Quantitation of atorvastatin in human plasma using directly suspended acceptor droplet in liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection

A simple and sensitive methodology based on liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (LLLME) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) has been successfully developed for the determination of atorvastatin (AT) in human plasma. AT was first extracted from 4.5 mL acidic aqueous sample (diluted plasma, donor phase, pH 1) at temperature 45 °C through 400 μL 1-octanol for 4.5 min, while being agitated by a stirring bar at 1250 rpm. Then, a 5.5 μL free suspended basic aqueous droplet (acceptor phase, pH 10) was delivered to the top-center position of the organic membrane. The mixture was stirred at 650 rpm for 7.5 min and the analyte was back-extracted into the droplet. Finally, the acceptor phase was taken into a microsyringe and injected directly into the HPLC. An enrichment factor of 187 along with substantial sample clean up was obtained under the optimized conditions. The calibration curve showed linearity in the range of 1-500 ng mL⁻¹ with regression coefficient corresponding to 0.996. Limits of detection (S/N = 3) and quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.4 and 1 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. A reasonable relative recovery (91%) and satisfactory intra-assay (4.4-7.0%, n = 6) and inter-assay (4.9-7.7%, n = 8) precision illustrated good performance of the analytical procedure. This technique was eventually applied for the determination of AT in human plasma after oral administration of 40 mg single dose of drug. The protocol proved to be highly cost-effective and reliable for the screening purpose.     

The interactive effect of agitation condition and titania particle size in hydrothermal synthesis of titanate nanostructures

The nucleation and growth mechanisms of hydrothermal synthesized nanotitanates are proposed based on the interaction effect between agitation condition and pristine titania particle size. TEM examination and N₂ adsorption measurements revealed distinct morphology and textural properties depending on TiO₂ particle size in constant agitation condition. Regarding to the supersaturation degree, heterogeneous nucleation dominates for nanotubes formation from large particle size of raw material. On the other hand, homogeneous nucleation determines nanospheres formation from small particle size of raw material. The nanotubes have an outer diameter ranging from 8 to 10 nm and inner diameter of 2 to 3 nm. The nanospheres have diameters ranging from 50 to 100 nm.     

In situ monitoring the pulse CO2 laser interaction with 316-L stainless steel using acoustical signals and plasma analysis

In most laser material processing, material removal by different mechanisms is involved. Here, application of acoustic signals with thermoelastic (below threshold) and breakdown origin (above threshold) together with plasma plume analysis as a simple monitoring system of interaction process is suggested. In this research the interaction of pulse CO₂ laser with 200 ns duration and maximum energy of 1.3 J operating at 1 Hz with austenitic stainless steel (316-L) is reported. The results showed that the non-linear point of the curve can serve as a useful indicator of melting fluence threshold (in this case ≈830 J cm⁻²) with corresponding temperature calculated using plasma plume analysis. Higher acoustic amplitudes and larger plasma plume volume indicates more intense interaction. Also, analysis showed that a phase explosion process with material removal (ejecta) in the form of non-adiabatic (i.e., d_t ? α⁻¹) is at play after laser pulse is ended. Also, SEM photographs show different surface quality medication at different laser intensities, which indicates the importance of recoil momentum pressure and possibly electrons and ions densities in heat transfer. Finally, electrochemical test indicate an improved corrosion resistance for laser treated samples compared to untreated ones.     

Optically active diamide as a model for studying interactions between mineral salts and nylon type polyamides in methanol solutions

N,N′-Dicaproyl (–)1,2-diaminopropane (I) was used as a convenient model for the study of the optical activity of a nylon type polyamide: polysebacamide (–)1,2-diaminopropane (II). ORD of I was measured in different solvents. A peculiar behavior is observed in methanol in the presence of mineral salts. The influence of 0.1M potassium salts (Cl^?, Br^?, SCN^?, NO₃^?, SO₄^?2) and 0.1M alkaline chlorides and alkaline earth chloride hexahydrates on the optical activity of I in methanol are described. Alkaline salts and MgCl₂ give approximately the same effect: there is a decrease of the rotations without change of sign. SrCl₂ and CaCl₂ shift ORD curves towards the negative rotations, the last one giving complete inversion. This inversion is directly related to the CaCl₂ concentration and is attributed to adduct formation between amide groups and salt. Assuming that the different species are at equilibrium, an apparent equilibrium constant is obtained from the optical rotations for a complex of one mole of CaCl₂ with one mole of I. Results are used to discuss the complex ORD of poly(?) 1,2-diaminopropane sebacamide in methanol saturated with CaCl₂.     

Facile Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Descurainia sophia</Emphasis> and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties

The objective of the present study was to evaluate efficiency of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) biosynthesis using Descurainia sophia as a novel biological resource. The resulting synthesized Ag-NPs were characterized using UV visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The UV–Vis spectra gave surface plasmon resonance at ~420 nm. TEM images revealed formation spherical shaped Ag-NPs with size ranged from to 1–35 nm. DLS confirmed uniformity of the synthesized Ag-NPs with an average size of ~30 nm. Following, the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the synthesized Ag-NPs were investigated. The concentration 25 µg/ml of the Ag-NPs showed maximum inhibitory effect on mycelium growth of Rhizoctonia solani (More than 86 % inhibition), followed by 15 µg/ml (55 % inhibition) and 10 µg/ml (63 % inhibition). The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of Ag-NPs against Agrobacterium tumefaciens (strain GV3850) and A, rhizogenes (strain 15843) were 4 and 8 µg/ml, respectively. The Ag-NPs were stable in vitro for 3 months without any precipitation or decrease of antifungal effects. Finally, it could be concluded that D. sophia can be used as an effective method for biosynthesis of nanoparticles, especially Ag-NPs.     

Optimization of regenerative cycle with open feed water heater using genetic algorithms and neural networks

This article determines the operating conditions leading to maximum work in a regenerative cycle with an open feed water heater through a procedure that combines the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and genetic algorithms (GAs). Water is an active fluid in the thermodynamical cycle; an objective function is obtained by using vapor enthalpy (a nonlinear function of operating conditions). Utilizing classical methods for maximizing the objective function usually leads to suboptimal solutions. Therefore, this article uses ANNs to estimate the steam properties as a function of operating conditions and GAs to optimize the thermodynamical cycle. The operating conditions are chosen with the aim of gaining maximum work in a boiler for a specific heat. To estimate the thermodynamic properties, an ANN was used to provide the necessary data required in the GA calculation.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and electronic properties of bis(N-2-bromophenyl-salicydenaminato)copper(II) complex

A new series of complexes of the type bis(N-substituted-salicydenaminato)copper(II) (1–9), have been synthesized and characterized by IR, UV–Vis and elemental analysis methods. The molecular structure of bis(N-2-bromophenyl-salicydenaminato)copper(II) (6), was determined using X-ray crystallography. There are two independent molecules in the structure. Each shows a neutral, mononuclear, four-coordinate, square-planar trans-Cu[N₂O₂] geometry and, in each, the Cu atom and the ligating atoms are coplanar. The chelating N–Cu–O angle is 91.39(11)° for molecule one and 91.20(11)° for molecule two, whereas the non-chelating N–Cu–O angles are 88.61(11) and 88.80(11)°, respectively. The trans-N–Cu–N and trans-O–Cu–O bond angles are 180°. The electronic absorption spectra of copper(II) complexes (1–9), indicate that the d–d band energy is dependent on the nature and position of substituent on phenyl ring of the salicyldenimine ligand. The UV–Vis spectra in various solvents were measured and a relationship between absorption spectra and dielectric constant of the solvents is reported.     

On the topological center of a Banach algebra related to a foundation topological semigroup

Let \({\mathcal{S}}\) be a locally compact semigroup and \(L_{0}^{\infty}({\mathcal{S}},M_{a}({\mathcal{S}}))\) be the Banach space of all μ-measurable (\(\mu\in M_{a}({\mathcal{S}})\)) functions vanishing at infinity, where \(M_{a}({\mathcal{S}})\) denotes the algebra of all measures with continuous translations. Recently, we have shown that \(L_{0}^{\infty}({\mathcal{S}},M_{a}({\mathcal{S}}))^{*}\) can be equipped with an Arens type product. Here, we show that the topological center of \(L_{0}^{\infty}({\mathcal{S}},M_{a}({\mathcal{S}}))^{*}\) coincides with \(M_{a}({\mathcal{S}})\) for a class of locally compact semigroups \({\mathcal{S}}\): this gives a partial solution to a conjecture raised by the authors.