Hydrodynamic chronoamperometric method for the determination of H₂O₂ using MnO₂-based carbon paste electrodes in groundwater treated by Fenton and Fenton-like reagents for natural organic matter removal

Fabrication of an ultra-sensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor based on CT-DNA/NiFe2O4NPs/Au/CPE for detecting rizatriptan benzoate

A novel and first electrochemical biosensor based on Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a biological component to measure an antimigraine drug, rizatriptan benzoate (RZB) for patients under treatment in biological samples was developed. A carbon paste electrode (CPE) was modified by calf thymus (CT) double-stranded (ds)-DNA, nickel ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (NiFe2O4NPs), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The morphology of the CT-DNA/NiFe2O4NPs/AuNPs/CPE was characterized by Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The presence of NiFe2O4NPs and AuNPs was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) image of the NiFe2O4NPs/AuNPs/CPE surface. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to determine the structure and electrochemical characteristics of the CT-DNA/NiFe2O4NPs/AuNPs/CPE. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used to investigate the electrochemical behavior of RZB. Chronoamperometry (CA) was applied to study the effect of CT-DNA immobilization time on the peak oxidation current of RZB accumulated on the surface of the CT-DNA/NiFe2O4NPs/AuNPs/CPE. The results showed that, under optimum conditions, the prepared electrode responded linearly to RZB concentrations between 0.01 and 2.0 μM, with a 0.0033 μM detection limit (LOD) and 0.01 μM limit of quantification (LOQ). The parameters influencing the biosensor performance (temperature, CT-DNA immobilization time, and RZB/CT-DNA accumulation time) were optimized. DPV showed the displacement of the peak potential towards positive values and the reduction of its current, indicating that the drug could intercalate between the guanine base pairs of CT-DNA. Our biosensor was successfully applied for RZB measurement in human urine, blood serum, plasma samples, and tablets. The presented biosensor was fast response, sensitive, selective, cost-effective, and easy-to-use for RZB determination in pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples.

Enzymatic recognition of hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) in human plasma samples using HRP immobilized on the surface of poly(arginine-toluidine blue)- Fe3 O4 nanoparticles modified polydopamine; A novel biosensor

In this study, an innovative strategy was proposed for the electrocatalytical reduction and enzymatic biosensing of hydrogen peroxide (H₂ O₂ ) using chronoamperometry technique. For the first time, immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in polydopamine-modified magnetic nanoparticles (PDA-MNPs) was successfully performed. Also, poly(l-arginine/toluidine blue) film-modified glassy carbon electrode was constructed through co-electropolymerization of l-arginine and toluidine blue on the surface of GCE using cyclic voltammetry technique. The engineered hybrid thin film provides strong functionalities for efficient grafting of PDA-MNPs which, in turn, enable the covalent immobilization of HRP. The proposed biosensor was used for the detection of H₂ O₂ in the range of 0.5-30 μM with a low limit of quantification 0.23 μM. It also was successfully applied for the investigation of hydrogen peroxide in human plasma samples.

Enhancement of micropollutant degradation in UV/H2O2 process via iron-containing coagulants

The low molar absorption coefficient of H₂O₂ limits the ultraviolet (UV)/H₂O₂ process, making it a desirable target to enhance the UV/H₂O₂ process for organic micropollutant degradation. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of iron-containing coagulants (Fe-coagulants) on micropollutant degradation by UV/H₂O₂ process. Three typical Fe-coagulants (i.e., polymeric ferric sulfate, polymeric aluminum ferric sulfate, and FeCl₃) exhibited the enhancement of sulfamethazine degradation during the UV/H₂O₂ process. The maximum increasing ratio of the degradation rate constant reached 40%. The pH and Fe-coagulant concentration effects, as well as residual H₂O₂ were examined. The principal mechanism of micropollutant degradation enhancement via the Fe-coagulants was the photo-Fenton-like reaction between Fe(III) on the Fe-coagulant surface and H₂O₂ under UV irradiation. Then the influence of Fe-coagulant particle size was discussed. Smaller particles (<0.22 μm), with a lower iron content, a larger specific surface area, and a stronger optical scattering effect, exhibited a greater enhancement on the UV/H₂O₂ process as compared with larger particles (>0.22 μm). Finally, the enhancement effect of the Fe-coagulants was verified on two water samples from a water treatment plant, which were either pre-coagulation or sand filtered samples. This study explored an existing heterogeneous catalysis process in drinking water treatment, which provides additional information for coagulant selection and improvements to the treatment process for micropollutant removal.

An External Energy Independent WO3/MoCl5 Nano-Sized Catalyst for the Superior Degradation of Crystal Violet and Rhodamine B Dye

In this study, the synthesis of a novel catalyst WO3/MoCl5 was carried out by the thermal method. The method gave an entirely different product compared to previous studies that doped Mo on the surface of semiconductor metal oxides. The degradation reaction of crystal violet (CV) and rhodamine B (RB) dye were done without any energy source. The results showed an incomparably superior result for degradation, with a reaction rate constant of 1.74 s−1 for 30 ppm CV, 1.08 s−1 for 30 ppm RB, and a higher value than 1 s−1 for both cases of 50 ppm dye solution. To the author’s knowledge, this catalyst has the highest reaction rate compared to other studies that targeted CV and RB, with an immense reaction rate increase of more than 100 times. Reusability of the three trials was verified, and the only process required was washing the catalyst after the reaction. One of the drawbacks of the advanced oxidation process (AOP), which has a degradation percent limit, has been solved, since 100% mineralization of the dye was available using this catalyst. FT-IR spectroscopy revealed that W-O-Mo linkage was successfully processed while Mo-Cl linkage has retained. 1H-NMR spectroscopy results confirmed that the degradation product of the dye treated by simple MoCl5 and WO3/MoCl5 was different. Deep inspection of specific regions of NMR fields gave necessary information about the degradation product using WO3/MoCl5.

Template-free synthesis of inorganic hollow spheres at water/"water-brother" interfaces as Fenton-like reagents for water treatment

This paper reports a template-free method to synthesize a series of inorganic hollow spheres (IHSs) including Cu-1, Cu-2, Ni-1, Ni-2 based on mineralization reactions at water/"water-brother" interfaces. "Water-brother" was defined as a solvent which is miscible with water, such as ethanol and acetone. The water/"water-brother" interfaces are very different from water/oil interfaces. The "water-brother" solvent will usually form a homogenous phase with water. Interestingly, in our method, these interfaces can be formed, observed and utilized to synthesize hollow spheres. Utilizing the unique porous properties of the spheres, their potential application in water treatment was demonstrated by using Cu-1 IHSs as Fenton-like reagents for adsorption and decomposition of Congo Red from aqueous solution. The final adsorption equilibrium was achieved after 30min with the maximum adsorption capacity of 86.1mg/g, and 97.3% removal of the dye in 80min after adsorption equilibrium. The IHSs can be reused as least 5 times after treatment by NaOH. This method is facile and suitable for large-scale production, and shows great potential for watertreatment.

Modified carbon felt made using CexA1−xO2 composites as a cathode in electro-Fenton system to degrade ciprofloxacin

Carbon felt (CF) was modified by Ce_xA_1−xO₂ (A = Zr, Cu and Ni) and the role of these Ce_xA_1−xO₂/CF (A = Zr, Cu and Ni) cathode materials in the oxidative degradation of antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) was investigated in the electro-Fenton system.