Surface functionalization of natural hydroxyapatite by polymerization of β-cyclodextrin: application as electrode material for the electrochemical detection of Pb(II)

A composite material prepared by polymerization of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) on the surface of natural hydroxyapatite using citric acid as cross linker, was employed as electrode material for the detection of Pb(II). Hydroxyapatite was obtained from bovine bones, following a three-step procedure including pre-calcination, chemical treatment with (NH₄)₂HPO_4, and calcination. The structure and morphology of the pristine hydroxyapatite (NHAP_P0.5) and its functionalized counterpart (NHAP_p0.5-CA-β-CD) were examined using XRD, FTIR, and SEM. Upon deposition as thin film on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), the ion exchange ability of NHAP_p0.5-CA-β-CD was exploited to elaborate a sensitive sensor for the detection of lead. The electroanalytical procedure was based on the chemical accumulation of Pb(II) ions under open-circuit conditions, followed by the detection of the preconcentrated species using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The reproducibility of the proposed method, based on a series of 8 measurements in a solution containing 2 μM Pb(II) gave a coefficient of variation of 1.27%. Significant parameters that can affect the stripping response of Pb(II) were optimized, leading to a linear calibration curve for lead in the concentration range of 2 × 10^-8 mol L^-1 - 20 × 10^-8 mol L^-1 (R² = 0.998). The detection limit (3S/m) and the sensitivity of the proposed sensor were 5.06 × 10^-10 mol L^-1 and 100.80 μA.μM^-1, respectively. The interfering effect of several ions expected to affect the determination of lead was evaluated, and the proposed sensor was successfully applied in the determination of Pb(II) ions in spring water, well water, river water and tap water samples.

New ternary water-soluble support from self-assembly of β-cyclodextrin-ionic liquid and an anionic polymer for a dialysis device

We developed a new hybrid material resulting from an innovative supramolecular tripartite association between an ionic liquid covalently immobilized on primary β-cyclodextrins rim and an anionic water-soluble polymer. Two hydrophilic ternary complexes based on native and permethylated β-cyclodextrins substituted with an ionic liquid and immobilized on poly(styrene sulfonate) (CD-IL⁺PSS^- and CD(OMe)IL⁺PSS^-) were obtained by simple dialysis with a cyclodextrin maximal grafting rate of 25% and 20% on the polymer, respectively. These polyelectrolytes are based on electrostatic interactions between the opposite charges of the imidazolium cation of the ionic liquid and the poly(styrene sulfonate) anion. The inclusion properties of the free cavities of the cyclodextrins and the synergic effect of the polymeric matrix were studied with three reference guests such as phenolphthalein, p-nitrophenol, and 2-anilinonaphthalene-6-sulfonic acid using UV-visible, fluorescent, and NMR spectroscopies. The support has been applied successfully in dialysis device to extract and concentrated aromatic model molecule. This simple and flexible synthetic strategy opens the way to new hybrid materials useful for fast and low-cost ecofriendly extraction techniques relevant for green analytical chemistry.

An electrochemical sensor based on copper-based metal-organic framework-reduced graphene oxide composites for determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water

In the present work, we reported the fabrication of a novel electrochemical sensing platform to detect 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) by using a copper benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate-graphene oxide (Cu-BTC/GO) composite. The sensor was prepared by drop-casting Cu-BTC/GO suspension onto the electrode surface followed by electrochemical reduction, leading to the generation of an electrochemically reduced graphene oxide network (ErGO). By combining the large specific area of the Cu-BTC matrix with the electrical percolation from the graphene network, the number of accessible reaction sites was strongly increased, which consequently improved the detection performance. The electrochemical characteristics of the composite were revealed by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. For the detection of 2,4-DCP, differential pulse voltammetry was used to emphasize the faradaic reaction related to the oxidation of the analyte. The results displayed a low detection limit (83 × 10-9 M) and a linear range from 1.5 × 10-6 M to 24 × 10-6 M alongside high reproducibility (RSD = 2.5% for eight independent sensors) and good stability. Importantly, the prepared sensors were sufficiently selective against interference from other pollutants in the same electrochemical window. Notably, the presented sensors have already proven their ability in detecting 2,4-DCP in real field samples with high accuracy (recovery range = 97.17-104.15%).

Rapid and sensitive electrochemical sensor of cross-linked polyaniline/oxidized carbon nanomaterials core-shell nanocomposites for determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol

Nanocomposites (NCs) of crosslinked polyaniline (CPA)-coated oxidized carbon nanomaterials (OXCNMs) were fabricated as a very sensitive and simple electrochemical sensor to be utilized in 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCPH) detection. CPA/OXCNMs NCs were prepared by chemical copolymerization of polyaniline with triphenylamine and p-phenylenediamine in the presence of OXCNMs. The CPA/GO-OXSWCNTNCs exhibited a higher affinity for the oxidation of chlorophenols compared to the glassy carbon electrode (GCE), CPA/GCE, and other NCs. Cyclic voltammetry was performed to investigate and assess the electrocatalytic oxidation of 2,4-DCPH on the modified GCE. The compound yielded a well-defined voltammetric response in a Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 5) at 0.54 V (vs. silver chloride electrode). Quantitative determination of 2,4-DCPH was performed by differential pulse voltammetry under optimal conditions in the concentration range of 0.05 to 1.2 nmol L-1, and a linear calibration graph was obtained. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was found to be 4.2 nmol L-1. In addition, the results demonstrated that the CPA/GO-OXSWCNTs/GCE sensor exhibited a strong anti-interference ability, reproducibility, and stability. The prepared CPA/GO-OXSWCNTs/GCE sensor was used to rapidly detect 2,4-DCPH with a high degree of sensitivity in fish farm water with proven levels of satisfactory recoveries.

Mimicking new receptors based on molecular imprinting and their application to potentiometric assessment of 2,4-dichlorophenol as a food taint

Innovative host-tailored polymers were prepared, characterized and used as recognition elements in potentiometric transducers for the selective quantification of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP).The polymer beads were synthesized using DCP as a template molecule, acrylamide (AM),methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethyl methacrylate (EMA) as functional monomers and divinylbenzene (DVB) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross-linkers. The sensors were fabricated by the inclusion of MIPs in plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix. Response characteristics of the proposed sensors revealed anionic slopes of -59.2, -49.7 and -80.6 mV/decade with detection limits of 5.6 × 10^-5,5.9 × 10^-5 and 13.2 × 10^-5 mol/L for MIP/AM/DVB, MIP/MAA/DVB and MIP/EMA/EGDMA membrane based sensors, respectively. Good selectivity was observed over common inorganic/organic anions. Validation of the assay method according to IUPAC recommendations was justified ensuring the synthesis of good reliable novel sensors for DCP determination. The method was successfully applied for routine analysis of food taint in fish and fish farms water samples.

β-Cyclodextrins incorporated multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified electrode for the voltammetric determination of the pesticide dichlorophen

In this work, a glassy carbon electrode modified with β-cyclodextrins and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (β-CDs/MWCNTs/GCE) was constructed and applied for the square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric (SWAdSV) determination of the pesticide dichlorophen (Dcp). For the first time, this compound was electrochemically investigated. The voltammetric measurements were conducted in phosphate buffer (PBS) at pH 6.5 as a supporting electrolyte, and SWAdSV technique parameters were optimized. A linear calibration curve in the wide concentration range from 5.0 × 10^-8molL^-1 to 2.9 × 10^-6molL^-1 was obtained. Excellent analytical performance in terms of limit of detection (LOD) of 1.4 × 10^-8molL^-1 was achieved. The utility of the proposed method was verified by the quantitative analysis of Dcp in Pilica River water samples with satisfactory results. The characterization of modified electrodes was conducted by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Moreover, in this work, the dissociation constants (pK_a) of Dcp using potentiometric pH titration were estimated. The stoichiometry of the Dcp-β-CDs inclusion complex formed in solution was determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy, and a binding constant (β₂) was estimated from NMR titration studies.