Chemometric approach to the optimisation of LC-FL and GC-MS methods for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in some biological,food and environmental samples

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method and a liquid chromatography–fluorescence (LC-FL) detection method using experimental design and optimisation approach were improved for the quantitative determination of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples. The obtained recoveries of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on both GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 98.5% to 98.9% for nitrite and 97.9% to 98.4% for nitrate. The precision of these methods, as indicated by the relative standard deviations (RSDs), was within the range from 2.4% to 3.6% for nitrite and 2.5% to 3.8% for nitrate, respectively. The limits of detection of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 0.01 to 0.14 ng L^?1 for nitrite and 0.02 to 0.71 ng L^?1 for nitrate, respectively. The optimised isolation procedure by central composite design was successfully applied to real samples. The results revealed that the proposed procedure combined with GC-MS and LC-FL techniques is more sensitive, reliable and selective compared to the other methods available for the precise determination of trace levels of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples.     

Meir-Keeler Type Contractions for Tripled Fixed Points

In 2011, Berinde and Borcut [6] introduced the notion of tripled fixed point in partially ordered metric spaces. In our paper, we give some new tripled fixed point theorems by using a generalization of Meir-Keeler contraction.     

Interactions of Imidazolium Based Ionic Liquids with Water Studied by Density and Speed of Sound Measurements: Effect of the Chain Length of an Alkyl Substituent on the Imidazolium Ion

Densities and speeds of sound of three ionic liquids (ILs), 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazoliumtetrafluoroborate (C₂mimBF₄), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazoliumtetrafluoroborate (C₄mimBF₄) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazoliumtetrafluoroborate (C₆mimBF₄) were measured in aqueous solutions at (288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15 and 308.15) K. These data were used to calculate the volumetric properties apparent molar volume and apparent molar isentropic compression as a function of molality. Infinite dilution values for these properties were evaluated by an extrapolation procedure based on Redlich–Meyer type equations. Apparent molar isobaric expansions at infinite dilution were also obtained from the slopes of the apparent molar volume at infinite dilution versus temperature. All these properties are interpreted in terms of IL–water interactions. The hydrolysis of the \( {\text{BF}}_{4}^{ - } \) anion of the ILs and its effects on the results is discussed.     

RNA-sensitive N-isopropylacrylamide/vinylphenylboronic acid random copolymer

Random copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) and 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA) were obtained by solution polymerization using 2,2′-azobisizobutyronitrile as the initiator in ethanol at 65 °C. NIPA-co-VPBA copolymer exhibited both temperature- and pH-sensitivity. Thermally reversible phase transitions were observed both in the acidic and alkaline pH region for the copolymers produced with different VPBA/NIPA feed ratios. The pH dependency of the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) was stronger for the copolymers produced with higher VPBA feed concentrations. RNA was selected as a model biomolecule having vicinal-diol and amino groups that were potentially reactive with the boronic acid groups of NIPA-co-VPBA copolymer. The effect of RNA concentration on the LCST of NIPA-co-VPBA copolymer was investigated in aqueous media at different pHs. Although no significant effect was observed at pH 4, 7 or 10.5, the LCST decreased linearly with increasing RNA concentration at a pH approximately equal to the pK_a of boronic acid. This behavior was explained by considering the binding of RNA onto the copolymer chains to occur via two types of complex formation. For the formation of these complexes, the amino and vicinal-diol groups of RNA should react with the boronic acid groups of the copolymer in the tetrahedral anionic form. The results indicated that NIPA-co-VPBA copolymer could be utilized as a new reagent for the determination of RNA concentration in aqueous media. The proposed method was valid for the RNA concentration range of 0–4 g · mL⁻¹.

The schematical representation of the possible interactions between NIPA-co-VPBA copolymer and RNA. (A) A typical structure of single-stranded RNA. (B) Tetrahedral anionic form of boronic acid groups. (C) The interaction between the amino groups of the unpaired bases of RNA and the boronic acid groups of the copolymer. (D) Cyclic borate ester formation by the interaction between vicinal diol groups located at the 3′-end of RNA and boronic acid groups of the copolymer.     

Optimization of Electrical Conductivity of SA-graphene Nanocomposites Using Response Surface Methodology

Synthesis and characterization of 4-{(E)-[(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]amino}-N-carbamimidoylbenzene-1-sulfonamide(SA) and its composites with graphene(SA-GF) were performed. Compound SA and SA-GF were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR. The GF dispersion in the composites was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy(SEM) for morphology. Thermal properties of SA and nanocomposites were investigated using differential thermal analysis(DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The optimum electrical conductivity of the new sulfonamide-based Schiff base was determined to be 1.78×10^–5 S/cm at a frequency of 9923 Hz, an applied voltage of –19 V, a mass fraction of 9.38% for graphene loading using a central composite design in the response surface methodology. The significance of the selected parameters(frequency, voltage and GF amount) in the model was determined by the analysis of variance(ANOVA). The results showed that frequency and graphene loading represent important model terms and have considerable effects on the conductivity of SA.     

Building an Iron Chromophore Incorporating Prussian Blue Analogue for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

The replacement of traditional ruthenium-based photosensitizers with low-cost and abundant iron analogs is a key step for the advancement of scalable and sustainable dye-sensitized water splitting cells. In this proof-of-concept study, a pyridinium ligand coordinated pentacyanoferrate(II) chromophore is used to construct a cyanide-based CoFe extended bulk framework, in which the iron photosensitizer units are connected to cobalt water oxidation catalytic sites through cyanide linkers. The iron-sensitized photoanode exhibits exceptional stability for at least 5 h at pH 7 and features its photosensitizing ability with an incident photon-to-current conversion capacity up to 500 nm with nanosecond scale excited state lifetime. Ultrafast transient absorption and computational studies reveal that iron and cobalt sites mutually support each other for charge separation via short bridging cyanide groups and for injection to the semiconductor in our proof-of-concept photoelectrochemical device. The reorganization of the excited states due to the mixing of electronic states of metal-based orbitals subsequently tailor the electron transfer cascade during the photoelectrochemical process. This breakthrough in chromophore-catalyst assemblies will spark interest in dye-sensitization with robust bulk systems for photoconversion applications.     

New liquid chromatographic-chemometric approach for the determination of sunset yellow and tartrazine in commercial preparation

A new liquid chromatographic (LC)-chemometric approach was developed for the determination of sunset yellow (SUN) and tartrazine (TAR) in commercial preparations. This approach uses LC and chemometric calibration methods, i.e., classical least-squares (CLS), principal component regression (PCR), and partial-least squares (PLS), simultaneously. The combined LC-chemometric approaches, denoted as LC-CLS, LC-PCR, and LC-PLS, are based on photodiode array (PDA) detection at multiple wavelengths. Optimum chromatographic separation of SUN and TAR with allura red as the internal standard (IS) was obtained by using a Waters Symmetry C18 column, 5 microm, 4.6 x 250 mm, and 0.2 M acetate buffer (pH 5)-acetonitrile-methano-bidistilled water (55 + 20 + 15 + 10, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.9 mL/min. The LC data sets consisting of the ratios of analyte peak areas to the IS peak area were obtained by using PDA detection at 5 wavelengths (465, 470, 475, 480, and 485 nm). LC-chemometric calibrations for SUN and TAR were separately constructed by using the relationship between the peak-area ratio and the training sets for each colorant. LC-chemometric approaches were tested for different synthetic mixtures containing SUN and TAR in the presence of the IS. These LC-chemometric calibrations were applied to a commercial preparation of the 2 colorants. The experimental results of the LC-chemometric approaches were compared with those obtained by a developed classical LC method using single-wavelength detection.     

Furo- and thieno-fused 1,3-diazepine-4,6-diones

We report the first preparation of furo- and thieno-fused 1,3-diazepine-4,6-dione derivatives starting from ethyl 2-(2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)-3-furancarboxylate and -thiophencarboxylate. The ester functionalities connected to the hetero-ring were converted regiospecifically into the desired amides. The ester groups attached to the methylene unit were converted into isocyanates via Curtius rearrangement. The ring-closure reaction was performed in the presence of lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide at room temperature to give furo- and thieno-fused diazepinone derivatives.