Capillary electrophoretic separation of toxic drugs using a polyacrylamide-coated capillary

Summary Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has recently become an attractive approach for the analysis of pharmaceuticals. In this study, capillary electrophoretic separation of anxiolytic drugs, including barbiturates and benzodiazepines, was carried out using polyacrylamide (PAA)-coated capillaries. The surface of the capillary inner wall was coated with a neutral layer, and separation was performed in the absence of electroosmotic flow (EOF). Both charged and neutral solutes were separated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) above its critical micelle concentration (CMC) in the running buffer. This kind of CE method provided fast and efficient separation of a total of 24 kinds of toxic drugs in a mixture. In addition, the analysis of toxic drugs in body fluids was attempted after the sample preparation using liquid-liquid extraction or solid-phase microextraction (SPME).     

Variations in Toxic Metal Levels of Two Fish Species,Pomatomus saltatrix and Dicentrarchus labrax,and Risk Estimation for Children

The concentrations of five toxic metals were monthly determined in two fish species,obtained from fish markets in Turkey during 2010—2011.For the determinations,AAS and ICP-AES were used.The obtained lead concentrations for all studied Pomatomus saltatrix(mean 635μg·kg-1)and Dicentrarchus labrax(mean 463μg·kg-1)samples were found to be significantly higher than the maximum allowances concentration(MAC)of 300μg·kg-1.Mean chromium(324μg·kg-1)and Cu(940μg·kg-1)concentrations in Pomatomus saltatrix were higher than in Dicentrarchus labrax(268μg Cr·kg-1 and 600μg Cu·kg-1)while Ni in Pomatomus saltatrix(216μg·kg-1)was lower in Dicentrarchus labrax(291μg·kg-1).The estimated non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks by the Target Hazard Quotient and target carcinogenic risk indicate that there are no sytemic effects,and the risk of developing cancer over a human lifetime is between 2~9in 1 000 000.     

Ultrasound-assisted sequential extraction method for the evaluation of mobility of toxic elements in contaminated soils

A method for the fast sequential extraction of toxic elements in contaminated soil samples using an ultrasonic water bath, followed by determination with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), was developed and compared with other methods introduced in the literature. The five-step sequential extraction (Tessier scheme) was shortened using ultrasound-assisted sequential extraction (UASE). The optimization of the five-step sequential extraction was based on the analysis of SRM 2710 using Tessiers’s method as a reference. Several extracting solutions with different sonication times and temperatures were tested in the optimization procedure. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were determined in SRM 2710, SRM 2711, and contaminated soil samples with high accuracy and precision. The certified acid-leachable concentrations of the SRM 2710 were obtained for all elements investigated by using an optimized UASE method. Tessiers’s method yielded total element concentrations that were too high. The determination of zinc in SRM 2711 yielded concentrations that were too low, whereas arsenic determination yielded concentrations that were too high by the UASE method and analysis by ICP-OES. The analysis of the SRMs showed that the UASE method is highly comparable with the other methods used for such purposes. The major advantages of the UASE method are the high treatment rate (40 samples simultaneously with a sonication time of 54 min) and a low sample and reagent usage.     

Synthesis of new superabsorbent poly(NIPAAm/AA/N-allylisatin)nanohydrogel for effective removal of As(Ⅴ) and Cd(Ⅱ) toxic metal ions

The present studies highlight the effective removal of As（V） and Cd（II） from aqueous solutions by superabsorbent poly （NIPAAm/AA/N-allylisatin） nanohydrogel. Batch removal studies were performed as a function of treatment time, initial metal ion concentration, pH, and adsorbent dose. TEM micrographs confirm the particle size distribution in the range between 5 nm and 10 rim. The simple and metal ions adsorbed nanohydrogels were characterized by FF-IR, TGA, and EDX analysis. Finally, the equilibrium removal efficiency of the nanohydrogel was analyzed according to the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models which showed the removal of As（V） and Cd（II） metal ions fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, respectively. Removal efficiency order of the metal ions is As（V） 〉 Cd（II）.     

Multilayered metal oxide thin film gas sensors obtained by conventional and RF plasma-assisted laser ablation

Multilayered thin films of In₂O₃ and SnO₂ have been deposited by conventional and RF plasma-assisted reactive pulsed laser ablation, with the aim to evaluate their behaviour as toxic gas sensors. The depositions have been carried out by a frequency doubled Nd-YAG laser (λ = 532 nm, τ = 7 ns) on Si(1 0 0) substrates, in O₂ atmosphere. The thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrical resistance measurements. A comparison of the electrical response of the simple (indium oxide, tin oxide) and multilayered oxides to toxic gas (nitric oxide, NO) has been performed. The influence on the structural and electrical properties of the deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature and RF power is reported.     

Green Analytical Chemistry

We discuss the origins and the fundamentals of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC), based on the literature published about clean, environmentally-friendly or GAC methods. We pay special attention to the strategies and the tools available to make sample-pretreatment and analytical methods greener. We consider that the main principles are to replace toxic reagents, to miniaturize and to automate methods, making it possible to reduce dramatically the amounts of reagents consumed and wastes generated, so reducing or avoiding side effects of analytical methods. We also consider on-line decontamination or passivation of wastes to be of special interest in making analytical chemistry sustainable.     

Modelling of chemical fractionation patterns of metals in soils by two-way and three-way principal component analysis

The ‘pseudo-total’ contents and the chemical fractionation pattern of eight toxic elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) have been determined in 12 soil samples collected around a coal-fuelled power plant (Velilla del Río Carrión, Spain) by using, respectively, the US-EPA 3051 norm and the modified BCR (SM&T) chemical fractionation procedure. The ‘pseudo-total’ dataset has been analyzed by classical two-way principal component analysis (PCA) finding a PC accounting for the metal ‘pollution’ of the area. On the other hand, the three-dimensional (samples × metals × fractions) X array obtained after application of the modified BCR SM&T procedure, has been studied by matrix augmentation (MA-PCA) and three-way principal component analysis (3-PCA) using PARAFAC and TUCKER3 models. Whereas both MA-PCA and PARAFAC originated two-factor models biased towards the different chemical fractionation of the samples, the best TUCKER3 model [1, 2, 2] takes into account simultaneously both the ‘pseudo-total’ contents and the chemical fractionation of the soil samples. Therefore, the TUCKER3 originated a better representation of the global environmental impact caused by the power plant, and the plotting of the soil samples loadings, A1, in the physical space allowed to locate the most potentially hazardous areas.     

Sodium/lithium 3d transition metalates for chemisorption of gaseous pollutants: a review

Sodium/lithium transition metalates have found tremendous potential as cathode materials for Na/Li batteries. These metalates have acid-base and redox characteristics, which could be utilized for the chemisorption of gaseous pollutants. Their use was focused mainly on CO₂ gas chemisorption at elevated temperatures. In recent years, these materials have found interesting applications in the chemisorption of CO, NO, SO₂, and H₂S gases. Some of these alkali ceramics have shown tremendous potential for the wet-oxidative removal of acidic gases, even in ambient conditions. The review presents an up-to-date account of alkali ceramics of 3d transition metals for the chemisorption of toxic gases, including CO₂, CO, NO, SO₂, and H₂S. To the best of our knowledge, Na/Li 3d transition metalates have never been reviewed in the context of air decontamination, which needs to be presented to the readers for air purification applications.     

Synthesis,characterization and antibacterial screening of some novel 1,2,4-triazine derivatives

A new series of 1, 2, 4-triazine derivatives possessing indole nucleus were synthesized with an aim to explore their effect on in vitro growth of microorganisms causing microbial infection. In vitro antimicrobial activity was performed against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, P. mirabilis and E. coli using disk diffusion method. The MIC was detected using the double dilution method. The results were compared by calculating percent inhibition area/μg of the compounds with the standard drug "Ciprofloxacin". Selected compounds were evaluated for toxic effects using human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line by MTT-assay. Results revealed that some compounds of the series were found to exhibit better activity with less toxicity than Ciprofloxacin.     

Determination of Arsenic,Cadmium, Cobalt,Chromium, Nickel,and Lead in Cosmetic Face-Powders: Optimization of Extraction and Validation

An analytical method for the quantification of toxic metals in face-powders is presented and discussed. Acid digestion with HNO₃-H₂O₂ or HNO₃-HCl was performed and compared with total digestion by HF. The digestion with HNO₃-H₂O₂ was the most suitable for these purposes. Analyses were performed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), whose performances were compared by analyzing three different certified reference materials. The analysis of five commercial face-powders revealed the presence of all the considered metals in the range 0.06–8.0 µg/g. To simulate the bioaccessibility of metals in physiological conditions, a digestion with a simulated sweat solution was performed. In this case, the analysis of the same face-powder samples provided results below the limit of quantification, suggesting low bioaccessibility of the considered trace elements.