Electrochemical investigations into Tau protein phosphorylations

Hyperphosphorylation of Tau, a protein that stabilizes microtubules, leads to the breakdown of the microtubular structure and ultimately to the formation of neurofibrillar tangles within neurons. Here, we report monitoring of Tau phosphorylations electrochemically, using Tau protein films chemically linked to gold surfaces and 5'-γ-ferrocenyl (Fc) adenosine triphosphate (Fc-ATP) as a co-substrate. Fc-phosphorylation reactions of Tau are explored using the three protein kinases, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3β), sarcoma (Src)-related kinase, and protein kinase A (PKA), which catalyze Fc-phosphorylation of different residues and regions within Tau. The kinetic parameters of the biochemical process (K(M) and V(max)) were determined.     

A Novel Kinetic Approach for Photocatalytic Degradation of Azo Dye with CdS and Ag/CdS Nanoparticles Fixed on a Cement Bed in a Continuous‐Flow Photoreactor

Azo dyes are one of the synthetic dyes that have been used in many textile industries. Azo dye and their intermediate products are toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic to aquatic life. Removal of azo dyes is one of the main challenges before releasing the wastes discharged by textile industries. Photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes by nanoparticles is one of the environment‐friendly methods used for the removal of dyes from textile effluents. Therefore, this study focused on degradation of azo dye, Direct Red 264. Photocatalytic degradation of DR 264 azo dye was investigated using CdS and Ag/CdS nanoparticles immobilized on a cement bed in a continuous‐flow photoreactor under UV‐C exposure. The effect of the parameters of type and mass of catalyst, temperature, flow rate, dye concentration, and light intensity were evaluated for azo dye removal. Under optimal conditions, photocatalytic degradation of DR 264 azo dye using Ag/CdS nanoparticles immobilized on a cement bed in a continuous‐flow photoreactor obtained an efficiency of 99.99%. A developed kinetic model was proposed based on the intrinsic elementary reactions. The proposed model is in a good agreement with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) equation. The pseudo–steady‐state approximation has considered for the concentration of hydroxyl radicals associated with the L–H model under certain conditions and explains consistently the dependence of the apparent kinetic parameter, k_obs (the reaction rate constant), and K_R (the adsorption equilibrium constant) with the light intensity. Based on the model, k_obs for Ag/CdS was greater than the CdS nanoparticles.