A New Chemometric Strategy in Electrochemical Method Optimization for the Quantification of Cefdinir in Tablets,Effervescent Tablets and Suspension Samples

A new voltammetric method, based on the use of single‐use pencil graphite electrode, was developed for the quantitative determination of cefdinir by square wave voltammetry. Chemometric optimization strategy was used to select the suitable values for three experimental parameters (pH of the supporting electrolyte, frequency and square wave amplitude) by applying a 3³ full factorial design model. The optimal voltammetric conditions were found to be pH 5.0 for supporting electrolyte (Britton‐Robinson buffer), 43 mV for square wave amplitude and 108 Hz for frequency. Square wave voltammograms of calibration, validation and unknown samples were recorded between 0.0–1400 mV under the optimized voltammetric conditions. Linear regression equation was computed in the linear working range of 0.5–20 μg/mL by using the relationship between the concentration and peak current at 600 mV. The optimized voltammetric method was validated by assessing the analysis results of validation samples. Then the proposed method was applied for the quantitative determination of cefdinir in three different pharmaceutical preparations, namely film‐coated tablets, effervescent tablets and powder for oral suspension. It was concluded that the proposed voltammetric method was suitable for the quantitative analysis of commercial pharmaceutical preparations containing cefdinir.     

An Electrochemical Biosensor Platform for Testing of Dehydroepiandrosterone 3‐Sulfate (DHEA−S) as a Model for Doping Materials

Endogenous steroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone 3‐sulfate (DHEA?S) have commonly used as doping materials by athletes and to date novel techniques are needed for detection of these molecules. In this study, antibody‐based electrochemical biosensor has developed for testing level of the DHEA?S. For this aim, gold surfaces were initially modified with cysteamine (Cys) and then, DHEA?S antibody was immobilized on the surface via glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinking agent. The stepwise modification of electrode surface was monitored by using various electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Linear range was determined as 2.5–100 ng/mL DHEA?S using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique, as well. Moreover, repeatability (±S.D.), coefficient of variation (%) and limit of detection (LOD) values were calculated as 0.033, 1.030 and 3.971, respectively. Also, DHEA?S in synthetic serum and urine samples were successfully determined with standard addition method and confirmation analysis were performed with liquid chromatography quadrupole‐time of flight mass spectrometry (LC‐QTOF/MS) system. The selectivity was studied with the addition of some interfering molecules (testosterone, bovine serum albumin (BSA), cholesterol, uric acid, lactic acid, codein (COD), ascorbic acid, DHEA). Consequently, this work is proposed as practical, innovative and cost‐effective technique that can be easily adapted for the miniaturized form for the analysis of other doping substances as well as DHEA?S for the future works.     

in vitro Selection of Aptamer for Imidacloprid Recognition as Model Analyte and Construction of a Water Analysis Platform

Pesticide use in agriculture is one of the threats to water safety. Therefore, detection of pesticide residues is crucial for human health. Compared to conventional chromatographic methods, aptasensors are promising tools for fast, cheap and sensitive detection of environmental contaminants. To the best of our knowledge, such an aptasensor has not been reported for imidacloprid (Imi) which is one of the most widely used pesticides. In order to meet this demand, we initially selected two novel aptamers designated as ‘Apta‐1’ and ‘Apta‐2’ by graphene oxide‐SELEX (GO‐SELEX) method. Then, these aptamers were used to fabricate the gold electrode‐based aptasensor platforms and characterized by using electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as well as X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the limit of detection value of Apta‐1 based sensor for the Imi was found better than Apta‐2 based system, although linear ranges were similar. Based on that finding, Apta‐1 based system was further tested against possible interference molecules. The proposed platform was successfully used for detection of very low concentrations of Imi in the range of ng/mL. Thus, it eliminates the need for sample pre‐treatment and enables a practical analysis in real wastewater samples.     

Carbon Dots as a Promising Green Photocatalyst for Free Radical and ATRP‐Based Radical Photopolymerization with Blue LEDs

Carbon dots (CDs) have been used for the first time as a sensitizer to initiate and activate free radical and controlled radical polymerization, respectively, based on an ATRP protocol with blue LEDs. Consideration of diverse heteroatom‐doped CDs indicated that N‐doped CDs could serve as an effective photocatalyst and photosensitizer in combination with LEDs emitting either at 405 nm or 470 nm. Free radical polymerization was initiated by combining the CDs with an iodonium or sulfonium salt in tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate. Polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) by photo‐induced ATRP was achieved with CDs and ethyl α‐bromophenylacetate using Cu^II as catalyst in the ppm range. The polymers obtained showed temporal control, narrower dispersity ?1.5, and chain‐end fidelity. The first‐order kinetics and ON/OFF experiments additionally gave evidence of the constant concentration of polymer radicals. No remarkable cytotoxic activity was observed for the CDs, underlining their biocompatibility.     

The impact of an out‐of‐school STEM education program on students’ attitudes toward STEM and STEM careers

There is an increasing awareness of out‐of‐school program value in enhancing student interest and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined the impact of an out‐of‐school STEM education program on student attitudes toward STEM disciplines and STEM careers. A STEM education program implemented at a public research university was designed to integrate STEM disciplines with hands‐on problem‐based activities. Design features included authentic learning contexts, engineering design processes, and content integration. Data sources included an attitude survey and interviews conducted with forty sixth grade middle school student participants. The analysis revealed significant differences between pre and posttests on student attitudes toward personal and social implications of STEM, science and engineering learning, and their relationship to STEM. Findings showed that the program contributed to students’ developing interest in STEM fields, and helped them make connections between schoolwork and daily lives. Recommendations for future research on out‐of‐school STEM education programs were discussed.     

Convergence in Variation for Bernstein-Type Operators

In this paper, we deal with Bernstein-type operators defined by Cárdenas-Morales et al. as \({B_{n}(f \circ \tau^{-1}) \circ \tau}\), where \({B_{n}}\) is the nth Bernstein polynomial (Comput Math Appl 62(1):158–163, 2011). Assuming that \({\tau}\) and f are absolutely continuous functions on \({[0, 1]}\) and inf \({\tau ^{\prime} (x) \geq m > 0}\) as well as \({\tau (0) = 0}\) and \({\tau (1) = 1,}\) we study the convergence of Bernstein-type operators to f in variation seminorm. Moreover, we give a Voronovskaja-type formula and a Jackson-type estimate in the sense of Bardaro et al. (Analysis 23:299–340, 2003).     

On discrete Picard operators

The present paper is concerned with the approximation properties of discrete version of Picard operators. We first give exact equalities for the moments of the operators. In calculations of these moments, Eulerian numbers play a crucial role. We discuss convergence of these operators in weighted spaces and give Voronovskaya‐type asymptotic formula. The weighted approximation of the operators in quantitative mean in terms of different modulus of continuities is also considered. We emphasize that the rate of convergence of the operators is better than the one obtained in 1 . Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heavy metal removal from aqueous solution by Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf

The present study was carried out in a batch system using a lichen (Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf) for the sorption of nickel(II) and copper(II) ions from water. Particularly, the effect of pH, contact time and temperature were considered. Pseudevernia furfuracea exhibited nickel(II) and copper(II) uptake of 49.87 and 60.83 mg/g at an initial pH of 4 and 5-6 at 35 degrees C respectively. Both the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models were suitable for describing the biosorption of nickel(II) and copper(II) by the biosorbent. Biosorption showed pseudo first order rate kinetics for nickel and copper ions. Using the equilibrium constant values obtained at 25 and 35 degrees C, the thermodynamics properties of the biosorption (deltaG degrees, deltaH degrees and deltaS degrees) were determined. The biosorption of nickel(II) and copper(II) onto Pseudevernia furfuracea was found to be endothermic.     

LC-HRMS Profiling and Antidiabetic,Anticholinergic, and Antioxidant Activities of Aerial Parts of Kınkor (Ferulago stellata)

Kınkor (Ferulago stellata) is Turkish medicinal plant species and used in folk medicine against some diseases. As far as we know, the data are not available on the biological activities and chemical composition of this medicinal plant. In this study, the phytochemical composition; some metabolic enzyme inhibition; and antidiabetic, anticholinergic, and antioxidant activities of this plant were assessed. In order to evaluate the antioxidant activity of evaporated ethanolic extract (EEFS) and lyophilized water extract (WEFS) of kınkor (Ferulago stellata), some putative antioxidant methods such as DPPH· scavenging activity, ABTS^•+ scavenging activity, ferric ions (Fe³⁺) reduction method, cupric ions (Cu²⁺) reducing capacity, and ferrous ions (Fe²⁺)-binding activities were separately performed. Furthermore, ascorbic acid, BHT, and α-tocopherol were used as the standard compounds. Additionally, the main phenolic compounds that are responsible for antioxidant abilities of ethanol and water extracts of kınkor (Ferulago stellata) were determined by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Ethanol and water extracts of kınkor (Ferulago stellata) demonstrated effective antioxidant abilities when compared to standards. Moreover, ethanol extract of kınkor (Ferulago stellata) demonstrated IC₅₀ values of 1.772 μg/mL against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), 33.56 ± 2.96 μg/mL against α-glycosidase, and 0.639 μg/mL against α-amylase enzyme respectively.