Characterization of free and immobilized lipase from Penicillium sp. onto three modified bentonites: A comparative study.

The present work was conducted to investigate the immobilization of lipase from Penicillium sp. onto three modified bentonites by simple adsorption and crosslinking methods. The composites were characterized by FTIR, SEM and BET. The free and bentonite-supported lipase was evaluated in terms of operational and storage stability and pH and thermal activity and stability. The kinetic parameters were also evaluated. The results show that all immobilized enzymes had better thermal and pH stability compared to free enzymes. Among the immobilized enzymes, GDU-bent-lipase had more efficient performance in thermal (38% of its initial activity within 24 h at 65 °C), operational (70% residual activity after 9 cycles), storage stability (70.14% of its initial activities at 4 °C for 21 days), and kinetic properties (effectiveness factor 0.79 relative to free enzyme) than free and other immobilized enzymes. The adsorption isotherm was modeled by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms which Langmuir isotherm indicated a better fit of the experimental adsorption data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comparative report about the immobilization of lipase Produced by Penicillium sp., isolated from olive mill wastewater, and the most comprehensive study about the immobilization of lipase onto several supports.

Isolation, identification and optimization of enhanced production of laccase from Galactomyces geotrichum under solid-state fermentation.

Laccases are a group of oxidases that catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of electron rich substrates like phenolic compounds, lignin and aromatic amines. They are of interest because of their potential to be used in environmental and industrial applications. In this research, potent laccase producer fungi were screened and isolated from olive mill wastewater (OMW). One of the 23 isolated fungi was identified as Galactomyces geotrichum based on 18S rDNA sequence analysis that detected good laccase activity. Produced laccase had a molecular weight of 55 kDa that was confirmed by zymogram analysis. This is the first report about the optimization of laccase Production by G. geotrichum under solid-state fermentation. The optimization was made by the Taguchi design of experiments (DOE) methodology. An orthogonal array (L25) was designed using Minitab 19 software to study four effective process factors in five levels for laccase production. The optimum condition derived was; moisture content (80%), fermentation time (14 day), CuSO4⋅5H2O as the inducer (300 µM), glucose as a co-substrate (5 g/L). Maximum laccase activity of 52.86 (U/g of dry substrate) was obtained using optimum fermentation condition. This study aimed to better understand the laccase producing microorganisms in OMW and take them to OMW treatment that is rich in phenolic compounds.

Detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose by using Tb2(MoO4)3 nanoplates as peroxidase mimics.

Tb2(MoO4)3 nanostructures are demonstrated for the first time to have an intrinsic peroxidase-like activity. Tb2(MoO4)3 nanoplates could efficiently catalyse the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to generate a blue dye (with an absorbance maximum at 652nm) in the presence of H2O2. Based on the highly efficient catalytic of Tb2(MoO4)3 nanoplates, a novel system for optical determination of H2O2 and glucose was successfully established under optimized conditions. The assay had 0.0.08µM and 0.1µM detection limit for H2O2 and glucose, respectively. In our opinion, this enzyme mimetic has a potential to use in other oxidase based assays.

Enhanced chemiluminescence CdSe quantum dots by histidine and tryptophan.

The enhancing effect of histidine and tryptophan on chemiluminescence (CL) of CdSe quantum dots (QDs)-H2O2 system was studied. This reaction is based on the catalytic effect of amino acids, causing a significant increase in the light emission, as a result of the reaction of quantum dots (QDs) with hydrogen peroxide. In the optimum conditions, this method was satisfactorily described by linear calibration curve in the range of 0.66-35.5 µM and 0.83-35.1 µM for histidine and tryptophan, respectively. The effect of various parameters such as concentration of CdSe QDs, concentration of H2O2 and concentration of imidazole on the intensity of CL system were studied. The main experimental advantage of the proposed method is it's selective to two amino acids compared with other amino acids.

Flow-injection potentiometry by poly(vinyl chloride)-membrane electrodes with diphosphoryl-dicarboxylicacid-p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene ionophore for the determination of Th(IV) ions.

A new coated ion-selective electrode for the determination of trace thorium ions by flow-injection potentiometry (FIP) has been developed. A poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-based membrane was coated on a graphite electrode. The optimum membrane contained 5 wt% diphosphoryl-dicarboxylicacid-p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (L) as the ionophore, 59 wt% dioctyl phthalate (DOP), 33 wt% PVC and 3 wt% additive sodium tetraphenylborate. The response was linear from 2.0 × 10(-7) to 1.0 × 10(-2) M with a slope of 13.9 mV decade(-1) and a limit of detection of 9.0 × 10(-8) M. The pH-independent region ranged from 3.15 to 6.5, and the lifetime was longer than 8 weeks when used in the flow injection analysis (FIA) system. Selectivity coefficients for several ions were obtained by the separate solutions method. Results showed that, for all cations used, the selectivity coefficients were in the order of 10(-3), or smaller. The flow cell is simple to construct and free from memory effect problems over long periods of use. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the direct determination of thorium in both real and synthetic samples.

Homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction via flotation assistance for rapid and efficient determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples.

In this work, a rapid, simple and efficient homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction via flotation assistance (HLLME-FA) method was developed based on applying low density organic solvents without no centrifugation. For the first time, a special extraction cell was designed to facilitate collection of the low-density solvent extraction in the determination of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The effect of different variables on the extraction efficiency was studied simultaneously using experimental design. The variables of interest in the HLLME-FA were selected as extraction and homogeneous solvent volumes, ionic strength and extraction time. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to investigate the optimum conditions of all the variables. Using optimized variables in the extraction process, for all target PAHs, the detection limits, the precisions and the linearity of the method were found in the range of 14-41 µg L(-1), 3.7-10.3% (RSD, n=3) and 50-1000 µg L(-1), respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of four target PAHs in the water samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil samples using flotation-assisted homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction.

In this study, flotation-assisted homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction (FA-HLLME) was developed as a fast, simple, and efficient method for extraction of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil samples followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis. A special home-made extraction cell was designed to facilitate collection of the low-density extraction solvent without a need for centrifugation. In this method, PAHs were extracted from soil samples into methanol and water (1:1, v/v) using ultrasound in two steps followed by filtration as a clean-up step. The filtrate was added into the home-made extraction cell contained mixture of 1.0 mL methanol (homogenous solvent) and 150.0 µL toluene (extraction solvent). Using N(2) flotation, the dispersed extraction solvent was transferred to the surface of the mixture and was collected by means of a micro-syringe. Then, 2 µL of the collected organic solvent was injected into the GC-FID for subsequent analysis. Under optimal conditions, linearity of the method was in the range of 40-1000 µg kg(-1) soil (dry weight). The relative standard deviations in real samples varied from 5.9 to 15.2% (n=4). The proposed method was successfully applied to analyze the target PAHs in soil samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.

A novel PVC-membrane optical sensor for highly sensitive and selective determination of UO2(2+) ion based on a recently synthesized benzo-substituted macrocyclic diamide and dibenzoylmethane.

A highly sensitive ion-selective bulk optode membrane for sensing UO2(2+) ion based on plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) containing 6,7,9,10,12,13,15,16,23,24,25,26-dodecahydrodibenzo[n,v][1,4,7,10,13,17,20]pentaoxa-diazacyclotricosine-22,27-dione as ionophore, dibenzodylmethane as chromoionophore and sodium tetraphenylborate as an ionic additive was prepared. In addition to its high stability, reproducibility and relatively long lifetime, the proposed optical sensor revealed good selectivity for uranyl ion over a large number of alkali, alkaline earth, transition, and heavy metal ions. The proposed sensor displays a calibration response for UO2(2+) over a concentration range of 4.3 x 10(-6) to 2.5 x 10(-8) M with a limit of detection of 8.0 x 10(-9) M and a response time of less than 12 min. The proposed optical sensor was applied successfully to the determination of UO2(2+) ion in tap water and Khoshumi mine concentrated solution samples.

A novel flow injection potentiometric graphite coated ion-selective electrode for the low level determination of uranyl ion.

Solution studies on the binding properties of uranyl ion toward four different recently synthesized benzo-substituted macrocyclic diamides L1-L4 revealed the occurrence of a 1:1 complexation of the ligands with UO(2)(2+) ion, with a stability order of L2>L1>L4>L3. Consequently, L2 was used as a suitable neutral ionophore for the preparation of novel polymeric membrane (PME) and coated graphite (CGE) UO(2)(2+)-selective electrodes. The electrodes exhibit a Nernstian behavior for UO(2)(2+) ions over wide concentration ranges (1.0 x 10(-6) - 1.0 x 10(-1) M for PME and 1.0 x 10(-7) - 1.0 x 10(-1) M for CGE) and very low limits of detection (8.0 x 10(-7) M for PME and 7.3 x 10(-8) M for CGE). The proposed potentiometric sensors manifest advantages of fast response and, most importantly, good selectivity with respect to many alkali, alkaline earth, transition, and heavy metal ions. The potentiometric responses of the electrodes are independent of the pH of the test solution in the pH range 2.9-3.7. The CGE was used in flow injection potentiometry and resulted in well defined peaks for uranyl ions with stable baseline, excellent reproducibility and very high sampling rate of 170 injections per hour. The proposed FIP system was used for the determination of trace uranyl ions in real and synthetic samples.

Synthesis of a new oxime and its application to the construction of a highly selective and sensitive Co(II) PVC-based membrane sensor.

A cobalt(II) ion-selective membrane sensor has been fabricated from a poly vinyl chloride (PVC) matrix membrane containing a new oxime compound (oxime of 1-(2-oxocyclohexyl)-1,2-cyclohexanediol, OXCCD) as a neutral carrier, sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) as an anionic excluder and o-nitrophenyloctylether (o-NPOE) as a plasticizing solvent mediator. The membrane sensor exhibits a linear potential response in the concentration range of 1.0 x 10(-1) - 1.0 x 10(-6) M of Co2+. The electrode displays a Nernstian slope of 29.8 mV decade(-1) in the pH range of 3.5 - 8.0. The sensor also exhibits a fast response time of < 25 s. The detection limit of the proposed sensor is 9.0 x 10(-7) M (approximately 40 ng/ml), and it can be used over a period of two months. The selectivity of the sensor with respect to other cations (alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions) is excellent. The practical utility of the sensor has been demonstrated by using it as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Co2+ with EDTA and for the direct determination of Co(II) in wastewater of the electroplating industry.

Sulfate-selective PVC membrane electrode based on a strontium Schiff's base complex.

A strontium Schiff's base complex (SS) can be used as a suitable ionophore to prepare a sulfate-selective PVC-based membrane electrode. The use of oleic acid (OA) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB), as additives, and nitrobenzen (NB), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzyl acetate (BA) as solvent mediators, were investigated. The best performance was observed with a membrane composition PVC: NB: SS: HTAB of 30%: 62%: 5%: 3% ratio. The resulting sensor works well over a wide concentration range (1.0 x 10(-2)-1.0 x 10(-6) M) with a Nernstian slope of -29.2 mV per decade of sulfate activity over a pH range 4.0-7.0. The limit of detection of the electrode is 5 x 10(-7) M. The proposed sensor shows excellent discriminating ability toward SO4(2-) ions with regard to many anions. It has a fast response time of about 15 s. The membrane electrode was used to the determination of zinc in zinc sulfate tablets. The sensor was also used as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of SO4(2-) against barium ion.

Novel potentiometric membrane sensor for the determination of trace amounts of chromium(III) ions.

A plasticized Cr3+ ion sensor by incorporating 2,3,8,9-tetraphenyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododeca-1,3,7,9-tetraene (TTCT) ionophore exhibits a good potentiometric response for Cr3+ over a wide concentration range (1.0 x 10(-6)-1.0 x 10(-1) M) with a slope of 19.5 mV per decade. The sensor response is stable for at least three months. Good selectivity for Cr3+ in comparison with alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions, and minimal interference are caused by Li+, Na+, K+, Co2+, Hg2+, Ca2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ ions, which are known to interfere with other chromium membrane sensors. The TTCT-based electrode shows a fast response time (15 s), and can be used in aqueous solutions of pH 3-5.5. The proposed sensor was used for the potentiometric titration of Cr3+ with EDTA and for a direct potentiometric determination of Cr3+ content in environmental samples.