Concentrations Of Triton X-100 Research Articles

Melted Paraffin Wax as an Innovative Liquid and Solid Extractant for Elemental Analysis by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy.

This work proposes a new development in the use of melted paraffin wax as a new extractant in a procedure designed to aggregate the advantages of liquid phase extraction (extract homogeneity, fast, and efficient transfer, low cost and simplicity) to solid phase extraction. As proof of concept, copper(II) in aqueous samples was converted into a hydrophobic complex of copper(II) diethyldithiocarbamate and subsequently extracted into paraffin wax. Parameters which affect the complexation and extraction (pH, DDTC, and Triton X-100 concentration, vortex agitation time and complexation time) were optimized in a univariate way. The combination of the extraction proposed procedure with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy allowed the precise copper determination (coefficient of variation = 3.1%, n = 10) and enhanced detectability because of the concentration factor of 18 times. A calibration curve was obtained with a linear range of 0.50-10.00 mg L-1 (R2 = 0.9990, n = 7), LOD = 0.12 mg L-1, and LOQ = 0.38 mg L-1 under optimized conditions. An extraction procedure efficiency of 94% was obtained. The accuracy of the method was confirmed through the analysis of a reference material of human blood serum, by the spike and recovery trials with seawater, tap water, mineral water, and alcoholic beverages and by comparing with those results obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.

The role of Triton X-100 as a surfactant on the CdO nanostructures grown by the SILAR method

Abstract In this work, the effect of surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) on structural, morphological and optical properties of nanostructured CdO films has been researched. Four series of nanostructured CdO films with TX-100 concentrations of 0.25–1.0 M% of the growth solution were prepared by the Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) technique on glass substrates and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, surface roughness, X-Ray diffraction and UV–Vis. Spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy exhibited that the particle thickness increased with increasing TX-100 content. Surface roughness (Ra) measurement exhibited that Ra value accordingly decreases in the presence of TX-100. From the X-Ray diffraction patterns it was calculated that the crystallite size of the films increased parallel to the particle size with increasing TX-100 content. UV results presented that the optical bandgap values of the film can be adjusted with TX-100 content where optical bandgap decreased with increasing TX-100 content in the growth bath. The results show that the amount of TX-100 in the growth bath played a significant mission in adjusting the main physical properties of the nanostructured CdO film.

Saturation effect and transmembrane conversion of Monascus pigment in nonionic surfactant aqueous solution

Extractive fermentation in a nonionic surfactant aqueous solution provides a promising and efficient method to produce Monascus pigments. The behaviour of pigment secretion during the extractive cultivation was investigated in the present work. The results revealed that the secretion of intracellular pigment was limited by its saturation concentration in the nonionic surfactant aqueous solution. The intracellular pigment was completely extracted to the outside of the cell at a low cell density and high concentration of Triton X-100 (TX) in fermentation broth; otherwise, a restriction for pigment extraction would occur. The decrement of the intracellular orange and yellow pigments was inconsistent with the increment of extracellular pigments with an increase in the TX concentration. It could be inferred that the intracellular orange pigment was converted to extracellular yellow pigment during the transmembrane secretion process, which might be attributed to the enzyme catalysis in the non-aqueous phase solution. This study helps explain the mechanism of variation of pigment characteristic and extraction capacity in extractive fermentation.

Spectrophotometric determination of carmoisine after cloud point extraction using Triton X-114

Carmoisine (E122) is a synthetic azo dye that is generally used to give a red color to food products. In this work, a sensitive and simple method was developed for the determination of carmoisine based on cloud point extraction. To obtain the optimum conditions for the extraction efficiency of carmoisine, the effects of different analytical parameters such as H$_{2}$SO$_{4}$ concentration, concentration of Triton X-114, and equilibrium temperature were studied. The calibration graph was linear between 0.05 and 5.0 $\mu $g/mL and the detection limit based on three times the standard deviation of the blank was 7.2 $\mu $g/L. The method was applied under the optimum experimental conditions for the analysis of carmoisine in several drink samples and a medicine. The relative standard deviations of the determinations were less than 5%. The proposed method could be used as a rapid screening method for carmoisine detection in food samples.

Determination of the Critical Micelle Concentration of Triton X-100 Using the Compound 3-(benzoxazol-2-yl)-7-(N,N-diethylamino)chromen-2-one as Fluorescent Probe

In the present study we estimated the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of Triton X-100 in an aqueous buffered medium (PBS buffer, pH 7.4), using 3-(benzoxazol-2-yl)-7-(N,N-diethylamino)chromen-2-one (BDC), a push-pull compound, as extrinsic fluorescence probe. The CMC value found, 0.33 mmol L -1 , shows good agreement with data from literature obtained using the fluorescence probe technique. Additionally, the polarity, in terms of the E T (30) scale, and the viscosity of the micelle microenvironment in which the probe is preferentially allocated, was estimated as being 46.9 kcal mol -1 and 70.3 cP, respectively, confirming that this microdomain is polar and highly viscous, with characteristics of polyethylene glycol groups consisting in the palisade layer at the micelle-water interface. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v0i0.923

Physical crosslinking of lipase from Rhizomucor miehei immobilized on octyl agarose via coating with ionic polymers

Abstract Lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (RML) was immobilized on octyl-agarose (OC) at different loadings. Using low enzyme loadings (1/7 of the maximum loading), the incubation of the enzyme with polyethylenimine (PEI) increased the resistance to enzyme desorption in the presence of Triton X-100. However, more than 10% of the enzyme activity could be released from the OC-RML-PEI. The same treatment using fully loaded biocatalyst reduced the enzyme desorption to less than 5%. Further treatment with dextran sulfate (DS) of the PEI treaded immobilized enzyme fully avoids the enzyme desorption even in presence of a Triton X-100 concentration higher than that required for the complete enzyme release from OC-RML. This treatment produced a high stabilization of OC-RML in thermal or organic solvent inactivations, reducing the enzyme release under these drastic conditions. Nevertheless, the support could be recovered by incubation under adequate conditions, and reused in several adsorption/desorption cycles. Thus, the strategy permitted to avoid enzyme desorption, very likely by physical intermolecular crosslinking improving enzyme stability, while still maintaining the reversibility of the immobilization.

Effect of Triton X-100 on the stability of titania nanoparticles against agglomeration and sedimentation: A masked depletion interaction

The sedimentation half-times ts of suspensions of polydisperse titania particles in aqueous Triton X-100 (TX100) solutions with concentrations cTX100 ranging from 0.05 to 250mM were measured. Three regions of TX100 concentrations with different settling behavior were observed. In region A, or for cTX100 below its cmc (ca. 0.24mM in water at 25°C), the ts-values increase with increasing surfactant concentration. In region B, or for cmc≤cTX100<c**, where c** was determined to be 30mM experimentally, the ts-values do not vary with the surfactant concentration. In region C, or for cTX100≥c**, as cTX100 increases, the ts-values increase. In regions A and B, little or no viscosity effect on the sedimentation was observed. By contrast, in region C, the viscosity of the micellar solution increases with increasing cTX100 and accounts partially for the slower particle sedimentation rate. The surface densities of adsorbed TX100 molecules on the particle surfaces were measured to probe their effects on the steric interactions, which are responsible for the increase in the ts-values in region A. The maximum adsorbed densities on the particle surfaces, which are presumed to be hydrophilic, were found to be much smaller than those on other hydrophobic surfaces, as expected. Nonetheless, the adsorbed densities are high enough to induce strong steric interactions in region B, preventing the particles from agglomerating. In region C, the increase in viscosity slows down not only the particle sedimentation, but also the particle agglomeration, resulting in an apparently weaker micellar depletion effect. Our inference is that depletion-induced flocculation in region C is masked by the high solution viscosity. This inference is supported by several different lines of evidence. First, the once corrected half-times, tsI, which are the measured half-times divided by the relative viscosities, start to decrease at cTX100≅ 160mM, suggesting the formation of particle clusters, and reveals a micelle-induced depletion effect. The twice corrected half-times, tsII, which are tsI divided by the viscosity of the solution to account for the effect of viscosity on the agglomeration rate, are consistent with these inferences. In addition, the DLS data support our inference that the clusters in region C are flocs, which can be de-agglomerated with some mild agitation. A recently published model of agglomeration and sedimentation (Yang et al., 2016) is used to fit the data for estimating the effective Fuchs-Smoluchowski stability ratio W for flocculation. W-values are inferred to be over 106 at cTX100<160mM, but only ca. 500–1000 at higher concentrations, supporting the hypothesis of a depletion-induced flocculation that is masked by the solution viscosity.

Membrane permeabilization induced by Triton X-100: The role of membrane phase state and edge tension

Detergents are widely used to solubilize and separate biomembrane components. It is therefore relevant to study and understand the mechanistic details underlying detergent-lipid interactions using biomimetic systems. Here, we have investigated in detail the process of membrane permeabilization and the nature of pores induced by sub-solubilizing concentrations of the detergent Triton X-100 (TX-100) in bilayers composed of palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC), sphingomyelin (SM) and binary mixtures of these phospholipids with 30 mol% cholesterol (chol). A fluorescence quenching assay was used to evaluate the permeability of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) in the presence of increasing concentrations of TX-100. Confocal microscopy was employed to visualize and quantify the permeability of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to two fluorescent dyes of different sizes in the presence of TX-100. Both methods showed that POPC, POPC/chol and SM membranes become fully permeable at a specific TX-100 concentration, followed by complete (POPC and SM) and partial (POPC/chol) solubilization at a higher detergent concentration. The confocal microscopy experiments revealed that opening of pores occurs as a well-defined event and that for POPC and POPC/chol the pores were initially selective to the small probe and then grew and allowed passage of the larger dye as well. On the other hand, the insoluble SM/chol membranes exhibited only a mild TX-100-induced permeabilization. The membrane edge tension of the liquid phases was measured from the closure rate of macropores induced by electric pulses in GUVs. Membrane edge tension was shown to be sensitive to membrane composition and to decrease in the presence of TX-100. We propose that extensive permeabilization occurs below a critical membrane edge tension, which is eventually reached in the partially and fully soluble compositions, but not in the insoluble mixture.

Adsorption of Dimethyldodecylamine Oxide and Its Mixtures with Triton X-100 at the Hydrophilic Silica/Water Interface Studied Using Total Internal Reflection Raman Spectroscopy.

Adsorption of dimethyldodecylamine oxide (DDAO) and its mixtures with Triton X-100 (TX-100) at the hydrophilic silica/water interface has been studied using total internal reflection (TIR) Raman spectroscopy and target factor analysis (TFA). The use of a linear vibrational spectroscopic technique helps obtain information on molecular behavior, adsorbed amount, and conformational order of surfactant molecules at the interface. The results obtained from polarized Raman measurements of pure DDAO show insignificant changes in the orientation and conformational order of surface molecules as a function of DDAO bulk concentrations. The adsorption isotherm of pure DDAO shows a change in the structure of the adsorbed layer at concentrations close to the critical micelle concentration (cmc). TFA reveals that, for a low concentration of DDAO (0.30 mM in this study), adsorption of both DDAO and TX-100 in the mixed surfactants was enhanced at low TX-100 concentrations. The synergistic effect is dominant at low concentrations of TX-100, with enhanced adsorption of both surfactants. Although competitive adsorption is effective at high concentrations of TX-100, the presence of a small amount of DDAO at the interface still enhances TX-100 adsorption. When DDAO concentrations are increased to 1.00 mM, TX-100 replaces DDAO molecules on the surface when TX-100 concentration is increased.

Evaluation of the inactivation effect of Triton X-100 on Ebola virus infectivity

BackgroundThe recent Ebola virus disease outbreak occurred in West Africa since December 2013 highlighted the need of appropriate virus inactivation procedures to be set up to allow the necessary processing of specimens outside BSL-4 facilities and to perform laboratory tests without affecting clinical decisions. For this purpose, international guidelines suggest the pre-treatment of the samples with Triton X-100. ObjectivesDue to the limited scientific evidence about the efficacy of Triton X-100 on enveloped-viruses, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of Triton X-100 on the virus infectivity and to establish the optimal conditions for its use. Study designWe evaluated the effect of Triton X-100 on the infectivity of enveloped-viruses such as West Nile virus (WNV) and Ebola virus (EBOV) at different experimental conditions. The residual virus infectivity was measured by limiting dilution assay on Vero E6 cells. Repeated experiments were performed, as specified, and for the titration of residual infectivity each dilution was tested in triplicate. ResultsResults obtained with WNV showed that infectivity was reduced by 6 Logs, after 1h of treatment with different concentrations of Triton X-100 (ranging from 0.5% to 0.05%). This effect was not time-dependent using 0.1% Triton X-100. Subsequently, we applied the method on EBOV and one hour exposure to 0.1% Triton X-100 strongly affected EBOV infectivity (4 Logs of infectivity reduction). ConclusionsWe report that Triton X-100, when used alone, is able to strongly reduce the infectivity of a classical enveloped virus such as WNV and we provide, for the first time, scientific evidence that 0.1% Triton X-100 efficaciously affect Ebola virus infectivity. Even though a complete virus inactivation is not achieved, Triton X-100 certainly can contribute to mitigate the risk for the workers of accidental infection and improve the overall safety of the laboratory procedures. Further studies must be performed to deeply investigate alternative solutions able to balance higher level of safety and good performance in clinical chemistry and hematology parameters analysis, necessary for the appropriate and effective management of EVD patients.

Air-Agitated Cloud-Point Extraction Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography for Determination of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Smoked Sausages

An air-agitated cloud-point extraction procedure (AACPE), which is a new generation of cloud-point extraction procedure, has been investigated for extraction and preconcentration of four heterocyclic amines (i.e., 2-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), 2-Amino-3,4,8-trimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (4,8-DiMeIQx), 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), and 1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-B]indole (harmane)) prior to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In order to enhance the extraction efficiency, the mixture of the aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent (Triton X-114) was repeatedly aspirated and dispensed using a syringe. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the AACPE procedure, including type and amount of salt, concentration of Triton X-114, extraction time (or number of air agitations), and centrifugation time, were investigated. No temperature controller was necessary. Under the optimum extraction condition, the linearity was achieved between 0.005 and 1.00 mg kg−1 with the correlation coefficient (R 2) > 0.999. The low limit of detections (LODs) ranged from 0.001 to 0.003 mg kg−1 with high enrichment factor (EF) more than 80. Matrix-matched calibration has been used for analysis of the target analytes in real samples. The applicability of the developed procedure was successfully evaluated by the determination of the heterocyclic amines in smoked sausage samples.

Simultaneous extraction and separation of flavonoids and alkaloids from Crotalaria sessiliflora L. by microwave-assisted cloud-point extraction

Abstract A novel method of simultaneous extraction and separation of flavonoids and alkaloids from Crotalaria sessiliflora L., was developed by microwave-assisted cloud-point extraction (MACPE) using Triton X-100−NaCl−HCl system as extractant. The optimum conditions including Triton X-100 concentration, NaCl concentration, HCl concentration, solvent-to-material ratio, extraction temperature and time were investigated by orthogonal test on the single factor experiment. The extraction yields of vitexin, isovitexin and monocrotaline reached respectively up to 601.4, 386.7 and 105.5 μg/g under the optimum conditions. Compared with heating reflux extraction (HRE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), MACPE exhibited a significantly higher extraction yields and took a shorter time (only 10 min). The MACPE mechanism was discussed based on phase’s shift and extraction property. As a result, flavonoids and alkaloids can be transferred respectively to bottom phase and top phase after simultaneous extraction. The proposed method integrated MAE with cloud-point extraction (CPE) in one-step procedure took both advantages. It provided a simple and efficient alternative to extraction and separation of active constituents from the herb materials.

Efficacy of Antibacterial Peptides Against Peptide-Resistant MRSA Is Restored by Permeabilization of Bacteria Membranes.

Clinical application of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), as with conventional antibiotics, may be compromised by the development of bacterial resistance. This study investigated AMP resistance in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, including aspects related to the resilience of the resistant bacteria toward the peptides, the stability of resistance when selection pressures are removed, and whether resistance can be overcome by using the peptides with other membrane-permeabilising agents. Genotypically variant strains of S. aureus became equally resistant to the antibacterial peptides melittin and bac8c when grown in sub-lethal concentrations. Subculture of a melittin-resistant strain without melittin for 8 days lowered the minimal lethal concentration of the peptide from 170 μg ml-1 to 30 μg ml-1. Growth for 24 h in 12 μg ml-1 melittin restored the MLC to 100 μg ml-1. Flow cytometry analysis of cationic fluorophore binding to melittin-naïve and melittin-resistant bacteria revealed that resistance coincided with decreased binding of cationic molecules, suggesting a reduction in nett negative charge on the membrane. Melittin was haemolytic at low concentrations but the truncated analog of melittin, mel12-26, was confirmed to lack haemolytic activity. Although a previous report found that mel12-26 retained full bactericidal activity, we found it to lack significant activity when added to culture medium. However, electroporation in the presence of 50 μg ml-1 of mel12-26, killed 99.3% of the bacteria. Similarly, using a low concentration of the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 to permeabilize bacteria to mel12-26 markedly increased its bactericidal activity. The observation that bactericidal activity of the non-membranolytic peptide mel12-26 was enhanced when the bacterial membrane was permeablized by detergents or electroporation, suggests that its principal mechanism in reducing bacterial survival may be through interaction with intracellular organelles or processes. Additionally, our results showed that the haemolytic peptide bac8c, had increased antibacterial activity at non-haemolytic concentrations when used with membrane-permeabilizing surfactants.

Efficient method for determination of methylene blue dye in water samples based on a combined dispersive solid phase and cloud point extraction using Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes: central composite design optimization.

A new method was developed for the efficient spectrophotometric determination of methylene blue (MB) dye in solutions. The method is based on a combined dispersive solid phase and cloud point extraction using Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes (as an adsorbent). Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes were synthesized by facile and fast methods and characterized using various techniques. The developed method is based on the adsorption of MB on the Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes and transfer into a surfactant-rich phase using Triton X-114 as a nonionic surfactant. Subsequently, MB dye is desorbed from Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes using a mixture of nitric acid and methanol solution and determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The effects of pH, amount of Cu(OH)2 nanoflakes, volume (concentration of Triton X-114), and temperature were investigated by designing experiments using response surface methodology (RSM). A quadratic model was utilized to predict the variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied for the analysis of variables and their interactions, and optimal conditions were established. The results demonstrated logical agreement between experimental and predicted values of the response owing to high F value, low P value, and low lack-of-fit. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 2.0-350.0μgL-1 of MB dye with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9996. The limits of detection and quantification were found to be 0.65 and 2.05μgL-1, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to different water samples, thereby confirming the applicability of the approach. Graphical Abstract Proposed procedure.

Extraction and separation of tungsten (VI) from aqueous media with Triton X-100-ammonium sulfate-water aqueous two-phase system without any extractant

An aqueous two-phase system composed of Triton X-100−(NH4)2SO4−H2O was proposed for extraction and separation of tungsten(VI) from aqueous solution without using any extractant. The effects of aqueous pH, concentration of ammonium sulfate, Triton X-100 and tungsten, extracting temperature on the extraction of tungsten were investigated. The extraction of tungsten has remarkable relationship with aqueous pH and are to above 90% at pH=1.0–3.0 under studied pH range (pH=1.0–7.0) and increases gradually with increasing Triton X-100 concentration, but decreases slightly with increasing ammonium sulfate concentration. The extraction percentage of tungsten is hardly relevant to temperature but its distribution coefficient linearly increases with increasing temperature within 303.15–343.15K. The distribution coefficient of tungsten increases with the increase of initial tungsten concentration (0.1–3%) and temperature (303.15 K-333.15K). The solubilization capacity of tungsten in Triton X-100 micellar phase is independent of temperature. FT-IR analysis reveals that there is no evident interaction between polytungstate anion and ether oxygen unit in Triton X-100, and DLS analysis indicates that zeta potential of Triton X-100 micellar phase have a little change from positive to negative after extracting tungsten. Based on the above-mentioned results, it can be deduced that polytungstate anions are solubilized in hydrophilic outer shell of Triton X-100 micelles by electrostatic attraction depending on its relatively high hydrophobic nature. The stripping of tungsten is mainly influenced by temperature and can be easily achieved to 95% in single stage stripping. The tungsten (VI) is separated out from solution containing Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Al(III), Cr(III) and Mn(II) under the suitable conditions.

Bubble Drag Reduction Requires Large Bubbles.

In the maritime industry, the injection of air bubbles into the turbulent boundary layer under the ship hull is seen as one of the most promising techniques to reduce the overall fuel consumption. However, the exact mechanism behind bubble drag reduction is unknown. Here we show that bubble drag reduction in turbulent flow dramatically depends on the bubble size. By adding minute concentrations (6ppm) of the surfactant Triton X-100 into otherwise completely unchanged strongly turbulent Taylor-Couette flow containing bubbles, we dramatically reduce the drag reduction from more than 40% to about 4%, corresponding to the trivial effect of the bubbles on the density and viscosity of the liquid. The reason for this striking behavior is that the addition of surfactants prevents bubble coalescence, leading to much smaller bubbles. Our result demonstrates that bubble deformability is crucial for bubble drag reduction in turbulent flow and opens the door for an optimization of the process.

Lipase production with free and immobilized cells of cold-adapted yeast Rhodotorula glutinis HL25

Abstract This study was undertaken to produce the lipase by free and immobilized cells of cold-adapted yeast Rhodotorula glutinis HL25 using waste frying oils as substrate. The optimization of culture parameters was performed using traditional one-factor-at-a-time protocol. The temperature 20 °C and initial pH 6.0 were optimal for lipase production by both free and immobilized cells. An inoculum size of 40 mL/L for free cells and beads number of 150 g/L for immobilized cells were optimal for lipase production. Optimal waste frying oil concentration and incubation time were 30 mL/L and 84 h for free cells but 40 mL/L and 72 h for immobilized cells, respectively. The maximum increases for free and immobilized cells were achieved at the Triton X-100 concentrations of 5 and 7.5 mL/L, respectively. The maximum lipase activities were determined as 54.4 and 75.2 U/L for free and immobilized cells, respectively. Immobilized cells could be used in five successive reaction cycles without any loss in the maximum activity. Immobilized cells could retained about 70% of their maximum activity by the end of the cycle 10. This is the first attempt on lipase production potential of a cold-adapted strain of the yeast R. glutinis . Furthermore, lipase production using immobilized cells of cold-adapted yeasts was investigated for the first time.

Impact of surface dilation rate on dynamic surface tension

In past studies, estimating the dynamic surface tension in processes involving significant surface deformation relied heavily on empirical relations. Despite its importance, the detailed dynamics of surfactant adsorption onto a dilating surface have not been investigated extensively. In this study, we modified the pendant bubble tensiometer to provide direct observation on the dynamics of surfactant adsorption during rapid surface dilation. The relaxation of dynamic surface tension for bubbles rapidly expanding in the solution of four different bulk concentrations of Triton-X 100 was studied. It was found that surface tension rose with increasing surface area due to the decrease in surface concentration. Moreover, when surface dilational rate was increased, it was found that the relation between surface tension and surface area came to resemble the equation of state of two dimensional surfactant phase when dilational rates were larger than a certain threshold value, indicating that the adsorption of surfactant became negligible. This threshold value was found to increase with surfactant concentration. The results showed that the procedure established in this study could serve as a simple guideline to determine whether adsorption can be neglected in a process involving dilating surfaces. In addition, the detailed dynamical data reported in this work can serve as an experimental reference for multiphase flow simulations involving species that adsorb on interfaces.

Preconcentration of Zn, Cu, and Ni Ions from Coffee Infusions via 8-Hydroxyquinoline Complexes on Graphene Prior to Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Determination.

A simple and effective preconcentration procedure based on dispersive micro solid-phase extraction prior to energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometric (EDXRF) determination of trace amounts of Ni, Cu, and Zn in coffee infusions was proposed. The method is based on the adsorption of 8-hydroxyquinoline metal complexes on micro amounts of graphene nanoparticles. In order to optimize adsorption process, the influence of some parameters such as pH, graphene mass, concentration of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) and Triton X-100, sample volume, and sorption time were examined. At optimal preconcentration conditions, calibration curves were linear from 1 to 150 ng mL-1 for Ni and Cu and from 1 to 200 ng mL-1 for Zn. The recoveries of the metal ions were in the 95-98% range with the precision lower than 4.6%. The obtained detection limits were 0.08 ng mL-1 for Ni and 0.09 ng mL-1 for Cu and Zn. The proposed method was successfully applied to determination of Ni, Cu, and Zn in coffee infusions. Accuracy and repeatability of the proposed procedure were confirmed by the standard addition method and compared to the results obtained by ICP-OES technique.

Biochemical characterization and gene cloning of a novel alkaline endo-1-4-glucanase from Bacillus subtilis DR8806

In the present study, an endo-1-4-glucanase was isolated from Bacillus subtilis DR8806. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity via salt precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a molecular mass of 52kDa. Optimum pH of enzyme was 9.5 and the enzyme was stable at pH range of 8.5–10.5. The optimum temperature of enzyme was found to be 55°C and it showed a remarkable stability at temperatures between 40 and 60°C. The enzyme activity was stimulated by Co2+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Na+ ions while Hg2+, Mn2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ ions were found to inhibit the enzyme activity. The enzyme activity was decreased by increasing in concentration of β-mercaptoethanol, EDTA, SDS, PMSF and Triton X-100. Organic solvents such as hexane, 2-propanol, acetone and ethanol (20% v/v) stimulated enzyme activity by 110%, 114%, 119% and 128%, respectively. Imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) had inhibitory effects on endo-1-4-glucanase activity. Using carboxymethyl cellulose as substrate, kinetic parameters of Km apparent and Vmax were calculated to be 1.49% (W/V) and 66.66μMmin−1mg−1, respectively. Endo-1-4-glucanase coding gene of B. subtilis DR8806 was identified by T/A cloning. The computational modeling of endo-1-4-glucanase showed that two Glu residues are at active site. Our results suggest that the enzyme has great of potential applications in hydrolyzing cellulosic substrates.