Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Hydrogen Peroxide at a Sol‐gel Derived Carbon Ceramic Electrode Modified with Copper Iodide

A novel modified carbon ceramic electrode using CuI as modifier was fabricated. The copper iodide modified sol‐gel derived carbon ceramic (CIM‐SGD‐CC) electrode has high catalytic ability for electrooxidation of hydrogen peroxide. The charge transfer coefficient (α) and exchange current density (j₀) for the modified electrode were calculated. It has been shown that using the CIM‐SGD‐CC electrode, hydrogen peroxide can be determined by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry with limit of detections 26 and 0.31 μmol L^?1, respectively. The advantages of the modified CCE are its good stability and reproducibility of surface renewal by simple polishing, excellent catalytic activity.     

Novel nano-porous hydrogel as a carrier matrix for oral delivery of tetracycline hydrochloride

A novel nano-porous hydrogel (NPH) was synthesized via graft copolymerization of sodium acrylate (Na-AA) and acrylamide (AAm) onto salep backbones and its application as a carrier matrix for oral delivery of tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) was investigated. The Taguchi method as a strong experimental design tool was used for synthesis optimization. The swelling behavior of optimum hydrogel was measured in various media. The hydrogel formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetrical analysis (TGA). The study of the surface morphology of the hydrogels using SEM and AFM showed a nanoporous (average pore size: 180 nm) structure for the sample obtained under optimized conditions. The drug delivery results demonstrated that this NPH could successfully deliver a drug to the intestine without losing the drug in the stomach, and could be a good candidate as an orally administrated drug delivery system.     

An innovative electrochemical approach for voltammetric determination of levodopa using gold nanoparticles doped on titanium dioxide nanotubes

Catalytic nanotubes made from titanium dioxide (TiO₂-NTs) and covered with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were prepared via galvanic deposition of the Au-NPs on the TiO₂-NTs. The morphology and surface characteristics of the resulting electrodes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results indicated that the Au-NPs were homogeneously deposited on the surface of TiO₂-NTs which consist of individual tubes of about 40?C80?nm in diameter. The AuNPs with a size of 80?C100?nm are well-dispersed on the surface of the TiO₂-NTs. The electro-catalytic activity of the electrodes towards the electro-oxidation of levodopa was studied by cyclic voltammetry, differential puls voltammetry. The results showed that the electrodes exhibit a considerably higher activity toward the oxidation of levodopa. The oxidation peak current linearly depends on the concentration of levodopa in the 10 to 70???M concentration range. Levodopa was determined by the method in pharmaceutical preparations, and results were found to be satisfactory.

Synthesis of novel pyrrole derivatives from the multicomponent reaction using the new N-sulfonic acid modified poly (styrene-diethylenetriamine) as a solid acid catalyst

An efficient acid-catalyzed synthesis of 1,5-diaryl-3-(arylamino)-1H-pyrrol-2(5H)-ones is reported using novel N-sulfonic acid modified poly (styrene-diethylenetriamine) through three-component reaction between aldehyde, amine, and ethyl pyruvate in high yields and short times. This heterogeneous solid catalyst is produced by reacting amine-modified chloromethyl polystyrene with neat chlorosulfonic acid. The structure of the synthesized catalyst was examined with Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron micrograph (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and elemental analyses. The heterogeneous catalyst has many advantages, including an easy work-up procedure, a high product yield, and the capability to be easily regenerated and reused for at least five cycles without losing its activity.     

K‐factor estimation in shadowed Ricean mobile communication channels

In this paper, a composite model for the received signal at the mobile unit is used to derive new moment‐based estimators for the Ricean K‐factor when shadowing is present. The results are then used to analytically evaluate the performance of the previously proposed moment‐based estimators for K. It is proven that unlike existing moment‐based estimators, the proposed estimators perform well in the presence of shadowing. Using simulations, it is also shown that the mean‐squared error of the proposed estimators is significantly lower than that of the previously proposed estimators. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.