Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) as a particulate emulsifier

The structure and stability of emulsions formed in the presence of nanoparticles of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were characterised. From oil-water contact angles on PLGA films, it was deduced that particle surface hydrophobicity is linked to the oil phase polarity. Incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol molecules into the nanoparticle surfaces reduces the particle hydrophobicity sufficiently for oil-in-water emulsions to be preferentially stabilised. PLGA nanoparticles enhance the stability of emulsions formed from a wide range of oils of different polarities. The nanoparticle concentration was found to be a key parameter controlling the average size and coalescence stability of the emulsion drops. Visualisation of the interfacial structure by electron microscopy indicated that PLGA nanoparticles were located at the drop surfaces, evidence of the capacity of these particles to stabilise Pickering-type emulsions. These results provide insights into the mechanism of PLGA nanoparticle stabilisation of emulsions.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activities of ZnO thin films: a comparative study of hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials

Nanostructure single ZnO, SnO₂, In₂O₃ and composite ZnO/SnO₂, ZnO/In₂O₃ and ZnO/SnO₂/In₂O₃ films were prepared using sol?Cgel method. The obtained composite films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV?CVis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of composite films were investigated using phenol (P), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and 4-aminophenol (4-AP) as a model organic compounds under UV light irradiation. Hybrid semiconductor thin films showed a higher photocatalytic activity than single component ZnO, SnO₂ and In₂O₃ films. The substituted phenols degrade faster than phenol. The ease of degradation of phenols is different for each catalyst and the order of catalytic efficiency is also different for each phenol. The use of multiple components offered a higher control of their properties by varying the composition of the materials and related parameters such as morphology and interface. It was also found that the photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds on the composite films and single films followed pseudo-first order kinetics.     

Solvent-free synthesis of penta-substituted pyrroles: one-pot reaction of amine, alkyl acetoacetate, and fumaryl chloride

A novel, convenient, and efficient approach to the synthesis of penta-substituted pyrroles has been reported based on the multicomponent reaction. Solvent-free condition for the formation of enaminones from primary amines and alkyl acetoacetates and it's reaction with fumaryl chloride lead to the formation of pyrroles that have halide, CH₂CO₂H, ester functional groups, and two alkyl substitutions.     

Grafting of poly[1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol-co-dimethylacrylamide] copolymer onto siliceous support for preconcentration and determination of lead (II) in human plasma and environmental samples

A method is reported for surface grafting of polymer containing a functional monomer for metal chelating, poly[1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol-co-dimethylacrylamide] (poly(AGE/IDA-co-DMAA) onto silica modified by silylation with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane. Monomer 1-(N,N-bis-carboxymethyl)amino-3-allylglycerol (AGE/IDA) was synthesized by reaction of allyl glycidyl ether with iminodiacetic acid. The resulting sorbent has been characterized using FT-IR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT-Raman and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and evaluated for the preconcentration and determination of trace Pb(II) in human biological fluid and environmental water samples. The optimum pH value for sorption of the metal ion was 5.5. The sorption capacity of functionalized resin was 15.06 mg g⁻¹. The chelating sorbent can be reused for 15 cycles of sorption–desorption without any significant change in sorption capacity. A recovery of 96.2% was obtained for the metal ion with 0.5 M nitric acid as eluting agent. The profile of lead uptake by the sorbent reflects good accessibility of the chelating sites in the poly(AGE/IDA-co-DMAA)-grafted silica gel. Scatchard analysis revealed that the homogeneous binding sites were formed in the polymers. The equilibrium adsorption data of Pb(II) by modified resin were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Redlich–Peterson models. On the basis of equilibrium adsorption data the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin constants were determined as 0.70, 1.35 and 2.7, respectively at pH 5.5 and 20 °C. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption.     

Chemoselective and Catalytic Trimethylsilylation of Alcohols and Phenols by 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexamethyldisilazane and Catalytic Amounts of PhMe3N+Br3–

 An efficient procedure for the trimethylsilylation of alcohols and phenols is presented. The combination of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane and a catalytic amount of phenyltrimethylammonium tribromide (PhMe3N+Br3?) was found to be effective for the trimethylsilylation of alcohols and phenols. The protection reaction is very simple and homogenously performed in dichloromethane at room temperature and mild conditions.     

Kinetics and mechanism study of aniline addition to ethyl propiolate

The kinetics of the addition reaction of aniline to ethyl propiolate in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent was studied. Initial rate method was used to determine the order of the reaction with respect to the reactants, and pseudo‐first‐order method was used to calculate the rate constant. This reaction was monitored by UV–Vis spectrophotometer at 399 nm by the variable time method. On the basis of the experimental results, the Arrhenius equation for this reaction was obtained as log k = 6.07 ‐ (12.96/2.303 RT). The activation parameters, E_a, ΔH^#, ΔG^#, and ΔS^# at 300 K were 12.96, 13.55, 23.31 kcal mol^?1 and ?32.76 cal mol^?1 K^?1, respectively. The results revealed a first‐order reaction with respect to both aniline and ethyl propiolate. In addition, based on the experimental results and using also density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6‐31G* level, a mechanism for this reaction was proposed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 144–151, 2006     

Fluorescence Intensity Enhancement of Green Carbon Dots: Synthesis,Characterization and Cell Imaging

The hydrothermal treatment of green carbon dots (CDs) is an appropriate fluorescent probe synthesis method. CDs are exploited as biological staining agents, especially for cellular detection and imaging. The nitrogen-doped green carbon dots (N-CDs) formation can improve the fluorescence intensity property in a one-step process. Here, we report two N-CDs from lemon and tomato extraction in the presence of hydroxylamine. Lemon and tomato N-CDs showed the blue fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation of about 360 nm. The characterization of CDs and N-CDs showed the presence of N-H and C–N bonds which enhanced the fluorescence efficiency. The mean size of lemon and tomato N-CDs were about 2 and 3 nm with an increased quantum yield (QY) of 5% and 3.38%, respectively. The CDs and N-CDs cytotoxicity assay exhibited high cell viability approximately 85% and 73%, respectively. N-CDs show superior fluorescent intensity in different solvents and significant stability under long-time UV irradiation, different PH and high ionic strength. Our results indicated that the use of N-CDs in cell imaging can lead to fluorescence intensity enhancement as well as proper biocompatibility. Therefore, the safe and high fluorescence intensity of green N-CDs can be utilized for fluorescent probes in biolabeling and bioimaging applications.     

The anti-adherence and bactericidal activity of sol–gel derived nickel oxide nanostructure films: solvent effect

This study presents the characterization and antibacterial activity of nanostructure NiO films synthesized by sol–gel dip coating method using solvents of different polarities and viscosities without any catalysts, templates or surfactants. Methanol, 1,4-butanediol, ethanol, and 2-propanol were used as solvent. The antibacterial activity was tested against two common foodborne pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25922) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 29213) using the so-called antibacterial drop test. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and static contact angles test were used to analysis the structure and morphology character, surface topography, optical property and surface wettability of different coatings, respectively. The characterization results showed different preferred crystallographic orientations, particle sizes, surface properties and optical band gap of NiO films according to the solvent physicochemical properties. The antibacterial efficiencies were affected by the physiological status of the bacterial cells and degree of bacteria adherence, morphologies and crystal growth habits, surface and optical properties of NiO samples.     

Separation and determination of ciprofloxacin in seawater,human blood plasma and tablet samples using molecularly imprinted polymer pipette‐tip solid phase extraction and its optimization by response surface methodology

By synthesizing a molecular imprinted polymer as an efficient adsorbent, ciprofloxacin was micro‐extracted from seawater, human blood plasma and tablet samples by pipette‐tip micro solid phase extraction and determined spectrophotometrically. Response surface methodology was applied with central composite design to build a model based on factors affecting on microextraction of ciprofloxacin; including volume of eluent solvent, number of extraction cycles, number of elution cycles, and pH of sample. Other factors that affect extraction efficiency, such as type of eluent solvent, volume of sample, type, and amount of salt were optimized with one‐variable‐at‐a‐time method. Under optimum extraction condition, pH of sample solution was 7.0, volume of eluent solvent (methanol) was 200 µL, volume of sample solution was 10 mL, and the number of extraction and elution cycles was five and seven, respectively, amount of Na₂SO₄ (as salt) and MIP (as sorbent) were optimized at 150 and 2 mg, respectively. The linear range of the suggested method under optimum extraction factors was 5–150 µg/L with a limit of detection of 1.50 µg/L for the analyte. Reproducibility of the method (as relative standard deviation) was better than 7%.