Development of rapid, sensitive and selective fluorimetric method for determination of 1-naphthalene acetic acid in cucumber by using magnetite-molecularly imprinted polymer

Regulating the defects of MIL-101(Cr) for the efficient and simultaneous determination of eleven plant growth regulators in fresh fruit juice

This work presents an efficient sorbent for plant growth regulators (PGRs) by regulating the defects of a metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr). Using the regulated MIL-101(Cr), we developed a simple and effective method for the simultaneous determination of eleven PGRs in fresh fruit juice. The extraction conditions were optimized by an orthogonal array design. Under optimal conditions, the method showed a satisfactory limit of detection (0.1-1.2 ng/g), recovery rates (83.4-110.2 %), and precision (2.9-18.0 % for intra-day and 2.7-10.8 % for inter-day), as well as a greatly suppressed matrix effect. Notably, regulating the defects significantly enhanced the desorption of PGRs on MIL-101(Cr). The sorbent didn't need to be destroyed to release the adsorbed PGRs and could be reused at least 6 times. Furthermore, the defects of MIL-101(Cr) and interactions between the sorbent and PGRs were studied by TGA, ATR-IR, XPS, NH3-TPD and UV-Vis DRS.

A novel ratiometric fluorescent probe for sensitive detection of jasmonic acid in crops

Herein, a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe was proposed for sensitive detection of jasmonic acid (JA) based on NCQDs@Co-MOFs@MIPs. The prepared NCQDs, with uniquely dual-emissive performance, are insensitive to JA due to electrostatic repulsion. Interestingly, the introduction of Co-MOFs not only avoided the self-aggregation of NCQDs, but changed the surface charge of NCQDs and triggered the response of NCQDs to JA. More importantly, the imprinted recognition sites from MIPs provided "key-lock" structures to specifically capture JA molecules, greatly improving the selectivity of the probe to JA. Under the synergistic actions of Co-MOFs and MIPs, JA can interact with NCQDs through photo-induced electron transfer (PET), resulting in the changes on emission intensity of the probe at E_m = 367 nm and 442 nm. Based on the observations, the quantification of JA was realized in the range of 1-800 ng/mL with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.35 ng/mL. In addition, the probe was used for detecting JA in rice with satisfactory analysis results, indicating the probe holds great potential for monitoring JA levels in crops. Overall, this strategy provides new insights into the construction of practical probes for sensitive detection of plant hormones in crops.

Preparation and Adsorption Properties of Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Selective Recognition of 17β-Estradiol

In this paper, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were fabricated on the surface of Fe3O4 by surface molecular imprinting technology, which can selectively adsorb 17β-estradiol (E2). The optimized experiments demonstrated that MMIPs possessed the best adsorption capacity when methanol was used as the solvent and MAA was used as the crosslinking agent, with a molar ratio of E2: MMA: EGDMA as 1:4:50. SEM, FTIR, and XRD were employed to investigate the morphologies of MMIPs and the results demonstrated that the MMIPs that can selectively adsorb E2 were successfully prepared on Fe3O4 particles. The adsorption experiments showed that 92.1% of E2 was adsorbed by the MMIPs, which is higher than the magnetic non-molecularly imprinted polymers (MNIPs). The Freundlich isotherm model was more suitable to describe the adsorption process of E2 by MMIPs. Meanwhile, MMIPs had a better recognition ability for E2 and its structural analogs such as estrone and estriol. The MMIPs still had good adsorption performance after methanol regeneration five times. The prepared MMIPs had the advantages of efficient adsorption ability and high reusability, so they can be applied for selective recognition and removal of E2.

Multi-Spectroscopic and Molecular Simulation Approaches to Characterize the Intercalation Binding of 1-Naphthaleneacetic Acid With Calf Thymus DNA

1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), having high-quality biological activity and great yield-increasing potential in agricultural production, is a broad-spectrum plant growth regulator. Although NAA is of low toxicity, it can affect the balance of the human metabolism and damage the body if it is used in high quantity for a long time. In this study, the interaction of NAA with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) was investigated under simulated human physiological acidity (pH 7.4) using fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible absorption, and circular dichroism spectroscopy combined with viscosity measurements and molecular simulation techniques. The quenching of the endogenous fluorescence of NAA by ctDNA, observed in the fluorescence spectrum experiment, was a mixed quenching process that mainly resulted from the formation of the NAA-ctDNA complex. NAA mainly interacted with ctDNA through hydrophobic interaction, and the binding constant and quenching constant at room temperature (298 K) were 0.60 × 10⁵ L mol^-1 and 1.58 × 10⁴ L mol^-1, respectively. Moreover, the intercalation mode between NAA and ctDNA was verified in the analysis of melting point, KI measurements, and the viscosity of ctDNA. The results were confirmed by molecular simulation, and it showed that NAA was enriched near the C-G base of ctDNA. As shown in circular dichroism spectra, the positive peak intensity of ctDNA intensified along with a certain degree of redshift, while the negative peak intensity decreased after binding with NAA, suggesting that the binding of NAA induced the transformation of the secondary structure of ctDNA from B-form to A-form. These researches will help to understand the hazards of NAA to the human body more comprehensively and concretely, to better guide the use of NAA in industry and agriculture.

Design of a pseudo stir bar sorptive extraction using graphenized pencil lead as the base of the molecularly imprinted polymer for extraction of nabumetone

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized through the coprecipitation method on the graphene oxide anchored pencil lead as a substrate for the first time and applied as an efficient sorbent for pseudo stir bar sorptive extraction of nabumetone. The extracted analyte was determined by a novel spectrophotometric method based on the aggregation of silicate sol-gel stabilized silver nanoparticles in the presence of the analyte. The synthesized polymer was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Optimization of important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency was done using central composite design whereas the spectrophotometric method was optimized via one at a time variable. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curve exhibited linearity in the concentration range of 1.5-20.0 μg L^-1. A limit of detection of 0.20 μg L^-1, an enhancement factor of 393 and relative standard deviations (at 10 μg L^-1, n = 6) of 4.6% and 8.1% for intra- and inter-day analysis were obtained. The developed procedure was successfully utilized for the quantification of traces of nabumetone in tap water and biological samples with the complex matrix including human urine and serum.

STUDY OF QUALITY OF SNACK GHERKIN TINNED FOOD

This work considers a problem of raising a marinade quality for producing snack gherkin tinned food. There is offered a new way for raising a marinade food value. The aim of the work is to raise a tinned food quality at the expanse of recipe peculiarities of ingredients. There is offered to produce snack tinned food with adding mustard. The tinned food contains gherkin, sugar refined sunflower oil, kitchen vinegar 9 %, salt, dry mustard, grinded red pepper and chopped garlic. An optimal recipe for diminishing mass consumption of the raw materials is developed in the study. The tinned food recipe was modeled by the simplex method that allowed to get an optimal variant with a maximal complex quality parameter. According to the recipe, a bank of І-82-500 needs: gherkin – 375 g, sugar – 37.5 g, refined sunflower oil – 37.5 g., kitchen vinegar 9 % – 37.75 g, salt – 3.75 g, garlic – 3.75 g, mustard (powder) – 3.75 g, grinded red pepper – 1 g. It is established, that the new snack tinned food is characterized by high organoleptic properties. The technological scheme at producing the snack tinned food “Pickled gherkins with mustard” includes the following processes: preparation of the raw materials (cleaning, sorting), soaking in cold water for 5–8 hours; inspection; pouring with marinade; mixing and infusion; packing; closing; sterilization, formation of ready products. Gherkins are processed by the standard technology for pickled vegetables. Physical-chemical parameters in the raw materials and ready products were studied during the work: the content of soluble dry substances – by the refractometric method; the total content of organic acids – by titration; рН-medium – by the potentiometric method; the content of nitrates – by the ionometric method. Mustard was added for raising a food value and quality of the snack tinned food. It is healthy, because it improves the appetite, disintegrates fats and facilitates digestion of protein meals, at that activating metabolism. Main healthy properties of mustard are antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Added spices and garlic give a pleasant taste and add the composition of mineral substances. The developed recipe is designed for production technological lines and recommended for implementation at processing enterprises. The conducted work testifies to the expedience of producing new types of snack tinned food, which food value is increased and organoleptic parameters are improved at the expanse of ingredients.

Synthesis of fluorescent pink emitting copper nanoparticles and sensitive detection of α-naphthaleneacetic acid

Detecting NAA in food has drawn intense attention as it has imposed significant threat to people's health and the growth of food industry. Over the past few years, great importance has been attached to the application of copper nanomaterials as fluorescent probe to food and environmental detection. Here, the simple, rapid, cost effective and water soluble fluorescent copper nanoparticles were synthesized with chemical reduction sonochemical assisted method for highly selective and sensitive detection of α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) by using 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) as a protecting agent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizing agent (MBT-PVP CuNPs). The resultant CuNPs has a spherical shape with an average diameter of 10-15 nm and strong fluorescent pink emission characteristic peak at 580 nm upon 334 nm excitation. Interestingly, upon the addition of NAA, the fluorescence of MBT-PVP CuNPs can be effectively quenched for the reason that NAA could interact with MBT via hydrogen bonding and conform copper-NAA clathrate with Cu⁺ via coordination bond, which shows a good linearity in the range of NAA from 0.5 to 50 μM and with a detection limit of 9.6 nM. Moreover, the prepared probe has good selectivity for NAA detection over other co-existing molecules. It is worth mentioning that this method has been successfully applied to authentic comestible sample analysis and obtained satisfying and promising results, which indicates that this strategy is likely to have a promising application potential for NAA detection in the field of food safety.

A novel strategy for selective removal and rapid collection of triclosan from aquatic environment using magnetic molecularly imprinted nano-polymers

Triclosan (TCS) is a kind of chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms. Due to its highly effective antimicrobial, TCS has been widely applied in personal-care products, which naturally poses a potential risk to the ecological system and human health since its release into water-ecological environment. Therefore, it urgently demands a selective, easily separated, recyclable, and low-cost adsorbent to remove the residues of TCS from aquatic environments. In this study, a novel magnetic molecularly imprinted nano-polymers (TMIPs) were prepared for selective adsorption and convenient collection of TCS in aquatic samples, based on a core-shell technique using TCS as template molecule and SiO₂-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as the support substrate. The functional groups, particle size, morphology and magnetic property of TMIPs were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. The obtained TMIPs possessed excellent adsorption capacity (Q_e = 53.12 mg g^-1), speedy adsorption equilibrium time (2 min) and high selectivity (k' = 6.321) for TCS. Moreover, the pH-tolerance and stability tests manifested that the adsorption capacity of TMIPs for TCS was acid-resistance and could retain 94.2% of the maximum Q_e after 5 times removal-regeneration cycles. The feature of magnetically susceptibility can simplify the procedures of sample handling in TCS determination, because the TMIPs of TCS are easy to be recycled from aquatic samples. As an application demonstration, the toxicity test in microalgae confirmed that a tiny amount of TMIPs could significantly eliminate the toxic effect of TCS on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii via the efficient binding with TCS.