MnO2 nanosheets as the biomimetic oxidase for rapid and sensitive oxalate detection combining with bionic E-eye.

Urolithiasis commonly occurs in kidney and ureteral, and may cause local organ/tissue damage, even kidney failure. The incidence of this disease is increasing worldwide, in which calcium oxalate is the major composition forming the urinary calculus. Therefore, to monitor this disease for the prevention and treatment, measuring the oxalate in the urine is of great significance. Here, a rapid and sensitive colorimetric method was developed based on 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine-manganese dioxide (TMB-MnO2) nanosheets for oxalate detection. MnO2 nanosheets acted as an efficient biomimetic oxidase to catalyze the reaction with TMB and oxalate. Pale yellow TMB can be oxidized to blue oxide TMB catalyzed by BSA-stabilized MnO2 nanosheets, and oxalate can selectively inhibit this reaction by consuming and reacting with MnO2 nanosheets, thus achieving the quantitative detection of oxalate. Moreover, a home-made bionic electronic-eye (E-eye) system was developed as a portable in-situ detection platform to efficiently measure the oxalate concentrations in 10 s by direct photographing. By optimizing experimental conditions, this method shows a wide linear range (7.8 µM to 250 µM) and a low detection limit (0.91 µM) for oxalate detection. Besides, this method exhibits high selectivity even with 80-fold interfering chemicals. Furthermore, the performance of the method was validated by testing the artificial urine samples, indicating its great potential for monitoring and diagnosis of urolithiasis in point-of-care applications.

Determination of oxalate and citrate in urine by capillary electrophoresis using solid-phase extraction and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity based on an improved mini-cell.

A new method for the rapid determination of the metabolites oxalate and citrate in urine samples was based on capillary electrophoresis and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection coupled with solid-phase extraction. The detection cell for capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was improved with a smaller inner volume (1.5 nL), reduced noise (0.2∼0.5 mV) and better reproducibility and durability. Under optimal conditions, oxalate and citrate can achieve baseline separation within 4 min and the detection limits (S/N = 3) for oxalate and citrate are about 44 and 244 ng/mL, respectively. The overall recovery is between 80.0 and 89.2%. This method offers a better choice for quantitative analysis of strong anions such as oxalate and citrate in diagnostic testing associated with human diseases.

Nutritional and Biochemical Profiling of Leucopaxillus candidus (Bres.) Singer Wild Mushroom.

The wild mushroom Leucopaxillus candidus (Bres.) Singer was studied for the first time to obtain information about its chemical composition, nutritional value and bioactivity. Free sugars, fatty acids, tocopherols, organic and phenolic acids were analysed by chromatographic techniques coupled to different detectors. L. candidus methanolic extract was tested regarding antioxidant potential (reducing power, radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition). L. candidus was shown to be an interesting species in terms of nutritional value, with high content in proteins and carbohydrates, but low fat levels, with the prevalence of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Mannitol was the most abundant free sugar and ß-tocopherol was the main tocopherol isoform. Other compounds detected were oxalic and fumaric acids, p-hydroxybenzoic and cinnamic acids. The methanolic extract revealed antioxidant activity and did not show hepatoxicity in porcine liver primary cells. The present study provides new information about L. candidus.

Semi-automated production of 89Zr-oxalate/89Zr-chloride and the potential of 89Zr-chloride in radiopharmaceutical compounding.

Interest in using (89)Zr is rapidly increasing for immuno-PET applications due to its unique characteristics and increased availability. The focus of this study was to develop an optimized semi-automated methodology for producing (89)Zr-oxalate/(89)Zr-chloride, and evaluate the potential application of (89)Zr-chloride for radiopharmaceutical compounding. The data presented herein will be useful for the production of (89)Zr-labeled radiopharmaceuticals and their compliance with regulatory issues for both preclinical and clinical use.

Oxalate quantification in hemodialysate to assess dialysis adequacy for primary hyperoxaluria.

BACKGROUND: Patients with primary hyperoxaluria (PH) overproduce oxalate which is eliminated via the kidneys. If end-stage kidney disease develops they are at high risk for systemic oxalosis, unless adequate oxalate is removed during hemodialysis (HD) to equal or exceed ongoing oxalate production. The purpose of this study was to validate a method to measure oxalate removal in this unique group of dialysis patients. METHODS: Fourteen stable patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PH on HD were included in the study. Oxalate was measured serially in hemodialysate and plasma samples in order to calculate rates of oxalate removal. HD regimens were adjusted according to a given patient's historical oxalate production, amount of oxalate removal at dialysis, residual renal clearance of oxalate, and plasma oxalate levels. RESULTS: After a typical session of HD, plasma oxalate was reduced by 78.4 ± 7.7%. Eight patients performed HD 6 times/week, 2 patients 5 times/week, and 3 patients 3 times/week. Combined oxalate removal by HD and the kidneys was sufficient to match or exceed endogenous oxalate production. After a median period of 9 months, pre-dialysis plasma oxalate was significantly lower than initially (75.1 ± 33.4 vs. 54.8 ± 46.6 mmol/l, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: This methodology can be used to individualize the dialysis prescription of PH patients to prevent oxalosis during the time they are maintained on HD and to reduce risk of oxalate injury to a transplanted kidney.

Metal and oxalate contamination in a suburban watershed in the greater Toronto area: the benefits of combining acid leach and selective extraction procedures.

Environmentally available concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr and Ni in soils and sediments from a small suburban catchment, obtained using an acid leach procedure, are compared to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment lowest effect level (LEL) and severe effect levels (SEL) and to Provincial sediment quality guidelines (PSQG's). These data are then compared to the bioavailability, potential bioavailability and non-bioavailability of the same metals, plus oxalate concentration, identified using a selective extraction procedure. This combination of techniques enhanced analytical interpretation with respect to metal mobility and potential metal contamination. Selective extraction highlighted the presence of oxalate as a potential contaminant, especially in poorly drained valley floor deposits (33,633 mg kg(-1) and 26,284 mg kg(-1)) and lakeshore sediments (27,095 mg kg(-1) and 13,729 mg kg(-1)). These levels are considerably in excess of those previously documented in a similar study from Rio de Janeiro, where contamination of urban sediment by sewage is a recognised environmental problem, and could possibly be used both as an indicator of similar contamination and the identification of those areas that warrant further investigation.

The isolation of citric acid derivatives from Aspergillus niger.

A strain of Aspergillus niger was cultured from a soil sample collected from Five Islands Provincial Park, Nova Scotia, Canada. Extraction of fermentation cultures revealed the production of significant levels of dimethyl citrate (1) and trimethyl citrate (2), as well as a small amount of dimethyl oxalate (3). This appears to be the first report of the production of methylated citric acid derivatives in a filamentous fungus.

Design and synthesis of thiourea based receptor containing naphthalene as oxalate selective sensor.

The thiourea based receptor containing naphthalene groups (1), has been successfully designed and synthesized for application as an oxalate receptor. A density functional theory at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory has been applied to predict the binding ability between 1 and selected anions, i.e., oxalate, malonate, succinate, glutarate, dihydrogen phosphate, and hydrogen sulphate. Calculation results point out that receptor 1 shows the strongest interaction to oxalate ion with the binding free energy of 172.48 kcal mol(-1). The recognition ability of 1 to the selected anions has been also investigated by means of the absorption and emission techniques. Experimental results are in excellent agreement with the calculation data in which receptor 1 shows highly selective for oxalate ion over the other anions with logbeta of 3.82 (0.02) M(-1) by means of the size of binding cavity.

Reduction of endocrine disruptor emissions in the environment: the benefit of wastewater treatment.

The occurrence and fate of four estrogens and five alkylphenolic compounds were studied in thirteen plants with various treatment processes, sizes and countries. Complete load mass balance, including water and sludge phases, has shown a high reduction of the total load of hormones, around 90%. The removal of alkylphenols was more variable, due to the degradation of nonylphenol (NP) precursors - alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEO) - during the treatment, resulting in significant production of shorter and toxic alkylphenols (NP and short polyethoxylates) that concentrate in the sludges. Under anaerobic conditions, such as anaerobic digestion process, the load of NP was in most cases observed to increase. When considering the environmental impact, the high reduction of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) concentrations between raw wastewater and effluent enables to satisfy the requirements of the Water Framework Directive for NP except in very critical situations where the dilution factor of the effluent in the river would be lower than 7. For sludges, the pending European Directive on spreading of sludge on land would be complied with in all cases.

Effect of Fenton reagent dose on coexisting chemical and microbial oxidation in soil.

The ability of modified Fenton reactions to promote simultaneous chemical and biological oxidation in an artificially contaminated soil was studied in batch laboratory slurry reactors. Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and oxalate (OA) were used to distinguish chemical oxidation from aerobic heterotrophic metabolism. PCE was mineralized by Fenton reactions, but OA was not oxidized. Indigenous soil microorganisms did not degrade added PCE aerobically but readily assimilated OA. Fenton reactions were promoted at the natural soil pH (7.6) by adding H2O2 and Fe(III), with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) as a chelator, at a constant molar ratio of H2O2/Fe(III)/NTA of 50:1:1. The *OH-mediated mineralization of PCE was demonstrated by adding 2-propanol (an *OH scavenger), which inhibited PCE oxidation. In subsequent dosing studies, PCE oxidation served as an indicator of Fenton reactions, while OA assimilation, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, and heterotrophic plate counts were indicators of aerobic microbial activity. Increasing Fenton doses to 20 times that required to achieve 95% PCE oxidation only delayed OA assimilation by 500 min and reduced plate counts by 1.5 log units g(-1) soil. Results show that aerobic metabolism can coexist with Fenton oxidation in soils.

[Effects of selective extraction on microorganisms on biomembrane in natural water body].

By the methods of direct viable count and plate count, this paper studied the effects of different selective extractants on the bacteria, algae and protozoan on the biomembrane in natural water body. The results indicated that the stronger the extraction ability of selective extractant, the fewer the living microorganisms on the biomembrane after extraction. Compared with the control, the percentages of living microorganisms on the biomembrane were 27.6, 14.1 and 0.01, respectively, after extracted by hydroxylamine hydrochloride (0.01 mol x L(-1) NH2OH.HCl + 0.01 mol x L(-1) HNO3), sodium dithionite (0.4 mol x L(-1) Na2S2O4, pH 6.0), and acidified ammonium oxalate. Very few bacteria was left after extracted by nitric acid (15% HNO3), and no microorgariisms could be detected after extracted by H2O2/HNO3, suggesting that the use of selective extractants affected the activity of biomembrane. With the decreasing amount of microorganisms on the biomembrane after treated with selective extractants, the adsorption of heavy metals by the biomembrane was gradually depressed.

Phosphorus retention and sorption by constructed wetland soils in Southeast Ireland.

It may be necessary to use constructed wetlands as a land use practice to mitigate phosphorus (P) loss from agriculture in Ireland. The objectives of this study were to determine the ability of two constructed wetland site soils to retain and sorb P. Intact soil/water column studies were used to determine P release/retention rates during a 30-day incubation period. Soil columns flooded with distilled water released P during the first 2 days; however, soluble reactive P (SRP) concentrations in overlying floodwaters decreased thereafter. Soils with overlying floodwaters spiked at 5 and 15 mg SRP L(-1) retained highest amounts of P (p < 0.05) with retention at these concentrations controlled by SRP in overlying waters. Retention rates by soils ranged between 0.3 and 60.9 mg Pm(-2) d(-1). Maximum P sorption capacity (Smax) was higher for wetland soils at Dunhill, Waterford (1464 mg P kg(-1)) in comparison to soils at Johnstown Castle, Wexford (618 mg P kg(-1)). Equilibrium P concentrations (EPC0) were low (in the microg SRP L(-1) range), indicating a high capacity of these soils to sorb P. Phosphorus sorption parameters were significantly related to ammonium oxalate extractable aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe) content of soils.

Evidence of formation of glushinskite as a biomineral in a Cactaceae species.

The X-ray diffractometric and infrared spectroscopic investigation of crystalline material isolated from the Cactaceae species Opuntia ellisiana shows the presence of a very complex mineral composition, including whewellite (monohydrated calcium oxalate), opal (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3) and glushinskite (dihydrated magnesium oxalate). This is the first report of the presence of magnesium oxalate in plants.

Antibacterial diterpenoids from Fabiana densa var. ramulosa.

A biologically monitored fractionation of the resinous exudate of Fabiana densa Remy var. ramulosa Wedd. led to the isolation of the two new diterpenes: ent-beyer-15-en-18-O-succinate and ent-beyer-15-en-18-O-oxalate as the unique compounds responsible for the observed antibacterial activity of this extract. Their structures were determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.

[Simultaneous separation of organic acid and organic salts by electrostatic ion chromatography].

The electrostatic ion chromatographic column was prepared by coating conjugated acid salt micelles on the surface of octadecyl silica stationary phase. Pure water was used as mobile phase, and the conductance detector was connected on-line to electrostatic ion chromatograph. The conditions under which organic acid and organic salts were detected were studied. The mechanism for the above separation is discussed. Sodium benzoate and citric acid in Lichee drink were separated and determined. This method is rapid, simple with little interference and good reproducibility without any pollution since the mobile phase is water. This is an environmental friendly analytical method.

Immunochemical detection of oxalate monoalkylamide, an ascorbate-derived Maillard reaction product in the human lens.

Carbohydrates with reactive aldehyde and ketone groups can undergo Maillard reactions with proteins to form advanced glycation end products. Oxalate monoalkylamide was identified as one of the advanced glycation end products formed from the Maillard reaction of ascorbate with proteins. In these experiments, we have analyzed human lens proteins immunochemically for the presence of oxalate monoalkylamide. Oxalate monoalkylamide was absent in most of the very young lenses but was present in old and cataractous lenses. The highest levels were found in senile brunescent lenses. Incubation experiments using bovine lens proteins revealed that oxalate monoalkylamide could form from the ascorbate degradation products, 2,3-diketogulonate and L-threose. These data provide the first evidence for oxalate monoalkylamide in vivo and suggest that ascorbate degradation and its binding to proteins are enhanced during lens aging and cataract formation.

[Chemical constituents of Bulgaria inquinans (Fries)].

Three compounds were isolated from Bulgaria inquinans. They were identified as ergosterol, galacitiol and ethanedioic acid.

Conversion of D-arabinose to D-erythroascorbic acid and oxalic acid in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

D-glycero-Pent-2-enono-1,4-lactone (trivial name: D-erythroascorbic acid) occurs in the phytopathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, where it has a potential role as precursor of oxalic acid. On Glc/yeast/malt medium, S. sclerotiorum produces only nominal amounts of D-erythroascorbic acid but even partial replacement of Glc by D-Ara increases production of erythroascorbic acid and oxalic acid. Use of D-[1-14C]-, -[3-14C]-, or -[6-14C]Glc and D-[5-3H]-, -[2-14C,5-3H]-, or -[UL-14C]Ara provide additional information on erythroascorbic acid biosynthesis and cleavage. The latter process resembles that obtained by peroxygenation of erythroascorbic acid in alkaline solution. An unknown erythroascorbic acid-like compound also occurs in both Glc- and Ara-based cultures.