Investigation of viscoelastic focusing of particles and cells in a zigzag microchannel

Microfluidic particle focusing has been a vital prerequisite step in sample preparation for downstream particle separation, counting, detection, or analysis, and has attracted broad applications in biomedical and chemical areas. Besides all the active and passive focusing methods in Newtonian fluids, particle focusing in viscoelastic fluids has been attracting increasing interest because of its advantages induced by intrinsic fluid property. However, to achieve a well-defined focusing position, there is a need to extend channel lengths when focusing micrometer-sized or sub-microsized particles, which would result in the size increase of the microfluidic devices. This work investigated the sheathless viscoelastic focusing of particles and cells in a zigzag microfluidic channel. Benefit from the zigzag structure of the channel, the channel length and the footprint of the device can be reduced without sacrificing the focusing performance. In this work, the viscoelastic focusing, including the focusing of 10 μm polystyrene particles, 5 μm polystyrene particles, 5 μm magnetic particles, white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), and cancer cells, were all demonstrated. Moreover, magnetophoretic separation of magnetic and nonmagnetic particles after viscoelastic pre-focusing was shown. This focusing technique has the potential to be used in a range of biomedical applications.     

Crystal and Molecular Structures of Mononuclear Coordinated Copper(I) Complexes with Thio-triazole and Thio-triazine based Schiff base Ligands

Reaction of 4-amino-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazol-3(2H)-thione (AMTT) and 4-amino-6-methyl-3-thio-3,4-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one (AMTTO) with 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde led to the synthesis of corresponding Schiff base ligands [(Z)-4-((2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-3-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione ( L1 ) and (Z)-4-((2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-6-methyl-3-thioxo-3,4-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one ( L2 )]. Treatment of synthesized Schiff base ligands with CuCl provided the complexes [Cu(L1)₃Cl] ( 1 ) and [Cu(L2)₂Cl] ( 2 ). Synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. Complex 1 consists of a metal ion coordinated with one chloride ion and three Schiff base ligands via sulfur atoms in a distorted tetrahedral environment, whereas 2 consists of a metal ion coordinated with one chloride ion and two sulfur atoms from two different Schiff base ligands in a trigonal planar arrangement. Crystal data for 1 at –153 °C revealed an orthorhombic space group Fdd2, a = 34.8088(7), b = 33.8156(8), c = 11.6142(2) Å, Z = 16, R₁ = 0.0357; for 2 at –178 °C the symmetry was triclinic, space group P1 , a = 7.27520(10), b = 15.4620(2), c = 23.7985(4) Å, α = 72.1964(13), β = 86.5208(12), γ = 89.8597(11)°, Z = 4, R₁ = 0.0359.     

Effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet for determination of methadone in water and biological samples prior to GC‐flame ionization and GC‐MS

A novel effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplet was developed to determine methadone prior to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. In this method, a tablet composed of citric acid, sodium carbonate, and 1‐undecanol was utilized. The resulting effervescent tablet generated carbon dioxide in situ to disperse 1‐undecanol in the sample. Thus, the dispersive and extraction processes were performed in one synchronous step. An aliquot of acetonitrile as the demulsifier solvent was used for the separation of two phases instead of centrifugation. Under optimal conditions, the developed method was linear up to 50 000 µg/L with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Moreover, limits of detection and limits of the quantification were in the range of 3‐10  and 7‐30 µg/L in water and biological samples, respectively. Intra‐ and interday precisions (n = 6) of the spiked methadone at a concentration level of 50 µg/L were over ranges of 5.1‐6.8% and 5.7‐7.1%, respectively. The preconcentration factors and recovery values were obtained in the range of 140‐145 and 98.1 to 101.6% in real samples, respectively.     

Swelling behavior, mechanical properties and network parameters of pH- and temperature-sensitive hydrogels of poly((2-dimethyl amino) ethyl methacrylate-co-butyl methacrylate)

In this study, swelling behavior and mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte cationic hydrogels of poly((2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA), and poly((2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate-co-butyl methacrylate) (P(DMAEMA-co-BMA)), were investigated. Hydrogels were prepared by free-radical solution copolymerization of DMAEMA and BMA using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinking agent. Compression-strain measurements were used to analyze the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. It was found that increasing the amount of BMA comonomer in the gel structure increases the compression modulus of the material. The results of mechanical measurements were used to characterize the network structure of the hydrogels, namely the effective crosslinking density (. It was found that exceeds the theoretical crosslinking density (ν_t) calculated from the initial amount of EGDMA used for hydrogel synthesis. These hydrogels demonstrated dual sensitivity to both pH and temperature. It was shown that the pH-sensitive or temperature-sensitive phase transition behavior of the gels can be changed by changing the temperature or pH of the swelling medium at constant hydrogel composition. Increasing the temperature decreased the transition pH of the pH-sensitive phase transition. On the other hand, increasing the pH of the surrounding medium decreased the transition temperature of the temperature-sensitive phase transition. Incorporation of BMA in the gel structure has a significant effect on the transition point of the gel. Increasing the BMA content reduced the transition pH and temperature of the pH- and temperature-sensitive phase transition, respectively. The similar effect of increasing temperature or BMA content can be explained by the role of hydrophobicity in the phase transition behavior of hydrogels. Finally, the results of equilibrium swelling and compression-strain measurements were used to calculate the polymer-solvent interaction parameters of these hydrogels using the Flory-Rehner equation of equilibrium swelling.     

Quantitative Analysis of Holmium Ion by a Ho3+ Ion‐Selective Sensor Based on a Symmetric Thio‐Schiff's Base

A poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane sensor for holmium ions was fabricated based on N‐[(Z)‐1‐(2‐thienyl)‐ methylidene]‐N‐[4‐(4‐{[(Z)‐1‐(2‐thienyl)methylidene]amino} phenoxy)phenyl] amine (TPA) as a new ion carrier, acetophenon (AP) as plasticizing solvent mediator and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) as an anion excluder. The electrode shows a good selectivity towards Ho³⁺ ions respect to other inorganic cations, including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The constructed sensor displays a Nernstian behavior (19.5±0.3 mV/decade) over the concentration range of 1.0×10⁻⁶ to 1.0×10⁻² mol·L⁻¹ with the detection limit of the electrode being 4.6×10⁻⁷ mol·L⁻¹ and very short response time (ca. 5 s). It has a useful working pH range of 3.2–9.8 for at least 8 weeks. The electrode was successfully applied as an indicator electrode for the potentiometric titration of a Ho³⁺ solution with EDTA and holmium determination in some alloys. The proposed sensor accuracy was studied by the determination of Ho³⁺ in mixtures of three different ions.     

KF‐Melamine Formaldehyde Resin (KF‐MFR) as a Versatile and Efficient Heterogeneous Reagent for Aldol Condensation of Aldehydes and Ketones under Microwave Irradiation

KF‐Melamine formaldehyde resin (KF‐MFR) was demonstrated to be a highly efficient heterogenious catalyst for cross‐aldol condensation under microwave irradiation. In this synthesis, various aldehydes and ketones were condensed together in the presence of supported KF on melamine‐formaldehyde resin to afford different chalcone derivatives in good to excellent yields. KF‐MFR proved to have unique termal and chemical resistance and can be reused for many consecutive runs without remarkable loss in catalytic activity.     

An efficient correlation for calculating compressibility factor of natural gases

Compressibility factor (z-factor) values of natural gases are necessary in most petroleum engineering calculations. Necessity arises when there are few available experimental data for the required composition, pressure and temperature conditions. One of the most common methods of calculating z-factor values is empirical correlation. Firstly, a new correlation based on the famous Standing-Katz (S-K) Chart is presented to predict z-factor values. The advantage of this correlation is that it is explicit inzand thus does not require an iterative solution as is required by other methods. Secondly, the comparison between new one and other correlations is carried out and the results indicate the superiority of the new correlation over the other correlations used to calculate z-factor.     

A study of the electrochemical behavior of an oxadiazole derivative electrodeposited on multi-wall carbon nanotube-modified electrode and its application as a hydrazine sensor

In this study, an oxadiazole multi-wall carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode (OMWCNT−GCE) was used as a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for hydrazine determination. The surface charge transfer rate constant, k _s, and the charge transfer coefficient, α, for electron transfer between GCE and electrodeposited oxadiazole were calculated as 19.4 ± 0.5 s⁻¹ and 0.51, respectively at pH = 7.0. The obtained results indicate that hydrazine peak potential at OMWCNT−GCE shifted for 14, 109, and 136 mV to negative values as compared with oxadiazole-modified GCE, MWCNT−GCE, and activated GCE surface, respectively. The electron transfer coefficient, α, and the heterogeneous rate constant, k′, for the oxidation of hydrazine at OMWCNT−GCE were also determined by cyclic voltammetry measurements. Two linear dynamic ranges of 0.6 to 10.0 μM and 10.0 to 400.0 μM and detection limit of 0.17 μM for hydrazine determination were evaluated using differential pulse voltammetry. In addition, OMWCNT−GCE was shown to be successfully applied to determine hydrazine in various water samples.