Effect of calcium hydroxide on morphology and physicochemical properties of Enterococcus faecalis biofilm.

Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 has been used as an intracanal medicament to targets microbial biofilms and avert secondary infection in the root canal system. This study evaluated the effects of this material on the morphology and physicochemical properties of an established in-vitro biofilm of Enterococcus faecalis. A biofilm of E. faecalis was grown in multichannel plates. The chemicals including Ca2+, OH-, and saturated Ca(OH)2 (ie 21.6 mM) were prepared in order to evaluate which component eradicated or amplified biofilm structure. Various biochemical and microscopic methods were used to investigate the properties of the biofilm. Biofilms treated with Ca(OH)2 absorbed more Ca2+ because of the alkaline pH of the environment and the ions affected the physicochemical properties of the E. faecalis biofilm. A denser biofilm with more cavities and a granular surface was observed in the presence of Ca2+ ions. This resulted in a decrease in the surface-to-biofilm ratio with increases in its biomass, thickness, colony size, and volume. Calcium hydroxide did not destroy E. faecalis biofilms but rather contributed to the biofilm structure. This in-vitro study sheds light on a missing link in the formation of E. faecalis biofilm in which the Ca2+ in Ca(OH)2.

Fabrication of high performance bioanode based on fruitful association of dendrimer and carbon nanotube used for design O2/glucose membrane-less biofuel cell with improved bilirubine oxidase biocathode.

In this study, the preparation of an integrated modified electrode based on the covalent attachment of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) enzyme and safranin O to amine-derivative multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-NH2) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode using G2.5-carboxylated PAMAM dendrimer (Den) as linking agent is reported. The obtained results indicated that the proposed system has effective bioelectrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation at 100 mV with onset potential of -130 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). The performance of the prepared hybrid system of GC/MWCNTs-NH2/Den/GDH/Safranin as anode in a membraneless enzyme-based glucose/O2 biofuel cell is further evaluated. The biocathode in this system was composed of bilirubin oxidase (BOX) enzyme immobilized onto a bilirubin modified carbon nanotube GC electrode. Immobilized BOX onto CNTs/bilirubin not only show direct electron transfer but also it has excellent electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction at a positive potential of 610 mV. The open circuit voltage of the cell was 590 mV. The maximum current density was 0.5 mA cm(-2), while maximum power density of 108 µW cm(-2) was achieved at voltage of 330 mV. The immobilized enzymes in anode and cathode are very stable and output power of the BFC is approximately constant after 12 h continues operation.

Fabrication of a highly sensitive adenosine aptasensor based on covalent attachment of aptamer onto chitosan-carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid nanocomposite.

The present study describes the fabrication of a novel electrochemical aptasensor for the label-free determination of adenosine. The immobilization surface is prepared by the modification of a glassy carbon (GC) electrode with a robust nanocomposite containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes, ionic liquid and chitosan(MWCNTs-IL-CHIT). Amine-terminated 12-mer capture probe(ssDNA1) is covalently attached onto the nanocomposite using glutaraldehyde (GA) as the linking agent, a 32-mer adenosine-specific aptamer (ssDNA2) immobilized onto the electrode surface through hybridization with the ssDNA1 and methylene blue (MB) used as the redox probe. The peak current of MB decreased linearly with increasing adenosine concentration due to the formation of aptamer-adenosine complex and displacement of the aptamer from the modified electrode surface. The aptasensor showed a low detection limit of 150 pM and high sensitivity of 0.67 µAnM⁻¹ at a concentration range of up to 0.4 µM. Through the control experiments performed by using some other nucleosides such as guanosine, cytidine and uridine, the excellent specificity of this sensor toward adenosine detection is demonstrated. The potential applicability of the aptasensor is successfully applied for measuring adenosine concentration in blood serum and drug formulation samples.The herein described methodology may hold great promise for fabrication of other aptasensors and immunosensors.

Immobilization of [Cu(bpy)2]Br2 complex onto a glassy carbon electrode modified with alpha-SiMo12O40(4-) and single walled carbon nanotubes: application to nanomolar detection of hydrogen peroxide and bromate.

A simple procedure has been used for preparation of modified glassy carbon electrode with carbon nanotubes and copper complex. Copper complex [Cu(bpy)(2)]Br(2) was immobilized onto glassy carbon (GC) electrode modified with silicomolybdate, alpha-SiMo(12)O(40)(4-) and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Copper complex and silicomolybdate irreversibly and strongly adsorbed onto GC electrode modified with CNTs. Electrostatic interactions between polyoxometalates (POMs) anions and Cu-complex, cations mentioned as an effective method for fabrication of three-dimensional structures. The modified electrode shows three reversible redox couples for polyoxometalate and one redox couple for Cu-complex at wide range of pH values. The electrochemical behavior, stability and electron transfer kinetics of the adsorbed redox couples were investigated using cyclic voltammetry. Due to electrostatic interaction, copper complex immobilized onto GC/CNTs/alpha-SiMo(12)O(40)(4-) electrode shows more stable voltammetric response compared to GC/CNTs/Cu-complex modified electrode. In comparison to GC/CNTs/Cu-complex the GC/CNTs/alpha-SiMo(12)O(40)(4-) modified electrodes shows excellent electrocatalytic activity toward reduction H(2)O(2) and BrO(3)(-) at more reduced overpotential. The catalytic rate constants for catalytic reduction hydrogen peroxide and bromate were 4.5(+/-0.2)x10(3) M(-1) s(-1) and 3.0(+/-0.10)x10(3) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The hydrodynamic amperommetry technique at 0.08 V was used for detection of nanomolar concentration of hydrogen peroxide and bromate. Detection limit, sensitivity and linear concentration range proposed sensor for bromate and hydrogen peroxide detection were 1.1 nM and 6.7 nA nM(-1), 10 nM-20 microM, 1 nM, 5.5 nA nM(-1) and 10 nM-18 microM, respectively.