Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrite using ferricyanide; Application for its simple and selective determination

Selective photo-reduction of NO2- to N2 in the presence of Fe2+ and citric acid

The photo-reduction of NO₂^- has received increasing attention due to its high photo-activity. However, the intermediate products of NO₂^- photo-reduction might contain NO_x, which are also toxic pollutants. Herein, a novel strategy to selectively photo-reduce NO₂^- to N₂ was proposed using Fe²⁺ and citric acid (H₃Cit) as assistant to eliminate the formation of NO_x. In this strategy, NO₂^- was firstly reduced to NO by the combination of photon, Fe²⁺ and H₃Cit; the generated NO was then immediately captured by Fe²⁺-H₃Cit to form Fe²⁺-H₃Cit-NO complex; finally, H₃Cit was activated by Fe³⁺ and •OH in Fe²⁺/H₃Cit/UV/NO₂^- system to produce carbon dioxide anion radical (CO₂•^-), which could reduce the NO in Fe²⁺-H₃Cit-NO complex to N₂ with high efficiency and selectivity. The removal efficiencies of NO₂^- and TN were 98.6% and 87.5%, respectively, and the selectivity of N₂ was 81.6% in Fe²⁺/H₃Cit/UV/NO₂^- system after 60-min reaction at initial pH of 2.2, Fe²⁺ dosage of 3.0 mmol·L^-1 and H₃Cit dosage of 3.0 mmol·L^-1. Based on the experimental results and spectral analysis, the mechanism of NO₂^- selective reduction in Fe²⁺/H₃Cit/UV/NO₂^- system was proposed. Our finding provides a new way for wastewater denitrification and water purification.

Electrocatalytic Mechanism for Improving Sensitivity and Specificity of Electrochemical Nucleic Acid-Based Sensors with Covalent Redox Tags-Part I

The design and development of advanced electrocatalysis have been extensively explored for efficient energy conversion and electrochemical biosensing. Both ferricyanide (Fe(CN)₆^3-) and methylene blue (MB) have been widely used in the development of electrochemical biosensing strategies. However, the electrocatalytic mechanism between nucleic acid-tethered MB and Fe(CN)₆^3- remains unexplored. In this manuscript, we aim to provide readers in our community molecular insights into the electrocatalytic mechanism. The exploration of the electrocatalytic mechanism starts with a kinetic zone diagram for a one-electron homogeneous electrocatalytic reaction. Two factors-the excess factor γ and the kinetic parameter λ-are important for a homogeneous electrocatalytic reaction; as such, we studied both. The excess factor parameter was controlled by applying Fe(CN)₆^3- with various concentrations (50, 100, and 200 μM), and the kinetic parameter effect on the electrocatalytic process was examined by varying scan rates of cyclic voltammetry (CV) or frequencies of square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Moreover, we discovered that the probe dynamics of the nucleic acid tether is the third rate-limiting factor for the electrocatalytic reaction. As the probe dynamics switch of electrode-bound nucleic acid is often utilized as a mechanism in electrochemical nucleic acid-based sensors, we believe the electrocatalysis between nucleic acid-tethered MB and Fe(CN)₆^3- is capable of enhancing sensitivity and specificity of electrochemical nucleic acid-based sensors with covalent redox tags.

The Trace Detection of Nitrite Ions Using Neutral Red Functionalized SH-β-Cyclodextrin @Au Nanoparticles

A novel fluorescence sensor of NR-β-CD@AuNPs was prepared for the trace detection of nitrite in quantities as low as 4.25 × 10-3 μg∙mL-1 in an aqueous medium. The fluorescence was due to the host-guest inclusion complexes between neutral red (NR) molecules and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which were modified by per-6-mercapto-beta-cyclodextrins (SH-β-CDs) as both a reducing agent and a stabilizer under microwave radiation. The color of the NR-β-CD@AuNPs changed in the presence of nitrite ions. A sensor was applied to the determination of trace nitrites in environmental water samples with satisfactory results.

Carbon paste electrodes in the new millennium

In this review (with 500 refs), both electrochemistry and electroanalysis with carbon paste-based electrodes, sensors, and detectors are of interest, when attention is focused on the research activities in the years of new millennium. Concerned are all important aspects of the field, from fundamental investigations with carbon paste as the electrode material, via laboratory examination of the first electrode prototypes, basic and advanced studies of various electrode processes and other phenomena, up to practical applications to the determination of inorganic ions, complexes, and molecules. The latter is presented in a series of extensive tables, offering a nearly complete survey of methods published within the period of 2001–2008. Finally, the latest trends and outstanding achievements are also outlined and future prospects given.

Selective determination method for measurement of nitrite and nitrate in water samples using high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column photochemical reaction and chemiluminescence detection

A simple, sensitive and selective method for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in water samples has been developed. The method is based on ion-exchange separation, online photochemical reaction, and luminol chemiluminescence detection. The separation of nitrite and nitrate was achieved using an anion-exchange column with a 20mM borate buffer (pH 10.0). After the separation, these ions were converted to peroxynitrite by online UV irradiation using a low-pressure mercury lamp and then mixed with a luminol solution prepared with carbonate buffer (pH 10.0). The calibration graphs of the nitrite and nitrate were linear in the range from 2.0 x 10(-9) to 2.5 x 10(-6)M and 2.0 x 10(-8) to 2.5 x 10(-5)M, respectively. Since the sensitivity of nitrite was about 10 times higher than that of nitrate, the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in the water samples could be efficiently achieved. This method was successfully applied to various water samples--river water, pond water, rain water, commercial mineral water, and tap water--with only filtration and dilution steps.

The inducing NO-vasodilation by chemical reduction of coordinated nitrite ion in cis-[Ru(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) complex

The synthesis of [Ru(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine and L = pyridine (py) and pyrazine (pz)) can be accomplished by addition of [Ru(NO)L(bpy)(2)](PF(6))(3) to aqueous solutions of physiological pH. The electrochemical processes of [Ru(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) in aqueous solution were studied by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The anodic scan shows a peak around 1.00 V vs. Ag/AgCl attributed to the oxidation process centered on the metal ion. However, in the cathodic scan a second peak around -0.60 V vs. Ag/AgCl was observed and attributed to the reduction process centered on the nitrite ligand. The controlled reduction potential electrolysis at -0.80 V vs. Ag/AgCl shows NO release characteristics as judged by NO measurement with a NO-sensor. This assumption was confirmed by ESI/MS(+) and spectroelectrochemical experiment where cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)L(H(2)O)](2+) was obtained as a product of the reduction of cis-[Ru(II)(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+). The vasorelaxation observed in denuded aortic rings pre-contracted with 0.1 mumol L(-1) phenylephrine responded with relaxation in the presence of cis-[Ru(II)(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+). The potential of rat aorta cells to metabolize cis-[Ru(II)(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) was also followed by confocal analysis. The obtained results suggest that NO release happens by reduction of cis-[Ru(II)(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) inside the cell. The maximum vasorelaxation was achieved with 1 x 10(-5) mol L(-1) of cis-[Ru(II)(NO(2))L(bpy)(2)](+) complex.

An electropolymerized Nile Blue sensing film-based nitrite sensor and application in food analysis

This paper reports a poly-Nile Blue (PNB) sensing film based electrochemical sensor and the application in food analysis as a possible alternative for electrochemical detection of nitrite. The PNB-modified electrode in the sensor was prepared by in situ electropolymerization of Nile Blue at a prepolarized glassy carbon (GC) electrode and then characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and pulse voltammetry in phosphate buffer (pH 7.1). Several key operational parameters affecting the electrochemical response of PNB sensing film were examined and optimized, such as polarization time, PNB film thickness and electrolyte pH values. As the electroactive PNB sensing film provides plenty of active sites for anodic oxidation of nitrite, the nitrite sensor exhibited high performance including high sensitivity, low detection limit, simple operation and good stability at the optimized conditions. The nitrite sensor revealed good linear behavior in the concentration range from 5.0x10(-7) mol L(-1) to 1.0x10(-4) mol L(-1) for the quantitative analysis of nitrite anion with a limit of detection of 1.0x10(-7) mol L(-1). Finally, the application in food analysis using sausage as testing samples was investigated and the results were consistent with those obtained by standard spectrophotometric method.

Redox reactions of ferricyanide ions in layer-by-layer deposited polysaccharide films: a significant effect of the type of polycation in the films

Redox reactions of ferricyanide ions, [Fe(CN)6]3-, in polysaccharide thin films that were prepared by layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition on the surface of a gold electrode were studied electrochemically by cyclic voltammetry. LbL films composed of alginic acid (AGA) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were successfully prepared using poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as the cationic counterparts in the electrostatic LbL deposition. The deposition behavior of the PEI-based films significantly depended on the pH of the solutions from which the LbL films were deposited, while the effects of pH were negligibly small for the PDDA-based films due to the pH-independent positive charges on the PDDA chains. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of [Fe(CN)6]3- ions on the LbL film-coated electrodes revealed that all the LbL films tested are permeable to [Fe(CN)6]3- ions and that the redox reactions of [Fe(CN)6]3- ions proceed smoothly in the LbL polysaccharide films. It was found that [Fe(CN)6]3- ions are concentrated in the films from the bulk solution, depending on the pH of the medium and on the type of polycations in the film. The PEI-based films concentrated [Fe(CN)6]3- ions more effectively in an acidic solution than in neutral and basic media, while the pH effect was not observed for the PDDA-based films. In addition, we found that the [Fe(CN)6]3- ions are confined in the LbL films due to a strong binding of the ions to the positively charged sites arising from the protonated amino groups in the films. The confined [Fe(CN)6]3- ions exhibited redox reactions in the films, with the redox potentials being shifted to the positive or negative direction in the PEI- or PDDA-based film, respectively, as compared to the redox potential of diffusing [Fe(CN)6]3- ions. Thus, significant effects of the type of polycation in the LbL films on the redox reactions of [Fe(CN)6]3- ions were observed.