<p>In this work, a simple, less time consuming electrochemical method in the form of an electrochemical sensor has been developed for the detection of PAHs. The sensor was fabricated by the deposition of silver-gold (1:3) alloy nanoparticles (Ag-AuNPs) on ultrathin overoxidized polypyrrole (PPyox) film which formed a PPyox/Ag-AuNPs composite on glassy carbon electrode (PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE). The silver-gold alloy nanoparticles deposited to form the composite were chemically prepared by simultaneous reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) using sodium citrate and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy technique which confirmed the homogeneous formation of the alloy nanoparticles.</p>

<p>In this work, a simple, less time consuming electrochemical method in the form of an electrochemical sensor has been developed for the detection of PAHs. The sensor was fabricated by the deposition of silver-gold (1:3) alloy nanoparticles (Ag-AuNPs) on ultrathin overoxidized polypyrrole (PPyox) film which formed a PPyox/Ag-AuNPs composite on glassy carbon electrode (PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE). The silver-gold alloy nanoparticles deposited to form the composite were chemically prepared by simultaneous reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) using sodium citrate and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy technique which confirmed the homogeneous formation of the alloy nanoparticles.</p>

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that have been shown to be teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic and pose serious threats to the health of aquatic and human life. Several methods have been developed for their determination such as immunoassay, gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in combination with fluorescence or absorbance detection. However, these methods are known to manifest underlying disadvantages such as complicated pretreatment, high costs and time consuming processes. In this work, a simple, less time consuming electrochemical method in the form of an electrochemical sensor has been developed for the detection of PAHs. The sensor was fabricated by the deposition of silver-gold (1:3) alloy nanoparticles (Ag-AuNPs) on ultrathin overoxidized polypyrrole (PPyox) film which formed a PPyox/Ag-AuNPs composite on glassy carbon electrode (PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE). The silver-gold alloy nanoparticles deposited to form the composite were chemically prepared by simultaneous reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) using sodium citrate and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy technique which confirmed the homogeneous formation of the alloy nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the synthesized nanoparticles were in the range of 20-50 nm. The properties of the composite formed upon deposition of the nanoparticles on the PPyox film were investigated by electrochemical methods. The PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE sensor showed strong catalytic activity towards the oxidation of anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene, and was able to simultaneously detect anthracene and phenanthrene in a binary mixture of the two. The catalytic peak currents obtained from square wave voltammetry increased linearly with anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene concentrations in the range of 3.0 x 10-6 to 3.56 x 10-4 M,3.3 x 10-5 to 2.83 x 10-4 M, 3.3 x 10-5 to 1.66 x 10-4 M and with detection limits of 0.169 μM, 1.59 μM and 2.70 μM, respectively. The PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE sensor is simple, has antifouling properties and is less time consuming with a response time of 4 s. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Breast cancer is regarded as the most common cancer in South Africa and its rate of occurrence is increasing. About one in every 31 South African women are at the risk of developing breast cancer and early diagnosis and treatment guarantee 90% survival rate. Tamoxifen is the drugs of choice for the treatment of all stages of breast cancer. The drug binds with estrogen receptor (ER) to minimize the transcription of estrogen dependent genes. However, nearly 50% of ER-positive breast cancer patients either become resistant or fail to respond to tamoxifen resulting in a serious clinical challenge in breast cancer management. The Grand Health Challenges of South Africa includes the development of cost effective diagnostic systems suitable for early detection of diseases and drug resistivity for timely invention and better patient management. / 2020-08-31

In this work, an electrochemical method based on a cyt c biosensor has been developed, for the detection of selected arsenic and cyanide compounds. Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) electrode was used as a transducer, onto which cyt c was immobilised and used for direct determination of Prussian blue, potassium cyanide and arsenic trioxide by inhibition mechanism. The sensitivity as calculated from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV), for each analyte in phosphate buffer (pH= 7) was found to be (1.087- 4.488 ×10-9 M) and the detection limits ranging from 0.0043- 9.1 μM. These values represent a big improvement over the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

In this work, an electrochemical method based on a cyt c biosensor has been developed, for the detection of selected arsenic and cyanide compounds. Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) electrode was used as a transducer, onto which cyt c was immobilised and used for direct determination of Prussian blue, potassium cyanide and arsenic trioxide by inhibition mechanism. The sensitivity as calculated from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV), for each analyte in phosphate buffer (pH= 7) was found to be (1.087- 4.488 ×10-9 M) and the detection limits ranging from 0.0043- 9.1 μM. These values represent a big improvement over the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / In this work, an electrochemical method based on a cyt c biosensor has been developed, for the detection of selected arsenic and cyanide compounds. Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) electrode was used as a transducer, onto which cyt c was immobilised and used for direct determination of Prussian blue, potassium cyanide and arsenic trioxide by inhibition mechanism. The sensitivity as calculated from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV), for each analyte in phosphate buffer (pH= 7) was found to be (1.087- 4.488 ×10-9 M) and the detection limits ranging from 0.0043- 9.1 μM. These values represent a big improvement over the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Chemistry) / Pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known for their toxic effects which may lead to the cause of degenerative diseases in both humans and animals. PAHs are widespread in the environment, and may be found in water, food, automotive industry and petrochemical industries to name but a few sources. Literature reports have highlighted industrial workplace exposure to PAHs as a leading cause for development of cancer in workers. Particularly, workers in the petrochemical industry are adversely affected and the incidence of skin and lung cancer in this population group is high. The United States of America in its guidelines developed by environmental protection agency (EPA) has identified 18 PAHs as priority pollutants. Among these are anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene and pyrene which have been selected as the focal point of this study due to their significance in the petrochemical industry. Due to the carcinogenic and mutagenic properties reported in literature for certain PAHs, there have been monitoring procedures taken in most countries around the world. The commonly used analytical methods for the detection of PAHs from industrial samples are high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to fluorescence detection, membrane filtration, ozonation and reverse osmosis. Analysis of PAHs from the petrochemical industry is typically performed by HPLC method as well as sono-degredation in the presence of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / In this work we investigated the potentiality of batch injection analysis with square-wave voltammetry (BIA-SWV) detection for simultaneous determination of Zn and naphazoline (NAF) and batch injection analysis with multiple pulse amperometric (BIA-MPA) detection for simultaneous determination of NAF and pheniramine (FEN) or NAF and chlorpheniramine (CLO). In both methods, boron-doped diamond (BDD) was used as working electrode. For the simultaneous determination of Zn and NAF by BIA-SWV, the following conditions have been optimized: supporting electrolyte: acetate buffer 0.05 mol L-1 (pH = 4.7), injection volume: 100 μL, deposition time (Zn): 5 s, deposition potential (Zn) -1.5 V, : 100 s-1, a: 60 mV, ΔEs: 6 mV. Under these conditions, the method showed linear response range between 10 and 60 μmol L-1 for Zn (r = 0.992) and between 3.0 e 21 μmol L-1 for NAF (r = 0.999), high analytical frequency (70 injections h-1) and LOD of 0.126 μmol L-1 and 0.04 μmol L-1 for Zn and NAF, respectively. In the study of repeatability (n = 20), the calculated RSD were 0.98% and 0.97% for Zn and NAF, respectively. The simultaneous determination of NAF and FEN or NAF and CLO by BIA-MPA was performed with the application of three sequential pulses in function of time to the BDD electrode using Britton-Robinson Buffer solution 0.12 mol L-1 (pH = 10.0) as supporting electrolyte. At +1.1 V/50 ms, FEN or CLO was detected (oxidation) without interference of NAF. At +1.3 V/50 ms, both compounds (FEN + NAF or CLO + NAF) were oxidized. The current of NAF can then be obtained by subtraction of the currents detected during application of both potential pulses using a correction factor. The proposed method presented good ability (RSD = 1.7 and 4.0% for FEN and NAF; 2.1% and 3.6% for CLO and NAF, respectively; n=20); high analytical frequency (110 injections h-1), linear concentration range between 16 e 100 μmol L-1 for FEN and CLO (r > 0.996) and between 2 e 15 μmol L-1 for NAF (r > 0.997). The LOD calculated were 0.367, 0.361 e 0.148 μmol L-1, for FEN, CLO and NAF, respectively. The proposed methods were used for determination of these compounds in pharmaceutical samples. The obtained results were statistically similar to that obtained by HPLC (NAF, FEN and CLO) and atomic spectroscopy (Zn). / No presente trabalho investigou-se a potencialidade do sistema de análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por voltametria de onda quadrada (BIA-SWV) para determinação simultânea de Zn e nafazolina (NAF) e do sistema análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por amperometria de múltiplos pulsos (BIA-MPA) para determinação simultânea de NAF e feniramina (FEN) ou NAF e clorfeniramina (CLO). Em ambos os métodos, diamante dopado com boro (BDD) foi usado como eletrodo de trabalho. Para determinação simultânea de Zn e NAF empregando BIA-SWV, as seguintes condições foram otimizadas: eletrólito de suporte: tampão acetato 0,05 mol L-1 (pH = 4,7), volume de injeção: 100 μL, tempo de deposição (Zn): 5 s, potencial de deposição (Zn): -1,5 V, : 100 s-1, a: 60 mV, ΔEs: 6 mV. Nestas condições, o método apresentou faixa linear de resposta entre 10 e 60 μmol L-1 para Zn (r = 0,992) e entre 3,0 e 21 μmol L-1 para NAF (r = 0,999), frequência analítica de 70 injeções h-1 e limites de detecção de 0,126 μmol L-1e 0,04 μmol L-1 para Zn e NAF, respectivamente. No estudo de repetibilidade (n = 20), os DPRs foram calculados 0,98% e 0,97% para Zn e NAF, respectivamente. A determinação simultânea de NAF e FEN ou NAF e CLO por BIA-MPA foi realizada através da aplicação de dois pulsos de potenciais em função do tempo ao eletrodo de BDD usando tampão BR 0,12 mol L-1 (pH = 10) como eletrólito suporte. Em +1,1 V/50 ms, FEN ou CLO foram oxidadas livre da interferência de NAF. Em +1,3 V/50ms, ambos os compostos (NAF + FEN ou NAF + CLO) foram oxidados. A corrente proveniente da oxidação da NAF foi obtida pela subtração entre as correntes detectadas em ambos os pulsos de potenciais com auxílio de um fator de correção (FC). O método proposto apresentou boa estabilidade (DPR = 1,7 e 3,95% para FEN e NAF; 2,1 e 3,6% para CLO e NAF, respectivamente; n=20), alta frequência analítica (110 injeções h-1), faixa linear de resposta entre 16 e 100 μmol L-1 para FEN e CLO (r > 0,996) e entre 2 e 15 μmol L-1 para NAF (r > 0,997). Os limites de detecção foram de 0,367, 0,361 e 0,148 μmol L-1 para FEN, CLO e NAF, respectivamente. Os métodos propostos foram usados na determinação destes compostos em formulações farmacêuticas. Os resultados obtidos com os métodos propostos foram estatisticamente similares aos obtidos por HPLC (NAF, FEN e CLO) ou absorção atômica (Zn). / Mestre em Química