Transport of Pseudomonas putida in a 3-D Bench Scale Experimental Aquifer

This study is focused on the transport of Pseudomonas (P.) putida bacterial cells in a 3-D model aquifer. The pilot-scale aquifer consisted of a rectangular glass tank with internal dimensions: 120?cm length, 48?cm width, and 50?cm height, carefully packed with well-characterized quartz sand. The P. putida decay was adequately represented by a first-order model. Transport experiments with a conservative tracer and P. putida were conducted to characterize the aquifer and to investigate the bacterial behavior during transport in water saturated porous media. A 3-D, finite-difference numerical model for bacterial transport in saturated, homogeneous porous media was developed and was used to successfully fit the experimental data. Furthermore, theoretical interaction energy calculations suggested that the extended-DLVO theory seems to predict bacteria attachment onto the aquifer sand better than the classical DLVO theory.     

A photosynthetic biosensor with enhanced electron transfer generation realized by laser printing technology

One of the limits of current electrochemical biosensors is a lack of methods providing stable and highly efficient junctions between biomaterial and solid-state devices. This paper shows how laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) can enable efficient electron transfer from photosynthetic biomaterial immobilized on screen-printed electrodes (SPE). The ideal pattern, in terms of photocurrent signal of thylakoid droplets giving a stable response signal with a current intensity of approximately 335 ± 13 nA for a thylakoid mass of 28 ± 4 ng, was selected. It is shown that the efficiency of energy production of a photosynthetic system can be strongly enhanced by the LIFT process, as demonstrated by use of the technique to construct an efficient and sensitive photosynthesis-based biosensor for detecting herbicides at nanomolar concentrations.     

Simplifying sample preparation using fabric phase sorptive extraction technique for the determination of benzodiazepines in blood serum by high‐performance liquid chromatography

Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE), a recently introduced novel sample preparation technology, has been evaluated for the extraction of benzodiazepines from human blood serum. FPSE utilizes a flexible fabric surface as the substrate platform for creating sol‐gel hybrid organic‐inorganic sorbent coatings. FPSE media can be introduced directly into the sample containing the target analyte(s), requiring no need for prior sample pretreatment or clean‐up. Benzodiazepines were selected as model analytes because they represent one of the most widely used therapeutic drugs in psychiatry and are also amongst the most frequently encountered drugs in forensic toxicology. The chromatographic separation of target analytes was performed on a LiChroCART‐LiChrospher®100 RP‐18e (5 µm, 250 × 4 mm) analytical column, operated at room temperature. Ternary gradient elution was applied with a mobile phase that consisted of acetonitrile, methanol and ammonium acetate (0.05 M), which was delivered at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Diode array detection was performed with monitoring at 240 nm. FPSE was performed using cellulose fabric extraction media coated with sol‐gel poly(ethylene glycol) (sol‐gel PEG). Absolute recovery values in the equilibrium state for the examined benzodiazepines were found to be 27% for bromazepam, 63% for lorazepam, 42 % for diazepam and 39% for alprazolam. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One‐Pot Transformation of Simple Furans into 4‐Hydroxy‐2‐cyclopentenones in Water

A highly efficient one‐pot transformation of readily accessible furans into 4‐hydroxy‐2‐cyclopentenones in H₂O, using singlet oxygen as oxidant, has been developed.     

Adsorptive removal of U(VI) and Th(IV) from aqueous solutions using polymer-based electrospun PEO/PLLA fibrous membranes

Fibrous membranes based on poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(l-lactide) fabricated by electrospinning were evaluated for the first time as substrates for the adsorption of tetravalent thorium (Th(IV)) and hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous media. The membranes consisted of microfibers with diameters of approximately 2 μm as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. The adsorption of Th(IV) and U(VI) on the membrane was investigated as a function of pH, ionic strength and initial metal concentration under normal atmospheric conditions. The experimental data indicated increased affinity of the membrane for Th(IV) and U(VI), which was pH depended and reaches maximum values (>90 %) for Th(IV) and U(VI) at pH 3 and pH 6.5, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity (q _max) at optimum conditions was evaluated from the Langmuir isotherm and was found to amount 50.08 and 9.3 mmol kg^?1 for Th(IV) and U(VI), respectively. In addition, studies on the effect of ionic strength on the adsorption efficiency did not show any significant effect indicating that the adsorption of Th(IV) and U(VI) on the membrane was most probably based on specific interactions and the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes. The significantly higher adsorption efficiency of the membrane for Th(IV) in acidic media (pH ≤ 3) could be utilized for a pH-triggered, selective separation of Th(IV) from U(VI) from aqueous media.     

Ochraceopyronide,a Rare α-Pyrone-C-lyxofuranoside from a Soil-Derived Fungus Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis

The fungal strain was isolated from a soil sample collected in Giza province, Egypt, and was identified as Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis based on phenotypic and genotypic data. The ethyl acetate extract of the fungal strain exhibited promising activity levels against several pathogenic test organisms and through a series of ¹H NMR guided chromatographic separations, a new α-pyrone-C-lyxofuranoside (1) along with four known compounds (2–5) were isolated. The planar structure of the new metabolite was elucidated by detailed analysis of its 1D/2D NMR and HRMS/IR/UV spectroscopic data, while the relative configuration of the sugar moiety was determined by a combined study of NOESY and coupling constants data, with the aid of theoretical calculations. The structures of the known compounds—isolated for the first time from A. ochraceopetaliformis—were established by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those in the literature. All isolated fungal metabolites were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against six Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as against three human pathogenic fungi.     

Coupled commensurate cation and charge modulation in the tunneled structure, Na(0.40(2))MnO(2)

Na(0.40(2))MnO(2) belongs to a family of mixed Mn(3+) and Mn(4+) porous oxides that contains both octahedral and square pyramidal Mn-O units. Neutron and synchrotron radiation studies identify the presence of both sodium ordering (T(Na) ≈ 310 K) and Mn charge and orbital ordering. Below T(Na), the centrosymmetric Pbam structure adopts an (ab 4c) supercell of Pnnm symmetry that accommodates a coupled commensurate modulation down the c-axis channels of both Na position and occupancy with Mn valence.     

Facile and Low-Cost SPE Modification Towards Ultra-Sensitive Organophosphorus and Carbamate Pesticide Detection in Olive Oil

Despite the fact that a considerable amount of effort has been invested in the development of biosensors for the detection of pesticides, there is still a lack of a simple and low-cost platform that can reliably and sensitively detect their presence in real samples. Herein, an enzyme-based biosensor for the determination of both carbamate and organophosphorus pesticides is presented that is based on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) immobilized on commercially available screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPEs) modified with carbon black (CB), as a means to enhance their conductivity. Most interestingly, two different methodologies to deposit the enzyme onto the sensor surfaces were followed; strikingly different results were obtained depending on the family of pesticides under investigation. Furthermore, and towards the uniform application of the functionalization layer onto the SPEs’ surfaces, the laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique was employed in conjunction with CB functionalization, which allowed a considerable improvement of the sensor’s performance. Under the optimized conditions, the fabricated sensors can effectively detect carbofuran in a linear range from 1.1 × 10^?9 to 2.3 × 10^?8 mol/L, with a limit of detection equal to 0.6 × 10^?9 mol/L and chlorpyrifos in a linear range from 0.7 × 10^?9 up to 1.4 × 10^?8 mol/L and a limit of detection 0.4 × 10^?9 mol/L in buffer. The developed biosensor was also interrogated with olive oil samples, and was able to detect both pesticides at concentrations below 10 ppb, which is the maximum residue limit permitted by the European Food Safety Authority.