Photoluminescence and electrochemical investigation of curcumin-reduced graphene oxide sheets

This paper reports on a novel low-temperature method for preparing curcumin-reduced graphene oxide (Cur-rGO) from graphene oxide (GO) and investigates their cyclic voltammetry (CV) and photoluminescence (PL) properties. GO sheets were synthesized using modified Hummers’ method and then were chemically reduced using polyphenol curcumin into graphene sheets. Atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to confirm the formation of Cur-rGO and revealed their functionalization with polyphenol curcumin. The electrochemical and optical properties of the Cur-rGO sheets were investigated using CV and PL spectroscopy. According to the PL and CV characterization for the Cur-rGO sheets, charges and resonant energy were transferred from curcumin molecules to the GO sheets’ surfaces. This arises from the bonding of the fluorescence curcumin molecules to the Cur-rGO surfaces, through π–π stacking of their aromatic rings. It should be noted that curcumin molecules act as electron donors, suppressing the fluorescence of the GO sheets while improving their electrochemical activities.     

Sparse solutions to underdetermined Kronecker product systems

Three properties of matrices: the spark, the mutual incoherence and the restricted isometry property have recently been introduced in the context of compressed sensing. We study these properties for matrices that are Kronecker products and show how these properties relate to those of the factors. For the mutual incoherence we also discuss results for sums of Kronecker products.     

Self-assembly of charged Bodipy dyes to form Cassettes that display intracomplex electronic energy transfer and accrete into liquid crystals

Red- and blue-absorbing boron dipyrromethene dyes, bearing opposite electronic charges, associate in solution to form a 1:2 complex having a stability constant of ca. 10(17) M(-2). The complex can be dismantled by addition of a large excess of tetra-N-butylammonium cations. The same complex displays liquid crystalline properties on heating from rt to above 150 °C, as characterized by various experimental techniques. Highly efficient electronic energy transfer from the red to the blue dye occurs in both the initial complex and the subsequent mesomorphic state.     

New mono- and binuclear Pd(II) complexes containing 1,2,4-triazole moieties

The reaction of AMTT (AMTT = 4-amino-3-methyl-1,2,4-triazol-5-thione, HL1) with palladium(II) chloride and triphenylphosphane as a co-ligand in acetonitrile afforded the mononuclear Pd^II-complex [(PPh₃)Pd(HL1)Cl]Cl·2CH₃CN (1). The complex [(PPh₃)Pd(HL1)I]Cl·1/2H₂O (2) was prepared via halogen exchange between 1 and sodium iodide in methanol/acetonitrile. The first binuclear palladium(II) complex containing singly deprotonated HL1, [(PPh₃)₂ClPd(L1)Pd(PPh₃)Cl]Cl·1/3H₂O·CH₃OH (3), was prepared by the reaction of HL1 with palladium(II) chloride and triphenylphosphane in the presence of sodium acetate in methanol.     

Extended integer rank reduction formulas and Smith normal form

We present an integer rank reduction formula for transforming the rows and columns of an integer matrix A. By repeatedly applying the formula to reduce rank, an extended integer rank reducing process is derived. The process provides a general finite iterative approach for constructing factorizations of A and A ^T under a common framework of a general decomposition V ^T AP?=?Ω. Then, we develop the integer Wedderburn rank reduction formula and its integer biconjugation process. Both the integer biconjugation process associated with the Wedderburn rank reduction process and the scaled extended integer Abaffy–Broyden–Spedicato (ABS) class of algorithms are shown to be in the integer rank reducing process. We also show that the integer biconjugation process can be derived from the scaled integer ABS class of algorithms applied to A or A ^T . Finally, we show that the integer biconjuagation process is a special case of our proposed ABS class of algorithms for computing the Smith normal form.     

Development and Validation of a Stability Indicating HPLC Method for Determination of Granisetron

The aim of this study was to study the stress degradation of granisetron and analysis of the drug in the presence of its degradation products. Forced degradation studies were conducted on bulk sample using acidic, alkaline, oxidative, heat and photolytic conditions. Granisetron was relatively unstable under acidic, alkaline and oxidative conditions. Separation of granisetron and degradation products was achieved using a Nova‐Pak C₈ column and acetonitrile‐KH₂PO₄ 25 mM (75:25, v/v) as mobile phase with UV detection at 305 nm. The method was linear over the range of 0.2‐15 μg/mL granisetron (r² > 0.999). The within‐day and between‐day precision values were also in the range of 0.5‐4%. The proposed method was successfully applied for quantitative determination of granisetron in tablets and in vitro dissolution studies.     

A Direct Mapping Approach to Understand Carrier Relaxation Dynamics in Varied Regions of a Polycrystalline Perovskite Film

We developed a direct mapping approach to overlay the image of a polycrystalline perovskite film obtained from the transient absorption microscope (TAM) with that from the scanning electron microscope (SEM). By mapping these imaging data pixel by pixel, we are able to observe the relaxation dynamics of the photo-generated charge carriers on varied regions of the film. The carrier relaxation dynamics contain a dominated single-exponential decay component owing to the recombination of charge carriers. The lifetime distribution of charge recombination shows a bimodal feature, for which the rapid and slow distributions are assigned as free and trapped carriers, respectively. The charge recombination was slower in the grain boundary (GB) region than in the grain interior (GI) region. The small grains have longer lifetimes than the large grains for the crystal size smaller than 500 nm. Therefore, GB with retarded charge recombination might play a positive role in a perovskite solar cell.     

Electrochemical determination of piroxicam on the surface of pyrolytic graphite electrode modified with a film of carbon nanoparticle-chitosan

The electrochemical behavior of the anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam is studied at the surface of a plain pyrolytic graphite electrode modified with chitosan-doped carbon nanoparticles. An electroactive surface was produced by drop-casting a suspension of the modifier and characterized by atomic force microscopy. A remarkable enhancement is found in studies on the cyclic voltammetric response towards piroxicam. This is described on the basis of the thin-layer mass transport regimes within the porous films, which leads to a considerable increase in the active surface area of the electrode. The electrode shows a linear response to piroxicam in the range of 0.05–50 μM, with a detection limit of 25 nM (at S/N of 3). The electrode was successfully applied to the determination of piroxicam in pharmaceutical and clinical preparations with satisfactory accuracy and precision.     

A rapid derivative spectrophotometric method for simultaneous determination of naphazoline and antazoline in eye drops

A zero-crossing first-derivative spectrophotometric method is applied for the simultaneous determination of naphazoline hydrochloride and antazoline phosphate in eye drops. The measurements were carried out at wavelengths of 225 and 252 nm for naphazoline hydrochloride and antazoline phosphate, respectively. The method was found to be linear (r2>0.999) in the range of 0.2-1 microg/ml for naphazoline hydrochloride in the presence of 5 microg/ml antazoline phosphate at 225 nm. The same linear correlation (r2>0.999) was obtained in the range of 1-10 microg/ml of antazoline phosphate in the presence of 0.5 microg/ml of naphazoline hydrochloride at 252 nm. The limit of determination was 0.2 microg/ml and 1 microg/ml for naphazoline hydrochloride and antazoline phosphate, respectively. The method was successfully used for simultaneous analysis of naphazoline hydrochloride and antazoline phosphate in eye drops without any interference from excipients and prior separation before analysis.     

Validated HPLC method for determination of carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel in human plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A new, simple, and reproducible method for determination of carboxylic acid metabolite of clopidogrel in human plasma has been developed. After liquid-liquid extraction in acidic medium with chloroform, samples were quantified on a Nova-pak C(8), 5 microm column using a mixture of 30 mM K(2)HPO(4)-THF-acetonitrile (pH = 3, 79:2:19, v/v/v) as mobile phase with UV detection at 220 nm. The flow rate was set at 0.9 mL/min. Ticlopidine was used as internal standard and the total run time of analysis was about 12 min. The method was linear over the range of 0.2-10 microg/mL of clopidogrel metabolite in plasma (r(2) > 0.999). The within-day and between-day precision values were in the range 1.0-4.8%. The limit of quantification of the method was 0.2 microg/mL. The method was successfully used to study the pharmacokinetics of clopidogrel in healthy volunteers.