Successful treatment of carbamazepine poisoning with hemodialysis: a case report and review of the literature

A 48-year-old man was brought to the emergency room after ingesting an unknown amount of carbamazepine. He was unconscious and not responding to the noxious stimuli. He was intubated and was placed on mechanical ventilation because of respiratory insufficiency. Primary detoxification was performed with a gastric lavage and charcoal instillation. His serum carbamazepine level was 25.6 mcg/mL at the time of admission. His computed tomography of the brain was normal. He was managed conservatively but there was no improvement in his neurological status in the next 24 hours. Serum carbamazepine level was repeated and reported to be 28.3 mcg/mL. As there was no improvement in his sensorium and the serum carbamazepine levels remained persistently high, extracorporeal removal of carbamazepine was attempted. As the facility to carry out hemoperfusion was not available immediately, the decision to initiate hemodialysis was taken. After 3 sessions of hemodialysis, his sensorium improved markedly and the carbamazepine level at this time was within the therapeutic range. He was discharged after psychiatry consultation and counseling. We review the literature regarding extra corporeal techniques for the removal of carbamazepine and discuss them in this article.     

Structural and tribological properties of DC reactive magnetron sputtered titanium/titanium nitride (Ti/TiN) multilayered coatings

Ti/TiN multilayered coatings of 200 layers with the thickness of 1.5 μm were deposited by a reactive DC magnetron sputtering technique using a mixture of Ar and N₂ gas. XRD technique was employed to elucidate the structural parameters. The presence of different phases like TiN, TiO_xN_y and TiO₂ were confirmed by XPS analyses. The observation of longitudinal optic (LO) phonon modes in the Raman spectra confirmed the highly crystalline nature of the deposited films. A microhardness value of 25.5 GPa was observed for Ti/TiN multilayers. The observed lower friction coefficient value for the Ti/TiN multilayers on mild steel (MS) indicated that the stack layers have better wear resistance property. Results from the electrochemical polarization and impedance studies showed the favorable behavior of the Ti/TiN multilayers, which have improved the corrosion resistance property of MS in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results of this study demonstrate that these multilayers can improve the corrosion resistance of mild steel substrates.     

Nanostructure, optical and photoluminescence properties of Zn1−xNixO nanoclusters by co-precipitation method

Zn_1?xNi_xO (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05) nanoclusters have been successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method. The synthesized samples have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectra, UV–visible spectrophotometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The XRD and SEM measurements reveal that the prepared undoped and Ni-doped nanoclusters have different microstructure without changing a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The calculated average crystalline size from XRD measurement decreases from 37.5 to 26.6 nm for x = 0 to 0.05 which was confirmed by SEM micrographs. The change in lattice parameters, micro-strain, shift of XRD peaks and the blue shift of energy gap from 3.18 to 3.33 eV (ΔE_g = 0.15 eV) for Ni = 0–0.02 and red shift of E_g from 3.33 to 3.14 eV (ΔE_g = 0.19 eV) for Ni = 0.02 to 0.05 reveal the substitution of Ni²⁺ ions into Zn–O lattice. The presence of functional groups and the chemical bonding are confirmed by FTIR spectra. The shift of NBE UV emission between 374 and 395 nm, the shift of green band emission between 517 and 531 nm, the change in intensity and the broadening effect in the photoluminescence spectra confirms the substitution of Ni²⁺ ions into the Zn–O lattice. Ni-doped ZnO system shows a great pledge for the fabrication of nano-optoelectronic devices like tunable light emitting diode in the near future.     

pH-induced modification on the structural, optical and morphological properties of Zn0.94Ni0.04Mn0.02O nanopowders

Zn_0.94Mn_0.02Ni_0.04O nanopowders were synthesized with different pH values from 4 to 10 by sol–gel method. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed that all the samples had hexagonal wurtzite structure. In the acid environment (pH = 4), the reaction rate was very slow and provided the poor crystal quality (D = 16.2 nm). Average crystal size was maximum (24.2 nm) with elliptical shape at pH = 8 which is attributed to the availability of much (OH)^? ions in the base solution. The observed constant c/a ratio revealed that there was no change in hexagonal wurtzite structure by pH. The energy dispersive X-ray spectra confirmed the presence of Ni and Mn in Zn–O lattice. The optical absorption spectra showed that the absorption was increased up to pH = 8 due to de-generated defect states and vacancies. The observed high intensity defect related green band around 488 nm at pH = 8 was due to the improved crystal size in addition to the presence of defects related phases. A weak absorption band around 391 nm observed only at pH = 10 was originated from the intrinsic defects and the interstitial position of Zn²⁺ ion. The higher transmittance (≈90 %) noticed at pH = 10 showed the way to the industrial applications especially as transparent electrode. The continuous blue shift in band gap from 3.61 (pH = 4) to 3.68 eV (pH = 10) is explained by Burstein–Moss effect. Presence of chemical bonding was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra.     

Structural and electrical studies of nano structured Sn1?x SbxO2 (x?=?0.0, 1, 2.5, 4.5 and 7 at%) prepared by co-precipitation method

SnO₂ semiconducting nanopowders doped with antimony Sn_1−x Sb _x O₂ (x = 0.0, 1, 2.5, 4.5 and 7 at%) was achieved by co-precipitation method. TG/DTA and FT-IR studies revealed the removal of organic residuals in the precursor leading to the formation of oxides during calcinations process. A change in color from white to bluish occurred on calcinations of the powder at 500 °C in air. The distortion ratio, strain and particle size were measured from X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra and their changes with dopants concentration were determined. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images support to conform the particle size. The electrical resistivity and activation energy of the ATO particles decreases as compared with pure SnO₂, due to the incorporation of on Sn⁴⁺ ions by as Sb⁵⁺ ion in the host SnO₂ matrix. Incorporation of Sb⁵⁺ was evidenced through the XPS spectrum.     

Spray deposition and property analysis of anatase phase titania (TiO2) nanostructures

Anatase phase titanium dioxide thin films have been deposited at various substrate temperatures by chemical spray pyrolysis of an aerosol of titanyl acetylacetonate. Deposited TiO₂ films were nanocrystalline and preferentially oriented along [101] direction, uniform and adherent to the glass substrate. Best films processed at 450 °C were characterized to analyze its phase composition, texture, roughness, optical and electrical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the surface of the film has only the Ti⁴⁺ cations to form perfect TiO₂ stoichiometry with less amount of hydration. Atomic force microscopy image demonstrated the existence of homogeneous and rough surface, suitable for electrocatalytic applications. The film has an optical transmittance more than 90% and the refractive index of 2.07 was recorded at the wavelength 633 nm. Due to nano-sized grains, obtained optical band gap (3.65 eV) of the TiO₂ thin film was larger than that of the bulk TiO₂ (3.2 eV). Calculated porosity of the films 0.44, revealed the porous nature of the films. Hall measurements indicated that these materials are p-type and yield a carrier density of the order 8.8 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ and a carrier mobility of 0.48 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/Vs. The dc electrical conductivity was therefore very low (8.91 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm) because of lower value of mean free path of the charge carriers (4.36 × 10⁻¹¹ cm). It gives an impression that the process of spray pyrolysis provides an easy way to tailor make thin films possessing superior properties.     

Electroreduction of phenyl cyanide and benzyl cyanide on nickel cathode

An electrochemical method for preparation of primary amines from organic cyanides using nickel black deposited over graphite substrate as cathode has been studied. It has been observed that it is possible to reduce benzyl cyanide both in ethanolic sulphuric acid and in aqueous ethanolic ammonium sulphate media. But with phenyl cyanide, the reduction is efficient only in ethanolic sulphuric acid medium. Both in laboratory and 75 A scale experiments 62–66% yield has been obtained at a current efficiency of 36–44% for benzylamine. Similarly a yield ranging from 60–80% with a current efficiency of 36–52% has been obtained for β-phenylethylamine both in laboratory scale and also in large scale experiments. Results of operation of a 500 A cell for the preparation of β-phenylethylamine are also presented.