Cytotoxic effects of polystyrene–titanium–arsenate composite in cultured H9c2 cardiomyoblasts

In the present report, we explored the toxicological behaviour of engineered polystyrene–titanium– arsenate (PS–Ti–As) composite using cultured H9c2 cardiomyoblasts in vitro. From in vitro cytotoxicity studies, it appears that the composite can be toxic to the cardiac cells and the value of IC50 investigated to be the highest concentration of 500 lg mL-1, during 16–24 h of incubation period. The cell morphological studies based on dual staining with acridine orange and ethidium bromide indicates that apoptosis is the dominating pathway of cell death. Furthermore, an enhanced DNA fragmentation, increased reactive oxygen species production and caspase release demonstrates the potential risks associated with the exposure of PS–Ti–As composite to the cardiac cells

Metal ion transport through a polystyrene-based cobalt arsenate membrane: application of irreversible thermodynamics and theory of absolute reaction rates

Polystyrene-based cobalt arsenate membranes have been prepared by sol–gel method for various 1:1 electrolytes (KCl, NaCl and LiCl) at different concentrations. The conductance values of cobalt arsenate membranes have been found to increase with increase in concentration (0.1 ≤ c (M) ≤ 0.01) as well as temperature (10–50) ± 0.1 °C. The conductance values of the investigated electrolytes have been found to follow the sequence K+ > Na+ > Li+. The larger the positive hydration of ions, the higher the activation energies of conductivity of the salt and the sequence for energy of activation followed this order: Ea K+ > Ea Na + > Ea Li+. The changes of Gibbs free energy (ΔG), entropy (ΔS), and enthalpy (ΔH) for the transition of ions from one quasi-equilibrium state were calculated at different concentrations.The values of ΔH, ΔG and ΔS were found to be positive and negative respectively. Among the ions of the same valence the order of ΔS was as follows Li+ > Na+ > K+. The prepared membranes were characterized by thickness, porosity, water uptake, swelling, chemical stability, morphology analysis and particle size. The membranes were found to be stable in acidic as well as basic environment.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2011.08.042http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001191641100744

DC electrical conductivity of nano-composite polystyrene–titanium– arsenate membrane

In continuation to our previous work with nano-composite polystyrene–titanium–arsenate (PS–Ti–As), we further extended the characterization by means of DSC, TEM and mercury porosimetry measurements. In addition to the extended characterization, we also investigated the DC electrical conductivity behaviour of the PS–Ti–As composite membrane under different time, temperature and electrolyte conditions. The conductivity of the membrane investigated in the temperature region of 30– 200 8C using a four-in-line probe DC measurement and in the semi-conductor region of 10 5– 10 3 S cm 1, found to obey the Arrhenius equation. From the time and temperature dependent conductivity studies on the HCl doped composite, it was observed that the conductivity increases with increase of temperature until 100 8C and further decreased with time during 120–160 8C, which can be attributed to the loss of HCl dopant molecules and blocking of the chemical reactions associated with the dopant. Further, we studied the stability of DC electrical conductivity retention in an oxidative environment by two slightly different techniques viz. isothermal and cyclic

Engineered Nanomaterials for Industrial Application: An Overview

The change in the world since thousands of year brought drastic growth in the business as described by the quick expansion and generation of compounds that use nanotechnology. The primary principal component of nanotechnology is the engineered nanomaterials. The current book chapter is entirely devoted to the development of industrial areas due to engineered nanomaterials. The growth and rapid improvement of the industrial process with the use of engineered nanomaterial may finally lead to affecting the activity which has been already formulated to deliver the output. The raised utilization of nanomaterial is the main reason to develop the material. Hence, various governments, agencies, and organization are continuously working to emulate the target program to determine the impact of nanotechnology. But so far different limitations are being forth in the path of formulation. The constitution referring to the environment will be helpful in providing the better input for fate model by using the behaviour of engineered nanomaterial which is dependent on the features of mass input

Refractrometic Studies of Binary Mixtures of Flavoured Compounds and Some Hydrocarbons

Refractive indices have been measured for the binary liquid mixtures of n-butylethanoate and 3- methylethanoate with cyclohexane, benzene, 1,4-dimethylbenzene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene over the entire composition range at 308.15K . From the experimental data, the values of deviation in refractive index (Δn), molar refraction (R) and deviation in molar refraction (ΔR) have been determined. The values of Δn and ΔR have been fitted to the Redlich Kister polynomial equation to determine the standard deviation

Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Ethyl Cellulose- Based Polymeric Calcium(II) Hydrogen Phosphate Composite

The present report deals with the synthesis, characterization and testing of an ethyl cellulose–calcium(II) hydrogen phosphate (EC–CaHPO4) composite, where a sol–gel synthesis method was applied for the preparation of the composite so as to test its efficacy towards the electrochemical, biological, and adsorption related applications. The physical properties of the composite were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet– visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, and fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. On testing, the mechanical properties indicated that the composite is highly stable due to the cross-linked rigid framework and the enhanced interactions offered by the EC polymer supported for its binding very effectively. In addition, the conductivity of EC–CaHPO4 is completely governed by the transport mechanism where the electrolyte concentration has preference towards the adsorption of ions and the variations in the conductivity significantly affected the material’s performance. We observed an increasing order of KCl> NaCl for the conductivity when 1:1 electrolytes were applied. Further, the material was tested for its usefulness towards the purification of industrial waste waters by removing harmful metal ions from the samples collected near the Aligarh city, India where the data indicates that the material has highest affinity towards Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+ and Fe3+ metal ions. Finally, the biological efficiency of the material was confirmed by means of testing the antibacterial activity against two gram positive (staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus thuringiensis) and two gram negative bacteriums (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Patoea dispersa). Thus, from the cumulative study of outcomes, it indicates that the EC–CaHPO4 composite found to serve as a potential smart biomaterial due to its efficiency in many different applications that includes the electrical conductivity, adsorption capability, and antimicrobial activity

Enhanced biosorption and electrochemical performance of sugarcane bagasse derived a polylactic acid-graphene oxide-CeO2 composite

In view of the methyl orange (MO) dye on everyday applications in the textile, food, leather, paper, printing, and pharmaceuticals industry, in addition to its toxic behaviour on human health, we have developed a biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)-based cerium dioxide (CeO2)-graphene oxide (GO) composite by means of a solgel technique and tested its efficacy. For the study, the PLA polymer obtained is of renewable agriculture waste origin (sugarcane bagasse) and was isolated by means of fermentation of the feedstock followed by the polymerization of lactic acid. The instrumental techniques such as the powdered x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy etc. were employed for the physical characterization of the material. The various parameters such as the kinetics, desorption, regeneration, pH, isotherm theories, and ionic strength were tested towards the adsorption of MO dye onto the surface of GO-PLA-CeO2 composite. The outcome of the study exhibited that the GOPLA- CeO2 composite revealed promising behaviour for the dye removal, which was allocated to the efficacy of GO, PLA, and CeO2 properties. Also, the adsorption process of GO-PLA-CeO2 is completely dependent on the initial concentration of MO and the adsorption equilibrium fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm. In addition, the electrochemical characterization of the composite was studied by means of CV and impedance measurements. Based on the outcome of the results, it can be said that the GO-PLA-CeO2 composite may be applied as a suitable electrode material along with its efficient adsorption properties for the removal of MO dye from wastewater

Ultrasonic Investigation of α-Amino Acids with Aqueous Solution of Urea at Different Temperatures: A Physicochemical Study

The present paper reflects the ultrasonic investigations for exploring the inter-ionic interactions of various concentrations of α-amino acids such as L-Arginine, L-lysine monohydrochloride, and L-histidine in aqueous solutions of urea over a wide ranges of temperatures (298.15 to 323.15) K under atmospheric pressure. It also represent the detail showing that molecular interactions between the a-amino acids and urea has much dissociation of proteins in the solvent mixture. The study of ultrasonic speed  and sound velocity were successfully preformed on the liquid ternary mixtures. With the help of the above mentioned parameter, the values of isentropic compressibility, change in isentropic compressibility , relative change in isentropic compressibility , relative association , specific acoustic impedance , and apparent molal isentropic compressibility  were calculated. These parameters have been examined in term of the molecular associations such as ion-ion, ion-solvent, solute-solvent, solute-solute etc., and briefly described in terms of the structure-making ability corresponding to a-amino acids in the urea. Efforts have been taken to explore the dependency of the outcomes related to temperature and concentration

Preparation and Characterization of Polyalthia longifolia Based Alumina as a Novel Adsorbent for Removing Fluoride from Drinking Water

This research addresses i) synthesis of an alumina composite based on high capacity adsorbent using a leaf as a template and ii) the issue of handling spent regenerant resulting from regeneration of such high capacity adsorbents. A low-cost composite type adsorbent has been synthesized for removal of excess fluoride from drinking water, using Polyalthia longifolia (false Ashoka tree) leaf as a template and alum as a source of alumina. The composite adsorbent having heterogeneous phases of Al(OH)3 and Al2O3 is associated with carbon and free Al(OH)3 and alumina has been identified using XRD, SEM, FTIR and BET surface area analysis. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out including the effect of various physico-chemical parameters, such as adsorbent dose, pH, contact time, initial fluoride ion concentration and temperature to ascertain optimal performance conditions. The elemental composition of material and SEM analysis suggests a composite material with different phases. Polyalthia longifolia based adsorbent (PBA) effectively removes fluoride with substantially high adsorption capacity of 17.57 mg g-1 at initial fluoride concentration of 5 mg l-1 using very low dose of 0.4 g l-1 as compared to 1.82 mg g-1 for activated alumina. PBA has been regenerated to the tune of about 80% using alum solution. The spent regenerant has been subjected to two new options i) recovery of alum and formation of chitosan/CaF composite by treating with slaked lime and ii) immobilization of AlF in chitosan to form chitosan/AlF composite. These composites may prove to be useful optic materials for UV absorption

Adsorption, Equilibrium Isotherm, and Thermodynamic Studies towards the Removal of Reactive Orange 16 Dye Using Cu(I)-Polyaninile Composite

To overcome some of the limitations of activated carbon like efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reusability, the present work deals with Cu(I)-based polyaniline (PANI) composite for the removal of reactive orange 16 (RO16) dye. Following the synthesis and characterization of formed Cu(I)-PANI composite, the batch experiments performed for the removal of RO16 dye indicated that the composite has the capacity to reduce the coloring from RO16. The experiments were conducted for the study of effects against changes in pH, time, and dose at room temperature, where we observed for a pH impact on the dye adsorption capacity in the range of 2–12. Among all, the optimal RO16 removal was found to be 94.77% at a pH of 4 and in addition, the adsorption kinetics confirmed to be pseudo-second-order with more suitability towards the Langmuir isotherm, where it is presumed to be the formation of a monolayer of dye molecule at the homogeneous absorbent surface. The calculated maximum capacity, qm, determined from the Langmuir model was 392.156 mg/g. Further application of isotherms to attain thermodynamic parameters, a slight positive value of ΔS° for RO16 adsorption was observed, meaning that there is an increased randomness in the irregular pattern at the specific Cu(I)-PANI interface for an adsorption process. This mechanism plays an essential role in maintaining the effects of water pollution; and, based on the analysis therefore, it is prominent that the Cu(I)-PANI composite can be employed as a promising and economical adsorbent for the treatment of RO16 and other dye molecules from the sewage in wastewater