, a selective tendency of both ionophores towards copper ions was shown.     

Functionalized thiacalix- and calix[4]arene-based Ag ionophores: synthesis and comparative NMR study

Thiacalix[4]arene ionophores comprised of cyclic or linear O,S,N ligating and/or π-coordinate groups on the lower rim were synthesized and their Ag⁺ binding was studied by ¹H NMR methods in comparison with the respective known and novel calix[4]arene counterparts. Calix[4](O,S,N)crowns were found stronger binders than the π-coordinate molecules and thiacalixarene ionophores were generally superior to calixarenes. This study helped to develop silver ion-selective electrodes working in the subnanomolar region.     

Ion-Selective Electrodes With Sensing Membranes Covalently Attached to Both the Inert Polymer Substrate and Conductive Carbon Contact

The use of solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) is of interest to many clinical, environmental, and industrial applications. However, upon extended exposure to samples and under thermal and mechanical stress, adhesion between these membranes and underlying substrates often weakens gradually. Eventually, this results in the formation of a water layer at the interface to the underlying electron conductor and in delamination of the membrane from the electrode body, both major limitations to long-term monitoring. To prevent these problems without increasing the complexity of design with a mechanical attachment, we use photo-induced graft polymerization to simultaneously attach ionophore-doped crosslinked poly(decyl methacrylate) sensing membranes covalently both to a high surface area carbon as ion-to-electron transducer and to inert polymeric electrode body materials (i.e., polypropylene and poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene)). The sensors provide high reproducibility (standard deviation of E⁰ of 0.2 mV), long-term stability (potential drift 7 μV h⁻¹ over 260 h), and resistance to sterilization in an autoclave (121 °C, 2.0 atm for 30 min). For this work, a covalently attached H⁺ selective ionophore was used to prepare pH sensors with advantages over conventional pH glass electrodes, but similar use of other ionophores makes this approach suitable to the fabrication of ISEs for a variety of analytes.