Solid-phase extraction and determination of ultra trace amounts of lead,mercury and cadmium in water samples using octadecyl silica membrane disks modified with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and fast method for preconcentration and determination of ultra trace amounts of lead(II), mercury(II) and cadmium(II) in water samples is presented. Lead, mercury and cadmium adsorbed quantitatively during passage of water samples (pH?=?7, flow rate?=?20 mL min^?1) through octadecyl silica membrane disks modified with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The retained lead, mercury and cadmium are then stripped from the disk with a minimal amount of 1 M hydrochloric acid solution as eluent, and determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The influence of flow rates of the eluent and sample solution, the amount of ligand, type and least amount of eluent, pH of sample, effect of other ions and breakthrough volume are determined. The breakthrough volume of the method is greater than 2000 mL for lead and greater than 1500 mL for mercury and cadmium, which results in an enrichment factor of 200 for lead and an enrichment factor of 150 for both mercury and cadmium. The limit of detection of the proposed method is 177, 2 and 13 ng l^?1 for lead, mercury and cadmium, respectively.     

Preconcentration procedure using vortex-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction for the fast determination of trace levels of thorium in water samples

A new simple and rapid vortex-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method was applied for the determination of thorium in water samples. In this method, chloroform used as extraction solvent was directly injected into the water sample solution. The extraction solvent was dispersed into the aqueous phase under vigorously shaking with the vortex. After centrifuging, the fine droplets of extractant phase were settled to the bottom of the conical-bottom centrifuge tube. The effect of different experimental parameters on the performance of the method were studied and discussed. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limit for Th(IV) was 7.5 ng mL^?1. The precision of the method, evaluated as the relative standard deviation obtained by analyzing of 10 replicates, was 2.8 %. The practical applicability of the developed method was examined using natural water and monazite sand samples.     

An improved hybrid continuum‐atomistic four‐way coupled model for electrokinetics in nanofluidics

In this study, an efficient hybrid continuum‐atomistic method is proposed to study electrokinetic transport of aqueous solutions in nanofluidics. The aqueous phase is considered as a continuous phase containing immersed ion particles. The behavior of the system is then simulated through utilization of an improved hybrid continuum‐atomistic four‐way coupled approach, including the MultiPhase Particle‐In‐Cell method for the short‐ranged interaction between the ion particles, the Brownian force for the collision between the aqueous phase molecules and the ion particles, and a wall force accounting for the short‐ranged interaction of ions and walls. The validation of the proposed model with the results of Molecular Dynamics simulations suggests that this model can be a promising approach for studying the electrokinetic phenomena in more complicated geometries where the Molecular Dynamics approach is computationally prohibitive. Finally, the effects of electrokinetic parameters, such as the height of the channel, the external electric field, and bulk ionic concentration, on the electroosmotic flow in a nanochannel are investigated and discussed.     

Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol on Flexible Three‐dimensional Interconnected Nickel/Gold Composite Foams in Alkaline Media

In this work, a porous and flexible three‐dimensional (3D) nickel/gold nanoparticle electrode (NiF/AuNPs) is presented as an efficient electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The 3D nanocomposite electrode consists of interconnected porous nickel foam (NiF) with large pores (500±200 μm diameter) surrounded by interconnected struts (～100 μm) that are decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, 37±8 nm) through in‐situ electrochemical deposition. The catalytic performance of the 3D electrode was evaluated by different electrochemical methods. An enhancement in the performance (about 253 %) and a remarkable decline in onset potential (about ～0.63 V) in comparison with pristine NiF for ethanol oxidation are demonstrated. This potential is lower than many reported results except palladium‐ and platinum‐based catalysts, which are expensive. It is shown that both hydroxyl anions and cations affect the ethanol oxidation on the 3D electrode. The interconnected porous structure provides efficient mass diffusivity, which along with its high specific surface area combined with the catalytic nature of AuNPs, may open new opportunities for in‐inexpensive and highly efficient electro‐oxidation of ethanol for energy applications.     

A novel silk/PES hybrid nanofibrous scaffold promotes the in vitro proliferation and differentiation of adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells into insulin producing cells

Using stem cells to replace the lost beta cells is a hopeful strategy in the treatment of diabetic patients. Furthermore, during stem cell culture and therapy, it is a need to use a substrate to act as a supportive matrix to mimic 3D in vivo microenvironment. Therefore, in this study, human adipose‐derived stem cells were used to differentiate into insulin‐producing cells (IPCs) on a silk/polyethersulfone (PES) scaffold. After exposing to the differentiation media, 2D and 3D (silk/PES) cultured cells were gradually aggregated and formed spherical shaped clusters. The viability of cells was comparable in both 3D and 2D culture. As the results of gene expression assay in both RNA and protein level showed, the differentiation efficiency was higher in 3D culture. Furthermore, ELISA revealed that the release of C‐peptide and insulin was higher in 3D than 2D culture. It seems that silk/PES nanofibrous hybrid scaffold could provide an appropriate matrix to mimic in vivo microenvironment and therefore increases the IPC differentiation potency of stem cells.     

Cyclic voltammetric study of the redox behavior of Fe(II)/Fe(III) systems forming during the oxidation of Fe(II) complexes with saccharin and with saccharin and 1,10-phenanthroline

The electrochemical redox behavior of Fe(II)/Fe(III) systems formed during the oxidation of complexes [Fe(C₇H₄NO₃S)₂(H₂O)₄] · 2H₂O (Fe-sac) and [Fe(C₇H₄NO₃S)₂(C₁₂H₈N₂] · 2H₂O (Fe-sac-phen) have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry in the aqueous medium. In the CVs one pair of well-defined cathodic and anodic peaks appear for the transfer of single electron in the Fe-sac complex. The peak potentials are much wider separated as compared with the free (uncoordinated) Fe(II)/Fe(III) system. The ΔE values demonstrate that the electrode process is irreversible. In the presence of secondary ligand, 1,10-phenanthroline (Fe-sac-phen complex), the redox behavior of iron complexes is quasireversible. The effect of pH on the redox behavior of iron system is studied in acetate buffer. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2008, Vol. 44, No. 12, pp. 1504–1509. The text was submitted by author in English     

An Efficient Synthesis of 8-Hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-3-methylisocoumarin (6-O-methylreticulol)

An efficient synthesis of 8-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-3-methylisocoumarin (6-O-methylreticulol), a metabolite of several fungal species possessing phosphodiesterase inhibitor, topoisomerase I inhibitor activities and antitumor efficacy, has been described. 3,4,5-Trimethoxyhomophthalic acid was refluxed with acetic anhydride in dry pyridine and the resulting 2,3,4-trimethoxy-6-(2-oxopropyl)benzoic acid was smoothly cyclodehydrated to 6,7,8-trimethoxy-3-methylisocoumarin using acetic anhydride. Regioselective demethylation of the latter yielded the 6-O-methylreticulol. __________ Published in Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 11, pp. 1644–1648, November, 2005.     

Cyclic voltammetric studies of the redox behavior of iron(III)-vitamin B6 complex at carbon paste electrode

Electrochemical redox behavior of Fe-vit B₆ complex is investigated in HEPES buffer in the pH range 5.1–13.1 using cyclic voltammetry. Well-defined anodic and cathodic peaks are observed in the voltammograms at pH 13.1. At pH 8.0, only one cathodic peak and at pH 5.1, only one anodic peak are found. At all the pH values, the peak potential separation is much higher than that of a reversible electrochemical reaction. The peak current ratio (i _pa/i _pc) is less than unity and decreases with the scan rate. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 691–697. The text was submitted by the authors in English.