Effects of addition of short-chain alcohol solvents on micellization and thermodynamic properties of anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecyl sulfonate in aqueous solutions

Micellar and thermodynamic properties of anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSn) in aqueous solutions of 5 wt% short-chain alcohols methanol, ethanol, and 1-butanol were investigated by experimental electrical conductivities, densities and sound velocities at 298.15 K. It was found that methanol behaves like a cosolvent and increases the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of both surfactants in aqueous solutions. However, the other investigated alkanols act as a cosurfactant and decrease the CMC by their presence. The values of the degree of counterion association on the micelles of both surfactants in aqueous methanol solution are same as those in pure water, and they decrease with increasing the alkyl chain length of alcohol. Furthermore, the values of the apparent molar volume and isentropic compressibility of the monomeric and micellar forms of the investigated surfactants were obtained from the experimental density and sound velocity data. It was found that the values of the apparent molar properties of both micellar and monomeric forms of the studied surfactants increase by increasing the alkyl chain of the alcohols.     

Theoretical studies of 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxamides as possible inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl reductase

Abstract  

The binding affinity of some novel 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxamides to enoyl-ACP reductase (InhA) from M. tuberculosis was studied by the docking method. A molecular dynamics simulation lasting 230 ns in total was performed for 19 ligand–enzyme complexes to calculate the binding free energies of these ligands to the enzyme. All of the studied compounds stayed in the active site. An energetics analysis revealed that the van der Waals share is more important than electrostatic in binding of all ligands to the active site.     

Activity Coefficient Prediction for Binary and Ternary Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions at Different Temperatures and Concentrations

The mean spherical approximation (MSA) model, coupled with two hard sphere models, was used to predict the activity coefficients of mixtures of electrolyte solutions at different temperatures and concentrations. The models, namely the Ghotbi-Vera-MSA (GV-MSA) and Mansoori et al.-MSA (BMCSL-MSA), were directly used without introducing any new adjustable parameters for mixing of electrolyte solutions. In the correlation step, the anion diameters were considered to be constant, whereas the cation diameters were considered to be concentration dependent. The adjustable parameters were determined by fitting the models to the experimental mean ionic activity coefficients for single aqueous electrolytes at fixed temperature. The results showed that the studied models predict accurately the activity coefficients for single electrolyte aqueous solutions at different temperatures. In the systems of binary aqueous electrolyte solutions with a common anion, the GV-MSA model has slightly better accuracy in predicting the activity coefficients. Also, it was observed that the GV-MSA model can more accurately predict the activity coefficients for ternary electrolyte solutions with a common anion, especially at higher concentrations.     

Removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewaters using amine-functionalized nanoporous carbon as a novel sorbent

Nano-porous carbon (NPC) was synthesized by hydrothermal condensation of fructose and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and also nitrogen adsorption analysis. It was then modified with amino groups and used as a sorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions. The formation of amino-modified NPC was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and elemental analysis. NPC was applied for removal of Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions. The effects of sample pH and the adsorption kinetics were studied, and the adsorption capacity was determined. The sorbent was applied to the removal of heavy metal ions in industrial waste water samples.

Solvent extraction of no-carrier-added 103Pd from irradiated rhodium target with a-furyldioxime

Summary Solvent extraction of no-carrier-added ¹⁰³Pd was investigated from irradiated rhodium target with a-furyldioxime in chloroform from diluted hydrochloric acid. Extraction yield was 85.3% for a single extraction from 0.37M HCl and ¹⁰³Pd purity was better than 99%.     

Design and evaluation of a thorium (IV) selective optode

A novel optical sensor has been proposed for sensitive determination of thorium (IV) ion in aqueous solutions. The thorium sensing membrane was prepared by incorporating 4-(p-nitrophenyl azo)-pyrocatechol (NAP) as ionophore in the plasticized PVC membrane containing tributyl phosphate (TBP) as plasticizer. The membrane responds to thorium ion by changing color reversibly from yellow to red-brown in glycine buffer solution at pH 3.5. The proposed sensor displays a linear range of 8.66 × 10⁻⁶-2.00 × 10⁻⁴ M with a limit of detection of 6 × 10⁻⁶ M. The response time of the optode was about 8.8-12.5 min, depending on the concentration of Th (IV) ions. The selectivity of optode to Th (IV) ions in glycine buffer is good. The sensor can readily be regenerated by exposure to a solution mixture of sodium fluoride and 5-sulfosalicylic acid (dihydrate) (0.01 M each). The optode is fully reversible. The proposed optode was applied to the determination of thorium (IV) in environmental water samples.     

SBA-15/Metformin as a novel sorbent combined with surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (SA-DLLME) for highly sensitive determination of Pb,Cd and Ni in food and environmental samples

This paper established a new, rapid and sensitive method for the ultra-trace determination of lead, cadmium and nickel in food and environmental samples preconcentrated by dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) combined with surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (SA-DLLME) prior to graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. SBA-15/Met was synthesized and used as a new efficient sorbent for the extraction of metal ions in DSPE. It was characterized by TEM and TGA techniques. After DSPE step, stripped metal elements were complexed with dithizone, and then, the complexes were extracted into carbon tetrachloride by using SA-DLLME. A conventional nonionic surfactant, triton X-100 was used as a disperser agent. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of quantifications was found to be 2.5 ng L^?1 for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ and 5.0 ng L^?1 for Ni²⁺. The limits of detection were 1.5 ng L^?1 for Ni²⁺ and 0.75 ng L^?1 for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺, with enrichment factor of 1650. The optimized method exhibited a good precision level with relative standard deviations (RSDs%) values of 4.9, 5.2 and 5.0% for 1 μg L^?1 Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Ni²⁺, respectively (n = 7). Application of the proposed method to the analysis of fish-certified reference material produced results that were in good agreement with the certified values.