Acid Phthalate Research Articles

Metabolic pathway and role of individual species in the bacterial consortium for biodegradation of azo dye: A biocalorimetric investigation

In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the functional role and metabolic behaviour of the monoculture (Staphylococcus lentus (SL), Bacillus flexus (BF) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)) in the bacterial biocenosis for biotransformation of an azo dye. The power-time profile obtained from consortia depicted three distinct peaks, which correlated well with the individual bacterial growth (PA > SL > BF), indicating the synergistic relation and division of labour in the biocenosis. The heat release pattern was used to identify the sequential behaviour of microbial consortia in real time. Yield calculation based on total heat liberated to the complete substrate utilization Y (Q/S) for PA, SL, and BF were 15.99, 16.68, 7.32 kJ/L respectively. Similarly, the oxy calorific values Y (Q/O) for the above species are respectively 386, 375, 440 kJ/mol and indicates the aerobic nature of microorganism employed. Further, the metabolome produced during the biotransformation were identified using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), based on which a plausible pathway was predicted. The abundant metabolites were palmitic acid (m/z = 256) and diethyl phthalate (m/z = 222.2). The abundance of diethyl phthalate was much lesser in the consortia compared to the monoculture. Thus, the biocalorimetric heat yield calculation along with the stoichiometry and plausible pathway based biochemical elucidation provides a mechanistic basis for understanding the azo-dye biotransformation by the monocultures in consortia.

INVESTIGATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF AMINO ACID DOPING ON THE GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ALKALI METAL ACID PHTHALATE SINGLE CRYSTALS.

24Jul 2017 INVESTIGATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF AMINO ACID DOPING ON THE GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ALKALI METAL ACID PHTHALATE SINGLE CRYSTALS. S. Shek Dhavud and J. Thomas Joseph Prakash. PG and Research Department of Physics, Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-20, Tamilnadu, India. PG and Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College, Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-22, Tamilnadu, India.

Determination of Nucleation Kinetics and Crystal Perfection, Optical, Piezoelectric Properties of Semi-organic NLO Single Crystal-Sodium Acid Phthalate Hemihydrate

Semi-organic nonlinear optical single crystals of sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate were grown using slow evaporation technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study shows grown crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system with space group B2ab. Nucleation kinetics and nucleation parameters such as critical radius, interfacial tension, and critical free energy change are evaluated using the experimental data. The solubility and the nucleation of the crystal at different temperatures have been analysed. Sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate has a positive temperature coefficient of solubility. The metastable zone width and induction period have been experimentally determined for the optimized crystal growth conditions. UV–Vis–NIR study showed the title compound has high transparency in UV–Vis–NIR region. The nonlinear optical property was measured using Kurtz Perry powder technique and SHG efficiency was 1.1 times that of KDP. The photoconductivity analysis shows that sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate has positive photoconductivity nature. The chemical etching analysis was executed to assess the quality of the crystal. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 is higher than that of several other semi-organic single crystals. The SHG efficiency of the grown crystal is higher than that of several other semi-organic crystals.

Enhanced dielectric piezo-/ferro-/electric properties of dye doped sodium acid phthalate crystal

Pure and 0.1 mol% amaranth dye doped sodium acid phthalate (SAP) crystals were grown by slow evaporation technique. Doping of the dye resulted in light pink colored crystals without changing its morphology. PXRD revealed no extra peak as a result of doping. The dye doping altered Raman peak intensities due to the presence of organic functional groups. Doped crystals showed the enhanced dielectric constant value ∼170. The dielectric constant showed very small variation with temperature, which is useful in high temperature dielectric and piezoelectric devices. The piezoelectric charge coefficient increased from 1 pC/N to 2 pC/N as a result of dye doping. Ferroelectric P-E loops for the grown crystals were traced at room temperature, which revealed the enhancement in polarization due to dye doping. The hardness parameters and elastic stiffness were found to decrease as a result of dye doping in SAP crystals.

Effect of alkali halides on the growth, morphology, spectral, optical, thermal and nonlinear optical properties of potassium acid phthalate crystals for frequency conversion applications

Slow Evaporation Solution Growth Technique was employed for the growth of transparent alkali halide doped potassium acid phthalate crystals. The structure of the crystals was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the absence of multiple phases in the crystal and it suggests that the crystalline nature of the samples remain unaltered even after the addition of the dopants. Linear and nonlinear optical properties were examined by UV–Visible spectral analysis and Kurtz-Perry method of NLO testing respectively. The results of NLO test evokes that alkali halide doped crystals are phase matchable. The thermal stability of the grown crystals was assessed by TG/DTA analysis. The surface morphology of the grown crystals was studied by SEM analysis. EDX analysis provides the statistical information of the elemental composition of the samples from which the incorporation of the dopants is confirmed. In general the obtained results ensure that the title materials are desirable candidates for NLO applications.

Measuring and predicting the diffraction properties of cylindrically bent potassium acid phthalate, KAP(001), crystals.

This report presents the results from measuring the X-ray diffraction properties of a curved potassium acid phthalate (KAP(001)) spectrometer crystal using two measurement methods. One method used a diode type X-ray source and a dual goniometer analysis system, utilizing a flat, perfect KAP(001) crystal as the monochromator. The second method used a synchrotron source and dual crystal Si(111) monochromator. Bent crystals are used in X-ray spectrometers as dispersion elements. These crystals are bent into a circular cylinder section, and this bending can alter the rocking curve properties. The crystal rocking curves were measured for spectral energies ranging from 1250 to 4500 eV. A multi-lamellar model was compared to the measurements and showed good quantitative agreement. This provides a valuable tool for predicting the changes to the KAP (001) for any radius of curvature when the crystal is bent into a cylindrical section.

Embryotoxicity estimation of commonly used compounds with embryonic stem cell test.

The embryonic stem cell test (EST), an alternative model to animal studies, is a reliable and scientifically validated in vitro system for testing embryotoxicity. In contrast to most in vivo animal tests, two permanent cell lines, murine fibroblasts (BALB/c-3T3 cells) and murine embryonic stem cells (mES-D3 cells), are used in EST instead of animals in standard tests of toxicity. The embryotoxic potential of compounds (non, weak or strong embryotoxicity) may be obtained with a biostatistics-based prediction model and calculated from three different experimental endpoint values: The potency to inhibit growth of i) BALB/c-3T3 cells and ii) mES-D3 cells (IC503T3 and IC50ES) as presented using a cell cytotoxicity assay, and iii) the potency to inhibit differentiation of mES-D3 cells into contracting cardiomyocytes (ID50 D3) as demonstrated in a mES-D3 cell differentiation assay. In the present study, a model of EST with mES-D3 cells and BALB/c-3T3 cells was established, according to the standard EST system of the EU Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods, and verified it with 5-fluorouracil (strong embryotoxicity) as a positive control and penicillin G (non-embryotoxic) as a negative control. In addition, the authors further assessed the embryotoxicity of four compounds (eugenol, carnosic acid, procyanidin and dioctyl phthalate) with this model. The embryotoxic potentials of the four compounds were successfully classified by the EST system. Eugenol exhibited strong embryotoxicity, carnosic acid and dioctyl phthalate exhibited weak embryotoxicity, while procyanidin exhibited non-embryotoxicity.

Exploring the Antimicrobial Potential of Local Marine Fungi

In search for bioactive compounds, 88 fungal isolates were collected from three Egyptian marine habitats. Crude extracts of 17 marine derived fungal isolates out of the 88 isolates showed variable activity against some human pathogenic bacterial strains (Salmonella enterica, Proteus sp., Klebseilla pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli). The most potent fungal isolate that showed the highest antimicrobial activity was molecularly identified as Aspergillus welwetsichiae. Optimization of culture conditions of A. welwetsichiae revealed that the highest antimicrobial activity was obtained in shaking conditions (150rpm), using Czapek- dox medium, at pH 9 and incubation at 25°C for 3 days. Salmonella enterica was the most sensitive test organism regarding the highest inhibition zone through all the optimization tests. Ethyl acetate extract of A. welwetsichiae was subjected to chemical analysis and declared that the active antibacterial metabolite is a mixture of acid (Mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) and ester (bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate). Retesting the two compounds separately, they showed no activity which confirmed the synergistic antibacterial effect of the two compounds together. Upon testing the cytotoxic effect of the active antibacterial metabolite (mixture of acid and ester) against human lung fibroblast normal cell (WI-38 cell line), the results showed that there was a very weak inhibitory activity suggesting the possibility of considering it as a safe compound for further steps as a pharmaceutical product.

Growth of Bulk Sodium Acid Phthalate (NaAP) Crystals for High Frequency Laser Generation in Nonlinear Optical Applications

Non-linear optical Sodium acid Phthalate (NaAP) single crystals was grown by slow evaporation from aqueous solutions. Structural characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of the crystals in orthorhombic system with a space group of B2ab having unit-cell dimensions a = 9.2597(7)Å; b = 26.261(2)Å; c = 6.7355(6)Å; α = 90°; β = 90°; and γ =90°; Z=8. The vibrational frequencies of various functional groups present in the crystals have been ascertained through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis. Non-linear optical investigations carried out for the grown bulk crystals shows that the present crystal can be used as a high-frequency harmonic generators. The obtained results were discussed in detail.

Enhanced optical, thermal and piezoelectric behavior in dye doped potassium acid phthalate (KAP) single crystal

Dye inclusion crystals have attracted researchers in the context of crystal growth for applications in solid state lasers. Pure and 0.1mol% amaranth doped KAP single crystals, were grown from aqueous solutions by slow evaporation technique at room temperature. The grown crystals are up to the dimension of 12×10×3mm3. Attempt is made to improve the growth rate, optical, piezoelectric and photoconductive properties of pure KAP single crystal with addition of amaranth dye as a dopant. Various characterization studies were made for both pure and dye doped KAP. Thermal stability of the crystals is tested from thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA). There is only one endothermic peak indicating decomposition point. Higher optical transparency for dye doped KAP crystal was identified from the UV–vis spectrum. Etching studies showed an improvement in the optical quality of the KAP crystal after doping with amaranth dye. The positive photoconductive nature is observed from both pure and amaranth doped KAP.

Evaluation of efficiency and trapping capacity of restricted access media trap columns for the online trapping of small molecules.

Restricted access media are generally composed from multi-modal particles that combine a size excluding outer surface and an inner-pore retention mechanism for small molecules. Such materials can be used for either online isolation and pre-concentration of target small molecules or removal of small molecule interferences from large macromolecules, such as proteins in complex biological matrices. Thus, they are considered as enhanced online solid-phase extraction materials. We evaluated the efficiency and trapping capacity of different semi-permeable surface restricted access media columns (C18 , C8 , and C4 inner pores) for four model small molecule compounds (dopamine hydrochloride, acetaminophen, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and diethyl phthalate) having variable physicochemical properties. We further studied the effect of mobile phase flow rate (0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 mL/min) and pH, using 98:2 0.5% acetic acid in water/ methanol (pH 2.88) and 5 mM ammonium acetate in 98:2 water/methanol (pH 6.61) as mobile phases. Breakthrough curves generated using frontal analysis were analyzed to determine important chromatographic parameters specific for each of the studied compounds. Experimental determination of these parameters allowed selection of the most efficient trap column and the best loading mobile phase conditions for maximal solute enrichment and pre-concentration on restricted access media trap columns.

Suppressed Formation of Conductive Phases in One-Pot Electrodeposited CuInSe2 by Tuning Se Concentration in Aqueous Electrolyte.

The single-bath electrochemical deposition of CuInSe2 often leads to short-circuit behavior of the resulting solar cells due to the high shunt conductance. In this study, in an attempt to resolve this problem, the influence of the Se precursor concentration (CSe) on electrodeposited CuInSe2 films and solar cell devices is examined in the CSe range of 4.8 to 12.0 mM in selenite-based aqueous solutions containing Cu and In chlorides along with sulfamic acid (H3NSO3) and potassium hydrogen phthalate (C8H5KO4) additives. As CSe increases, the CuInSe2 layers become porous, and the grain growth of the CuInSe2 phase is restricted, while the parasitic shunting problem was markedly alleviated, as unambiguously demonstrated by measurements of the local current distribution. Due to these ambivalent influences, an optimal value of CSe that achieves the best quality of the films for high-efficiency solar cells is identified. Thus, the device prepared with 5.2 mM Se exhibits a power-conversion efficiency exceeding 10% with greatly improved device parameters, such as the shunt conductance and the reverse saturation current. The rationale of the present approach along with the physicochemical origin of its conspicuous impact on the resulting devices is discussed in conjunction with the electro-crystallization mechanism of the CuInSe2 compound.

Measurement and models of bent KAP(001) crystal integrated reflectivity and resolution (invited).

The Advanced Light Source beamline-9.3.1 x-rays are used to calibrate the rocking curve of bent potassium acid phthalate (KAP) crystals in the 2.3-4.5 keV photon-energy range. Crystals are bent on a cylindrically convex substrate with a radius of curvature ranging from 2 to 9 in. and also including the flat case to observe the effect of bending on the KAP spectrometric properties. As the bending radius increases, the crystal reflectivity converges to the mosaic crystal response. The X-ray Oriented Programs (xop) multi-lamellar model of bent crystals is used to model the rocking curve of these crystals and the calibration data confirm that a single model is adequate to reproduce simultaneously all measured integrated reflectivities and rocking-curve FWHM for multiple radii of curvature in both 1st and 2nd order of diffraction.

Polaron conductivity mechanism in potassium acid phthalate crystal: AC-conductivity investigation

The complex dielectric constant, , of potassium acid phthalate monocrystal (KAP) was investigated over the broad frequency and temperature range. While the imaginary part of dielectric constant ε′′(ν) increases rapidly with increasing temperature in the studied temperature range, the real part of dielectric constant ε′(ν) increases only at high temperatures; there is almost no change of ε′(ν) below 200 K. Both values of ε′ and ε′′ are frequency dependent; the values increase with decreasing frequencies. At temperatures below 450 K the ac electrical conductivity and dielectric constant follow simultaneously the universal dielectric response (UDR). The analysis of the temperature dependence of the UDR parameter s in terms of the theoretical model for small polarons revealed that this mechanism governs the charge transport in KAP crystal in the studied temperature range.

Growth of divalent Mn2+ metal ion-doped potassium acid phthalate (KAP) single crystals and its structural, spectroscopic, optical and mechanical properties for SHG device applications

Divalent Mn2+ ion-doped potassium acid phthalate (KAP), a semi-organic non-linear optical (NLO) single crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) at ambient temperature. Good optical quality single crystals of size 5 × 6 × 5 mm3 were grown in a period of 1 week. The pure and Mn2+ ion-doped KAP crystals were characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to study the crystal structure. Single-crystal XRD analysis confirmed that the doped KAP crystallises in orthorhombic system with the space group Pca21. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) has confirmed the formation of the dopant in the KAP crystal. The functional groups of the grown crystals were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR). UV–Vis NIR spectrum was recorded to study the optical transparency of the grown doped KAP crystals. The mechanical strength of the crystal is estimated by Vickers microhardness test. The stiffness constant and work hardening co-efficient were also calculated. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency for device application was confirmed by NLO studies.

Improved synthesis of optically active ipsdienol

In our preceding publication [1] a simple procedure was described for the preparation of both enantiomers of monoterpene alcohol ipsdienol 1, an actual pheromone component of bark beetle of genus Ips. The key synthesis stage was the resolution of the direct precursor of the ipsdienol, (±)-6-methyl-2-(2chloroethyl)hepta-1,5-dien-4-ol by its conversion into acid phthalate and the crystallization of the acid phthalate as salt with (+)or (–)-1-phenylethylamine. Then the optically active acid phthalates (S)-2 and (R)2 were treated with potassium tert-butylate in tertbutyl alcohol. By the dehydrochlorination and the simultaneous alcoholysis of the ester moiety in one stage (S)or (R)-ipsdienol was obtained in a 55% yield.

Growth and characterization of amino acids doped sodium acid phthalate single crystals

Single crystals of pure and 1 mol% of L-alanine (LA-C3H7NO2), L-histidine (LH-C6H9N3O2) and L-arginine (LAR-C6H14N4O2)-doped sodium acid phthalate, C8H5NaO4 (SAP) were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique at ambient temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed that all the crystals possess orthorhombic crystal structure and revealed lattice distortion due to doping. Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed the presence of various functional groups of SAP and amino acids in the grown crystals. Both pure and amino acids-doped crystals exhibited wide transmission range lying between 403 and 1100 nm, and the nature of transmittance of doped crystals are superior to that of pure crystals. The band gap energy values of the grown crystals were calculated. The effect of amino acid dopants on thermal and mechanical properties of SAP single crystals have also been studied and discussed in this paper. The second harmonic generation efficiency of the grown crystals was also studied.

Optical studies of potassium acid phthalate single crystals added with amino acids

Potassium acid phthalate (KAP) is a promising optical material with high NLO efficiency. Pure and amino acid (aspartic acid/l-citrulline) added KAP crystals were grown by the slow evaporation method at 32°C and characterized. The elemental, FT-IR spectral and FT-Raman spectral analyses confirm the entry of amino acid molecules in the KAP crystal matrix in the case of amino acid added KAP single crystals. The UV–vis-NIR and second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency measurements indicate an increase of optical transmittance and SHG efficiency due to amino acid addition. The photoluminescence (PL) measurement indicates that the amino acid addition significantly tunes the PL yield of KAP crystal.

Investigations on the growth, optical, thermal, dielectric, and laser damage threshold properties of crystal violet dye-doped potassium acid phthalate single crystal

Influence of crystal violet dye with different concentration on potassium acid phthalate single crystal grown by conventional method has been studied. No change has been observed in the structure, whereas changes have been observed in the external morphology of the crystal when the dyes are incorporated in the crystal lattice. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses show the onset decomposition temperatures to be at 302, 285, 284, and 285 °C for pure, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mol% crystal violet-doped potassium acid phthalate crystals, respectively. The dielectric measurement was carried out on the grown crystals as a function of frequency at various temperatures. In addition, strong luminescent emission bands at 638, 648, and 640 nm were observed in which the relative intensity was found to be reversed as a result of doping concentration. The laser damage threshold value significantly increased for dye-doped crystal in comparison with pure crystal which may make it suitable for the solid-state dye laser applications.

A Practical Method for Accurate Measurement of Trace Level Fluorine in Mg‐ and Fe‐Bearing Minerals and Glasses Using Electron Probe Microanalysis

Fluorine plays an important role in magmatic and hydrothermal processes, but due to its low abundance in geological samples determining F is difficult by electron probe microanalysis. By using a W‐Si multi‐layered pseudocrystal as the diffraction crystal instead of thallium acid phthalate (TAP), count rates were considerably higher, which however introduced spectral interferences between FKα and FeLα and MgKβ lines when normal integral mode is applied. In this study, we developed a protocol using a W‐Si multi‐layered pseudocrystal for measuring accurately trace level F in both minerals and glasses. First, we used differential mode with an optimised PHA (pulse height analysis) setting in signal processing, instead of normal integral mode, which completely eliminated the second‐order MgKβ line. Second, the overlap of the first‐order FeLα on FKα peak, which cannot be filtered by modifying the PHA setting, was calibrated quantitatively using F‐free minerals and silicate glasses. Applying this two‐step method, F was determined in a number of reference glasses, as well as in glasses synthesised from powders of the rock reference materials AC‐E, GS‐N and DR‐N. Our data are consistent within error with F concentrations determined by other methods, demonstrating the reliability of this method.