Determination of dissolved manganese in natural waters by differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry

A procedure based on differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry on the graphite electrode is described for the determination of dissolved manganese in natural waters buffered at pH about 6.5 with acetate solution. In order to avoid interference of iron(II) the addition of fluoride is used. The limit of detection is 3 g/l for a deposition time of 6 min. Acidification and UV-irradiation are recommended for samples containing dissolved organic matter. Results of manganese determination in table mineral waters are reported and the possibility of manganese speciation is discussed.     

Additivity of the effect of ligand parameters on the redox potential of the Cu(II)/Cu(I) pair

The redox potential of Cu(II)/Cu(I) complexes with polydentate ligands can be calculated from the equation (V relative to the normal hydrogen electrode). In this paper, we give 13 E_i parameters, quantitatively reflecting various electronic and steric properties of the ligands.Slovak PoIytechnicaI Institute, Bratislava. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperi-mental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 34l–345, May–June, 1991. Original article submitted February 18, l991.     

Determination of extractable chromium(VI) in the presence of large excess of chromium(III) in solid materials

Summary A method for the determination of chromium(VI) in solid materials with a Cr(VI) content at ppm level in the presence of ca. 10% Cr(III) has been devised. Chromium(VI) is extracted with 0.1M NaOH in a double-water bath (97° C) for 90 min. Differential-pulse polarography in 1M NaOH and spectrophotometry with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide have been tested for use in the final determination of Cr(VI). After extraction in the form of dithiocarbamate into methylisobutylketone or ethylacetate, chromium was determined by flame AAS and DPP in an organic extract.     

Kinetic study of the degradation of a potential local anesthetic drug in serum using the DNA-based electrochemical biosensor

DNA-drug association interaction at the DNA modified screen-printed electrode for 1-methyl-2-piperidinoethylester of 2-hexoxyphenylcarbamic acid was found leading to an accumulation of the drug within the DNA layer. A procedure for the determination of drug in blood serum matrix using the protein precipitation and voltammetric measurement of the electroactive drug with the DNA biosensor was obtained and an effort was done to apply it for an assay of the drug enzymatic degradation in human and rabbit sera at 37 degrees C.     

Simultaneous measurements of absorption and vibrational relaxation time in CF2HCl molecules

Summary We describe in this paper a simple interferometric technique which allows a direct and simultaneous determination of energy absorption and of the vibrational-translational relaxation time of polyatomic molecules strongly excited by reasonant, infrared (10.6 μm) laser radiation. In particular, we have applied this method to the study of freon-22 (CF₂HCl), a medium-size molecule that, apart from its potential application in¹³C isotope separation, shows interesting absorption features in the 10 μm region. The results are also compared with our previous findings in SF₆. To speed up publication, the authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Entropic uncertainty relations

New entropic uncertainty relations for angle-angular momentum and position-momentum, derived recently by Partovi, are related to older relations of a similar type, which were proved by Bialynicki-Birula and Mycielski. Significantly improved lower bounds are obtained in both cases.     

Nanostructured electrochemical DNA biosensors for detection of the effect of berberine on DNA from cancer cells

Multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) in dimethylformamide (DMF) or aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution, colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNP) in phosphate buffer solution (PBS), and a GNP–MWNT mixture in aqueous SDS solution have been investigated for chemical modification of a screen-printed carbon electrode used as the signal transducer of a dsDNA-based biosensor. Differential pulse voltammetry of the DNA redox marker and the guanine moiety anodic oxidation and cyclic voltammetry with K₃[Fe(CN)₆] as indicator revealed substantial enhancement of the response of the biosensor, particularly when MWNT in SDS solution was used. The biosensor was used in testing of berberine, an isoquinoline plant alkaloid with significant antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Berberine had a very strong, concentration-dependent, effect on the structural stability of DNA from the human cancer cells (U937 cells) whereas non-cancer cells were changed only when berberine concentrations were relatively high 75 and 50 μg mL⁻¹. Figure Schematic illustration of preparation of the nanostructured films: (a) layer-to-layer coverage (DNA/nanomaterial/SPE); (b) mixed coverage (DNA-nanomaterial/SPE)     

DNA Interaction with 17α‐Ethinylestradiol Studied Using Electrochemical Biosensors and Biosensing in Solution

The synthetic estrogen 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) is an active component of oral contraceptives. It is considered as an endocrine disrupting compound that, once incorporated into an organism, affects the hormonal balance of animals and humans. In this study we characterized the DNA‐EE2 interaction using an electrochemical biosensor and biosensing in solution phase with the double stranded DNA from salmon sperm and deoxyguanosine monophosphate (dGMP). Differential pulse voltammetry method has been applied based on voltammetric anodic responses of the deoxyguanine (dGuo) and deoxyadenine (dAdo) as well as EE2 in the medium of phosphate buffer solution pH 7.0. Binding of EE2 to the nucleobases leads to a decrease of their anodic signals. Association constant for DNA‐EE2 interaction has been estimated to be about 1.1 ? 10³ L mol^?1 and 1.4 ? 10³ L mol^?1 for dGuo and dAdo responses, respectively. The association is reversible as indicated by decrease of the EE2 response in pure buffer solution due to leaching of EE2 from the surface attached DNA. The DNA‐EE2 association has been confirmed also by UV‐vis spectrometric experiments.