Rapid and direct electrochemical determination of Ni(II) in industrial discharge water.

Industrial water contains a number of contaminants, such as organic pollutants and heavy metals, which can significantly affect the quality of soil, ground and environmental waters. We have successfully optimized and tested an electrochemical method and sensor modified with dimethylglyoxime for monitoring of nickel(II). The detection limit was 0.03mg/L and determination limit was 0.09mg/L. Linear concentration range was observed from 0.06 to 0.5mg/L Ni(II) and it is suitable for the analysis of environmental waters. The effect of all parameters important for on-site measurements (such as interferences, presence of dissolved oxygen, temperature) was investigated and considered in the analysis of mine discharge water. Water samples were analyzed without any pretreatment or filtration. A low level of error (5.6%) was observed for analysis demonstrating the usability of the optimized sensor and method for on-site measurements.

Cauliflower-like CdS microspheres composed of nanocrystals and their physicochemical properties.

Cauliflower-like cadmium sulfide (CdS) microspheres composed of nanocrystals have been successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the template coordination agent and characterized by a variety of methods. Our experiments confirmed that the size of the CdS microspheres could be easily modified by controlling the chain length of PEG. Powder X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements revealed the cubic structure of the CdS microspheres; morphological studies performed by HR-SEM and HR-TEM methods showed the cauliflower-like structure of the synthesized CdS microspheres. Each microsphere was identified to be created by the self-assembly of CdS nanocrystals and is attributed to the oriented aggregation of the CdS nanocrystals around a polymer-Cd(2+) complex spherical framework structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis confirmed the stoichiometries of the CdS microspheres. Diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS) measurements showed that increasing the PEG chain length increased the band gap value of the CdS microspheres slightly, from 1.99 to 2.06 eV. The cauliflower-like CdS microspheres could be applied to photocatalytic degradation studies.

Disposable DNA biosensor with the carbon nanotubes-polyethyleneimine interface at a screen-printed carbon electrode for tests of DNA layer damage by quinazolines.

A screen-printed carbon working electrode within a commercially available screen-printed three-electrode assembly was modified by using a composite of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) dispersed in polyethylenimine (PEI) followed by covering with the calf thymus dsDNA layer. Several electrochemical methods were used to characterize the biosensor and to evaluate damage to the surface-attached DNA: square wave voltammetry of the [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) redox indicator and mediator of the guanine moiety oxidation, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the presence of the [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) indicator in solution. Due to high electroconductivity and large surface area of MWCNT and positive charge of PEI, the MWCNT-PEI composite is an advantageous platform for the DNA immobilization by the polyelectrolyte complexation and its voltammetric and impedimetric detection. In this respect, the MWCNT-PEI interface exhibited better properties than the MWCNT-chitosan one reported from our laboratory previously. A deep DNA layer damage at incubation of the biosensor in quinazoline solution was found, which depends on the quinazoline concentration and incubation time.

Interaction of tin(II) and arsenic(III) with DNA at the nanostructure film modified electrodes.

Biosensors based on DNA and DNA-carbon nanotubes film immobilized at the surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode were used for simple in vitro tests of chemical toxicity. The damage to DNA caused by tin(II) and arsenic(III) compounds as components of specific reaction media was evaluated by means of an electrochemical DNA marker, [Co(phen)3](3+), as the portion of original dsDNA which survives an incubation of the biosensor in the cleavage medium. The results were confirmed by the electrically heated electrode and by the measurement of the DNA guanine moiety signal.