Electrical Properties of Two Types of Membrane Component Used in Taste Sensors

The lipid phosphoric acid di-n-decyl ester (PADE) has played an important role in the development of taste sensors. As previously reported, however, the concentration of PADE and pH of the solution affected the dissociation of H+, which made the measurement results less accurate and stable. In addition, PADE caused deterioration in the response to bitterness because PADE created the acidic environment in the membrane. To solve these problems, our past study tried to replace the PADE with a completely dissociated substance called tetrakis [3,5-bis (trifluoromethyl) phenyl] borate sodium salt dehydrate (TFPB) as lipid. To find out whether the two substances can be effectively replaced, it is necessary to perform an in-depth study on the properties of the two membranes themselves. In this study, we fabricated two types of membrane electrodes, based on PADE or TFPB, respectively, using 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE) as a plasticizer. We measured the selectivity to cations such as Cs+, K+, Na+ and Li+, and also the membrane impedance of the membranes comprising PADE or TFPB of the different concentrations. As a result, we found that any concentration of PADE membranes always had low ion selectivity, while the ion selectivity of TFPB membranes was concentration-dependent, showing increasing ion selectivity with the TFPB concentrations. The ion selectivity order was Cs+>K+>Na+>Li+. The hydration of ions was considered to participate in this phenomenon. In addition, the membrane impedance decreased with increasing PADE and TFPB concentrations, while the magnitudes differed, implying that there is a difference in the dissociation of the two substances. The obtained results will contribute to the development of novel receptive membranes of taste sensors.

Supramolecular Atropine Potentiometric Sensor

A supramolecular atropine sensor was developed, using cucurbit[6]uril as the recognition element. The solid-contact electrode is based on a polymeric membrane incorporating cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) as an ionophore, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as a solvent mediator, and potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate as an additive. In a MES-NaOH buffer at pH 6, the performance of the atropine sensor is characterized by a slope of (58.7 ± 0.6) mV/dec with a practical detection limit of (6.30 ± 1.62) × 10−7 mol/L and a lower limit of the linear range of (1.52 ± 0.64) × 10−6 mol/L. Selectivity coefficients were determined for different ions and excipients. The obtained results were bolstered by the docking and spectroscopic studies which demonstrated the interaction between atropine and CB[6]. The accuracy of the potentiometric analysis of atropine content in certified reference material was evaluated by the t-Student test. The herein proposed sensor answers the need for reliable methods providing better management of this hospital drug shelf-life while reducing its flush and remediation costs.

Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensor-Based Fe2O3@MWCNTs for Ivabradine Drug Determination in Pharmaceutical Formulation, Serum, and Urine Samples

Ivabradine hydrochloride (IVR) is a medically important drug because of its ability to lower the heart rate. Techniques reported for IVR determination were expensive, laborious, besides being of poor selectivity. In this study, iron oxide @ carbon nanotube (Fe2O3@MWCNTs) nanocomposite and molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) were synthesized and used in the fabrication of carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) for the potentiometric detection of IVR in biological and pharmaceutical samples. CPEs of the best sensor were formulated from graphite (41 wt%) as a carbon source, MIP (3 wt.%) as an ionophore, Fe2O3@MWCNTs (5 wt%) as a modifier, and nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE, 51 wt.%) as a conductive oil so-called plasticizer. The best sensor exhibits a Nernstian slope (response) of 56 mV decade–1 within the IVR concentration range from 1.0 × 10–3 M to 9.8 × 10–8 M with high selectivity against interfering species (ascorbic, maltose, glucose, lactose, dopamine, glycine) over those reported earlier. The use of Fe2O3@MWCNTs together with MIP in the electrode formulation was found to improve the limit of detection (LOD) from 630 to 98 nM along with high reversibility, a short response time of 30 s, and a good lifetime of more than 2 weeks. The sandwich membrane (SMM) method was used to quantify the H-bonding complexing strength of the MIP binding sites for IVR with Log βILn = 11.33. The constructed sensors were successfully applied for the IVR determination in blood serum, urine, and commercial formulations (Savapran®) with high sensitivity.

Novel potentiometric methods for the estimation of bisoprolol and alverine in pharmaceutical forms and human serum

Two new potentiometric sensors were created for the quantification of bisoprolol fumarate and alverine citrate in bulk pharmaceutical dosage forms and human serum. Bisoprolol and alverine sensors were manufactured by combining potassium tetrakis (p-chlorophenyl) borate ion pairs to serve as electroactive substances, plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) matrix membranes, and o-nitrophenyl octyl ether. They demonstrated high responses over the concentration ranges of 1.0×10−6 to 1.0×10−2 mol L−1 bisoprolol and alverine with close to Nernstian cationic slopes of 52 and 56 mV decade−1, respectively. The detection limits for bisoprolol and alverine were 2.6×10−6 and 1.75×10−6 mol L−1, respectively. For both medications, the response time was instantaneous (2.0 s). The working pH ranges for bisoprolol and alverine were 4.50–8.50 and 2.00–8.80, respectively. For both sensors, the life cycle was long (3 months). The sensors were used in pharmaceutical dosage types for the assay of bisoprolol and alverine, recording average recoveries of 99.40% and 99.98% respectively and were also successfully used for estimating the two drugs in human serum with an average recovery of 99.60% for both drugs. For all multiple staged interfering materials, the reported latest potentiometric sensor methods displayed high selectivity. The current sensor obtained a high percentage recovery and an excellent relative standard deviation compared with those obtained from previously published methods.

Investigation of anodic behaviour of phenylethers in non-aqueous solvents on platinum and glassy carbon electrodes

Electrooxidation of selected phenylethers was investigated (2-phenoxyethanol, anisole, o-nitrophenyl octyl ether, diphenylether, fenoxycarb) on platinum and glassy carbon electrodes. The chosen solvents were acetonitrile, dimethyl sulphoxide, 1-propanol and mesityl oxide. In acetonitrile, at around 2 V characteristic voltammetric peaks appeared for all compounds. In dimethyl sulphoxide and 1-propanol, no relevant peak appeared due to the high overlapping with solvent electrooxidation. During anodic oxidation of o-nitrophenyl octyl ether and fenoxycarb, a bimolecular reaction takes place predominantly. In mesityl oxide due to its unsaturated bond, identical behaviour was observed for majority of compounds and the differences between the two electrodes are also highlighted in the surface studies. The images made with the aid of an optical microscope showed the formation of islands of products for each substrate after deposition from mesityl oxide.

Facilitated Transport of Copper(II) across Polymer Inclusion Membrane with Triazole Derivatives as Carrier

This study investigates copper(II) ion transport through a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing 1-alkyl-1,2,4-triazole (n = 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14), o-nitrophenyl octyl ether as the plasticizer and cellulose triacetate as the polymer matrix. The feeding phase was a solution of 0.1 mol/dm3CuCl2 and an equimolar (0.1 mol/dm3) mixture of copper, nickel, and cobalt chlorides with varying concentrations of chloride anions (from 0.5 to 5.0 mol/dm3) established with NaCl. The receiving phase was demineralized water. The flow rate of the source and receiving phases through the membrane module was within the range from 0.5 cm3/min to 4.5 cm3/min. The tests were carried out at temperatures of 20, 30, 40 and 50 °C. Transport of NaCl through the membrane was excluded for the duration of the test. It was noted that the flow rate through the membrane changes depending on the length of the carbon chain in the alkyl substituent from 16.1 μmol/(m2s) to 1.59 μmol/(m2s) in the following order: C8> C9> C10> C11> C12> C14. The activation energy was 71.3 ± 3.0 kJ/mol, indicating ion transport through the PIM controlled with a chemical reaction. Results for transport in case of the concurrent separation of copper(II), nickel(II), and cobalt(II) indicate a possibility to separate them in a selective manner.

A New Validated Potentiometric Method for Sulfite Assay in Beverages Using Cobalt(II) Phthalocyanine as a Sensory Recognition Element

A simple potentiometric sensor is described for accurate, precise, and rapid determination of sulfite additives in beverages. The sensor is based on the use of cobalt phthalocyanine as a recognition material, dispersed in a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) matrix membrane. o-Nitrophenyl octyl ether (o-NPOE) as a membrane solvent and tri-dodecylmethyl- ammonium chloride (TDMAC) as ion discriminators are used as membrane additives. Under the optimized conditions, sulfite ion is accurately and precisely measured under batch and flow injection modes of analysis. The sensor exhibits fast and linear response for 1.0 × 10−2–1.0 × 10−6 M (800–0.08 µg/mL) and 1.0 × 10−1–5.0 × 10−5 M (8000–4 µg/mL) sulfite with Nernstian slopes of −27.4 ± 0.3 and −23.7 ± 0.6 mV/concentration decade under static and hydrodynamic modes of operation, respectively. Results in good agreement with the standard iodometric method are obtained.Validation of the assay method is examined in details including precision, accuracy, bias, trueness, repeatability, reproducibility, and uncertainty and good performance characteristics of the method are obtained. The sensor response is stable over the pH range of 5 to 7 without any significant interference from most common anions. The advantages offered by the proposed sensor (i.e., wide range of assay, high accuracy and precision, low detection limit, reasonable selectivity, long term response stability, fast response, and long life span and absence of any sample pretreatment steps) suggest its use in the quality control/quality assurance routine tests in beverages industries, toxicological laboratories and by inspection authorities.

Characterization of a Ag+-Selective Electrode Based on Naphthalimide Derivative as Ionophore

A naphthalimide derivative has been explored as neutral ionophore for Ag+-selective electrode. Potentiometric response revealed that electrode based on the proposed ionophore with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as solvent in a poly (vinyl chloride) membrane matrix shows a measuring range of 1.0×10-6-1.0×10-2 M with a slope of 50.4±0.3 mV/decade. This electrode has high selectivity to Ag+ with respect to alkaline, alkaline earth and other heavy metal ions.

Determination of Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Hydrochloride Using a Lactone-Rhodamine B-Based Fluorescence Optode

A new determination method for polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride (PHMB) using a lactone-rhodamine B (L-RB) based fluorescence optode has been developed. The optode membrane consists of 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as a plasticizer, L-RB, and poly (vinyl chloride). The optode responds to tetrakis (4-fluorophenyl) borate, sodium salt (NaTPBF) in the μM range. The fluorescence intensity of the L-RB film for PHMB solution containing 20 μM NaTPBF decreased linearly as the concentration of the PHMB solution increased in the concentration range from 0 to 8.0 μM, which shows that PHMB with a concentration range of 0 to 8.0 μM is determined by the L-RB film optode. The concentration of PHMB in the contact lens detergents by the proposed method was in accord with its nominal concentration.

Synthesis of Polymer Inclusion Membranes based on Cellulose Triacetate for Recovery of Lanthanum(III) from Aqueous Solutions

Polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing cellulose triacetate (CTA) as a polymer matrix and 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE) as a plasticizer was developed. This membrane also contained di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and tributyl phosphate (TBP) as the carriers of metal ions. The facilitated transport of lanthanum(III) from aqueous nitrate(V) solutions across PIM was studied. It was observed that metal ions were transported from the source phase into 2M H2SO4 as the receiving phase. The transport through PIM with D2EHPA as the ion carrier was found as the more effective method of lanthanum(III) removal from the aqueous solution than transport through PIM with TBP as the ion carrier.