Sensitive determination of dopamine in the presence of uric acid and ascorbic acid using TiO2 nanotubes modified with Pd, Pt and Au nanoparticles

A simple modified TiO(2) nanotubes electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition of Pd, Pt and Au nanoparticles. The TiO(2) nanotubes electrode was prepared using the anodizing method, followed by modifying Pd nanoparticles onto the tubes surface, offering a uniform conductive surface for electrodeposition of Pt and Au. The performance of the modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry methods. The Au/Pt/Pd/TiO(2) NTs modified electrode represented a high sensitivity towards individual detection of dopamine as well as simultaneous detection of dopamine and uric acid using 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.00) as the base solution. In both case, electro-oxidation peak currents of dopamine were linearly related to accumulated concentration over a wide concentration range of 5.0 × 10(-8) to 3.0 × 10(-5) M. However in the same range of dopamine concentration, the sensitivity had a significant loss at Pt/Pd/TiO(2) NTs electrode, suggesting the necessity for Au nanoparticles in modified electrode. The limit of the detection was determined as 3 × 10(-8) M for dopamine at signal-to-noise ratio equal to 3. Furthermore, the Au/Pt/Pd/TiO(2) NTs modified electrode was able to distinguish the oxidation response of dopamine, uric acid and ascorbic acid in mixture solution of different acidity. It was shown that the modified electrode possessed a very good reproducibility and long-term stability. The method was also successfully applied for determination of DA in human urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Sheep ovarian tissue vitrification by two different dehydration protocols and needle immersing methods

The present research investigated the effects of two vitrification methods on sheep ovarian tissue. The base medium (BM) of the vitrification solutions contains 60% HEPES tissue culture medium (HTCM), 15% ethylene glycol (EG) and 15% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Ovarian cortex pieces were dehydrated by two different regimens, the 2-step which consisted of 50% BM and a 90% solution of 0.25 mol/L sucrose in BM for 10 minutes each at 4 degree C and the 4-step method which utilized: a) 25% BM, b) 50% BM, c) 75% BM and d) a 90% solution of 0.25 mol/L sucrose in BM for 5 minutes each at 4 degree C. After warming, the proportion of intact antral follicles in the control (non-vitrified) and 2-step vitrification groups was significantly higher than in the 4-step vitrification group. The number of apoptotic follicles in the ovarian pieces was significantly different between the control and 4-step vitrification groups. These results indicated that sheep ovarian tissue vitrification by the 2-step method was simpler and more effective than the 4-step method.     

Application of Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with a Bilayer of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube and Polypyrrole Doped with Nitrazine Yellow for Voltammetric Determination of Naltrexone

A new sensitive electrochemical sensor was fabricated based on a layer by layer process. In this process the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) is first coated by a thin film of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). In the next step, the electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of Nitrazine Yellow (NY) as a dopant anion is performed on the surface of the MWCNTs precoated electrode. The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrode toward naltrexone (NTX) were studied by means of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). A remarkable increase (～19 times) was observed in the anodic peak current of NTX on the surface of the modified electrode relative to the bare GCE. The effects of experimental parameters on the electrode response such as, drop size of the cast MWCNTs suspension, pH of the supporting electrolyte, accumulation conditions and the number of cycles in the electropolymerization process were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the modified electrode showed a wide linear response to the concentration of NTX in the range of 4.0×10^?8–1×10^?5 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 12 nmol L^?1. The prepared sensor exhibited high sensitivity, stability and good reproducibility for the determination of NTX. This sensor was successfully applied for the accurate determination of trace amounts of NTX in pharmaceutical and clinical preparations.     

Surface Functionalization of Magnetite Nanoparticles with Sulfonic Acid and Heteropoly Acid: Efficient Magnetically Recoverable Solid Acid Catalysts

New magnetically recoverable solid acid catalysts for acid‐catalyzed reactions were designed via the surface chemical functionalization of silica‐coated magnetite nanoparticles (SCMNPs) with sulfonic acid groups. First, the SCMNPs were covalently functionalized with 3‐aminopropyl groups to achieve Amp‐SCMNPs. Then, reaction of the Amp‐SCMNPs with 1,4‐butane sultone followed by acidification with phosphotungstic acid (HPW) or diluted sulfuric acid produced magnetically recoverable solid acid catalysts, HPW‐ampsul‐SCMNPs and H‐ampsul‐SCMNPs, respectively. Both catalysts were characterized by various physicochemical analyses such as Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) and inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission (ICP‐OES) spectroscopies, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) analyses. Finally, the catalytic activities of the prepared catalysts were examined in the esterification of acetic acid with butanol and acetalization of benzaldehyde with ethylene glycol. Excellent catalytic efficiencies were obtained in both cases. The catalysts were consecutively recovered and reused five times without significant loss of their activities.     

Plastic strain analysis of the machined surface region using fine grid etched by photoresist technique

The photoresist technique was used to generate a mesh of fine grid pattern to determine the plastic strain distribution in the subsurface of machined workpieces. For this purpose rectangular grids measuring 20 μm by 20 μm with a line thickness of 5 μm were etched on workpieces of inconel-718 nickel-base superalloy and then machined under plane-strain condition. Subsurface plastic strain distribution was determined from distorted grids after machining using standard analytical methods. Using this technique, it was possible to generate a finer rectangular grid size of 5 μm by 5 μm with a 2-μm line thickness.     

Numerical analysis of Debye screening effect in electrode surface potential mapping by scanning electrochemical potential microscopy

We investigate the effects of the probe apex geometry, overlap of the electric double layers (EDLs) and Debye screening on surface potential mapping with scanning electrochemical potential microscopy (SECPM). The simulation consists of scanning a tip parallel to the electrode surface over a charged hemispherical nano-particle adsorbed on the electrode surface. As expected, a clear dependence of the apparent size of the imaged particle on the probe apex geometry has been noticed. The Debye screening has a significant effect on the probe sensitivity, while the electrolyte concentration affects the observed size of the imaged particles.     

Optimal solutions of a (3 + 1)-dimensional B-Kadomtsev-Petviashvii equation

We explored and specialized new Lie infinitesimals for the (3 + 1)-dimensional B-Kadomtsev-Petviashvii (BKP) using the commutation product, which results a system of nonlinear ODEs manually solved. Through two stages of Lie symmetry reduction, (3 + 1)-dimensional BKP equation is reduced to nonsolvable nonlinear ODEs using various combinations of optimal Lie vectors. Using the integration and Riccati equation methods, we investigate new analytical solutions for these ODEs. Back substituting to the original variables generates new solutions for BKP. Some selected solutions illustrated through three-dimensional plots.     

Stability analysis of fractional order neutral-type systems considering time varying delays,nonlinear perturbations,and input saturation

This article investigates the robust stability of fractional order neutral-type systems involving nonlinear perturbations and time varying delays in the presence of input saturation. Design criteria, expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities, are derived with the aid of the Lyapunov Krasovskii functional for the state feedback controller. Based on the cone complementarity linearization method, an optimization problem is also formulated for finding the controller gains subject to maximizing the domain of attraction. The main results are confirmed by numerical simulations.     

Preparation and evaluation of a new 99mTc labeled bombesin derivative for tumor imaging

A variety of human tumors like prostate and breast cancer express bombesin receptors. Due to this a new bombesin analogue was labeled with ^99mTc via HYNIC and tricine as a coligand and investigated further. Peptide was synthesized on a solid phase using Fmoc strategy. Labeling with ^99mTc was performed at 100 °C for 10 min and radiochemical analysis involved ITLC and HPLC methods. The stability of radiopeptide was checked in the presence of human serum at 37 °C up to 24 h. Internalization was studied with the human GRP receptor cell line PC-3. The biodistribution was studied in mice. Labeling yield of >98% was obtained corresponding to a specific activity of ~80.9 GBq/μmol. Radiopeptide internalization into PC-3 cells was moderate and specific (10.7 ± 1.2% at 4 h). A high and specific GRP receptor expressing mouse tumor and pancreas uptake (1.12 ± 0.08 and 1.04 ± 0.11% ID/g after 1 h respectively) was also determined.