DFO@EVOH and 3,4-HP@EVOH: Towards New Polymeric Sorbents for Iron(III)

Chemometric-Assisted Litmus Test: One Single Sensing Platform Adapted from 1-13 to Narrow pH Ranges

A novel 3 × 4 colorimetric sensing platform, named the chemometric-assisted litmus test (CLT), has been developed by covalently anchoring commercial pH indicators to ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH). The proposed device can be exploited for pH determinations in a wide range from 1 to 13 and in specific narrow ranges, achieving sufficient accuracy and errors below 0.5 pH units. The experimental procedure is simple, quick and reliable; equilibration is reached in less than 2 h, CLT pictures are acquired by a camera, and data treatment is performed applying chemometric techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square regression (PLS) to RGB indices.

Screen-printed Gold Electrode Functionalized with Deferoxamine for Iron(III) Detection

Deferoxamine (DFO), a hydroxamic siderophore with a high affinity for Fe(III), is immobilized as a functionalized self-assembled monolayer of a thiol (SAM) on the gold surface of a screen-printed cell to develop a voltammetric sensor for iron(III). The surface of the working electrode was characterized, before and after functionalization, by determining surface properties such as the area and the double-layer capacitance. The Fe(III) detection was performed by DPV analysis after preconcentration of the cation at the open circuit potential in solution at pH = 1 for two minutes. The method was applied to the iron(III) quantification in water samples giving promising results.

Recent Progress, Challenges, and Trends in Polymer-Based Sensors: A Review

Polymers are long-chain, highly molecular weight molecules containing large numbers of repeating units within their backbone derived from the product of polymerization of monomeric units. The materials exhibit unique properties based on the types of bonds that exist within their structures. Among these, some behave as rubbers because of their excellent bending ability, lightweight nature, and shape memory. Moreover, their tunable chemical, structural, and electrical properties make them promising candidates for their use as sensing materials. Polymer-based sensors are highly utilized in the current scenario in the public health sector and environment control due to their rapid detection, small size, high sensitivity, and suitability in atmospheric conditions. Therefore, the aim of this review article is to highlight the current progress in polymer-based sensors. More importantly, this review provides general trends and challenges in sensor technology based on polymer materials.

Hydroxypyridinone-Based Metal Chelators towards Ecotoxicity: Remediation and Biological Mechanisms

Hydroxypyridinones (HPs) are recognized as excellent chemical tools for engineering a diversity of metal chelating agents, with high affinity for hard metal ions, exhibiting a broad range of activities and applications, namely in medical, biological and environmental contexts. They are easily made and functionalizable towards the tuning of their pharmacokinetic properties or the improving of their metal complex thermodynamic stabilities. In this review, an analysis of the recently published works on hydroxypyridinone-based ligands, that have been mostly addressed for environmental applications, namely for remediation of hard metal ion ecotoxicity in living beings and other biological matrices is carried out. In particular, herein the most recent developments in the design of new chelating systems, from bidentate mono-HP to polydentate multi-HP derivatives, with a structural diversity of soluble or solid-supported backbones are outlined. Along with the ligand design, an analysis of the relationship between their structures and activities is presented and discussed, namely associated with the metal affinity and the thermodynamic stability of the corresponding metal complexes.

A Friendly Complexing Agent for Spectrophotometric Determination of Total Iron

Iron, one of the most common metals in the environment, plays a fundamental role in many biological as well as biogeochemical processes, which determine its availability in different oxidation states. Its relevance in environmental and industrial chemistry, human physiology, and many other fields has made it necessary to develop and optimize analysis techniques for accurate determination. Spectrophotometric methods are the most frequently applied in the analytical determination of iron in real samples. Taking advantage of the fact that desferrioxamine B, a trihydroxamic acid used since the 1970s in chelation therapy for iron overload treatment, forms a single stable 1:1 complex with iron in whichever oxidation state it can be found, a smart spectrophotometric method for the analytical determination of iron concentration was developed. In particular, the full compliance with the Lambert-Beer law, the range of iron concentration, the influence of pH, and the interference of other metal ions have been taken into account. The proposed method was validated in terms of LoD, LoQ, linearity, precision, and trueness, and has been applied for total iron determination in natural water certified material and in biological reference materials such as control human urine and control serum.