The Determination of Protonation Constants of Some Amino Acids and Their Esters by Potentiometry in Different Media

In this study, stoichiometric protonation constants of L-tyrosine, L-cysteine, L-tryptophane, L-lysine, and L-histidine, and their methyl and ethyl esters in water and ethanol–water mixtures of 30, 50, and 70% ethanol (v/v), were determined potentiometrically using a combined pH electrode system calibrated as the concentration of hydrogen ion. Titrations were performed at 25^∘C and the ionic strength of the medium was maintained at 0.10 mol⋅L⁻¹ using sodium chloride. Protonation constants were calculated by using the BEST computer program. The effect of solvent composition on the protonation constants is discussed. The log₁₀ K₂ values of esters generally decreased with increasing ethanol content. However, the log₁₀ K₁ values of the esters of L-tyrosine, L-cysteine, and L-tryptophane were found to increase with increasing ethanol content in contrast those of L-lysine and L-histidine esters.     

Determination of decabromodiphenyl ether in sediments using selective pressurized liquid extraction followed by GC–NCI-MS

A method based on selective pressurized liquid extraction (SPLE) followed by gas chromatography–negative ion chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC–NCI-MS) has been evaluated for analysis of decabromodiphenyl ether (PBDE-209) in sediment samples. Instrumental operating conditions such as source temperature and system pressure were optimized in the NCI-MS system, giving an instrumental detection limit of 2 pg. The limit of determination of the entire SPLE–GC–NCI-MS procedure was around 50 pg g^–1 dry weight (dw), with repeatability of replicates between 4 and 21% relative standard deviation. Application of the method to 13 different river and marine sediment samples collected in Spain revealed that levels of decabromodiphenyl ether ranged between 2 and 132 ng g^–1 dry weight.     

Metal-Containing Phthalocyanines Substituted with One Branched Bulky Moiety and Six Alkylthio Groups

Summary.  Unsymmetrically substituted metal-phthalocyanines composed of three hexylthio groups and one 1-chloro-3,4-dicyano-6-[2-(2-pyridylmethylamino)phenylthio]benzene moiety was prepared by cyclization of the reactants in the presence of the anhydrous metal salts Zn(CH₃COO)₂, NiCl₂, and CoCl₂. The new unsymmetric phthalocyanines are very soluble in common organic solvents. The compounds were characterised by their elemental analyses, IR, ¹H NMR, MS and UV/Vis spectra. Corresponding author. E-mail: bayir@itu.edu.tr Received November 27, 2002; accepted (revised) December 2, 2002 Published online May 2, 2003     

Synthesis of novel unsymmetrical phthalocyanines substituted with crown ether and nitro groups

This work reports on the synthesis of new unsymmetrically substituted phthalocyanines (M = Zn, Cu, Co, Ni) bearing three benzo-15-crown-5 units through oxy bridges and a nitro group. Phthalocyanines were prepared by a statistical condensation of 4-nitro phthalonitrile and 1-{[(benzo-15-crown-5)-4′-yl]oxy}phthalonitrile in the presence of anhydrous metal salts. All the target unsymmetrical phthalocyanines were separated by column chromatography and characterized elemental analyses, ¹H NMR, IR, mass and UV–Vis spectral data. Electrochemical behaviors of Cu (II) phthalocyanine by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry techniques gave two common phthalocyanine ring reductions and one ring oxidation processes. Peak-to-peak separation of the processes II and III (388 mV) and the measure of gap (1.672 V) between the HOMO and LUMO for the complex, fits a phthalocyanine with electrochemically inactive metal center.     

Characteristics of microemulsion polymerized styrene with water-soluble versus oil-soluble initiators

The effect of oil-soluble versus water-soluble free-radical generators in the polymerization of styrene in oil-in-water (O/W) micromulsions were investigated by photon correlation spectroscopy. The microemulsions were formed by styrene, brine, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and pentanol. The polymerizations were carried out in two microemulsions that contained droplets differing by a factor of 2.4 in volume. Under the conditions of ? = 0.019 and NaCl/SDS > 2 the microemulsions were stable and the droplets were independent of one another. Both oil-soluble and water-soluble initiators produced polystyrene that contained fractions of two different sizes. In the case of the oil-soluble initiator the droplet size in the microemulsion seemed to be correlated to the size of the product whereas in the case of the water-soluble initiator, there seemed to be little relation.     

Reversible Immobilization of Urease by Using Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibers

In this work, bacterial cellulose nanofibers were produced by using the Gluconacetobacter hansenii HE1 strain. These nanofibers were derivatized with dye affinity ligand Reactive Green 5, and these newly synthesized dye-attached nanofibers were used for affinity adsorption of urease. Reactive Green 5-attached nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, SEM, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis. Some adsorption conditions which significantly affect the adsorption efficiency were investigated. The maximum urease adsorption capacity was found to be 240 mg/g nanofiber in pH 6.0 and at room temperature. Dye-free plain nanofibers also used for studying nonspecific urease adsorption onto plain nanofibers and nonspecific adsorption were found to be negligible (3.5 mg/g nanofiber). Prepared dye-attached nanofibers can be used in five successive adsorption/desorption steps without any decrease in their urease adsorption capacity. The desorption rate of the adsorbed urease was found to be 98.9 %. The activity of the urease was also investigated, and it was found that free and desorbed urease from the dye-attached nanofibers showed similar specific activity.