Magister Scientiae - MSc (Dept. of Chemistry) / This study reports the synthesis of graphene by oxidizing graphite to graphite oxide using H2SO4 and KMnO4 and reducing graphene oxide to graphene by using NaBH4. Graphene was then characterized using FT-IR, TEM, AFM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and solid state NMR. Nafion-Graphene in combination with a mercury film electrode, bismuth film electrode and antimony film electrode was used as a sensing platform for trace metal analysis in 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 4.6) at 120 s deposition time, using square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). Detection limits were calculated using 3σblank/slope. For practical applications recovery studies was done by spiking test samples with known concentrations of metal ions and comparing the results to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). This was then followed by real sample analyses. / South Africa

Electrochemical oxidation of acyclovir at glassy-carbone electrode and boron-doped diamond electrode gives one pH-dependent oxidation signal; the corresponding electrode reaction is controlled by diffusion. It is followed by a second indistinctive signal in the pH range 2,0 - 9,0. Further, optimization of conditions was carried out for determination of acyclovir using DC and DP voltammetry. The calibration dependence on GC electrode in B−R buffer (pH = 6,0) is linear only in the concentration range from 2 to 10 μmol∙l−1 for DCV with limit of detection 0,38 μmol∙l−1; for DPV it is not linear. BDD electrode has to be activated to prevent its passivation. Anodic activation at +2,4 V for 15 s with simultaneous stirring of solution results in relative standard deviation of 0,9% for acyclovir concentration of 1∙10−4 mol∙l−1. Using DCV and DPV methods linear concentration dependences were obtained in 0,1 mol∙l-1 nitric acid and in pH 6,0 B−R buffer. The lowest limit of detection and limit of quantification (LOD = 0,47 μmol∙l−1 a LOQ = 1,55 μmol∙l−1) and linear range from 0,6 to 100 μmol∙l−1 was reached in pH 6,0 B−R buffer. Further, standard addition method was used to quantify acyclovir in Zovirax tablets. Satisfactory recoveries of 101,1 ± 2,3 % using DCV and 98,8 ± 2,2 % using DPV at BDD (compared with the...

The aim of this diploma thesis was to develop an electrochemical method for three phytosterols, namely stigmasterol β-sitosterol and ergosterol using voltammetry techniques on glassy carbon electrode and boron doped diamond electrode. The work builds on previous results, where it was shown that the electrochemical oxidation of phytosterols requires perchloric acid in acetonitrile. When this acid is used, a dehydration reaction occurs. Calibration dependences were measured here for all phytosterols in an environment with a water content of 0.43%. The stability of the signal with increasing distilled water content was further investigated. Then the calibration dependences in the increased water content were measured again. If we want to use HPLC-type separation techniques, we must first find out how the phytosterols will behave in this environment, and therefore the signal stability on the buffer content was investigated. The buffers used were phosphate and acetate buffer. Subsequently, the concentration dependence was measured in an environment with a higher content of phosphate buffer. Furthermore, the possibility of detecting two phytosterols at once was investigated. Key words: dehydration, glassy carbon electrode, boron doped diamond electrode, oxidation, phytosterols, voltammetry

<p>U radu su definisani najznačajniji ekspirementalni faktori hronopotenciometrijske striping analize žive na staklastom ugljeniku. Poređeni su različiti elektrohemijski sistemi. Ispitani sistemi su obuhvatili klasičnu elektrohemijsku ćeliju sa stacionarnom disk elektrodom, sistem sa rotirajućom disk elektrodom, procesnu posudu od staklastog ugljenika kao radnuelektrodu i protočne sisteme uz tankoslojnu i tubularnu ćeliju.</p><p>Tačnost definisanih metoda je potvrđena analizom standardnog referentnog materijala - lista paradajza. Najveća osetljivost određivanja žive je postignuta primenom procesne ča&scaron;e od staklastog ugljenika kao radne elektrode. Granica detekcije je iznosila 0,10ng/dm^3&nbsp;žive(II). Razvijene metode su primenjene za određivanje žive u vodama. Uzorci voda su obuhvatili vode za piće, morske, rečne, bunarske, jezerske i otpadne vode.</p> / <p>In this work optimal experimental conditions of chronopotentiometric stripping analysis of mercury using glassy carbon were investigated. Critical review of different electrochemical systems is given. Conventional electrochemical cell with stationary disc electrode, cell with rotating disc elektrode, system with process vessel as a working electrode and flow systems with thin-layer and tubular cell were encompassed by the investigation.</p><p>Accuracy of the particular techniques was confirmed by analysing standard reference material - tomato leaves. Best sensitivity was achieved using process vessel of glassy carbon as a working electrode - 0,1 ng/d³. The developed methods were used for water analysis. Mercury was determined in samples of tap, well, seawater, river, lake, rain waters and in one sample of waste water.</p>

The analysis of literature data has shown that the methods used in laboratory diagnostics for determining the concentration of glucose and hydrogen peroxide have a number of disadvantages, for the elimination of which it is proposed to use electrochemical methods of determination. The electrochemical properties of complex oxides with a perovskite-like structure were studied using voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It has been established that all the complex oxides studied exhibit electrocatalytic activity with respect to glucose and hydrogen peroxide. It is shown that the scanning speed and the time of ultrasonic treatment of oxides have no significant effect on the process. Compounds that can be used as catalysts for creating sensors for determining glucose and hydrogen peroxide are proposed. / Анализ литературных данных показал, что применяемые в лабораторной диагностике методы для определения концентрации глюкозы и пероксида водорода имеют ряд недостатков, для устранения которых предлагается использовать электрохимические методы определения. Изучены электрохимические свойства сложных оксидов с перовскитоподобной структурой с применением вольтамперометрии и хроноамперометрии. Установлено, что все исследованные сложные оксиды проявляют электрокаталитическую активность по отношению к глюкозе и пероксиду водорода. Показано, что скорость сканирования и время ультразвуковой обработки оксидов не оказывает существенного влияния на процесс. Предложены соединения, которые могут быть использованы в качестве катализаторов для создания сенсоров для определения глюкозы и пероксида водорода.

2-Nitrofluorene is a model representative of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAH) which belongs to a group of mutagens and carcinogens. Interaction of DNA with genotoxic 2-nitrofluorene was monitored by an electrochemical DNA biosensor made of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and low molecular weight DNA from salmon sperm. Techniques used are electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Using the EIS technique, no damage to DNA, which would cause strand breaks in DNA, was observed, whereas using the CV technique, the intercalation of NF to the structure of DNA was observed, leading to the formation of a NF-DNA complex. The intercalation results in a reduction of electroactive sites which can be oxidized. It was verified using the SWV technique, by which a decrease of the peak heights of adenosine and guanosine was observed. Because of the dangerous effect of NF on the structure of DNA, an electroanalytical method for its determination was developed. An applicability of the method was successfully tested on a model sample of sand. For the development of the technique, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used in a mixture of the Britton-Robinson buffer of pH 7.0 and ethanol in a ratio of 7:3 (v/v) and with a periodic...

This work was focused on study of a behaviour of the food additivum butylated hydroxyanisole on modified carbon electrodes by the voltammetric techniques - cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. Glassy carbon and carbon paste electrode were used. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in combination with three different binders (acetonitrile, nafione or chitosane) were employed for the electrode modification. Carbon paste electrode was unable to modificate with film containing carbon nanotubes and acetonitrile, its active surface was treated only with nafione and chitosane film. All three mentioned modifications were applied in case of glassy carbon electrode. Butylated hydroxyanisole provided a significantly higher signal using electrodes modified with carbon nanotubes with all three binders in contrast to electrodes without any surface modification. The glassy carbon electrode with carbon nanotube / acetonitrile film on its surface appeared to be the most effective for analytical purposes. Voltammetric determination of butylated hydroxyanisole using this electrode provided a better defined and higher analytical signal and lower relative standard deviations in comparison with other ways of modification. The limit of detection of butylated hydroxyanisole obtained by cyclic voltammetry on glassy...

Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used for developing a method for the determination of phenothiazine derivatives, namely chlorpromazine (CHP) and levomepromazine (LMP), using a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and a graphite electrode, both with a 2 mm disc diameter. Comparison of quantification limits (LQ) for both substances on both electrodes was performed. After optimizing and processing the results, the optimal conditions for measuring calibrations were as follows: Britton- Robinson (BR) buffer at pH 4.0. Calibration dependences were measured inthe concentration range from 1·10-7 to 1·10-4 mol·dm-3 . There was no need for electrochemical electrode regeneration or matrix pretreatment. The results showed higher measurement sensitivity for CHP, and the graphite electrode also showed higher sensitivity. Although there were measured lower concentrations with the graphite electrode in comparison to the GCE, because of the low repeatability of the measurements in the lower concentration range 1-10·10-7 mol·dm-3 , the LQ is comparable to the results reached on the GCE. Besides to the BR buffer, measurements in other matrices (drinking water and river water) were also made. The following LQ values were achieved: 1.0·10-6 mol·dm-3 (in BR buffer), 1.1·10-6 -1.4·10-6 mol·dm-3 (in drinking water) and...

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T12:40:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Giselle Nathaly Calaca.pdf: 4129912 bytes, checksum: 17ad0dde0faa7762fe24c34e6ffcd471 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-23 / Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Paraná / The development and validation of analytical methods for quantification of two associations, antibiotics: sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP); and depigmenting agents: kojic acid (AK) and hydroquinone (HQ), using unmodified glassy carbon electrode (ECV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) are described. For the first association, two well defined irreversible oxidation peaks were obtained at 0.96V (SMX) and 1.12V (TMP) in Britton–Robinson buffer (pH 6.0), characterized by diffusion and adsorptive processes, respectively. SWV parameters were optimized by means of 23 Full Factorial Design, and the best analytical signal, in terms of sensitivity and selectivity is obtained at a=30 mV, f=100 s-1 and ΔES=5mV. Under optimized conditions, SWV measurements showed excellent linear response, from 5.5x10-5 to 3.95x10-4 mol L-1 (R=0.9971) and 1.05x10-5 to 1.04x10-4 mol L-1 (R=0.9974) for SMX and TMP, respectively. The detection and quantification limits were found to be 8.52x10-6 mol L-1 and 2.84x10-5 mol L-1 for SMX; and 9.31x10-7 mol L-1 and 3.10x10-6 mol L-1 for TMP, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of these antibiotics in commercial pharmaceutical formulations (tablets, oral suspension and injection), without any sample pretreatment. The obtained results are in good agreement with that obtained by the standard HPLC method at a 95% confidence level. For the second association, the redox peak potentials were completely separated in Mcllvaine buffer solution (pH 8.0), KA exhibits a well-defined irreversible oxidation peak at 0.72V and HQ a quasi-reversible redox peak at 0.08 V and -0.02 V, characterized by adsorptive and diffusional processes, respectively. Under SWV parameters optimized (a= 40 mV, f=40 s-1 and ΔES=1mV) by 23 Full Factorial Design, the calibration curves were obtained in the concentration ranges of 3.5×10-5 to 2.5×10-4 mol L-1 (R= 0.9996) for kojic acid and 1.5×10-5 to 1.6×10-4 mol L-1 (R= 0.9994) for hydroquinone. The detection and quantification limits were found to be 7.84x10-6 mol L-1 and 2.61x10-5 mol L-1 for KA; and 3.71x10-6 mol L-1 and 1.24x10-5 mol L-1 for HQ, respectively. The novel electroanalytical method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, range, accuracy and precision (repeatability and intermediate precision) and successfully applied to the direct simultaneous determination of these bleaching agents in real samples. / O trabalho descreve o desenvolvimento e a validação de métodos analíticos para quantificação de duas associações, os antibióticos: sulfametoxazol (SMX) e trimetoprima (TMP); e os agentes despigmentantes: ácido kójico (AK) e hidroquinona (HQ), empregando-se eletrodo de carbono vítreo (ECV) não modificado e voltametria de onda quadrada (VOQ). Para a primeira associação, dois picos de oxidação irreversíveis em 0,96V (SMX) e 1,12V (TMP) foram observados em tampão Britton–Robinson (pH 6,0), caracterizados por processos difusional e adsortivo, respectivamente. Os parâmetros instrumentais da VOQ foram otimizados por meio de um planejamento fatorial completo 23, sendo a melhor resposta em termos de sensibilidade e seletividade obtida em a=30 mV, f=100 s-1 e ΔES=5mV. Nas condições otimizadas, foram construídas curvas analíticas nos intervalos de concentração de 5,5x10-5 a 3,95x10-4 mol L-1 (R=0,9971) para SMX e 1,05x10-5 a 1,04x10-4 mol L-1 (R=0,9974) para TMP. Os valores de limites de detecção (LD) e de quantificação (LQ) calculados foram: 8,52x10-6 mol L-1 e 2,84x10-5 mol L-1 para SMX e 9,31x10-7 mol L-1 e 3,10x10-6 mol L-1 para TMP, respectivamente. O método proposto foi aplicado para determinação simultânea dos fármacos em diferentes amostras farmacêuticas (comprimidos, injeção e suspensão oral) sem a necessidade de nenhum tipo de pré-tratamento da amostra. Os resultados obtidos através do método voltamétrico foram comparados aos obtidos pelo método farmacopeico (HPLC) e comprovou-se que não há diferença significativa em um nível de confiança de 95%. Para a segunda associação, nos voltamogramas cíclicos em tampão Mcllvaine (pH=8,0) um pico de oxidação irreversível em +0,7V foi observado para o AK, enquanto que para HQ foi observado um processo quase-reversível, com picos de oxidação em 0,08V e redução em -0,02V, caracterizados por processos adsortivo e difusional, respectivamente. Utilizando-se os parâmetros da VOQ otimizados (a= 40 mV, f= 40 s-1 e ΔES= 1mV), através de um planejamento fatorial completo 23, as curvas de calibração foram obtidas nas faixas de concentração de 3,5×10-5 a 2,5×10-4 mol L-1 (R= 0,9996) para AK e 1,5×10-5 a 1,6×10-4 mol L-1 (R= 0,9994) para HQ. Os limites de detecção e quantificação foram: 7,84x10-6 mol L-1 e 2,61x10-5 mol L-1 para AK; e 3,71x10-6 mol L-1 e 1,24x10-5 mol L-1 para HQ, respectivamente. O método voltamétrico desenvolvido foi validado em termos de especificidade, linearidade, faixa de concentração, exatidão e precisão (repetibilidade e precisão intermediária) e aplicado na determinação simultânea dos agentes despigmentantes em amostras de clareadores.

Nos últimos anos, materiais baseados em grafeno têm atraído grande interesse na área eletroquímica devido às suas excelentes propriedades eletrônicas. Neste trabalho, apresentamos a obtenção de óxido de grafeno reduzido utilizando métodos eletroquímicos. A redução eletroquímica do óxido de grafeno (OG) foi realizada na superfície de um eletrodo de carbono vítreo (ECV) utilizando voltametria cíclica. O óxido de grafeno reduzido eletroquimicamente (OG-RE) foi caracterizado utilizando espectroscopia Raman, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), microscopia de força atômica (MFA), espectroscopia de fotoelétrons excitados por raios-X (XPS) e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica. A relação ID/IG obtida através dos espectros Raman do OG e do OG-RE foram de 0,98 e 1,15, respectivamente, indicando que o processo de redução resultou em uma maior desorganização estrutural. A espectroscopia de fotoelétrons de raios-X mostrou que a proporção entre C e O no OG foi de 45,7% e, que após a redução eletroquímica essa relação diminuiu para 38,5%. O eletrodo modificado com OG-RE foi empregado para quantificação de furosemida (FUR) em amostras farmacêuticas utilizando voltametria de pulso diferencial e análise por injeção em fluxo com detecção amperométrica. Os limites de detecção e quantificação calculados para o método proposto foram de 0,35 e 1,18 &#181;mol L-1, respectivamente. Visando à aplicação em amostras de interesse clínico, fabricou-se um sensor descartável e de baixo custo para a detecção de FUR utilizando papel sulfite pintado com lápis de desenho e ativado por laser de CO2. Os estudos voltamétricos utilizando o [Ru(NH3)6]Cl3 mostraram que o transporte de massa neste dispositivo foi governado por difusão e que o tratamento com laser diminui a resistência a transferência de carga, assim como resultou em um menor problema relacionado ao envenenamento da superfície do eletrodo / In recent years, graphene-based materials have attracted great interest in the area of electrochemistry due to its excellent electronic properties. In this work, we present the production of reduced graphene oxide using electrochemical methods. The electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) was carried out on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using the cyclic voltammetry technique. Electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ER-GO) was characterized using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Xray excited photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). ID / IG ratio obtained through Raman spectra of GO and ER-GO were 0.98 and 1.15, respectively, indicating that the reduction process resulted in greater structural disorganization. XPS showed that the ratio between C and O in the GO was 45.7% and that after electrochemical reduction this ratio decreased to 38.5%. The ER-GO modified electrode was used as a sensor for furosemide (FUR) in pharmaceutical samples using the techniques of differential pulse voltammetry and flow injection analysis with amperometric detection. The limits of detection and quantification for the proposed method were 0.35 and 1.18 &#181;mol L-1, respectively. Aiming to the application in clinical samples a disposable, low-cost paper-based sensor for the detection of FUR was fabricated using office paper painted with drawing pencil and activated by CO2 laser. Voltammetric studies using [Ru(NH3)6]Cl3 have shown that mass transport in this device was controlled by diffusion and the laser decreases resistance to charge transfer, as well as, avoided the problem with electrode surface poisoning