Application of microcrystalline cellulose as an efficient and cheap sorbent for the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater before HPLC–MS/MS determination

A dispersive solid-phase extraction method based on a new sorbent has been performed on plasma and wastewater samples to determine metoprolol by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In this study, the analyte was adsorbed from the samples onto microcrystalline cellulose as a green and efficient sorbent and then eluted for use in the determination step. In the mass spectrometer, the analyte was detected in the positive mode and selectivity of the analysis was increased by sequential mass analysis through multiple reaction monitoring. All of the effective parameters in the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater were optimized. Under optimal conditions the method was linear in the ranges of 1–1,000 and 0.1–1,000 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.30 and 0.03 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The data showed that the method provides low detection limit, wide linear range, good precision and high extraction recovery. Finally several plasma and wastewater samples were successfully analyzed using the method. The use of a small amount of a green and inexpensive sorbent and a low volume of plasma without the need for further pretreatment steps are the main advantages of the method.     

A sensitive and efficient method for trace analysis of some phenolic compounds using simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction from human urine and plasma samples followed by gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection

In present study, a simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method combined with gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection has been developed for the determination of some phenolic compounds in biological samples. The analytes are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with 1‐flouro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene under mild conditions. Under optimal conditions low limits of detection in the range of 0.05–0.34 ng mL^?1 are achievable. The obtained extraction recoveries are between 84 and 97% and the relative standard deviations are less than 7.2% for intraday (n = 6) and interday (n = 4) precisions. The proposed method was demonstrated to be a simple and efficient method for the analysis of phenols in biological samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using the new in–in method for the synthesis of polyisoprene/polystyrene heteroarm star polymers

The basis of the two‐step in–in method is as follows: star polymers with poly(divinyl benzene) cores, synthesized by the arm‐first method, include many unreacted double bonds in their core, and these double bonds can be attacked by the carbanions of some monomers such as styrene and dienes. In this work, linear polyisoprene chains were used to attack the double bonds existing in the poly(divinyl benzene) cores of polystyrene star polymers, so that a heteroarm star polymer with polystyrene and polyisoprene arms was synthesized. It was later well characterized with size exclusion chromatography, light scattering, viscometry, UV spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and ¹H NMR. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 135–142, 2003     

Radiation induced polymerization of vinyl monomers and their application for preparation of wood-polymer composites

Polymerizing effects of high energy radiation has been found suitable for preparation of wood-polymer composites. In the present work after evaluating polymer products that have been obtained by irradiation method, wood-polymer composites have been prepared by in situ polymerization of vinyl acetate, acrylic acid and acrylic acid/styrene mixture using two samples of Iranian hardwoods, Beech and Hornbeam. These woods and their composites have been tested for their physical and mechanical properties. The results have shown that chemical bonding between polymer and the cell wall component lead to better strength properties in the composites.     

Electromagnetic interference shielding and radiation absorption in thin polypyrrole films

Results of permittivity measurements, electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness, and heat generation due to microwave absorption in conducting polymer coated textiles are reported and discussed. The intrinsically conducting polymer, polypyrrole, doped with anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (AQSA) or para-toluene-2-sulfonic acid (pTSA) was applied on textile substrates and the resulting materials were investigated in the frequency range 1-18 GHz. The 0.54 mm thick conducting textile/polypyrrole composites absorbed up to 49.5% of the incident 30-35 W microwave radiation. A thermography station was used to monitor the temperature of these composites during the irradiation process, where absorption was confirmed via visible heat losses. Samples with lower conductivity showed larger temperature increases caused by microwave absorption compared to samples with higher conductivity. A sample with an average sheet resistivity of 150 Ω/sq. showed a maximum temperature increase of 5.27 °C, whilst a sample with a lower resistivity (105 Ω/sq.) rose by 3.85 °C.     

Spectrophotometric Study of the Complexation of Some Lanthanide (III) Ions with a Series of 18-Crowns-6 in DMSO Solution Using Murexide as a Metallochromic Indicator

The complexation of La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III) and Er(III) with 18-crown-6(18C6), dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6), dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DCY18C6) anddibenzopyridino-18-crown-6 (DBPY18C6) has been studied in dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO) by means of a competitive spectrophotometric method using murexide asa metal ion indicator. The formation constants of the 1 : 1 complexeswere found tovary in the order La(III) > Ce(III) > Pr(III) > Er(III). It was foundthat the structure influences the formation and stability of the resultingcomplexes. The effects ofvarious parameters on complexation are discussed. The order of the stabilityconstants of each lanthanide ion with these macrocycles are18C6 > DC18C6 > DB18C6 > DBPY18C6.     

Surface thermodynamic functions of dilute solutions of methylcyclohexanols in ethylene glycol

Surface thermodynamic functions (surface entropy, surface enthalpy, and surface composition) of dilute solutions of 2-, 3-, and 4-methylcyclohexanol in ethylene glycol were obtained using surface tension measurements at various temperatures. Surface excess values and surface mole fractions were obtained from Gibbs equation and extended Langmuir model respectively. The results show that all methylcyclohexanols are surface active in ethylene glycol. The lyophobicity of solutes decreases with increasing temperature. The presence of a maximum point in the surface entropy diagram in all systems is explained by the formation of clathrate-like solvates at the surface of these systems.     

Solid phase extraction of gold by sorption on octadecyl silica membrane disks modified with pentathia-15-crown-5 and determination by AAS

A simple and selective method for rapid and efficient concentration and determination of μg l⁻¹ levels of Au(III) ions in aqueous solution using octadecyl silica membrane disks modified by pentathia-15-crown-5 and flame atomic absorption spectrometry is presented. The influence of flow rates of eluent and sample solution, amount of ligand, types and least amount of eluent for elution of Au from disks were investigated. Break through volume and limit of detection of the membrane disks modified by 5 mg of the thiacrown ether was found to be 2.0 l and 1.0 μg l⁻¹, respectively. The effects of various cationic interferences on percent recovery of gold were studied. The method was successfully applied for the determinations of gold in some pharmaceutical samples and for the recovery of trace Au³⁺ ions from synthetic and water samples.     

Kinetic study of polyesterification: Unsaturated polyesters

Synthesis of unsaturated polyesters using adipic acid, ethylene glycol, and fumaric acid in the absence and presence of a foreign acid (phosphoric acid) as catalyst was carried out by a two-stage method under constant reaction temperatures of 160–180°C and at different ratios of diol to diacid. The experimental data fit the Chen–Wu rate equations for self-catalyzed and acid-catalyzed reactions. The reaction rate constants and activation energies for both systems were calculated. The rate constants of fumaric acid–ethylene glycol systems were found to be nearly constant and had negligible variations with increasing chain length of polymer. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Mutual Separation and Determination of Th(IV) and U(VI) Using Arsenazo III as a Dye Collector Reagent by Flotation‐Spectrophotometric Method

This paper reports a simple and highly selective method for the separation, preconcentration, and determination of trace amounts of thorium and uranium in some complex samples via staircase flotation. The method is based on the initial flotation of the Th(IV)‐arsenazo III complex in the presence of U(VI) from a solution of 5 mol dm^?3 HCl, then reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) and repetition of the flotation step. In both steps, the floated complex was dissolved in a 5‐mL portion of methanol and its absorbance was measured at 655 nm, spectrophotometrically. For a 30‐mL portion of the sample, Beer's law was obeyed over the concentration ranges of 3.40 × 10^?7to 3.06 × 10^?6 mol dm^?3 for Th(IV) and3.40 × 10^?7 to 3.40 × 10^?6 mol dm^?3 for U(IV) with the apparent molar absorptivity of 4.20 × 10⁵ dm³ mol^?1 cm^?1 and 3.59 × 10⁵ dm³ mol^?1 cm^?1, respectively. The RSDs (n = 7) corresponding to 1.7 × 10^?6 mol dm^?3 of Th(IV) and U(IV) were obtained as 1.7% and 1.87%. The detection limits (7 blanks) for both the metal ions were found to be 1.7 × 10^?7 mol dm^?3. The important benefit of the method is that the determinations are free from the interference of almost all cations and anions found in the complex matrixes, such as seawater samples. The proposed method was also applied to reference materials, and the determinations were shown to have good agreement with the certified values.