Imprinted polymer particles for iron uptake: Synthesis, characterization and analytical applications

This work reports the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer particles for selective extraction and determination of iron ions from aqueous media. The polymer particles were synthesized from Fe(NO₃)₃, morin, 4-vinylpyridine, ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate, and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile and characterized by IR and DSC both prior to and after removing the Fe-morin complex by leaching with HCl. The effect of different parameters, such as pH, adsorption and desorption time, type and minimum amount of eluent for removing the complex from polymer was evaluated and optimized. The proposed method is characterized by the detection limit of 3.1 µg l^?1 anddynamic linear range of 25 to 200 µg l^?1, with the relative standard deviation less than 8.8%. The method was applied to the recovery and determination of iron ions in a few real samples.     

Efficient Synthesis of a New Podand and Application as a Suitable Carrier for Silver Ion‐Selective Electrode

A new podand of 1,1′‐thia‐bis‐[1‐(chloroethan‐2‐acetamid‐α‐oxy)] naphtol was synthesized and used as a suitable carrier for Ag⁺ PVC membrane electrode. The electrode exhibited linear response with a Nernstian slope of (59.5±0.8 mV/decade) within a wide concentration range of 1.0×10^?7 to 1.5×10^?2 mol L^?1 silver ions. The electrode had a fast response time of <10 s and detection limit of 8.6×10^?8 mol L^?1 with a working pH range from 3.7 to 9.0. The electrode was highly selective for Ag(I) ions over a large number of cations such as alkali, alkaline earth, and heavy metal ions. The proposed sensor has been applied as an indicator electrode for indirect determination of vitamin B₁ in tablets by determination of Cl^? ions in this compound with a standard solution of Ag(NO₃).     

Spectrophotometric studies of the thermodynamics of sitting-atop complexation between free base meso-tetraarylporphyrins and titanium(IV) chloride

Titanium(IV) chloride reacts with free base meso-tetraarylporphyrin and its ortho, meta and para-substituted derivatives (H₂T(X)PP; X: OCH₃, CH₃ and Cl) for formation of sitting-atop (SAT) complexes, [TiCl₄(H₂T(X)PP)]. The computer fitting of the variation of the absorbance versus mole ratio by KINFIT program was used for calculation of the formation constants of these complexes in chloroform. Thermodynamic parameters, ΔG°, ΔH°, ΔS°, have been determined and the influence of the temperature and the substituted aryl groups (electronic and steric effects) in the free base porphyrins on the stability of the SAT complexes was studied.     

On strongly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis>)-cyclic acts

By a regular act we mean an act such that all its cyclic subacts are projective. In this paper we introduce strong (P)-cyclic property of acts over monoids which is an extension of regularity and give a classification of monoids by this property of their right (Rees factor) acts.     

Engineering of a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus</Emphasis> α-Amylase with Improved Thermostability and Calcium Independency

Successful industrial use of amylases requires that they are sufficiently stable and active at application conditions, e.g., at high temperature in starch-liquefaction process. In the present study, site-directed mutagenesis was used to enhance the thermal stability and calcium independency of a mesophilic α-amylase from Bacillus megaterium WHO. Mutations (A53S and H58I) were designed at the calcium-binding site based on the sequence alignment. Kinetic and thermostability parameters of the mutants were analyzed and compared with that of the wild type. In the presence of calcium, the affinity of the enzymes (wild type and mutants) toward starch was increased. In comparison to the wild type, calcium ion had more effect on the catalytic efficiency, k _cat/K _m, and half-life (at 60 °C) of A53S mutant. In A53S, the dependence of half-life on calcium concentration showed that the enhanced calcium binding is likely to be responsible for the increased stability. In contrast, calcium-independent mutant (H58I) possessed high thermostability. In addition, thermodynamic parameters of amylolytic reaction exhibited an increase in the activation energy and the entropy of the system. Kinetics of irreversible thermal inactivation suggests that the activation energy increased by 1.4-fold in the most stable variant.     

The gas phase hydrogen‐bonded dimers of HOCl: A high‐level quantum chemical study

The O···H? O and Cl···H? O hydrogen bonding interactions were analyzed for HOCl dimers by using B3LYP, MP2, CCSD, and MP4(SDTQ) methods in conjunction with the various basis sets. Five isomers were found for the HOCl dimer. The ZPE and BSSE corrected binding energies were computed at the different levels of theory. At the optimized geometries obtained at CCSD/AUG‐cc‐pVDZ level, energies were re‐evaluated at MP4(SDTQ)/AUG‐cc‐pVTZ and CCSD(T)/cc‐pVTZ levels of theory. We found an average of ?20.9 and ?9.6 kJ/mol for the strength of the O···H and Cl···H hydrogen bonding interactions, respectively. Excitation and vertical ionization energies as well as rotational constants were computed at different levels of theory. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis were used to elucidate the nature of the interactions of HOCl dimers. The interaction energies were decomposed by Morokuma methodology. We have computed Δ_fH°(HOCl) and Δ_fH°(HOCl⁺) using the atomization reactions. The Δ_fH°₂₉₈(HOCl) values are ?17.85 and ?18.05 kcal/mol by using CBS‐Q and CBS‐QB3 extrapolation models, respectively, in good agreement with the results given in JANAF tables. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Three-dimensional Brownian diffusion of rod-like macromolecules in the presence of randomly distributed spherical obstacles: molecular dynamics simulation

Brownian diffusion of rod-like polymers in the presence of randomly distributed spherical obstacles is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. It is observed that dependence of the reduced diffusion coefficient of these macromolecules on the available volume fraction can be described reasonably by a power law function. Despite the case of obstructed diffusion of flexible polymers in which reduced diffusion coefficient has a weak dependence on the polymer length, this dependence is noticeably strong in the case of rod-like polymers. Diffusion of these macromolecules in the presence of obstacles is observed that is anomalous at short time scales and normal at long times. Duration time of the anomalous diffusion regime is found that increases very rapidly with increasing both the polymer length and the obstructed volume fraction. Dynamics of diffusion of these polymers is observed that crosses over from Rouse to reptation type with increasing the density of obstacles.     

Solubility and diffusion of CO2 and H2S in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate

The solubility and diffusion coefficient were determined for carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gases in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([emim][EtSO₄]) at temperatures ranging from (303.15 to 353.15) K and pressures up to 1.6 MPa. The Krichevsky–Kasarnovsky equation was used to correlate solubility data and Henry’s law constants at different temperatures were obtained. The partial molar thermodynamic functions of solution such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were calculated using the solubility data. A semi-infinite volume approach is used to obtain the diffusion coefficients for CO₂ and H₂S and a correlation equation with temperature is presented for each gas. Comparison showed that H₂S is more soluble than CO₂ and its diffusion coefficient is about two orders of magnitude as that of CO₂ in the ionic liquid studied in this work.     

Voltammetric investigation and amperometric detection of the bisphosphonate drug sodium alendronate using a copper nanoparticles-modified electrode

The electrochemical behavior of sodium alendronate on copper microparticle- and copper nanoparticle-modified carbon paste electrodes was investigated. In the voltammograms recorded using microparticles, a single anodic oxidation peak appeared, while using nanoparticles, two anodic peaks appeared. The anodic currents were related to the electrocatalytic oxidation of alendronate via the active species of Cu(III). The catalytic rate constant for the electrocatalytic oxidation process and the diffusion coefficient of alendronate were obtained to be 1.57 × 10³ cm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 2.44 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹, respectively. A sensitive and time-saving detection procedure was developed for the analysis of alendronate, and the corresponding analytical parameters were reported. Alendronate was determined with a limit of detection of 11.26 μmol L⁻¹ with a linear range of 50–6,330 μmol L⁻¹. The proposed amperometric method was applied to the analysis of commercial pharmaceutical tablets, and the results were in good agreement with the declared values.     

Extraction of crocin from saffron (Crocus sativus) using molecularly imprinted polymer solid‐phase extraction

A new molecularly imprinted polymer for extraction of crocin from saffron stigmas was prepared using gentiobiose (a glycoside moiety in crocin structure) as a template. Crocin binding to gentiobiose imprinted polymer (Gent‐MIP) was studied in comparison with a blank nonimprinted polymer in aqueous media. Affinity of the Gent‐MIP for the crocin was more than the nonimprinted polymer at all concentrations. In Scatchard analysis, the number of binding sites in each gram of polymer (maximum binding sites) and dissociation constant of crocin to binding sites were 18.4 μmol/g polymer and 11.2 μM, respectively. The Gent‐MIP was then used as the sorbent in an SPE method for isolation and purification of crocin from methanolic extract of saffron stigmas. The recovery of crocin, safranal and picrocrocin was determined in washing and elution steps. The Gent‐MIP had significantly higher affinity for crocin than other compounds and enabled selective extraction of crocin with a high recovery (84%) from a complex mixture. The results demonstrated the possibility of using a part of a big molecule in preparing a molecularly imprinted polymer with a good selectivity for the main structure.