Blending Optimization of Non-Dioctyl Phthalate Plasticized Poly (vinyl chloride) Formulations

The use of non-ortho-phthalate plasticizers in poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) packaging materials and medical devices has been in increasing demand due to worldwide regulatory trends to minimize or eliminate phthalate plasticizers (particularly di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) or dioctyl phthalate (DOP)) in the PVC industry. This study evaluates the dry-blending cycle time of a suspension grade PVC formulated with various non-DOP plasticizers, di-(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT or DOTP), tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate (TEHTM or TOTM) and alkyl sulphonic phenyl ester (ASE), and compares them with the DOP standard. A design of experiments was also conducted to study the critical dry-blending parameters for optimization of PVC formulated with only DEHT. Effects of PVC temperature (measured during plasticizer addition to the blender), plasticizer pre-heat temperature, plasticizer and lubricant concentrations and the method of plasticizer addition on the dry-blending cycle time and peak amperage of the blender were studied. The blending cycle time is shown to be related to the resultant plasticizer efficiency and the peak amperage is related to the power consumption (the energy required to mix the PVC).     

Highly Efficient Method Towards In Situ Immobilization of Invertase Using Cryogelation

A novel method was developed for the immobilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase within supermacroporous polyacrylamide cryogel and was used to produce invert sugar. First, the cross-linking of invertase with soluble polyglutaraldehyde (PGA) was carried out prior to immobilization in order to increase the bulkiness of invertase and thus preventing the leakage of the cross-linked enzyme after immobilization by entrapment. And then, in situ immobilization of PGA cross-linked invertase within cryogel synthesis was achieved by free radical polymerization in semi-frozen state. The method resulted in 100 % immobilization and 74 % activity yields. The immobilized invertase retained all the initial activity for 30 days and 30 batch reactions. Immobilization had no effect on optimum temperature and it was 60 °C for both free and immobilized enzyme. However, optimum pH was affected upon immobilization. Optimum pH values for free and immobilized enzyme were 4.5 and 5.0, respectively. The immobilized enzyme was more stable than the free enzyme at high pH and temperatures. The kinetic parameters for free and immobilized invertase were also determined. The newly developed method is simple yet effective and could be used for the immobilization of some other enzymes and microorganisms.     

A New Chemometric Strategy in Electrochemical Method Optimization for the Quantification of Cefdinir in Tablets,Effervescent Tablets and Suspension Samples

A new voltammetric method, based on the use of single‐use pencil graphite electrode, was developed for the quantitative determination of cefdinir by square wave voltammetry. Chemometric optimization strategy was used to select the suitable values for three experimental parameters (pH of the supporting electrolyte, frequency and square wave amplitude) by applying a 3³ full factorial design model. The optimal voltammetric conditions were found to be pH 5.0 for supporting electrolyte (Britton‐Robinson buffer), 43 mV for square wave amplitude and 108 Hz for frequency. Square wave voltammograms of calibration, validation and unknown samples were recorded between 0.0–1400 mV under the optimized voltammetric conditions. Linear regression equation was computed in the linear working range of 0.5–20 μg/mL by using the relationship between the concentration and peak current at 600 mV. The optimized voltammetric method was validated by assessing the analysis results of validation samples. Then the proposed method was applied for the quantitative determination of cefdinir in three different pharmaceutical preparations, namely film‐coated tablets, effervescent tablets and powder for oral suspension. It was concluded that the proposed voltammetric method was suitable for the quantitative analysis of commercial pharmaceutical preparations containing cefdinir.     

Characterization of CuTe nanofilms grown by underpotential deposition based on an electrochemical codeposition technique

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - This study reports the synthesis of semiconductor CuTe nanofilms using underpotential deposition (UPD) technique based on the simultaneous,...     

The synthesis and electrochemical behaviour of carbazole-substituted phthalocyanines

The syntheses of new cobalt and zinc phthalocyanine complexes containing carbazole (Cz) substituents at the peripheral positions are reported (CzCoPc and CzZnPc). The reaction of Cz with 4-iodophthalonitrile in the presence of a catalytic amount of copper(I) oxide and potassium carbonate led to the formation of 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl) phthalonitrile. Furthermore, by heating the dinitrile and anhydrous metal salts (CoCl₂, Zn(CH₃COO)₂) at 160 °C in n-hexanol in the presence of DBU, the phthalocyanines were obtained. They were characterised by ¹H NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis and MS spectroscopic data. Aggregation behaviours of Pcs were investigated in THF. Electrochemical redox behaviour of CzCoPc was investigated by cyclic voltammetry depending on the potential range, and the oxidation and reduction products were followed by UV-Visible absorption measurements. Polymerisation of CzCoPc was carried out by potentiodynamic methods on glassy carbon electrode, and the catalytic activity of resulting polymer (P[CzCoPc]) was tested comparatively with polycarbazole (PCz)-coated electrode for dopamine and better response was obtained for P[CzCoPc] modified electrode.     

Generation of Extra-Ordinary Mode Radiation by an Electrostatic Pump in a Two-Electron-Temperature Plasma

Coherent wave-wave coupling can produce radiation with a high efficiency. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in the study of electro-magnetic wave generation in magnetized plasmas. We have investigated theoretically the effect of finite ion temperature on the parametric instability of an electro-static upperhybrid pump into an X-mode nonthermal radiation and low frequency ion waves in a two electron temperature plasma. The latter may include the lower-hybrid, the electron-acoustic and the ion-cyclotron waves. The loss cone distribution existing permanently at low altitudes acts as a free energy source generating the upper-hybrid waves. The upper-hybrid waves can also be present because of a linear instability produced by runaway electrons. Nonlinear dispersion relation and the growth rates are derived for each case using the hydrodynamical model. We find extra numerical factor arising due to the ions of finite temperature in the growth rate expression. This study may be useful in magnetosphere, auroral ionosphere, solar wind, solar radio bursts, and laboratory plasmas where ion has finite temperature and electrons have two distinct energy distributions.     

Liquid-membrane electrode sensitive to ammonia and aliphatic amines based on 1-[(2-oxyphenyl)iminomethly]-2-oxybenzene-O,O',N-ammin-nickel(II) complex

In this study, an ammonia-gas-sensing liquid-state membrane electrode based on 1-[(2-oxyphenyl)iminomethyl]-2-oxybenzene-O,O',N-ammin-nickel(II) (Ni(II)-Schiff base) as an ionophore was developed. This membrane electrode gave a very good performance and exhibited linear response with near-Nernstian slope of 50.7+/-0.5 mV per decade, within a concentration range of 1.0x10(-1)-1.0x10(-3) M. The electrode performance depends on the pH of the test solution and the optimum pH range was 10.0-11.5. The effect of concentration of internal solutions in the electrode was also investigated. The selectivity properties of the electrode towards aliphatic amines at a pH value of 10.2 were investigated with the mixed-solution method. Furthermore, the response time and lifetime of the electrode prepared were determined.     

Metal-Containing Phthalocyanines Substituted with One Branched Bulky Moiety and Six Alkylthio Groups

 Unsymmetrically substituted metal-phthalocyanines composed of three hexylthio groups and one 1-chloro-3,4-dicyano-6-[2-(2-pyridylmethylamino)phenylthio]benzene moiety was prepared by cyclization of the reactants in the presence of the anhydrous metal salts Zn(CH₃COO)₂, NiCl₂, and CoCl₂. The new unsymmetric phthalocyanines are very soluble in common organic solvents. The compounds were characterised by their elemental analyses, IR, ¹H NMR, MS and UV/Vis spectra.     

Triterpenoidal Secondary Metabolites from Lantana Camara Linn.

Three new pentacyclic triterpenoids, camarin ( 1 ), lantacin ( 2 ), and camarinin ( 3 ) were isolated from the aerial parts of Lantana camara Linn ., together with seven known compounds. The structures of the new constituents were elucidated by chemical transformation, HR‐EI mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy, including 1D (¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR) and 2D (¹H,¹H‐COSY, NOESY, ¹H,¹H‐TOCSY, J‐resolved, HMQC, and HMBC) experiments.