Electrospun composite of polypyrrole-polyamide as a micro-solid phase extraction sorbent

A micro-solid phase extraction technique was developed using a novel polypyrrole-polyamide nanofiber sheet, fabricated by electrospinning method. The applicability of the new nanofiber sheet was examined as an extracting medium to isolate malathion as a model pesticide from aqueous samples. Solvent desorption was subsequently performed in a microvial, and an aliquot of extractant was injected into gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Various parameters affecting the electrospinning process including monomer concentration, polyamide content, applied voltage, and electrospinning time were examined. After fabricating the most suitable preparation conditions, influential parameters on the extraction and desorption processes were optimized. The developed method proved to be rather convenient and offers sufficient sensitivity and good reproducibility. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) and limit of quantification (S/N = 10) of the method under optimized conditions were 50 and 100 ng L⁻¹, respectively. The relative standard deviation at concentration level of 1 ng mL⁻¹ was 2% (n = 3). The calibration curve of analyte showed linearity in the range of 0.1–1 ng mL⁻¹ (R ² = 0.9975). The developed method was successfully applied to tap and Zayanderood river water samples, while the relative recovery percentages of 98% and 96% were obtained, respectively. The whole procedure showed to be conveniently applicable and quite easy to be manipulated.     

Coherent states for the Kepler–Coulomb problem on a sphere

An algebraic approach to Kepler problem in a curved space is introduced. By using this approach, the creation and annihilation operators associated to this system and their algebra are calculated. These operators satisfy a deformed Weyl–Heisenberg algebra which can be assumed as a deformed su(2)$\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{u}\left(2\right)$ algebra. By using this fact, the nonlinear coherent states of this system are constructed. The scalar product and Bargmann representation of this family of nonlinear coherent states are constructed. The present contribution shows that these nonlinear coherent states possess some non-classical features which strongly depend on the Kepler coupling constant and space curvature. Depending on the non-classical measures, the smaller the curvature parameter, the more the non-classical features. Moreover, the stronger Kepler constant provides more non-classical features.     

Novel potentiometric sensor for the determination of Cd2+ based on a new nano-composite

A novel ion selective carbon paste electrode for Cd²⁺ ions based on 2,2′-thio-bis[4-methyl(2-amino phenoxy) phenyl ether] (TBMAPPE) as an ionophore was prepared. The carbon paste was made based on a new nano-composite including multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), nanosilica and room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIM-PF₆). The constructed nano-composite electrode showed better sensitivity, selectivity, response time, response stability and lifetime in comparison with typical Cd²⁺ carbon paste sensor for the successful determination of Cd²⁺ ions in water and in waste water samples. The best performance for nano-composite sensor was obtained with an electrode composition of 18% TBMAPPE, 20% BMIM-PF₆, 48% graphite powder, 10% MWCNT and 4% nanosilica. The new electrode exhibited a Nernstian response (29.95?±?0.10?mV?decade^?1) toward Cd²⁺ ions in the range of 3.0?×?10^?8 to 1.0?×?10^?1?mol?L^?1 with a detection limit of 7.5?×?10^?9?mol?L^?1. The potentiometric response of prepared sensor was independent of the pH of test solution in the pH range 3.0 to 5.5. It had a quick response with a response time of about 6?s. The proposed electrode showed fairly good selectivity over some alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions.     

High-throughput micro-solid phase extraction on 96-well plate using dodecyl methacrylate-ethylen glycol dimethacrylate monolithic copolymer

A novel high-throughput device based on 96-micro-solid phase extraction (96-μ-SPE) system was constructed for multiresidue determination of nine pesticides in aquatic samples. The extraction procedure was performed on a commercially available 96-well plate system. The extraction module consisted of 96 pieces of 1 cm × 3 cm of cylindrically shaped stainless steel meshes. The prepared meshes were fixed in a home-made polytetrafluoroethylene-based constructed ninety-six holes block for possible simultaneous immersion of meshes into the center of individual wells. Dodecyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was copolymerized as a monolithic polymer and placed in the cylindrically shaped stainless steel meshes as extracting medium. A volume of 1 mL of the aquatic sample was transferred into the 96-well plate and the 96-μ-SPE device was applied for the extraction of the selected pesticides. Subsequently, the extracted analytes were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Influential parameters such as polymer synthesis conditions, sorbent-to-sorbent reproducibility, ionic strength and extraction time were optimized. Intra and inter-sorbent reproducibility on 96-μ-SPE device were evaluated and results revealed that extraction yields are rather similar. Limits of detection were below 4 μg L⁻¹ and the coefficient of determination was satisfactory (r² > 0.99) for all the studied analytes. The developed method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of the selected pesticides in surface water samples.     

Infrared spectroscopy provides a green analytical chemistry tool for direct diagnosis of cancer

Diagnosis of cancer is one of the most important aspects of medical research and has become the main aim of biomedical investigations. Misdiagnosis is the main drawback in most of the diagnostic routes introduced, while some of these methods are invasive and expensive.Recently, infrared spectroscopy (IR) was proposed as a rapid, accurate and sensitive technique in biomedical research, especially for detection of patterns of illness. We discuss research into cancer detection by IR, the role of data processing in quality assurance of the results obtained and novel proposals, such as bio-fluid analysis for diagnosis. We conclude that IR provides a novel green analytical chemistry approach to clinical oncology and cancer research.     

Chemically modified alumina nanoparticles for selective solid phase extraction and preconcentration of trace amounts of Cd(II)

We have developed a solid phase extraction method for the determination of cadmium ions in aqueous samples. It is based on the adsorption of Cd(II) on alumina nanoparticles coated with sodium dodecyl sulfate and modified with a newly synthesized Schiff base. Analytical parameters such as pH value, amount of adsorbent, type and concentration of eluent, flow rates of the sample and eluent, sample volume and matrix effects were optimized. Desorption is accomplished with 2?mol?L^?1 nitric acid. Cd(II) was then determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The maximum enrichment factor is 75. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the detection limit is 0.14???g?L^?1 in original solution. The adsorption capacity of the modified sorbent is 4.90?mg?g^?1 for cadmium ions. The method was applied to the determination of trace quantities of Cd(II) in water, wastewater, and biological and food samples with satisfactory results.

Interspecies variation in survival and growth of filamentous heterotrophic bacteria in response to UVC radiation

Ultraviolet radiation is an important environmental constraint on the evolution of life. In addition to its harmful effects, ultraviolet radiation plays an important role in generating genetic polymorphisms and acting as a selective agent. Understanding how prokaryotes cope with high radiation can give insights on the evolution of life on Earth. Four representative filamentous bacteria from the family Cytophagaceae with different pigmentation were selected and exposed to different doses of UVC radiation (15-32,400Jm(-2)). The effect of UVC radiation on bacterial survival, growth and morphology were investigated. Results showed high survival in response to UVC for Rudanella lutea and Fibrisoma limi, whereas low survival was observed for Fibrella aestuarina and Spirosoma linguale. S. linguale showed slow growth recovery after ultraviolet exposure, R. lutea and F. limi showed intermediate growth recovery, while F. aestuarina had the fastest recovery among the four tested bacteria. In terms of survival, S. linguale was the most sensitive bacterium whereas R. lutea and F. limi were better at coping with UVC stress. The latter two resumed growth even after 2h exposure (～10,800Jm(-2)). Additionally, the ability to form multicellular filaments after exposure was tested using two bacteria: one representative of the high (R. lutea) and one of the low (F. aestuarina) survival rates. The ability to elongate filaments due to cell division was preserved but modified. In R. lutea 10min exposure reduced the average filament length. The opposite was observed in F. aestuarina, where the 5 and 10min exposures increased the average filament length. R. lutea and F. limi are potential candidates for further research into survival and resistance to ultraviolet radiation stress.     

Fuzzy relaxed-finite step size method to enhance the instability of the fuzzy first-order reliability method using conjugate discrete map

Fuzzy reliability analysis can be implemented using two discrete optimization maps in the processes of reliability and fuzzy analysis. Actually, the efficiency and robustness of the iterative reliability methods are two main factors in the fuzzy-based reliability analysis due to the huge computational burdens and unstable results. In the structural fuzzy reliability analysis, the first-order reliability method (FORM) using discrete nonlinear map can provide a C membership function. In this paper, a discrete nonlinear conjugate map is proposed using a relaxed-finite step size method for fuzzy structural reliability analysis, namely Fuzzy conjugate relaxed-finite step size method fuzzy CRS. A discrete conjugate map is stabilized using two adaptive factors to compute the relaxed factor and step size in FORM. The framework of the proposed fuzzy structural reliability method is established using two linked iterative discrete maps as an outer loop, which constructs the membership function of the response using alpha level set optimization based on genetic operator, and the inner loop, implemented for reliability analysis using proposed conjugate relaxed-finite step size method. The fuzzy CRS and fuzzy HL-RF methods are compared to evaluate the membership functions of five structural problems with highly nonlinear limit state functions. Results demonstrated that the fuzzy CRS method is computationally more efficient and is strongly more robust than the HL-RF for fuzzy-based reliability analysis of the nonlinear structural reliability problems.