NMR study of 3,4-dimethoxy benzoic acid

The computed value of the rigid lattice second moment of 3,4-dimethoxy benzoic acid (15.31 gauss²) agrees fairly well with the experimental value of the second moment (17.01 ± 1 gauss²) indicating that the lattice is rigid at 77 K and confirming the proposed model. From the temperature dependence of the second moment, a transition is observed at room temperature which is attributed to the rotation of methoxy groups.     

Transforming single domain magnetic CoFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanoparticles from hydrophobic to hydrophilic by novel mechanochemical ligand exchange

Single-phase uniform-sized (~9 nm) cobalt ferrite (CFO) nanoparticles have been synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis using oleic acid as a surfactant. The as-synthesized oleic acid-coated CFO (OA-CFO) nanoparticles were well dispersible in nonpolar solvents but not dispersible in water. The OA-CFO nanoparticles have been successfully transformed to highly water-dispersible citric acid-coated CFO (CA-CFO) nanoparticles using a novel single-step ligand exchange process by mechanochemical milling, in which small chain citric acid molecules replace the original large chain oleic acid molecules available on CFO nanoparticles. The OA-CFO nanoparticle’s hexane solution and CA-CFO nanoparticle’s water solution remain stable even after 6 months and show no agglomeration and their dispersion stability was confirmed by zeta-potential measurements. The contact angle measurement shows that OA-CFO nanoparticles are hydrophobic whereas CA-CFO nanoparticles are superhydrophilic in nature. The potentiality of as-synthesized OA-CFO and mechanochemically transformed CA-CFO nanoparticles for the demulsification of highly stabilized water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions has been demonstrated.     

Kinetics of epoxidation by a Musa paradisiaca chloroperoxidase

Epoxidations of indene, styrene, 2-chlorostyrene, 3-chlorostyrene, 4-chlorostyrene, 4-bromostyrene, and naphthalene using Musa paradisiaca plant juice chloroperoxidase in the presence of H₂O₂ and t-butyl peroxide as oxidants have been studied. The steady-state kinetic parameters, K_m and k_cat of the enzyme for the above substrates have been determined. The temperature and pH optima of the epoxidation are 25°C and 6.2, respectively. The yield of styrene oxide in the presence of H₂O₂ was 44%. The results show that M. paradisiaca plant juice chloroperoxidase is a potential biocatalyst for organic epoxidation reactions.     

Evaluation of antioxidant activity and DNA cleavage protection effect of naphthyl hydroxamic acid derivatives through conventional and fluorescence microscopic methods

Antioxidant capacity of N-(1-naphthyl)valerohydroxamic acid (NVHA) and N-(1-naphthyl)phenylacetohydroxamic acid (NPAHA) has been evaluated by a novel approach employing the fluorescence microscopic single molecule observation method. This method allows direct observation of the changes in single DNA molecules. The DNA cleavage protection activity of the compounds was also assessed by the gel electrophoresis method. The applied methods confirmed that both compounds are capable of inhibiting the free radical mediated DNA damage. Free radical scavenging activity was assessed via the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) and lipid peroxidation inhibition methods. The effective concentration causing a 50 % inhibition of the DPPH concentration, EC50, was found to be 371.54 mM for NVHA and 365.95 mM for NPAHA. Its lipid peroxidation inhibition ability was calculated to be 40.91 % at 371.54 mM for NVHA and 41.14 % at 365.95 mM for NPAHA. These results show the antioxidant potential of the naphthyl hydroxamic acids.     

Treatment of sugar processing industry wastewater using copper electrode by electrocoagulation: Performance and economic study

This paper demonstrates the use of copper electrode for the treatment of sugar processing industry wastewater (SPIW) in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by applying electrocoagulation (EC) method. EC process was carried out in batch mode with electrode effective area of 0.0112 m², supplied current intensity (CI) of 44.64 A/m² - 223.21 A/m², electrode gap (EG) of 0.5–2.5 cm, electrolyte (NaCl) dose (ED) of 0.5–2.5 g/L to treat SPIW with initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 6000 mg/L. The maximum COD removal 73% of SPIW is achieved at optimized condition of SPIW pH: 7, CI: 89.28 A/m², EG: 1.5 cm & ED: 1.5 g/L. Sludge and scum generated during EC process were characterized by FTIR, TGA/DTA/DTG, proximate & ultimate analysis to find its applicability and their disposal. Additionally, economic study of EC treatment process at optimum condition suggest treatment cost was 11.2 US$/m³ and it indicate economic results as comparison to other available treatment processes.     

Discrimination between 2AP producing and non‐producing rice rhizobacterial isolates using volatile profiling: a chemometric approach

2‐Acetyl‐1‐pyrroline (2AP) is known as a principal basmati aroma compound. The present study aims at discriminating rhizobacteria isolated from soils cultivated with basmati and non‐basmati rice for long duration. Volatile profiling was used as marker to discriminate the rhizobacterial isolates. Quantification of 2AP and other volatile compounds (VCs) produced by rhizobacteria was undertaken using HS‐SPME coupled with GC‐MS. Chemometrics tools such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principle component analysis (PCA) and multi dimensional scaling (MDS) were applied for volatile profiling of different isolates. Results showed significant discrimination of all 2AP producing (AP‐P) and non‐producing rhizobacterial isolates (AP‐NP) on the basis of their VC profile. This was validated by bacterial identification data as well. The frequency distribution for 2AP levels indicates that basmati isolates had higher frequency for 2AP production as compared to non‐basmati control. AP‐P and AP‐NP isolates have different VC profiling pattern irrespective of their origin. These isolates were found belonging to different groups when identified using 16S rDNA sequencing data. Chemometric analysis (PCA, HCA and MDS) helped to identify volatiles, which could be used as biomarker in discriminating the AP‐P and AP‐NP isolates. VC pattern of rhizobacteria could be used as volatile markers to distinguish between AP‐P and AP‐NP rhizobacterial isolates. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of electric field stress on pure poly(vinyl chloride), poly(methyl methacrylate) and their polyblend samples

The TSDC and transient currents measurement have been carried out on pure poly(vinyl chloride), poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyblends of various weight ratios as a function of electric fields at constant poling temperature. For PVC and different blend samples single peak in the temperature range 100–170 °C has been observed in TSDC thermograms, however, for PMMA samples two peaks were observed at around 90 and 165 °C. The various TSDC parameters i.e. activation energy, charge released and relaxation times have been calculated. Results suggest that dipolar and space charge mechanism are dominant for observed current.     

CtrA gene based electrochemical DNA sensor for detection of meningitis

Electrochemical DNA sensor has been fabricated by immobilizing thiolated single stranded oligonucleotide (ssDNA) probe onto gold (Au) coated glass electrode for meningitis detection using hybridization with complementary DNA (CtrA) in presence of methylene blue (MB). These electrodes (ssDNA/Au and dsDNA/Au) have been characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetric (CV) technique. The DNA/Au electrode can detect the complementary DNA in the range of 7–42 ng/μl in 5 min (hybridization) with response time 60 s and electrode is stable for about 4 months when stored at 4 °C. The sensitivity of dsDNA/Au electrode is 115.8 μA/ng with 0.917 regression coefficient (R).