Fit-for-Purpose Assessment of QuEChERS LC-MS/MS Methods for Environmental Monitoring of Organotin Compounds in the Bottom Sediments of the Odra River Estuary

Organotin compounds (OTCs) are among the most hazardous substances found in the marine environment and can be determined by either the ISO 23161 method based on extraction with non-polar organic solvents and gas chromatography analysis or by the recently developed QuEChERS method coupled to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). To date, the QuEChERS LC/MS and ISO 23161 methods have not been compared in terms of their fit-for-purpose and reliability in the determination of OTCs in bottom sediments. In the case of ISO 23161, due to a large number of interferences gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was not suitable for the determination of OTCs contrary to more selective determination by gas chromatography with an atomic emission detector. Moreover, it has been found that the derivatization of OTCs to volatile compounds, which required prior gas chromatography determination, was strongly affected by the sediments’ matrices. As a result, a large amount of reagent was needed for the complete derivatization of the compounds. Contrary to ISO 23161, the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method did not require the derivatization of OTC and is less prone to interferences. Highly volatile and toxic solvents were not used in the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method. This makes the method more environmentally friendly according to the principles of green analytical chemistry. QuEChERS LC-MS/MS is suitable for fast and reliable environmental monitoring of OTCs in bottom sediments from the Odra River estuary. However, determination of di- and monobutyltin by the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method was not possible due to the constraints of the chromatographic system. Hence, further development of this method is needed for monitoring di- and monobutyltin in bottom sediments.     

Hematite/Polystyrene Raspberry-Like Microcomposites as Stable Support for Silver Nanoparticle Immobilization

Among the methods utilized for the preparation of raspberry-like microcomposites, due to its simplicity and universality, the electrostatically-driven deposition of nanoparticles at the surface of microparticles is especially attractive. This process, leading to the formation of a single nanoparticle monolayer, is widely reported. On the other hand, no data concerning the electrostatically-driven formation of nanoparticle bilayers at the surface of microparticles are reported. To fill this gap, the detailed investigation of the formation of silver/hematite nanoparticle bilayers at the surface of polystyrene microparticles is reported. First, the hematite/polystyrene raspberry-like microcomposites are obtained by immobilization of hematite nanoparticles under an electrostatically-driven process. The stability of hematite/polystyrene microcomposites at elevated temperatures up to 323 K is monitored using microelectrophoresis. No significant changes in the hematite nanoparticle layer coverage are observed after prolonged time of incubation. This proves the irreversible character of nanoparticle immobilization. Next, the hematite/polystyrene microcomposites are utilized as the interfaces for immobilization of negatively charged silver nanoparticles. This process is quantitatively described using electrokinetic measurements. The changes in the hydrodynamic diameter of microcomposites are also determined. Finally, the validity of the electrokinetic model used in this work for predicting the zeta potential of the silver/hematite/polystyrene microcomposites is confirmed.     

Impact of Lignocellulose Pretreatment By-Products on S. cerevisiae Strain Ethanol Red Metabolism during Aerobic and An-aerobic Growth

Understanding the specific response of yeast cells to environmental stress factors is the starting point for selecting the conditions of adaptive culture in order to obtain a yeast line with increased resistance to a given stress factor. The aim of the study was to evaluate the specific cellular response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain Ethanol Red to stress caused by toxic by-products generated during the pretreatment of lignocellulose, such as levulinic acid, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, ferulic acid, syringaldehyde and vanillin. The presence of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural at the highest analyzed concentration (5704.8 ± 249.3 mg/L) under aerobic conditions induced the overproduction of ergosterol and trehalose. On the other hand, under anaerobic conditions (during the alcoholic fermentation), a decrease in the biosynthesis of these environmental stress indicators was observed. The tested yeast strain was able to completely metabolize 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, syringaldehyde and vanillin, both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Yeast cells reacted to the presence of furan aldehydes by overproducing Hsp60 involved in the control of intracellular protein folding. The results may be helpful in optimizing the process parameters of second-generation ethanol production, in order to reduce the formation and toxic effects of fermentation inhibitors.     

Predictive tracking of an object by a pan–tilt camera of a robot

Nonlinear Dynamics - Moving-object tracking using a pan–tilt camera setup is quite a well-known task in robotics. However, the presented research addresses specific properties of the tracked...     

Polypeptoids by Living Ring‐Opening Polymerization of N‐Substituted N‐Carboxyanhydrides from Solid Supports

The nucleophilic living ring‐opening polymerization of N‐substituted glycine N‐carboxyanhydrides using solid‐phase synthesis resins is reported. By variation of experimental parameters, products with near Poisson distributions are obtained. As opposed to reversible deactivation radical polymerization, the living polymerization is demonstrated to be viable to high monomer conversion and through multiple monomer addition steps. Successful preparation of a multiblock copolypeptoid is proof for a highly living and robust character of the solid‐phase peptoid polymerization.

     

Adaptive finite elements methods for virtual engineering design

The focus of this paper is the utilization of improved stresses on the surface of a construction for error estimation. The improved stresses are derived by using stress boundary conditions. They are applied for the calculation of recovered stresses required by the Zienkiewicz–Zhu error indicator. This approach leads to an enhancement of the error estimation on the boundary. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)