A New Setup for Simulating the Corrosion Behavior of Orthodontic Wires

The aim of this study was to create a new reliable setup to evaluate commercially available orthodontic wires used during orthodontic treatment. The setup includes various techniques applied for testing metal alloy materials. The materials were tested under extreme conditions to simulate their behavior in the mouth. The alloy composition of each wire was tested. The electrochemical (EC) testing and characterization of the corrosion performance of the wires was calculated by the electrochemical curves at pH = 1 in two different applied potentials to test the reaction of the material. The liquid collected after the EC measurements was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to verify the reliability of the EC curves and for a more accurate evaluation of the corrosion behavior of the wires. Therefore, the EC measurements were compared to the actual values obtained from the released ions found in the solution. At the end, a surface analysis was performed to detect corrosion on the wires. In conclusion, this study developed a setup to test and better understand the corrosion behavior and ion release of the orthodontic wires, metal alloy dental materials, and other metals used in the oral cavity. This method can contribute to dental material selection in patients with underlying health conditions.

A New Coumarin-Acridone Compound as a Fluorescence Probe for Fe3+ and Its Application in Living Cells and Zebrafish

A new coumarin-acridone fluorescent probe S was designed and synthesized, and the structure was confirmed with 1H/13C NMR spectrometry, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. This probe has high sensitivity and selectivity for Fe3+ over other testing metal ions at 420 or 436 nm in acetonitrile–MOPS (3-Morpholinopropanesulfonic Acid) buffer solution (20.0 μM, pH = 6.9, 8:2 (v/v)). Under physiological conditions, the probe displayed satisfying time stability with a detection limit of 1.77 µM. In addition, probe S was successfully used to detect intracellular iron changes through a fluorescence-off mode, and the imaging results of cells and zebrafish confirmed their low cytotoxicity and satisfactory cell membrane permeability, as well as their potential biological applications.

Testing Metal–Organic Framework Catalysts in a Microreactor for Ethyl Paraoxon Hydrolysis

We explored the practical advantages and limitations of applying a UiO-66-based metal–organic framework (MOF) catalyst in a flow microreactor demonstrated by the catalytic hydrolysis of ethyl paraoxon, an organophosphorus chemical agent. The influences of the following factors on the reaction yield were investigated: a) catalyst properties such as crystal size (14, 200, and 540 nm), functionality (NH2 group), and particle size, and b) process conditions: temperature (20, 40, and 60 °C), space times, and concentration of the substrate. In addition, long-term catalyst stability was tested with an 18 h continuous run. We found that tableting and sieving is a viable method to obtain MOF particles of a suitable size to be successfully screened under flow conditions in a microreactor. This method was used successfully to study the effects of crystal size, functionality, temperature, reagent concentration, and residence time. Catalyst particles with a sieved fraction between 125 and 250 µm were found to be optimal. A smaller sieved fraction size showed a major limitation due to the very high pressure drop. The low apparent activation energy indicated that internal mass transfer may exist. A dedicated separate study is required to assess the impact of pore diffusion and site accessibility.