Hydrophobic modification of nanocellulose and all-cellulose composite films using deep eutectic solvent as a reaction medium

Cellulose - In this work, deep eutectic solvent (DES) based on imidazole and triethylmethylammonium chloride was used as a reaction medium for the esterification of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and...     

Optimization of cloud point extraction of copper with neocuproine from aqueous solutions using Taguchi fractional factorial design

Taguchi method was applied to optimize cloud point extraction (CPE) conditions for preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of copper by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Briefly, the copper ions formed complexes with neocuproine in aqueous solution; then, Triton X-114 (0.15%, w/v) was added and phase separation occurred upon heating to 60°C. The copper complexes were preconcentrated into the small volume of the surfactant-rich phase; after centrifugation, the surfactant-rich phase was diluted with methanol and absorbance was measured at 455 nm. The main factors affecting the CPE were evaluated and optimized with Taguchi orthogonal array design (OA ₂₅). Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range 2–500 μg/L (r ² > 0.997). The limit of detection and preconcentration factor were 1.8 μg/L and 37.2, respectively. The applicability of the proposed method was successfully confirmed by preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of copper in water samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Kinetic analysis of the complex process of poly(vinyl alcohol) pyrolysis using a new coupled peak deconvolution method

A peak deconvolution procedure used for the analysis of data corresponding to simultaneous overlapping processes begins with separation of individual processes using functions such as Gaussian, Lorentzian, Weibull, and Fraser–Suzuki (FS) followed by application of kinetic analysis methods to the separated peaks. We propose a coupled peak deconvolution procedure to link the parameters of the FS functions of similar peaks in two DTG curves obtained at different linear heating rates, so that the coordinates of each peak can be obtained in a constrained manner. The proposed technique is a kinetic deconvolution method rather than a pure mathematical deconvolution technique. To analyze individual peaks in our study, the non-parametric kinetic and Freidman’s isoconversional methods have been applied to determine kinetic triplet of each process. This technique has been tested with both simulated and experimental data. Using this technique, the effects of molecular weight and degree of hydrolysis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) samples on reaction mechanism and activation energy of thermal degradation were studied. The presence of acetate group in the PVA samples causes thermal stability, decreases the rate of main reactions, and increases the activation energy. The results of this study may help tailor heat-resistant materials with proper choice of polymer characteristics.     

Characterization and High Level Expression of Acidic Endoglucanase in Pichia pastoris

Bioconversion of cellulosic material into glucose needs cellulase enzymes. One of the most important organisms that produces cellulases is Trichoderma reesei, whose cellulose enzymes are probably the most widely used in the industry. However, these enzymes are not stable enough at high pH and temperatures. The optimized synthetic endoglucanase II gene with Pichia pastoris codon preferences was secretary expressed in P. pastoris. Recombinant enzyme characterization showed maximum activity at pH 4.8 and temperature 75 °C, and it demonstrated increasing thermal stability in high temperature. The enzyme maintained its activity in a wide pH range from 3.5 to 6.5. The optimization of fermentation medium was carried out in shaking flasks. Recombinant protein expression at optimum conditions (pH 7, temperature 25 °C, and 1 % methanol induction) for 72 h demonstrated 2,358.8 U/ml endoglucanase activity units. To our knowledge, this is the highest acidic thermophilic endoglucanase activity that is reported in crude intracellular medium in P. pastoris. We conclude that P. pastoris is an appropriate host for high-level expression of optimized endoglucanase gene with improved thermal stability.     

Group 6 metal carbonyl complexes of 3′H-spiro[indole-3,2′-[1,3]benzothiazole-2(1H)]-one

The spiro-compound 3′H-spiro[indole-3,2′-[1,3]benzothiazole-2(1H)-one (IBTH₂) was synthesized and its structure was determined using spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, ¹H NMR and mass) and X-ray crystallography. This ligand possesses different centers for coordination. Reactions of [M(CO)₆], M = Cr, Mo or W with IBTH₂ in THF under reduced pressure were studied. For chromium a complex with molecular formula [Cr(ITP)₂] was isolated; where ITP is the opened form of the ligand which occurred through C_spiro–S bond, while [Mo(CO)₅(IBTH₂)] and [W(CO)₅(IBTH₂)] were isolated from the reaction of IBTH₂ with molybdenum and tungsten carbonyls, respectively. All complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, mass and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The biological activity of the ligand and its complexes were studied and compared with the parent compound isatin.     

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