Extraction of antidepressant drugs in biological samples using alkanol‐based nano structured supramolecular solvent microextraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric analysis

In the present study, a supramolecular solvent was formed from reverse micelle aggregates of octanol. The proposed supramolecular solvent was used for rapid extraction of some antidepressants drugs including amitriptyline, imipramine, desipramine, maprotiline, sertraline, and doxepin from biological samples. Alkanol‐based supramolecular solvents have a unique array of physicochemical properties, making them a very attractive alternative to replace organic solvents in analytical extractions. The parameters affecting the extraction of target analytes (i.e., the volume of tetrahydrofuran and octanol as the major components comprising the supramolecular solvent, chain length of alkanols, sample solution pH, salt addition, and ultrasonic time) were investigated and optimized by factor by factor optimization method. Under the optimum conditions, preconcentration factors of 470, 490, 460, 385, 370, and 430 were obtained for amitriptyline, doxepin, imipramine, desipramine, maprotiline, and sertraline, respectively. The linear ranges and coefficients of determination (R²) were obtained in the range of 0.01–100 μg/L and 0.9974–0.9991, respectively. Also the limits of detection (S/N = 3) of 0.003–0.03 μg/L, and precisions (n = 5) of 4.9–8.9% were calculated. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the extraction of antidepressant drugs in biological samples, and relative recoveries in the range of 91–102% were obtained.     

Lagrangian Description of World-Line Deviations

We introduce a Lagrangian which can be varied to give both the equation of motion and world-line deviations of spinning particles simultaneously.     

Role of sodium decoration on the methane storage properties of BC3 nanosheet

First-principles calculations including dispersion correction are carried out to investigate pristine and Na-decorated graphene-like BC₃ (h-BC₃) for their application as methane storage materials. Structural optimization shows that the methane is physisorbed on the pristine sheet via van der Waals forces with adsorption energy of ?2.7 kcal/mol. It was found that unlike the pristine graphene, sodium decorated sheet can effectively interact with the CH₄ molecule, so that each metal atom bound on sheet may adsorb up to four CH₄. Furthermore, no bond dissociation was observed for the adsorption of CH₄ on Na-decorated h-BC₃, which means that decorated sheet can act as a storage device for methane safety storage. The results indicate that decoration of the Na atom on surface of sheet induces significant changes in electronic properties of the sheet and its E _g is unchanged after adsorption of CH₄ molecules. Theoretical methane storage capacity of Na-decorated BC₃ nanosheet could approach 18.1 wt%.     

Optimization of profenofos organophosphorus pesticide degradation by zero-valent bimetallic nanoparticles using response surface methodology

This study synthesized bimetallic Fe/Ni nanoparticles and used them for catalytic degradation of profenofos, an organophosphorus pesticide. This novel bimetallic catalyst (Fe/Ni) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The bimetallic nano-catalyst was prepared at diameters of 20–50 nm and was shown to effectively degrade profenofos. A three-factor central composite design combined with response surface methodology was used to maximize profenofos removal using the bimetallic system. A quadratic model was built to predict degradation efficiency. ANOVA was used to determine the significance of the variables and interactions between them. Good correlation between the experimental and predicted values was confirmed by the high F-value (16.38), very low P-value (<0.0001), non-significant lack of fit, an appropriate coefficient of determination (R² = 0.936) and adequate precision (14.75). The highest removal rate attained was 94.51%.     

Asymmetric cross-aldol reaction of isatin and ketones catalyzed by crude earthworm extract as efficient biocatalyst

ABSTRACT

The asymmetric cross-aldol reaction of simple ketones (acetone, cyclohexanone) with isatin derivatives in the presence of crude extract from earthworms as green and effective biocatalyst proceeds easily in MeCN/H₂O (1:1) as solvent to afford 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles derivatives. Ten compounds were synthesized in high yields (62–88%) and moderate ee (29–42%). Structure of the synthesized compounds has been characterized on the basis of NMR spectra and CHN analysis. The ee of the obtained compounds was determined by chiral phase HPLC analysis.     

An Object-Based Shale Permeability Model: Non-Darcy Gas Flow,Sorption, and Surface Diffusion Effects

Shale samples consist of two major components: organic matter (OM) and inorganic mineral component (iOM). Each component has its distinct pore network topology and morphology, which necessitates generating a model capable of distinguishing the two media. We constructed an object-based model using the OM and iOM composition of shale samples. In the model, we integrated information such as OM population and size distribution, as well as its associated pore-size distribution. For the iOM part, we used mineralogy and pore-size information derived from X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and nitrogen sorption measurements. Our proposed model results in millimeter-scale 2D realizations of shale samples by honoring OM and mineral types, their compositions, shapes, and size distributions. The model can capture heterogeneities smaller than 1 mm. We studied the effects of different gas flow processes and found that Knudsen diffusion and gas slippage dominate the flow, but surface diffusion has little impact on total gas flow.     

Preparation and Characterization of DGEBA/EPN Epoxy Blends with Improved Fracture Toughness

The physical and mechanical properties of blends composed of two kinds of epoxy resins of different numbers of functional groups and chemical structure were studied.One of the resins was a bifunctional epoxy resin based on diglycidyl ether ofbisphenol A and the other resin was a multifunctional epoxy novolac resin.Attempt was made to establish a correlation between the structure and the final properties of cured epoxy samples.The blend samples containing high fraction of multifunctional epoxy resin showed higher solvent resistance and lower flexural modulus compared with the blends containing high fraction of bifunctional epoxy resin.The epoxy blends showed significantly higher ductility under bending test than the neat epoxy samples.The compressive modulus and strength increased with increasing of multifunctional epoxy in the samples,probably due to enhanced cross-link density and molecular weight.Morphological analysis revealed the presence of inhomogeneous sub-micrometer structures in all samples.The epoxy blends exhibited significantly higher fracture toughness (by 23％ at most) compared with the neat samples.The improvement of the fracture toughness was attributed to the stick-slip mechanism for crack growth and activation of shear yielding and plastic deformation around the crack growth trajectories for samples with higher content of bifunctional epoxy resin as evidenced by fractography study.     

A selective colorimetric and fluorescence chemosensing sensor for Cr<Superscript>3+</Superscript> based on a rhodamine base derivative

A rhodamine-conjugated coumarin (L) was used in designing a selective fluorescence chemosensor for the determination of trace amounts of Cr³⁺ ions in acetonitrile–water (MeCN/H₂O (90:10, %v/v) solutions. The intensity of the fluoresce emission of the chemosensor is intensified upon addition of Cr³⁺ ions in MeCN/H₂O (90:10, %v/v) solutions, due to the formation of a selective 1:1 complex between L and Cr³⁺ ions. The fluorescence enhancement versus Cr³⁺ concentration has been found to be linear from 1.0?×?10^?7 to 1.8?×?10^?5 M and a detection limit of 7.5?×?10^?8 M. The proposed fluorescent probe proved to be highly selective towards Cr³⁺ ions as compared to other common metal ions and could be successfully applied to the determination of Cr³⁺ concentrations in some water and wastewater samples.