Sensors to the Diagnostic Assessment of Anticancer and Antimicrobial Therapies Effectiveness by Drugs a with Pyrazine Scaffold

Treatment with pyrazine derivatives—antituberculosis pyrazinamide (PZA), anticancer bortezomib (BZM), and antifungal pyrazine-2-amidoxime (PAOX) and pyrazine-2-thiocarboxamide (PTCA)—is associated with side effects, as observed in the case of other therapeutic drugs. To prevent the side effects of pyrazine derivatives, researchers are working to develop a universal method that will detect these compounds in body fluids. There is a lack of literature data about voltammetric measurements with poly-L-amino acid-modified GCEs surfaces. The available reports describe the application of various modifications of these electrodes for the detection of different active substances of drugs; however, they do not indicate one particular method for the detection of drugs with a pyrazine skeleton. This research aimed to prepare three types of glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) with modified surfaces by electropolymerization using 1, 10, and 100 mM solutions of L-glycine (Gly), L-alanine (Ala), L-lysine (Lys), respectively. The poly-amino acid coatings applied on GCE surfaces were analyzed in detail under a three-dimensional (3D) microscope and were used as chemosensors of four pyrazine drugs in stoichiometric tests. The results were compared with the measurements made on an unmodified GCE. To obtain reliable results, the linearity of measurements was also verified in the concentration gradient and appropriate scanning speed was chosen to achieve the most accurate measurements.

Electrocatalytic Properties of a BaTiO3/MWCNT Composite for Citric Acid Detection

Although barium titanate (BaTiO3) shows prominent dielectric properties for fabricating electronic devices, its utilization in electrochemical applications is limited. Thus, this study examined the potential of a BaTiO3-based composite in the detection of a food additive, i.e., citric acid. First, a submicron-scale BaTiO3 powder was synthesized using the solution combustion method. Then, a BaTiO3/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite was hydrothermally synthesized at BaTiO3:MWCNT mass ratios of 1:1 and 2:1. This composite was used as a working electrode in a nonenzymatic sensor to evaluate its electrocatalytic activity. Cyclic voltammetric measurements revealed that the BaTiO3/MWCNT composite (2:1) exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity. Reduction reactions were observed at applied voltages of approximately 0.02 and −0.67 V, whereas oxidation reactions were detected at −0.65 and 0.47 V. With acceptable sensitivity, decent selectivity, and fair stability, the BaTiO3/MWCNT composite (2:1) showed good potential for citric acid detection.

Kinetic regularities of electrochemical oxidation of the methionine anion on platinated platinum

The purpose of this study was the determination of the kinetic regularities of the methionine electrooxidation process on the Pt(Pt) electrode in an aqueous-alkaline medium.The main kinetic regularities of the methionine anion electrooxidation process were determined using by the methods of cyclic voltammetry, coulometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The concentration of methionine in the alkaline solution before and after anodic oxidation was determined spectrophotometrically using spectrophotometer UNICO 2800. The measurements were carried out at room temperature both in an argon atmosphere and in an aerated aqueous solution. The results of voltammetric measurements were adjusted for the limiting oxygen recovery current and the charging current of the double electric layer.The range of potentials of the electrochemical activity of the methionine anion on the Pt(Pt) electrode, the number of electrons involved in the anode process, and its kinetic scheme were determined. The main product of the electrooxidation of methionine in an alkaline medium on Pt(Pt) was the methionine sulfoxide anion. It was shown that the electrooxidation of the methionine anion on Pt (Pt) was carried out from the adsorbed state and was irreversible.

Electrooxidation of the Paracetamol on Boron Doped Diamond Anode Modified by Gold Particles

The environment pollution, in particular that of the aquatic environment, by wastewater is a reality because it is discharged for the most part without treatment. The presence of pharmaceutical pollutants such as paracetamol in these waters can constitute a risk to human health. The objective of this work is to study the electrochemical oxidation of paracetamol using cyclic voltammetry on the boron doped diamond (BDD) anode and boron doped diamond modified by gold particles (Au-BDD) anode. The Au-BDD electrode was obtained by modifying the surface of BDD with gold particles. This was done by electrodeposition (chronoamperometry) in 0.5 M HAuCl4 and 0.1 M H2SO4 using a three pulse nucleation and growth process. Physical characterization with Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Dispersive Energy spectroscopy has shown that the Au-BDD surface presents asperities with the presence of microparticles and nanoparticles. The electrochemical characterization made in three electrolytic solutions (H2SO4, NaOH and KClO4) showed that Au-BDD has a high electroactivity domain than that of BDD. The study of the Benzoquinone-hydroquinone redox couple has shown a quasi-reversible character of these two anodes. It also revealed that Au-BDD has a more accentuated metallic character than BDD. The voltammetric measurements made it possible to show that the paracetamol oxidation is limited by the transport of material on each anode. This oxidation is characterized by the presence of an anodic peak in the support electrolytes stability domain. The paracetamol oxidation is rapid on Au-BDD than on BDD in the various medium explored, thus showing that Au-BDD is more efficient than BDD for the paracetamol oxidation by electrochemical means.

Studies on the Complexation of Succinic Hydrazide with Copper Chloride Salt

The electrochemical behavior of the complexation between copper chloride salt and succinic hydrazide can be explained using cyclic voltammetric measurements. The complex is formed through the interaction with nitrogen and hydroxyl group or carbonyl group of succinic hydrazides. This interaction can be observed by decreasing in the height peak of current and measuring the (anodic/cathodic) shift of the potentials. All the solvation and thermodynamic parameters for the interaction of copper ions with succinic hydrazide as stability constant, Gibbs free energies, enthalpies and entropies of interaction were calculated. Finally, the activity of the formed complex was compared with the succinic hydrazide by comparing their effects on different types of gram-negative bacteria and fungi indicating high activity of the formed complex and its ability to be used in different medical applications.

Self-Healing Properties of Cerium-Modified Molybdate Conversion Coating on Steel

A phosphate/molybdate and cerium-modified phosphate/molybdate conversion coatings were deposited on a carbon steel surface and their protective and self-healing abilities were evaluated. Surface morphology and inner structure of the coatings were examined using FE-SEM-FIB and TEM techniques, chemical composition and element distribution depth profiles in conversion layers were determined using EDX measurements, whereas XPS was applied for the analysis of Mo and Ce oxidation states. Voltammetric measurements and EIS were performed to assess the corrosion behavior of the samples. The higher protective and stronger self-healing abilities were found for phosphate/molybdate/cerium conversion coating deposited in a sulphate-containing solution. This was attributed to higher values of both: total cerium and Ce(IV) content in the conversion layer as well as to lower number of structural defects in the coating. It was demonstrated that the micro-structural characteristics of protective coatings are also important in determining self-healing abilities.

Low-Temperature Mineralisation of Titania-Siloxane Composite Layers

This paper deals with low-temperature mineralisation of coatings made with titania-siloxane compositions (TSC). Methyltriethoxysilane has been adopted as the precursor for the siloxane, and during its synthesis, an oligomeric siloxane condensate with methyl moieties acting as TiO2 binder has been produced. These methyl moieties, contained in TSC, provide solubility and prevent gelling, but reduce the hydrophilicity of the system, reduce the transfer of electrons and holes generated in the TiO2. In order to avoid these unfavourable effects, TSC mineralisation can be achieved by nonthermal treatment, for example, by using UV-radiation or plasma treatment. Characterisation of the siloxane was performed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), which showed the size of the siloxane chain. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a temperature at which the siloxane mineralises to SiO2. Printed layers of two types of TSC with different siloxane contents were studied by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), where a difference in the porosity of the samples was observed. TSC on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass and microscopic glass were treated with non-thermal UV and plasma methods. TSC on FTO glass were tested by voltammetric measurements, which showed that the non-thermally treated layers have better properties and the amount of siloxane in the TSC has a great influence on their efficiency. Samples on microscopic glass were subjected to a photocatalytic decomposition test of the model pollutant Acid orange 7 (AO7). Non-thermally treated samples show higher photocatalytic activity than the raw sample.