No abstract

Natural clinoptilolite can be used as an ion exchanger for removal of heavy metals and treatment of environmental pollution because of its desirable characteristics of high ion exchange selectivity and resistance to different media.In this work, the potential of natural clinoptilolite from Gördes mines (West Anatolia, Turkey) for the uptake of lead(II), nickel(II), copper(II), and zinc(II), from their single and mixed ion solutions, was evaluated using the batch method. The mineralogical and chemical properties of the sorption material were carried out by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluoremetry, scanning electron microscopy, and wet analysis.Contact time, initial solution pH, solid-to-liquid ratio, and initial metal cation concentration were determined as single ion sorption parameters. The silicon/aluminum ratio and the theoretical and equivalent exchange capacities, both in single and mixed solutions, were established. Corresponding adsorption constants and distribution coefficients have been found. Water Environ. Res., 79, 329 (2007).

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

In this work, we have studied quenching of the fluorescence of two well-known oxygen probes, 1-pyrene butyric acid (PBA) and tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium ([Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)) by reactive oxygen species (superoxide anion, nitric oxide derivative, hydrogen peroxide) and by the O(2) molecule. Both, time-resolved and steady state fluorescence measurements were performed in solution (ethanol, dimethyl sufoxide, water) and in micelles of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate that serve as a model for membrane-containing biological structures. We have found that only the free radicals and O(2) can actively quench for the two probes, but not the diamagnetic H(2)O(2). Our data correspond to the classical Stern-Volmer equation. H(2)O(2) has an effect only at high molar concentrations (>0.1 M). In contrast, effective concentrations of free radicals and O(2) that lead to quenching are in millimolar range. In conclusion, our methods allows for detecting global ROS that are small free radicals without interference from the reactive hydroxyl radical. Our data suggest that the method can be used for the quantification of ROS in individual living cells based on the measurement of fluorescence lifetime of those probes.

No abstract

We describe the characterization of a new optical CO(2) sensor based on the change in the fluorescence signal intensity of 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid trisodium salt (HPTS) in green chemistry reagents--room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). As far as we are aware, this is the first time RTILs, 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (RTIL-I) and 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide (RTIL-II), have been used as matrix materials with HPTS in an optical CO(2) sensor. It should be noted that the solubility of CO(2) in water-miscible ionic liquids is approximately 10 to 20 times that in conventional solvents, polymer matrices, or water. The response of the sensor to gaseous and dissolved CO(2) has been evaluated. The luminescence intensity of HPTS at 519 and 521 nm decreased with the increasing concentrations of CO(2) by 90 and 75% in RTIL-I and RTIL-II, respectively. The response times of the sensing reagents were in the range 1-2 min for switching from nitrogen to CO(2), and 7-10 min for switching from CO(2) to nitrogen. The signal changes were fully reversible and no significant hysteresis was observed during the measurements. The stability of HPTS in RTILs was excellent and when stored in the ambient air of the laboratory there was no significant drift in signal intensity after 7 months. Our stability tests are still in progress.