Speciation of lead in seawater and river water by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized in agarose gel as a binding agent in the diffusive gradients in thin films technique

Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized in agarose gel is proposed as a binding agent for the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique for determination of Pb in river water and seawater. DGT samplers were assembled with the proposed binding agent (25-mm disk containing 20%, m/v, S. cerevisiae and 3.0%, m/v, agarose) and a diffusive layer of cellulose (3MM Chr chromatography paper of 25-mm diameter). The effects of some DGT parameters (e.g., immersion time, ionic strength, and pH) were evaluated. Elution of Pb from the binding agent was effectively done with 1.75 mol L(-1) HNO(3). The deployment curve (between 2 and 24 h) was characterized by a significant uptake of Pb (346 ng Pb h(-1)) and good linear regression (R(2) = 0.9757). The experimental results are in excellent agreement with the predicted theoretical curve for mass uptake. Consistent results were found for solutions with ionic strengths of 0.005 mol L(-1) or greater and within a pH range of 4.5-8.5. Interferences from Cu (20:1), Mn (20:1), Fe (20:1), Zn (20:1), Ca (250:1), and Mg (250:1) in Pb retention were negligible. Determination of Pb in spiked river water samples (from the Corumbataí and Piracicaba rivers) performed using the proposed device was in agreement with total dissolved Pb, whereas measurements in seawater suggest that of the various species of Pb present in the samples, only cationic Pb species are adsorbed by the agarose-yeast gel disks. The in situ concentration of Pb obtained at two different sites of the Rio Claro stream (Corumbataí basin) were 1.13 ± 0.01 and 1.34 ± 0.04 μg L(-1). For 72-h deployments, a detection limit of 0.75 μg L(-1) was calculated. The combination of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and in situ deployments of DGT samplers during the 72-h period makes possible the determination of labile Pb in river water.     

Peak intensity measurement of relativistic lasers via nonlinear Thomson scattering

The measurement of peak laser intensities exceeding 10(20) W/cm(2) is in general a very challenging task. We suggest a simple method to accurately measure such high intensities up to about 10(23) W/cm(2), by colliding a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons with the laser pulse. The method exploits the high directionality of the radiation emitted by ultrarelativistic electrons via nonlinear Thomson scattering. Initial electron energies well within the reach of laser wake-field accelerators are required, allowing in principle for an all-optical setup. Accuracies of the order of 10% are theoretically envisaged.     

Pattern formation during electrodeposition of indium–cobalt alloys

The investigations on the effect of the electrolysis conditions, including high speed electroplating, on the content, structure, morphology and some properties of electrodeposited In-Co alloys from citrate electrolytes are presented. It was shown that indium and cobalt could be successfully deposited from acid citrate electrolytes and deposition of alloys with indium content between 20 and 80 wt. % is possible. At high cobalt content, heterogeneous multiphase coatings with spatio-temporal structures are obtained. Spatio-temporal structures could be observed also during electrodeposition under intensive hydrodynamic flow and improved mass transport conditions at high current densities. The structures are obtained for the first time from silver- and cyanide-free non-alkaline stable electrolytes of a relatively simple composition.     

Antibacterial and antioxidant potency of floral honeys from different botanical and geographical origins

In order to assess their physicochemical and antioxidant properties as well as their antimicrobial potency, four varieties of honey from different botanical and geographical origins were used. The agar incorporation method was used to determine the antimicrobial potency of honeys. The total phenol content was determined by a modified Folin-Ciocalteu method and the free radical scavenging activity by the Fe³⁺ reducing power (FRAP) assay. Manuka honey was the most effective against Staphylococcus aureus Oxa R and S. aureus Oxa S with a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 6% and 7%, respectively, whereas wild carrot honey was the most effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with a MIC of 12%. Lavender honey was the least effective against all tested strains, even though was found to have the lowest pH and water content. Manuka honey had the highest content of polyphenols, with 899.09 ± 11.75 mg gallic acid/kg, whereas lavender honey had the lowest, with 111.42 ± 3.54 mg gallic acid/kg. A very significant correlation (r value was 0.9079 at P < 0.05) was observed between the total polyphenolic content and the Fe²⁺ content formed in the presence of the honey antioxidants. The differences between honey samples in terms of antibacterial and antioxidant activity could be attributed to the natural variations in floral sources of nectar and the different locations.     

Semi-active on–off damping control of a dynamic vibration absorber using Coriolis force

A passive dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) moving along a pendulum can cause the nonlinear Coriolis damping to reduce the pendulum swing. This paper proposes a simple semi-active on–off damping controller to improve the passive Coriolis DVA. The aim of the on–off damping control is to amplify the DVA resonance motion to increase the energy dissipated. Moreover, the paper finds the analytical solution of the harmonic vibration of semi-active controlled system. The accuracy of the analytical formulas and the superior performance of the semi-active DVA are verified by numerical simulations.     

Nanoparticle-based sensing of glycan-lectin interactions

Here we present the first report on nanoparticle-based biosensing of glycan markers of diseases. The protocol relies on the competition between a nanocrystal (CdS)-tagged sugar and the target sugar for the binding sites of surface-confined lectin and monitoring the extent of competition through highly sensitive electrochemical detection of the captured nanocrystal. This development is expected to allow decentralized detection of carbohydrate moieties and lectin-carbohydrate interactions to be performed more rapidly, sensitively, inexpensively, and reliably.     

Interaction of 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazolyl derivative ligands with group 12 metal ions: coordination, structures and luminescence

The coordination chemistry of the group 12 metal ions with two 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazolyl derivative ligands 1,3,5-tris[2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazolyl]benzene (tmb) and 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazolylbenzene (mb) has been investigated. The crystal structures of two coordination compounds (HgCl(2))(2)(tmb) and [Zn(mb)(2)(H(2)O)][ClO(4)](2) have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis which established the chelate bonding mode by the group 12 metal ions to the tmb or mb ligand. The luminescent response of tmb and mb toward group 12 metal ions, Zn(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) has been examined by fluorescent titration experiments which established that the three group 12 metal ions have distinct luminescent response toward the tmb or mb ligand. The addition of the Hg(II) ion resulted in fluorescence quenching. In contrast, the addition of Zn(II) or Cd(II) led to a red shift and dramatic intensity increase of the emission spectrum of the ligand.     

Influence of the stereochemistry of sugars on the selectivity of formation of carbohydrate-derived cyclopentadienyl and indenyl ligands

Interaction of lithium cyclopentadienide with a suitable partially protected alpha-D-allofuranose triflate, 4, epimer at C3 of glucose, gives as a major product, besides the expected glucose-cyclopentadiene, 5, a glucose-disubstituted cyclopentadiene, 6. This unprecedented behaviour, which does not occur with alpha-D-glucofuranose and other sugars, is tentatively explained by a complexation of LiCp and the oxygen atoms of the isopropylidene function of one molecule of 4 and one of 5, giving a termolecular structure as the result of a template effect. The results of other experiments, such as the use of MgCp2 in place of LiCp or the complexation of oxygen atoms by lithium triflate, which changed the selectivity of the reaction largely in favour of the monosubstitution product 5, support this hypothesis. When lithium indenide is reacted with 4, glucose-monosubstituted and glucose-disubstituted indenes, 8 and 9, respectively, are formed, and 9 is obtained with almost total diastereoselectivity. This result can also be rationalised by a stereoselective complexation of lithium, as shown by separate experiments and by molecular mechanics calculations. Methyltricarbonyl molybdenum(II) complexes have been synthesised and characterised from glucose-monosubstituted 5 and glucose-disubstituted 6 cyclopentadienes.     

Photoluminescence of a covalent assembled porphyrin-based monolayer: optical behavior in the presence of O2

The optical O(2) recognition capability of a covalently assembled monolayer (CAM) of 5,10,15-tri-{p-dodecanoxyphenyl}-20-(p-hydroxyphenyl) porphyrin on silica-based substrates was studied at room temperature by both UV-vis and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The optical properties of this robust monolayer setup appear to be highly sensitive to the O(2) concentration in N(2). Both UV-vis and PL measurements were used to study the porphyrin-oxygen interactions. The monolayer-based sensor exhibits a short response time and can be restored within seconds. The oxygen-induced luminescence quenching of the monolayer involves both ground and excited states. The proposed mechanism responsible for the luminescence quenching involves different kinds of interactions between the monolayer and O(2).