Solvent-exfoliated graphene at extremely high concentration

We describe three related methods to disperse graphene in solvents with concentrations from 2 to 63 mg/mL. Simply sonicating graphite in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, followed by centrifugation, gives dispersed graphene at concentrations of up to 2 mg/mL. Filtration of a sonicated but uncentrifuged dispersion gives a partially exfoliated powder that can be redispersed at concentrations of up to 20 mg/mL. However, this process can be significantly improved by removing any unexfolaited graphite from the starting dispersion by centrifugation. The centrifuged dispersion can be filtered to give a powder of exfoliated few-layer graphene. This powder can be redispersed at concentrations of at least 63 mg/mL. The dispersed flakes are ~1 μm long and ~3 to 4 layers thick on average. Although some sedimentation occurs, ~26-28 mg/mL of the dispersed graphene appears to be indefinitely stable.     

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction followed by liquid chromatographic determination of sitagliptin in rat plasma and urine

A novel water-compatible molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) combined with zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) method for selective extraction and determination of sitagliptin in rat serum and urine was developed and validated. The effects of progenic solvents, pH, cross linker and amount of monomer were studied to optimize the efficiency and selectivity. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were measured. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) showed good specific adsorption capacity with an optimum of 180 mg/g at pH 7.5 and selective extraction of sitagliptin from rat plasma and urine. The recovery of sitagliptin from rat urine and plasma was >98%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.03 and 0.10 μg/L respectively. The proposed method overcomes the matrix effects of phospholipids generally encountered while preparation of plasma samples by precipitation of proteins.     

Three new pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate copper(II) compounds with coordinated pyridine-based ligands: Synthesis, characterisation and crystal structures

Three new Cu(II) compounds of pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (H₂pdc) with meta-substituted pyridines as additional ligands have been synthesized and structurally characterised using X-ray diffraction. Two of them are mononuclear compounds, i.e. [Cu(pdc)(3acpyr)(H₂O)] (1) (3acpyr = 3-acetylpyridine) and [Cu(pdc)(3HOp)(H₂O)](H₂O)₂ (2) (3HOp = 3-hydroxypyridine). The third compound is polynuclear, i.e. [Cu(pdc)(μ-3HOmp-κN,O)]_n (3) (3HOmp = 3-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine). The three compounds are also characterised by IR, EPR and ligand field spectroscopy. The geometry around the Cu(II) ions is distorted square pyramidal for compounds 1 and 2 and distorted octahedral for compound 3. The lattice of compound 1 is organised by an intra-sheet hydrogen-bond pattern generating double layers. Compound 2 has a lattice arranged by the two water molecules in the lattice with complicated 2D O-H?O intra-sheet hydrogen bonding motifs.The zig-zag chains in compound 3 are further organised in layers, due to the axial coordination at Cu(II), forming a so-called (4, 3) ladder-like one-dimensional coordination polymer. These ladders are interconnected by hydrogen bonding.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolesulfonylurea and thiourea derivatives as antidiabetic and antimicrobial agents

Fluorinated 1,2,4-triazoles 3 and benzenesulfonyl urea and thiourea derivatives as well as their cyclic sulfonylthioureas 4–10 were prepared as antimicrobial agents. The chemistry involves the condensation of sulfanilamide derivatives 1 with trifluoroacetic anhydride to give N-di(trifluoroacetyl)sulfonamides 2 which upon reaction with hydrazine hydrate afforded the corresponding triazole derivatives 3. Reaction of triazole derivative 3a with isocyanates and isothiocyanates gave the corresponding ureas 4 and thioureas 5. Cyclization of thiourea derivatives with ethyl bromoacetate, 1,2-diiodoethane, diethyl oxalate and α-bromoacetophenone derivatives yielded the corresponding 4-oxothiazolidines 7, thiazolidines 8, 4,5-dioxothiazolidines 9 and thiazolines 10. Preliminary biological screening of the prepared compounds revealed significant antimicrobial and mild antidiabetic activities.     

Kinetics of Reduction of Thionine with Ribose and the Structural Properties of the Dye at Different pH Using DFT Method

The reaction between the thionine (Th) and the ribose was observed spectrophotometrically and changes in absorbance of Th were recorded at variable concentration of dye, reductant and pH. A pseudo first order rate of reaction was found to establish the reduction kinetics of the dye, studied at a pH range of 0.34 to 12.8. Absorption spectrum of Th at different pH, with ribose showed a pH (12.8) dependent introversion. The reduction most probably took place with enediol intermediate of the sugar at high pH. A full geometry optimization of predominant species of Th namely, mono‐deprotonated, di‐deprotonated Th, and LTh (leuco thionine) respectively, at low and high pH, was performed at B3LYP level of theory. The data obtained from the energy minimization were in excellent agreement with other experimental and theoretical observations. The calculated enthalpies of formation for both reduction reactions (mono‐deprotonated Th+H⁺→leucothionine and di‐deprotonated Th+2H⁺→leucothionine) provided evidences for maximum reduction of the dye at high pH.     

Preparation and characterization of a reduced chromium complex via vinyl oxidative coupling: formation of a self-activating catalyst for selective ethylene trimerization

Reaction of the divalent [(t-Bu)NP(Ph)(2)N(t-Bu)]CrCl(2)Li(THF)(2) (1) with 1 equiv of vinyl Grignard (CH(2)=CH)MgCl reproducibly afforded the triangulo {π-[(t-Bu)N-P(Ph)(2)-N(t-Bu)]Cr}(2)(μ,μ',η(4),η(4)'-C(4)H(4)){σ-[(t-Bu)N-P(Ph)(2)-N(t-Bu)]Cr} (2) containing a σ-/π-bonded butadiene-diyl unit. The diene-diyl moiety was generated by an oxidative coupling and deprotonation of two vinyl anions. The crystal structure revealed that of the three chromium atoms, each bearing one NPN ligand, two are perpendicularly bonded to the two sides of the π-system of the butadiene-diyl residue in a sort of inverted sandwich type of structure. The third is instead coplanar with the doubly deprotonated C(4) unit and σ-bonded to the two terminal carbon atoms. Despite the appearance as a Cr(II)/Cr(I) mixed valence species, DFT calculations have revealed that the structure of 2 consists of three divalent chromium atoms, while the additional electron resides on the π-system of the bridging organic residue. Complex 2 behaves as a single component selective catalyst for ethylene trimerization.     

Technology behind commercial devices for blood glucose monitoring in diabetes management: a review

The blood glucose monitoring devices (BGMDs) are an integral part of diabetes management now-a-days. They have evolved tremendously within the last four decades in terms of miniaturization, rapid response, greater specificity, simplicity, minute sample requirement, painless sample uptake, sophisticated software and data management. This article aims to review the developments in the technologies behind commercial BGMD, especially those in the areas of chemistries, mediators and other components. The technology concerns, on-going developments and future trends in blood glucose monitoring (BGM) are also discussed.     

Photochemically-Induced Fluorescence Dosage of Non-Fluorescent Pyrethroid (Etofenprox) in Natural Water Using a Cationic Micellar Medium

An analytical method based on the use of UV-irradiation to produce fluorescent derivatives from Etofenprox a non-fluorescent pyrethroid insecticide is described. The impact of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) micellar medium on the Etofenprox photochemically-induced fluorescence (PIF) is reported. Parameters influencing the sensitivity and repeatability of the PIF method have been optimized. The alkaline medium (NaOH 6 × 10⁻² M) + CTAC surfactant molecules (3.84 mg/ml) in acetonitrile is found to be very suitable for this pyrethroid insecticide analysis in environment matrices. Linear dynamic range is established over more than two orders of magnitude. The limit of detection is lower than 5 ng/ml. The method seems to be suitable for environmental matrices quality control. Application to the analysis of spiked natural waters gave recoveries rate ranged from 94 to 104% and 107 to 115% respectively for river and pound water.     

Synthesis,characterization and study of antibacterial activity of enaminone complexes of zinc and iron

Complexes of enaminones; 4-N,N-diethylamine-pent-3-ene-2-one [HL¹], 4-N,N-di n-propylamine-pent-3-ene-2-one [HL²] and 4-N,N-dicyclohexylamine-pent-3-ene-2-one [HL³] with Fe(II) and Zn(II) ions were prepared by reacting the equimolar ethanolic solutions of the ligands (HL¹, HL² and HL³) with ethanolic metal solutions. The complexes formed, were characterized by infrared, ultraviolet and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Ligands and their metal complexes were tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to assess their antibacterial action using disc diffusion method. Ligands were completely inactive against bacteria whereas the complex Zn (HL¹) has significant action on both bacteria, indicating that it has a good potential as bactericide. Other complexes have normal antiseptic character.     

Orange dye polyaniline composite based impedance humidity sensors

This study presents the fabrication and investigation of humidity sensors based on orange dye (OD) and polyaniline (PANI) composite films. A blend of 3 wt.% OD with 1 wt.% PANI was prepared in 1 ml water. The composite films were deposited on glass substrates between pre-deposited silver electrodes. The gap between the electrodes was 45 μm. The sensing mechanism was based on the impedance and capacitance variations due to the absorption/desorption of water vapor. It was observed that with the increase in relative humidity (RH) from 30% to 90%, the impedance decreases by 5.2 × 10 4 and 8.8 × 10 3 times for the frequencies of 120 Hz and 1 kHz, respectively. The impedance-humidity relationship showed a more uniform change compared to the capacitance-humidity relationship in the RH range of 30% to 90%. The consequence of annealing, measuring frequency, response and recovery time, and absorption-desorption behavior of the humidity sensor were also discussed in detail. The annealing resulted in an increase in sensitivity of up to 2.5 times, while the measured response time and recovery time were 34 s and 450 s, respectively. The impedance-humidity relationship was simulated.