Flexible poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) hybrid nanofibers for bioengineering and water filtration applications

Among the thermoplastic elastomers that play important roles in the polymer industry due to their superior properties, styrene-based species and polyurethane block copolymers are of great interest. Poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) (SEBS) as a triblock copolymer seems to have the potential to meet many demands in different applications due to various industrial requirements where durability, biocompatibility, breaking elongation, and interfacial adhesion are important. In this study, the SEBS triblock copolymer was functionalized with natural (Satureja hortensis, SH) and synthetic (nanopowder, TiO₂) agents to obtain composite nanofibers by electrospinning and electrospraying methods for use in biomedical and water filtration applications. The results were compared with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite nanofibers, which are commonly used in these fields. Here, functionalized SEBS nanofibers exhibited antibacterial effect while at the same time improving cell viability. In addition, because of successful water filtration by using the SEBS composite nanofibers, the material may have a good potential to be used comparably to TPU for the application.     

Aromatic products of 340 °C supercritical-toluene extraction of two Turkish lignites: an n.m.r. study

Fractions of Elbistan and Seyitomer (Turkish) lignites, extracted with supercritical toluene at 340 °C and 8 MPa, have been separated by solvent extraction and silica-gel chromatography. Analyses by n.m.r. and i.r. spectroscopies and other methods have been combined in structural-analysis schemes to yield information about the average molecule in aromatic extracts. Carbon aromaticities, f_a, derived from 22.63 MHz ¹H-decoupled pulse Fourier-transform (PFT) ¹³C-n.m.r. are more widely spread for Elbistan (0.34–0.56) than for Seyitomer (0.40–0.43), and are lower than for supercritical-gas (SCG) products from bituminous coals. ¹³C-n.m.r. also reveals the presence of aromatic ether-O in polar fractions. Narrow aromatic signals in 100 MHz ¹H-n.m.r. spectra suggest the presence of single-aromatic-ring average structures. In the hexane-soluble aromatics, 27% (Elbistan) and 29% (Seyitomer) of the available sites are substituted by alkyI groups, some of which are at least eight carbon atoms long; the hexane-soluble polar and asphaltene/asphaltol fractions contain fewer such groups.     

Effects of freezing temperature and duration of frozen storage on lipid and protein oxidation in chicken meat

This study examined the effects of freezing temperature and duration of frozen storage on lipid and protein oxidation in chicken leg and breast meat. The meat was frozen at three different temperatures (−7, −12 and −18 °C) and then stored at −18 °C for up to 6 months. A significant effect of frozen storage duration on lipid oxidation was detected in leg and breast meat, whereas freezing temperature had no significant effect. In leg meat, freezing at −7 °C had a significant impact on protein oxidation, measured as the increase in carbonyl groups and the decrease in total sulphydryl groups, after 3 months of frozen storage. Lipid and protein oxidation appeared to occur simultaneously in chicken meat during frozen storage and was more intense in leg meat than in breast meat.     

Biosorption of Acid Blue 290 (AB 290) and Acid Blue 324 (AB 324) dyes on Spirogyra rhizopus

In this study, the biosorption of Acid Blue 290 and Acid Blue 324 on Spirogyra rhizopus, a green algae growing on fresh water, was studied with respect to initial pH, temperature, initial dye concentration and biosorbent concentration. The optimum initial pH and temperature values for AB 290 and AB 324 biosorption were found to be 2.0, 30 degrees C and 3.0, 25 degrees C, respectively. It was observed that the adsorbed AB 290 and AB 324 amounts increased with increasing the initial dye concentration up to 1500 and 750 mg/L, respectively. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson and Koble-Corrigan isotherm models were applied to the experimental equilibrium data and the isotherm constants were determined by using Polymath 4.1 software. The monolayer coverage capacities of S. rhizopus for AB 290 and AB 324 dyes were found as 1356.6 mg/g and 367.0 mg/g, respectively. The intraparticle diffusion model and the pseudo-second order kinetic model were applied to the experimental data in order to describe the removal mechanism of these acidic dyes by S. rhizopus. The pseudo-second order kinetic model described very well the biosorption kinetics of AB 290 and AB 324 dyes. Thermodynamic studies showed that the biosorption of AB 290 and AB 324 on S. rhizopus was exothermic in nature.     

Purification and Characterization of β-Glucosidase from Aspergillus niger

Aspergillus niger, an isolate of soil contaminated with effluents from cotton ginning mill was grown in Czapek-Dox medium containing sawdust, Triton-X 100 and urea for production of an extracellular β-glucosidase. β-Glucosidase enzyme was purified (86-fold) from culture filtrate of A. niger by employing ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration on sephadex G-75. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 95 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had an optimal activity on p-nitrophenyl β-D-glucopyranoside at 50°C and pH 5.0. The K_m and V_max of the enzyme on p-nitrophenyl β-D-glucopyranoside at 50°C and pH 5 were 8.0 mM and 166 µmol/min/mg of protein, respectively. The enzyme could hydrolyze cellobiose and lactose but not sucrose. Heavy metals like Hg²⁺, Al³⁺, and Ag⁺ inhibited the activity, whereas Zn²⁺ and detergents such as Triton-X 100 and Tween-80 increased the activity at 0.01%. The enzyme activity increased in the presence of methanol and ethanol.     

Arsenic-sulfides confound anion exchange resin speciation of aqueous arsenic

A field-portable anion exchange resin method (often cited as the Ficklin method (1983)) has been extensively used to distinguish between dissolved arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) species in natural waters. As(III) occurs largely as As(OH)(3), which is uncharged at ca. pH 7, while As(V) is negatively charged and will sorb to the resin. However, we show that negatively charged As(III)-sulfide (thioarsenite) species, important at sulfide concentrations >10 microM, also bind to the anion exchange resins, and therefore might be interpreted incorrectly as As(V). Furthermore, we show that nitrogen-purging, which results in a conversion of As(III)-sulfides to arsenite, can be used to obtain accurate arsenic speciation when resins are used on sulfidic water samples.     

Investigation of nickel(II) biosorption on Enteromorpha prolifera: optimization using response surface analysis

In this study, the biosorption of nickel(II) ions on Enteromorpha prolifera, a green algae, was investigated in a batch system. The single and combined effects of operating parameters such as initial pH, temperature, initial metal ion concentration and biosorbent concentration on the biosorption of nickel(II) ions on E. prolifera were analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum biosorption conditions were determined as initial pH 4.3, temperature 27 degrees C, biosorbent concentration 1.2 g/L and initial nickel(II) ion concentration 100 mg/L. At optimum biosorption conditions, the biosorption capacity of E. prolifera for nickel(II) ions was found to be 36.8 mg/g after 120 min biosorption. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data and defined very well both isotherm models. The monolayer coverage capacity of E. prolifera for nickel(II) ions was found as 65.7 mg/g. In order to examine the rate limiting step of nickel(II) biosorption, such as the mass transfer and chemical reaction kinetics, the intraparticle diffusion model, external diffusion model and the pseudo second order kinetic model were tested with the experimental data. It was found that for both contributes to the actual biosorption process. The pseudo second order kinetic model described the nickel(II) biosorption process with a good fitting.     

Macro- and microtechnological studies on beechwood panels bonded with Pinus brutia bark tannin

The suitability of hot water extracted tannins from the bark of Pinus brutia from Turkey as a binder either alone or in combination with phenol formaldehyde was examined. Using formaldehyde-hydrochloric acid about 77% of the active phenolic components could be precipitated. Because of the high molecular weights of the polyphenols only small amounts of formaldehyde were necessary for a complete curing. On the basis of the tannin along with a hardener, such as paraformaldehyde or hexamethylenetetramine, boiling-water-resistant gluing of beechwood panels was obtained (DIN 53254, DIN 68602). Electron microscopical and microanalytical studies of such tannin-bonded panels showed the localization of the adhesive, penetration of the adhesive into the wood cells as well as the interaction between the tannin adhesive and the wood cell walls.