A Highly Sensitive Nonenzymatic Glucose Sensor Based on Carbon Electrode Amplified with PdxCuy Catalyst

Approximately global Pd and Pd₉₄Cu₆ alloy nano catalysts of average diameter 10.5 and 5.9 nm respectively, have been synthesized hydrothermally by wet chemical reduction and co-reduction methods without addition of any capping agent. X-ray diffraction and various microscopic studies are used to characterize the crystal phase and the morphology of the catalysts. Non-enzymatic amperometric glucose sensors based on these synthesized catalyst materials are tested and compared in alkali at different potentials by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The sensors characterized by fixed potential chronoamperometry are found to be sufficiently sensitive to glucose at different negative potentials like −0.65 V, −0.40 V, −0.10 V with respect to Hg/HgO electrode (E⁰≈0.1 V), where the reactions of glucose oxidation are different. The sensor constructed with Pd₉₄Cu₆ nanocatalyst shows an outstanding sensitivity of 10.1 mA cm⁻² mM⁻¹ which is considerably higher than that constructed with similarly synthesized Pd nanoparticles at any potential and that found in the literature of Pd based glucose sensors. The lower detection limit and response time obtained with Pd₉₄Cu₆ nanoparticles are 10 μM and 3 s respectively. These sensors also exhibit high specificity to glucose and significant anti-interference property against some common species like ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA) and some monosaccharides whose interfering effects are found to decrease with decrease of potential of glucose oxidation. The electrocatalytic ability of the synthesized Pd and Pd₉₄Cu₆ nanoparticles toward glucose oxidation has also found promising in blood sample at different potentials.     

Application of Pomegranate by-Products in Muscle Foods: Oxidative Indices,Colour Stability,Shelf Life and Health Benefits

In recent years, considerable importance is given to the use of agrifood wastes as they contain several groups of substances that are useful for development of functional foods. As muscle foods are prone to lipid and protein oxidation and perishable in nature, the industry is in constant search of synthetic free additives that help in retarding the oxidation process, leading to the development of healthier and shelf stable products. The by-products or residues of pomegranate fruit (seeds, pomace, and peel) are reported to contain bioactive compounds, including phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, dietary fibre, complex polysaccharides, minerals, vitamins, etc. Such compounds extracted from the by-products of pomegranate can be used as functional ingredients or food additives to harness the antioxidant, antimicrobial potential, or as substitutes for fat, and protein in various muscle food products. Besides, these natural additives are reported to improve the quality, safety, and extend the shelf life of different types of food products, including meat and fish. Although studies on application of pomegranate by-products on various foods are available, their effect on the physicochemical, oxidative changes, microbial, colour stabilizing, sensory acceptability, and shelf life of muscle foods are not comprehensively discussed previously. In this review, we vividly discuss these issues, and highlight the benefits of pomegranate by-products and their phenolic composition on human health.     

Decoration of Au and Ag nanoparticles on self-assembling pseudopeptide-based nanofiber by using a short peptide as capping agent for metal nanoparticles

The surface of a nanofiber that is formed from a self-assembling pseudopeptide has been decorated by gold and silver nanoparticles that are stabilized by a dipeptide. Transmission electron microscopic images make the decoration visible. In this paper, a new strategy of mineralizing a pseudopeptide based nanofiber by gold and silver nanoparticles with use of a two-component nanografting method is described.     

Photophysical processes involved within the bichromophoric system 9-benzotriazole-1-ylmethyl-9H-carbazole and its role as an artificial photosynthetic device

From both steady state and fluorescence lifetime measurements it reveals that due to photoexcitation of benzotriazole (BZ) part of the bichromophore, 9(1-H-benzotriazole-lylmethyl)-9H-carbazole (BHC), singlet-singlet energy transfer takes place to populate the lowest excited singlet of carbazole (CZ). CZ, thus being excited indirectly via energy transfer process, undergoes strong charge transfer (CT) reaction with the surrounding polar medium acetonitrile (ACN). On the other hand, very weak CT band was apparent when CZ part, within BHC, was directly excited. In less polar tetrahydrofuran (THF) and polar benzonitrile (BN) environment, lack of formation of CT band strongly suggests in favor of the electron-accepting behavior of ACN. Moreover, by measuring the emission spectra of BHC in microcrystals and of 30 bilayers mixed LB film at high mole fraction of BHC molecules, the possibility of excimer formation or aggregation has been ruled out. Thus, BHC, when dissolved in ACN, acts as a triad system of BZ-CZ-ACN where BZ acts as an antenna molecule and CZ as a reaction center. The possible role of the bichromophoric system BHC as an artificial photosynthetic or solar energy conversion device has been hinted.     

Infrared study of the effect of hydration on the amide I band and aggregation properties of helical peptides

The amide I' band of a polypeptide is sensitive not only to its secondary structure content but also to its environment. In this study we show how degrees of hydration affect the underlying spectral features of the amide I' band of two alanine-based helical peptides. This is achieved by solubilizing these peptides in the water pool of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate reverse micelles with different water contents or w0 values. In agreement with several earlier studies, our results show that the amide I' band arising from a group of dehydrated helical amides is centered at approximately 1650 cm-1, whereas hydration shifts this frequency toward lower wavenumbers. More importantly, temperature-dependent infrared studies further show that these helical peptides undergo a thermally induced conformational transition in reverse micelles of low w0 values (e.g., w0=6), resulting in soluble peptide aggregates rich in antiparallel beta-sheets. Interestingly, however, increasing w0 or water content leads to an increase in the onset temperature at which such beta-aggregates begin to form. Therefore, these results provide strong evidence suggesting that dehydration facilitates aggregate formation and that removal of water imposes a free energy barrier to peptide association and aggregation, a feature that has been suggested in recent simulation studies focusing on the mechanism of beta-amyloid formation.     

Biosorption kinetics, thermodynamics and isosteric heat of sorption of Cu(II) onto Tamarindus indica seed powder

Biosorption of Cu(II) by Tamarindus indica seed powder (TSP) was investigated as a function of temperature in a batch system. The Cu(II) biosorption potential of TSP increased with increasing temperature. The rate of the biosorption process followed pseudo second-order kinetics while the sorption equilibrium data well fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum monolayer Cu(II) biosorption capacity increased from 82.97 mg g(-1) at 303 K to 133.24 mg g(-1) at 333 K. Thermodynamic study showed spontaneous and endothermic nature of the sorption process. Isosteric heat of sorption, determined using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation increased with increase in surface loading showing its strong dependence on surface coverage. The biosorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface area and porosity analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results of FTIR analysis of unloaded and Cu(II)-loaded TSP revealed that -NH(2), -OH, -C=O and C-O functional groups on the biosorbent surface were involved in the biosorption process. The present study suggests that TSP can be used as a potential, alternative, low-cost biosorbent for removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous media.     

Influence of Gauss-Bonnet Coupling Parameter on?the?Thermodynamic Properties of?Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet and?Einstein-Yang-Mills-Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes

This paper deals in the thermodynamic properties of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet and Einstein-Yang-Mills-Gauss-Bonnet black holes. It exhibits the various stable and unstable phases of the black holes in these two modified gravity theories. In the first section, that reveals the various aspects of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black holes, we chose to study the changes in the Hawking Temperature with variations in the radius of event horizon (r) and charge (Q); and tried to justify them physically. Secondly in case of Einstein-Yang-Mills-Gauss-Bonnet black holes, we have attempted to compare the changes in the various thermodynamic parameters with varying r and Q; with the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black holes at a macroscopic level. Here we have considered the Yang Mills tensor, electromagnetic Lagrangian added to the action integrand. Again this very work deals in drawing out the similarities between these two types of black holes, thereby throwing some light on the aspect of black hole stability. Later we have also introspected the effects of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling parameter α, whose function (6αr), is added as a correction term to the black hole entropy. We have especially focused on what changes does it have upon the nature of the plots as to whether it enhances or reduces the effect of Q on the behavior of the curves. Finally this paper has also kept an eye at estimating the stability domains of the black holes described in these two gravity theories.     

Use of Some Organic Acids and Amines as Photoinitiators of Vinyl Polymerization in the Absence and in the Presence of Benzophenone Photosensitizer

Preliminary studies on the suitability of some organic acids and amines, separately and in combination with each other, as photo-initiators for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate were made. Combinations of maleic acid or phthalic acid with any of the tertiary amines–triethyl amine, demethyl aniline, and diethylaniline-proved to be interesting photoinitiator systems in view of the fact that the initiator components in each combination were ineffective as initiators when used separately. The rate of photopolymerization in each of the above acid-amine combination system was much enhanced and the respective inhibition period largely reduced when benzophenone was used as the photoinitiator. Aliphatic diamine or polyamines such as ethylene diamine, diethylene triamine, and tri-ethylene tetramine, were ineffective as photoinitiators when used alone or in combination with maleic acid, but became effective     

TITAN: An ion trap facility for on-line mass measurement experiments

Precision determinations of ground state or even isomeric state masses reveal fingerprints of nuclear structure. In particular, at the limits of existence for very neutron-rich or -deficient isotopes, one can extract detailed information about nuclear structure from separation energies or binding energies. Mass measurements are important to uncover new phenomena, to test new theoretical predictions, or to refine model approaches. For example, the N?=?28 shell has proven more stable than previously expected; however, the predicted new “magic” number at N?=?34 in the K and Ca isotopes has yet to be confirmed experimentally. For these neutron-rich nuclei, the inclusion of three-body forces leads to significantly better predictions of the ground-state mass. Similarly, halo nuclei present an excellent application for ab-initio theory, where ground state properties, like masses and radii, test our understanding of nuclear structure. Precision mass determinations at TRIUMF are carried out with the TITAN (TRIUMF’s Ion Traps for Atomic and Nuclear science) facility. It is an ion-trap setup coupled to the on-line facility ISAC. TITAN has measured masses of isotopes as short-lived as 9 ms (almost an order of magnitude shorter-lived than any other Penning trap system), and it is the only one with charge breeding capabilities, which allow us to boost the precision by almost 2 orders of magnitude. We recently made use of this feature by measuring short-lived, proton-rich Rb-isotopes, up to ⁷⁴Rb while reaching the 12?+ charge state, which together with other improvements led to an increase in precision by a factor 36.