Distribution of trace elements in flowing surface waters: Effect of seasons and anthropogenic practices in India

This study reports the distribution of Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb in waters, sediments, macrophytes and fish of the Yamuna River’s patch in Delhi (India). This is one of the most polluted stretches of rivers in the world. Water from this river is used fosr irrigation, industrial and domestic purposes, including drinking water. The effects of season and anthropogenic practices were identified. Almost zero dissolved oxygen and high levels of lead and phosphate indicate the polluted state of the aquatic system. The enrichment factors in sediments (with respect to reference site) vary in the range of 0.60–82.9% (Cr), 1.40–90.5% (Ni), 1.00–85.3% (Cu) and 3.80–86.6% (Pb). The toxic effects due to Ni and Pb could frequently be visible in aquatic life as their values fall above the probable effect level (36 mg Kg^?1 for Ni and 91.3 mg Kg^?1 for Pb). The metal contents in the macrophyte (Eichhornia crassipes) and the fish (Oreochromis niloticus) generally increase in the summer season. Cu and Pb accumulate preferentially in E. crassipes. The fish from these waters is unsuitable for human consumption as the levels of Cr, Cu and Pb are above the recommended limits. Significant spatial variations in parameters of water and sediments were confirmed via one-way analysis of variance. The Pearson’s correlation analysis suggests a common source of some of the metals. Principal component analysis highlighted domestic, and industrial waste and coal-fired thermal power plants as the metal sources. This study might act as a benchmark for other investigations focused on similarly affected surface aquatic systems due to agricultural and industrial activities.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Homoleptic and Heteroleptic Complexes Involving Dithiocarbamates,Triphenylphosphine, and Nickel(II)

Abstract

Six new nickel complexes of two dithiocarbamate ligands (cyfdtc = N-cyclohexyl-N- furfuryldithiocarbamate and bztpedtc = N-benzyl-N-[2-thiophenylethyl]dithiocarbamate) namely, (Ni[cyfdtc]₂) (1), (Ni[bztpedtc]₂) (2), (Ni[cyfdtc][NCS][PPh₃]) (3), (Ni[bztpedtc] [NCS][PPh₃]) (4), (Ni[cyfdtc][PPh₃]₂)ClO₄ (5), and (Ni[bztpedtc][PPh₃]₂)ClO₄ (6) have been prepared and characterized using IR, electronic, and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectra. A single crystal X-ray structural analysis was carried out for complex 3 and showed that nickel is in a distorted square planar arrangement with the NiS₂PN chromophore. The shift in ν_C?N of the heteroleptic complexes to higher frequencies compared with the parent complex is assigned to mesomeric delocalization of electron density from the

dithiocarbamate ligand toward the metal atom, which increases the contribution of polar thioureide form in mixed ligand complexes. Electronic spectral studies suggest square planar geometry for the complexes. In the ¹³C NMR spectra, the upfield shift of NCS₂ carbon signal for 3 and 4 from the chemical shift value of 1 and 2 is due to effect of PPh₃ on the mesomeric drift of electron density toward nickel throughout thioureide C?N bond.     

Synthesis,characterization and antimicrobial activities of copper complexes derived from 4-aminoantipyrine derivatives

Cu(II) complexes have been synthesized from the Schiff base ligands derived from furfurlyidene-4-aminoantipyrine and aniline (L¹)/p-nitroaniline (L²)/p-hydroxyaniline (L³). They were characterized using analytical and spectral techniques. All the Cu(II) complexes exhibit square planar geometry. The X-band ESR spectra of the copper complexes in DMSO solution at 300 and 77 K were recorded and their salient features are reported. The in vitro biological screening effects of the investigated compounds were tested against the bacterial species, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungal species, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizoctonia bataicola and Candida albicans by serial dilution method. A comparative study of inhibition values of the Schiff base ligands and their complexes indicate that the complexes exhibit higher antimicrobial activity than the Schiff base ligands. Superoxide dismutase and reducing power activities of the copper complexes have also been studied. Depending on the molecular structure, the [CuL²(OAc)₂] complex possess promising SOD mimetic activities.     

Green Enzymatic Synthesis of L-Ascorbyl Fatty Acid Ester: An Antioxidant

In green chemistry, biocatalysis using microwaves is a very attractive tool for various regioselective syntheses. L-Ascorbyl fatty acid esters were synthesized by an immobilized lipase from Bulkholderia multivorans using microwaves, with a dynamically enhanced rate of reaction and appreciable yield of around 80%. Microwave radiation had no effect on enzymic inactivation, however, synergism between microwaves and biocatalyst was observed.     

Facile ion-exchange synthesis of Gd-doped K2Ta2O6 photocatalysts with enhanced visible light activity

One of the well-known ways of increasing the visible light absorption capability of semiconducting materials is cation doping. This study aims to use Gd doping to tailor the bandgap energy of K₂Ta₂O₆ (KTO) for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation. Accordingly, the parent KTO and Gd-doped KTO with different Gd concentrations (K_2-3xGd_xTa₂O₆; x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1 mol%) were synthesized by hydrothermal and facile ion-exchange methods, respectively. The powder XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, TEM-SAED, N₂ adsorption-desorption, XPS, UV–Vis DRS, PL and ESR techniques were used to investigate the effect of Gd dopant concentration on the structural and photocatalytic properties of KTO. The photocatalytic activity of these samples was investigated for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in an aqueous solution at room temperature under visible light irradiation. The experimental results show that all Gd-doped KTO samples exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with parent KTO toward MB degradation. In particular, Gd-KTO obtained by doping of 0.075 mol% shows the highest photocatalytic activity among the Gd-doped samples and the degradation efficiency of MB was 79% after 180 min of visible light irradiation, which is approximately 1.5 times as high as that by parent KTO (53%). In addition, trapping experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis demonstrated that the hydroxyl radicals (^?OH) have played a crucial role in the photocatalytic degradation of MB. The reusability and stability of Gd doped-KTO with a Gd content of 0.075 mol% against MB degradation were examined for five cycles. Based on the present study results, a visible light induced photocatalytic mechanism has been proposed for Gd0075-KTO sample.     

Plasmonic photoelectrochemical reactions on noble metal electrodes of nanostructures

Plasmonic noble metal nanostructures have been targeted due to their strong surface plasmon resonance at photoelectrochemical interfaces. Recently, it has been concluded that, the plasmonic noble metal nanostructures on photoexcitation permit the transfer of effective hot carriers (hot electron/hole pair) to nearby adsorbed molecules where, the transformed hot carriers can efficiently decrease the activation barrier of a reaction. In this review, our recent achievements in the plasmon-mediated chemical reactions of organic molecules such as para-aminothiophenol, substituted para-aminothiophenol and para-nitrothiophenol at nanostructures modified noble metal electrodes using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical methods, and theoretical calculations will be discussed.     

Development of Novel Isoindolone-Based Compounds against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense

This study identified the isoindolone ring as a scaffold for novel agents against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and explored the structure-activity relationships of various aromatic ring substitutions. The compounds were evaluated in an integrated in vitro screen. Eight compounds exhibited selective activity against T. b. rhodesiense (IC₅₀<2.2 μm ) with no detectable side activity against T. cruzi and Leishmania infantum. Compound 20 showed low nanomolar potency against T. b. rhodesiense (IC₅₀=40 nm ) and no toxicity against MRC-5 and PMM cell lines and may be regarded as a new lead template for agents against T. b. rhodesiense. The isoindolone-based compounds have the potential to progress into lead optimization in view of their highly selective in vitro potency, absence of cytotoxicity and acceptable metabolic stability. However, the solubility of the compounds represents a limiting factor that should be addressed to improve the physicochemical properties that are required to proceed further in the development of in vivo-active derivatives.     

BMIM[BF4]: An Efficient Ionic Liquid Medium for the Synthesis of Chromeno[b]pyridines as Potential Anticancer Agents

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A series of 2-amino-4-aryl-5-oxochromeno[4,3-b]pyridine-3-carbonitriles have been synthesized with good yields (85–90%) by reacting...     

Development of two-step radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of free triiodothyronine in human serum based on antibody coated tubes

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - We describe a simple, user friendly two-step radioimmunoassay (RIA) based on antibody coated tubes for the measurement of free triiodothyronine in...