Aptamer-wrapped gold nanoparticles for the colorimetric detection of omethoate

Organophosphorous pesticide(OP) contamination has serious adverse effects on human health and the environment. Due to the toxicity of OPs and the threat presented by their accidental or intentional release in populated areas, the determination and monitoring of these OPs in food products and environment is of great importance. OPs are present in very small quantities and therefore, methods for their detection need to be highly sensitive and selective. Here, we aimed to develop a simple and selective aptamer-based colorimetric assay for the detection of omethoate, which is one of the commonly used OPs. The principle of the assay is that single-stranded DNA(ss DNA)-wrapped gold nanoparticles(Au NPs) are resistant to salt-induced aggregation. By employing an "artificial antibody" organophosphorous pesticide-binding aptamer(OBA) as the recognition element, aptamer-wrapped Au NPs(Au-apta) show high selectivity towards omethoate, resulting in the disconnection of aptamers from Au NPs and the aggregation of Au NPs. As there is a significant color change from the interparticle plasmon coupling during the aggregation of Au NPs, the established assay showed good linearity between 0.1 and 10 μmol/L, with a low detection limit of 0.1 μmol/L. Other OPs such as profenofos, phorate, and isocarbophos would not interfere with the detection of omethoate despite having similar structures. Thus, the colorimetric method shows potential for use in the detection of omethoate in real soil samples.     

A new calix[4]arene Schiff base sensor for Hg<Superscript>2+</Superscript> and Au<Superscript>3+</Superscript>

This article reports the selective sensing ability of a newly synthesized calix[4]arene Schiff base (C4TSB) derivative. C4TSB exhibited strong turn-off fluorescence affinity for Hg²⁺ and Au³⁺. The selective sensing ability of receptor was investigated in the presence of different co-existing competing ions. The limit of detection for Hg²⁺ and Au³⁺ was determined as 1.9 × 10^?5 and 1.0 × 10^?6 M, respectively. Receptor forms 1:1 stoichiometric complex with both metals and their binding constants were calculated as 7.9 × 10³ M^?1 for Hg²⁺ and 5.7 × 10³ M^?1 for Au³⁺. Complexes were also characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy.     

Simultaneous determination of ofloxacin,tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride,and prednisolone acetate by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, specific, and precise high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of ofloxacin (OFX), tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride (THC), and prednisolone acetate (PAC) in ophthalmic suspension using propylparaben (POP) as the internal standard. The mobile phase consists of 0.05 M phosphate buffer-acetonitrile (65:35, v/v), and the pH is adjusted to 2.7 with orthophosphoric acid. A column containing octadecyl silane chemically bonded to porous silica particles (Waters Spherisorb, 5 microm ODS 1, 4.6 x 150 mm) is used as the stationary phase. The detection is carried out using a variable wavelength UV-vis detector set at 210 nm for OFX and THC and 254 nm for POP (internal standard) and PAC. The solutions are chromatographed at a constant flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. Retention times for OFX, THC, POP, and PAC are approximately 2.5, 4.5, 7.8, and 9.5 min, respectively. The relative retention times are approximately 0.14 min for OFX, 0.35 min for THC, 1.00 min for POP, and 1.22 min for PAC. The linearity range and percent recoveries for OFX, THC, and PAC are 24-120, 4-16, and 16-80 microg/mL and 100.48%, 100.34%, and 100.21%, respectively.     

Enantioselective total syntheses of manzamine a and related alkaloids

As a prelude to undertaking the total syntheses of the complex manzamine alkaloids, a series of model studies were conducted to establish the scope and limitations of intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions of N-acylated vinylogous ureas with the trienic substrates 17a,b, 28a,b, and 34. These experiments clearly demonstrated that the geometry of the internal double bond and the presence of an electron-withdrawing group on the diene moiety were essential for the facile and stereoselective formation of the desired cycloadducts. The enantioselective syntheses of the manzamine alkaloids ircinol A (75), ircinal A (5), and manzamine A (1) were then completed by employing a convergent strategy that featured a novel domino Stille/Diels-Alder reaction to construct the tricyclic ABC ring core embodied in these alkaloids. Thus, the readily accessible chiral dihydropyrrole 58 was first converted in a single chemical operation into the key tricyclic intermediate 60. Two ring-closing metathesis reactions were then used to form the 13- and 8-membered rings leading to Z-72 and 74, the latter of which was quickly elaborated into ircinal A (5) via ircinol A (75). The synthetic 5 thus obtained was converted into manzamine A (1) following literature precedent. This concise synthesis of ircinal A required a total of 24 operations from commercially available starting materials with the longest linear sequence being 21 steps.     

Kinetic-spectrophotometric determination of palladium in hydrogenation catalyst by its catalytic effect on the oxidation of pyrogallol red by hydrogen peroxide

A new kinetic-spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of ultra trace amounts of Pd(II). The methods based on catalytic action of Pd(II) on the oxidation of pyrogallol red (PGR) with hydrogen peroxide at pH 9.7. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of the PGR at 540 nm, for the first 4.5 min from initiation of the reaction. Calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.02-1.00 microg ml(-1) Pd(II). The limit of detection is 0.017 microg ml(-1) Pd(II). The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for ten replicate analyses of 0.03 and 0.60 microg ml(-1) Pd(II) was 1.5 and 0.9%, respectively. The influence of more than 40 potential interfering ions was studied for the selectivity. The proposed method was used for the determination of palladium in catalytic material.     

碳酸氢盐活化的过氧化氢：一种有机废水处理的新技术

水污染问题已成为影响我国可持续发展的关键问题之一,为有效提高现有污水处理的效率及其回收利用,各种催化氧化技术受到了广泛的关注。目前发展的各类高级氧化技术在实际的应用过程中明显受到了氧化剂的利用率、催化剂的浸出、寿命及成本等问题的严重限制。因此基于新的理念、发展新的催化氧化技术仍然受到广泛的关注。
　　最近几年,利用碳酸氢盐活化过氧化氢,应用于有机废水的降解逐渐受到环境催化领域的关注。碳酸氢盐本身是一种低毒性、广泛存在于环境及生物体系的化学物质,通过它活化过氧化氢产生过碳酸氢盐氧化剂,该氧化剂能够直接氧化有机物。同时,在各种过渡金属催化剂的存在下,通过该过碳酸氢盐可以形成氧化能力更强的各种自由基(如羟基自由基等) 及高价态的过渡金属离子参与有机废水的降解。虽然传统认为碳酸盐及碳酸氢盐对高级氧化法降解有机废水不利,原因是认为它们能捕捉羟基自由基,形成氧化能力更低的碳酸根自由基。现有的研究已充分表明,较低浓度的碳酸氢盐能够加快有机废水的氧化降解,而且通常比单独使用过氧化氢效率更高,这些新的发现已明显突破了传统意义上对碳酸氢盐作用的理解。更为重要的是,在微量碳酸氢盐的存在下,其产生的微碱性环境极大地消除了负载型氧化物催化剂在废水降解过程中的金属离子流失、从而极大地延长了催化剂的寿命。该缺点是各种基于过渡金属氧化物催化剂的高级氧化技术难以广泛推广的关键性挑战,原因是随着氧化降解的进行,废水体系由于有机酸的生成而逐渐酸化,进而引发氧化物催化剂的酸溶而流失。在这点上,碳酸氢盐活化过氧化氢系统由于其天然的微碱性环境体现出了其明显的优势。
　　本文即是在本课题组工作基础上,对该领域内国内外研究进展加以总结,以期获得国内外同行的进一步关注。综述的主要内容包括：(1)碳酸氢氧活化过氧化氢的相关知识介绍,(2)均相碳酸氢氧活化过氧化氢降解有机废水的研究进展,(3)基于金属氧化物催化剂的碳酸氢氧活化过氧化氢降解有机废水的研究进展,和(4)碳酸氢盐在其他高级氧化技术中的应用。虽然基于碳酸氢氧活化过氧化氢降解有机废水的研究还处于早期探索阶段,还有很多基础科学问题如降解机理等值得进一步探索,期望通过该综述的介绍能够让同行对碳酸氢氧活化过氧化氢降解有机废水有一个比较全面的了解,进而推动该研究方向的发展,为有机废水的催化处理提供新的机会。