Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and analysis of lipids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlorella vulgaris</Emphasis> using gas chromatography

The influence of six different supercritical carbon dioxide extraction conditions on the quantity and quality of the extracted lipids from Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) was examined using experimental design. The investigated parameters included dynamic extraction times (45 and 90 min), pressures (300 and 350 bars) and a modifier (with and without ethanol). By using a grinding method prior to the extraction, cells were disrupted resulting in an enhanced extraction yield. The results showed that the total lipid yields increased by increasing the pressure, extraction time and the modifier. Applying harsher extraction conditions increased the extraction of longer-chain fatty acids (FAs), changed the FA compositions and enhanced the total lipid yield. Using transesterification, the extracted lipids were converted to biodiesel. The biodiesel physiochemical properties were estimated using empirical equations based on the fatty acid methyl ester contents. Furthermore, analysis of the protein content of remaining biomass showed a decrease in protein content with increasing the lipid extraction yield.     

Semi-automated salt-assisted liquid–liquid extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography to determine three aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples

In this study, a new device for semi-automated salt-assisted liquid–liquid extraction was designed and coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine three aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples. In order to evaluate the performance of the designed device, three aromatic hydrocarbons including 2-naphthol, naphthalene and anthracene were selected as model analytes. Sample solution, extraction solvent and salt solution using separate channels were transferred to a sample holder, respectively. These three components were mixed using a magnetic stirrer. After stirrer stopping, the aqueous and organic phases were separated and organic layer transferred to the injection loop of HPLC system. Optimization process was achieved using response surface methodology by Design-Expert software. A central composite design was used to optimize the main parameters including pH (A), stirrer time (B), organic solvent volume (C) and salt concentration (D). The limit of quantitation for 2-naphthol, naphthalene and anthracene was 15.0, 25.0 and 1.0 ng mL^?1, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, obtained recoveries for three analytes were in the range of 76.0–96.2% with relative standard deviation less than 8.2%. The salt-assisted liquid–liquid extraction method using the proposed device has been successfully used for the analysis of real samples containing studied analytes in various matrices.     

Synthesis of a novel molecularly imprinted polymer based on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes for selective extraction of sulfadiazine prior to spectrophotometric determination

A novel and efficient sulfadiazine imprinted polymer was synthesized via co-precipitation method and successfully grafted on magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The synthesized magnetic imprinted polymer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis, thermal analysis and applied as a sorbent for selective magnetic solid-phase extraction of sulfadiazine. The retained sulfadiazine was eluted by 150.0 µL methanol/acetic acid (6:4) solution and quantified by fiber optic linear array spectrophotometry via formation of a detectable azo dye. All parameters affecting the extraction of sulfadiazine were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the method exhibited a linear dynamic range of 2.0–50.0 µg L^?1 with a detection limit of 0.56 µg L^?1 and enrichment factor of 300.0. The relative standard deviation at 30.0 µg L^?1 of sulfadiazine (N = 6) was 2.8 and 4.6% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively. The method was successfully applied to determine sulfadiazine in human urine, honey, milk and environmental water samples.     

An improved solvent-free synthesis of flunixin and 2-(arylamino) nicotinic acid derivatives using boric acid as catalyst

A simple solvent-free protocol for the preparation of flunixin, a potent non-narcotic, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is reported using boric acid as catalyst. Its salt, flunixin meglumine are then prepared under reflux in EtOH. This sustainable method are then extended for the synthesis of a series of 2-(arylamino) nicotinic acid derivatives. The present protocol combines non-hazardous neat conditions with associated benefits like excellent yield, straightforward workup, and use of readily available and safe catalyst in the absence of any solvent, which are important factors in the pharmaceutical industry. The pathway for catalytic activation of 2-chloronicotic acid with boric acid was also investigated using Gaussian 03 program package.

Open image in new window

     

Synthesis of new dyes containing double tetrazole groups for sensitization of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles in dye-sensitized solar cells

Di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane is employed as a new electron acceptor group in the synthesis of two metal-free organic dyes containing triphenylamine donor group. Dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO₂ solar cell (DSSC) applying these novel dyes is constructed for consideration of their photovoltaic properties. The electronic properties of the dyes are also considered with the aid of theoretical calculations. The DSSC constructed from 4-(2,2-di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)vinyl)-N,N-diphenylaniline (T1) shows a short-circuit photocurrent density of 13.38 mA cm^?2, an open circuit voltage of 578 mV, and a fill factor of 0.54, with a resulted solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 4.18% under simulated 1 sun irradiation (100 mW cm^?2). This result reveals that the dye with the di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane anchoring group injects more electrons to the conduction band of TiO₂ in comparison with its analogs with single tetrazole ring in their anchoring group. It is found that in spite of a red-shift of the absorption spectrum resulted from the lengthening of the molecule, the dye with two di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane groups gives lower performance than the dye with a single electron acceptor.     

Computing topological indices of Sudoku graphs

In QSAR/QSPR study, physico-chemical properties and topological indices such as Randi?, atom-bond connectivity (ABC) and geometric-arithmetic (GA) index are used to predict the bioactivity of chemical compounds. A topological index is actually designed by transforming a chemical structure into a numeric number. These topological indices correlate certain physico-chemical properties like boiling point, stability, strain energy etc. of chemical compounds. Graph theory has found a considerable use in this area of research. The topological indices of certain interconnection networks were studied recently by Imran et al. (Appl Math Comput 244:936–951, 2014). In this paper, we extend this study to \(n\times n\) Sudoku graphs and derive analytical closed results of general Randi? index \(R_{\alpha }(G)\) for different values of “\(\alpha \)” for Sudoku (SK). We also compute the general Randi?, first Zagreb, ABC, GA, \(ABC_{4}\) and \(GA_{5}\) indices and give closed formulae of these indices for Sudoku graphs.     

A hierarchical multiscale finite element approach for modelling the heat affected zone of welded joints

In the present work a hierarchical multiscale approach, based on finite element method, is applied in order to characterize the heat affected zone (HAZ) of a welded joint with parent material S460M. The metallurgical constituents of particular regions of the HAZ was determined experimentally and, regarding the multiscale approach, a first-order computational homogenization method was implemented. In this context, effective stress-strain-relations in particular spots of the HAZ are determined applying prescribed displacement boundary conditions. The obtained relations were considered in subsequent finite element calculations of butt-welded joints under tensile loading, allowing a comparison of the numerical strain states to experimental results. (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Stochastic optimization of an urban rail timetable under time‐dependent and uncertain demand

Urban rail planning is extremely complex, mainly because it is a decision problem under different uncertainties. In practice, travel demand is generally uncertain, and therefore, the timetabling decisions must be based on accurate estimation. This research addresses the optimization of train timetable at public transit terminals of an urban rail in a stochastic setting. To cope with stochastic fluctuation of arrival rates, a two‐stage stochastic programming model is developed. The objective is to construct a daily train schedule that minimizes the expected waiting time of passengers. Due to the high computational cost of evaluating the expected value objective, the sample average approximation method is applied. The method provided statistical estimations of the optimality gap as well as lower and upper bounds and the associated confidence intervals. Numerical experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed model and the solution method.     

On FBDF5 Method for Delay Differential Equations of Fractional Order with Periodic and Anti-Periodic Conditions

In this paper, we study the fractional backward differential formula (FBDF) for the numerical solution of fractional delay differential equations (FDDEs) of the following form: \(\lambda _n {}_0^C D_t^{\alpha _n } y(t - \tau ) + \lambda _{n - 1} {}_0^C D_t^{\alpha _{n - 1} } y(t - \tau ) + \cdots + \lambda _1 {}_0^C D_t^{\alpha _1 } y(t - \tau ) + \lambda _{n + 1} y(t) = f(t), t \in [0,T]\), where \( \lambda _i \in \) \(\mathbb {R}\,(i = 1,\ldots ,n + 1)\,,\,\lambda _{n + 1} \ne 0,\,\, 0 \leqslant \alpha _1< \alpha _2< \cdots< \alpha _n < 1,\,\,T > 0,\) in Caputo sense. We find the Green’s functions for this equation corresponding to periodic/anti-periodic conditions in term of the Mittag-Leffler type. Our investigation is focused on stability properties of the numerical methods and we determine stability regions for the FDDEs. Finally, some numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the numerical method and the results are in excellent agreement with the theoretical analysis     

On the intersection graph of a finite group

For a finite group G, the intersection graph of G which is denoted by Γ(G) is an undirected graph such that its vertices are all nontrivial proper subgroups of G and two distinct vertices H and K are adjacent when H ∩ K ≠ 1. In this paper we classify all finite groups whose intersection graphs are regular. Also, we find some results on the intersection graphs of simple groups and finally we study the structure of Aut(Γ(G)).