Voltammetric Label‐free Immunosensors for the Diagnosis of Cystic Echinococcosis

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatid disease is a parasitic infection caused by Echinococcus granulosus. Early serodiagnosis and continuous monitoring of the disease is very important for medical treatment. Here, we report the detecting of both echinococcus antigen and antibody for the diagnosis of hydatid disease using square wave voltammetry (SWV)‐based immunosensors. The gold electrodes were functionalized using cysteamine/phenylene diisothiocyanate linkers and used for the immunosensors fabrication. The hydatid antigen and antibody immunosensors were constructed by the immobilization of either purified rabbit polyclonal antibody or recombinant antigen B (AgB), respectively on the functionalized gold electrodes surfaces. The detection in both cases was achieved by following the change in the SWV reduction peak current of the ferro/ferricyanide redox couple upon antibody or antigen binding. These immunosensors enabled the detection of echinococcus antigen and antibody within a concentration range of 1 pg.mL^?1 to 1 μg.mL^?1 with detection limits of 0.4 pg.mL^?1 and 0.3 pg.mL^?1, respectively. A preliminary application of the developed immunosensor was performed in spiked serum sample showing good recovery percentages ranging from 102 to 110 % for both hydatid antibody and antigen detection. This easy‐to‐use, sensitive, and low cost quantitative method holds great promise for the early diagnosis of hydatid disease and thus, better managements and treatment outcomes.     

Molecularly Imprinted Impedimetric Sensor for Determination of Mycotoxin Zearalenone

The mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEA) prompts reproductive toxicity due to its strong estrogenic effects. In this work, an electrochemical sensor for determination of ZEA was developed by electropolymerization of a molecularly imprinted poly (o‐phenylenediamine) (PPD) film on screen‐printed gold electrode (SPGE) surface. The sensor was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) using K₃[Fe(CN)₆]/K₄[Fe(CN)₆] as redox probe. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor showed a wide determination range from 2.50 to 200.00 ngmL^?1 for ZEA. The Limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 0.20 ngmL^?1, based on the signal to noise (S/N) ratio equal to 3.0. The sensor displayed good repeatability, with RSD values≤4.6 %, and maintained 93.2 % of its initial response after storage for 10 days in air at room temperature. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of ZEA in corn flakes with mean recoveries ranged from 96.2 % to 103.8 % and RSDs within the interval of 2.1 % to 3.8 %.     

Comparative Study of Surface Functionalization of Hydroxyapatite by One‐pot Grafting of Organophosphonates Species

The ability to graft apatite surface by specific ligand fields creates powerful new technology applications. Thus, grafted organophosphonate can provide an effective route to modify the surface properties of apatite materials. The ability to decorate the apatite surface with the desired functionality requires covalent attachment to solid interface; most commonly achieved using organophosphonate self‐assembly. The current study shows that various phosphonates can react with calcium ions and control the formation of the porous apatite with high surface areas as well as the porosity. The structural and surface properties are given some importance in this review.     

Polymersome‐forming amphiphilic glycosylated polymers: Synthesis and characterization

Copper‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) was used to prepare glycosylated polyethylene (PE)–poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) amphiphilic block copolymers. The synthetic approach involves preparation of alkyne‐terminated PE‐b‐PEG followed by CuAAC reaction with different azide functionalized sugars. The alkyne‐terminated PE‐b‐PEG was prepared by etherification reaction between hydroxyl‐terminated PE‐b‐PEG (M_n ～ 875 g mol^?1) and propargyl bromide and azidoethyl glycosides were prepared by glycosylation of 2‐azidoethanol. Atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe‐mass spectrometry was used as a novel solid state characterization tool to determine the outcome of the CuAAC click reaction and end‐capping of PE‐b‐PEG by the azidoethyl glycoside group. The aqueous solution self‐assembly behavior of these amphiphilic glycosylated polymers was explored by TEM and dye solubilization studies. Carbohydrate‐bearing spherical aggregates with the ability to solubilize a hydrophobic dye were observed. The potential of these amphiphilic glycosylated polymers to self‐assemble via electro‐formation into giant carbohydrate‐bearing polymersomes was also investigated using confocal fluorescence microscopy. An initial bioactivity study of the carbohydrate‐bearing aggregates is furthermore presented. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 5184–5193     

Synthesis of a new smart temperature responsive glycopolymer via click-polymerisation

A novel temperature responsive water-soluble glycopolymer was synthesised via copper wire-catalysed click-polymerisation. Di-hydroxyl terminated poly(ethylene glycol) was quantitatively alkyne end-capped to yield di-alkyne terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (DAT-PEG). 2,3,4,2′,3′,4′-hexa-O-acetyl-6,6′-diazido-6,6′-dideoxy-α,α-D-trehalose (HADADT) was prepared from the di hydrated α,α-D-Trehalose by tosylation/acetylation followed by azidation. Click-polymerisation reaction between DAT-PEG and HADADT was successfully carried out to produce an alternating glycopolymer with triazole rings as linkers in high yield. All the intermediates as well as the glycopolymer were fully characterised by NMR, MS, IR, SEC, TGA and DSC. The cloud point of the aqueous solution of glycopolymer was investigated by optical microscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. The LCST was found to be within physiological range of about 39 °C, known as fever temperature.     

Band formation in a CPLC subjected to rectilinear oscillatory shear

The response of a homeotropically aligned columnar phasmidic liquid crystal (CPLC) to rectilinear oscillatory shear was investigated for frequencies between 10^-2 and 100 Hz and cell thicknesses between 20 and 100 μm. At threshold shear amplitude, we observed a spatial pattern consisting of stationary bands, perpendicular to the direction of shear and localized in the bulk of the columnar sample. For fixed thickness and at threshold shear amplitude, we observed band structure for several frequencies corresponding to integer harmonics ν_o, 2ν_o, 3ν_o. We interpret the obtained results in terms of curvature walls that evolve gradually, according to the amplitude, to characteristic developable domain walls of the columnar phase.     

A redundant Klee–Minty construction with all the redundant constraints touching the feasible region

We have previously shown, by redundant Klee–Minty constructions, that the central path may arbitrarily closely visit every vertex of the Klee–Minty cube. In those constructions, the redundant constraints are far away from the feasible region. In this paper, we provide a construction in which all redundant constraints touch the feasible region.     

Competitive voltammetric morphine immunosensor using a gold nanoparticle decorated graphene electrode

Microchimica Acta - The authors describe a voltammetric immunosensor for morphine (MOR) that is based on a graphene screen printed electrode (GSPE) modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNP) which...     

Hall effect on unsteady MHD Couette flow and heat transfer of a Bingham fluid with suction and injection

The unsteady magnetohydrodynamic flow of an electrically conducting viscous incompressible non-Newtonian Bingham fluid bounded by two parallel non-conducting porous plates is studied with heat transfer considering the Hall effect. An external uniform magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the plates and the fluid motion is subjected to a uniform suction and injection. The lower plate is stationary and the upper plate moves with a constant velocity and the two plates are kept at different but constant temperatures. Numerical solutions are obtained for the governing momentum and energy equations taking the Joule and viscous dissipations into consideration. The effect of the Hall term, the parameter describing the non-Newtonian behavior, and the velocity of suction and injection on both the velocity and temperature distributions are studied.