Inclusion extraction of alkali metals by emulsion liquid membranes bearing nano-baskets

Nano-assisted inclusion separation of alkali metals from basic solutions was reported by inclusion-facilitated emulsion liquid membrane process. The novelty and significance of this study is application of nano-baskets of calixarene in the selective and efficient separation of alkali metals, as both carrier and surfactant. For this aim, four derivatives of p-tert-calix[4]arene bearing different sulfonamide moieties were synthesized and their inclusion-extraction parameters were optimized. Maximum extraction was achieved using calixarene scaffold 03 (3.45 × 10^?2 M) as carrier/demulsifier, commercial kerosene as diluent in membrane, sulphonic acid (0.2 M) and ammonium carbonate (0.4 M) as the strip and the feed phases, the phase and the treat ratios of 0.8 and 0.3, mixing speed (300 rpm), and initial solute concentration (100 mg/L). The selectivity of membrane over more than ten interfering cations was examined and the results reveled that under the optimized operating conditions, the extraction percent of alkali metals was 98–99 %.     

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Aluminum and Iron in Micellar Media by Using the H‐Point Standard Addition Method

A very simple spectrophotometric method for simultaneous determination of aluminum(III) and iron(III) based on formation of their complexes with pyrocatechol violet (PCV) in micellar media, using the H‐point standard addition method (HPSAM), is described. In micellar media, the metal complexes of Al‐PCV and Fe‐PCV are formed very fast. Formation of both of the complexes was complete within 5 min at pH 8.5. The linear ranges for aluminum and iron were 0.05‐2.50 and 0.10‐4.00 μg mL^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for the simultaneous determination 0.40 μg mL^?1 of Al(III) and 0.20 μg mL^?1 of Fe(III) were 3.24% and 4.22%, respectively. Interference effects of common anions and cations were studied. The method was applied to simultaneous determination of Al(III) and Fe(III) in standard reference material and alloy samples.     

Determination of Vanadyl Porphyrins by Liquid-liquid Microextraction and Nano-baskets of p-tert-Calix[4]arene Bearing Di-[N-(X)sulfonye Carboxamide] and Di-(1-propoxy) in Ortho-cone Conformation

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique was introducd to remove the centrifuging step and conduct inclusion microextraction of charged porphyrins by nano-baskets. For nano-baskets of p-tert-calix[4]arene bearing di-[N-(X)sulfonyl carboxamide] and di-(1-propoxy) in ortho-cone conformation was synthesized and used. The related parameters including ligand concentration, the volume of water disperser, salt effect, and extraction time were optimized. The linear range, detection limit(S/N=3) and precision(RSD, n=6) were determined to be 0.2―50, 0.07 μg/L and 5.3%, respectively. The results reveal that the new approach is competitive analytical tool and an alternative of the traditional methods in the crude oil and related systems.     

Mimic Nature Using Chemotaxis of Ionic Liquid Microdroplets for Drug Delivery Purposes

Due to the growing prevalence of incurable diseases, such as cancer, worldwide, nowadays, the development of smart drug delivery systems is an inevitable necessity. Chemotaxis-driven movement of ionic liquid microdroplets containing therapeutic compounds is a well-known example of a smart drug delivery system. This review aims to classify, summarize, and compare ionic liquid-based chemotaxis systems in an easily understandable article. Chemotaxis is the basis of the movement of cells and microorganisms in biological environments, which is the cause of many vital biochemical and biological processes. This review attempts to summarize the available literature on single-component biomimetic and self-propelling microdroplet systems based on ionic liquids, which exhibit chemotaxis and spontaneously move in a determined direction by an external gradient, particularly a chemical change. It also aims to review artificial ionic liquid-based chemotaxis systems that can be used as drug carriers for medical purposes. The various ionic liquids used for this purpose are discussed, and different forms of chemical gradients and mechanisms that cause movement in microfluidic channels will be reviewed.     

Manganese(III) Porphyrin-Catalyzed Dehydrogenation of Alcohols to form Imines,Tertiary Amines and Quinolines

Manganese(III) porphyrin chloride complexes have been developed for the first time as catalysts for the acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols and amines. The reaction has been applied to the direct synthesis of imines, tertiary amines and quinolines where only hydrogen gas and/or water are formed as the by-product(s). The mechanism is believed to involve the formation of a manganese(III) alkoxide complex which degrades into the aldehyde and a manganese(III) hydride species. The latter reacts with the alcohol to form hydrogen gas and thereby regenerates the alkoxide complex.     

Applications of calixarene nano-baskets in pharmacology

Calixarene nano-baskets enable to encapsulate the guest drugs and show different biological activities. This review deals with the behavior of calixarene-based drugs and illustrates their potentials in the pharmacological sciences. The role of calixarene’s scaffolds and substitutions in aspects of anti-cancer, anti-mycobacterial, anti-proliferativity, catalytic and inhibitory activities as well as solubility control, drug analysis, drug purification, drug supports and structural studies is reviewed.     

Development of carbon‐nanotube‐assisted electromembrane extraction in the two‐phase mode combined with GC for the determination of basic drugs

In this work, carbon‐nanotube‐assisted electromembrane extraction in the two‐phase mode combined with GC was developed for the preconcentration and determination of basic drugs in body fluids. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersed in organic solvent are held in the pores of the porous fiber wall by capillary forces and sonification. The membrane with immobilized carbon nanotubes acts as a sorbent and provides an additional pathway for analyte transport. This study demonstrates that the immobilization of carbon nanotubes in the supported liquid membrane is an excellent approach to enhance the performance of the extraction. Optimization of the variables affecting this method was carried out in order to achieve the best extraction efficiency. Optimal extractions were accomplished with octanol as the extraction solvent, 50 V as the driving force and pH 7.4 in the sample solution with the whole assembly agitated at 1000 rpm for 20 min. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the proposed technique provided good linearity (R² > 0.9990), repeatability (3.5–3.8%), low LODs (1.5 ng/mL), good preconcentration factors (292–316) and high recoveries (80–87%). Finally, this method was successfully used for the determination of tramadol and methadone in different body fluids including plasma and urine samples.     

Removal of Oil Spills from Salty Waters by Commercial Organoclays

In this study two commercial organoclays, Cloisite 15A and Cloisite 30B, were used to investigate their potential for removing of light and heavy crude oils from salty waters. The results of batch kinetic studies indicated that the equilibrium time can be reached within 25–30 minutes of contact time. In addition experiments were performed to determine the effect of salinity, temperature, pH and mixing time on the adsorption process. The adsorption isotherms were obtained for the crude oils at equilibrium, at an optimum pH value of 11.73 and temperature of 19°C for which the initial oil contents varied in the range of 100 to 2000 ppm. Experimental results showed that oil sorption onto these organoclays can be described by Freundlich isotherm. Further, it was found that the oil removal efficiency for Cloisite 30B is higher than that of Cloisite 15A and the greater sorption was observed for Gachsaran crude oil onto the organoclays over Soroosh crude oil.