Optimizing Reductive Degradation of PAHs Using Anhydrous Ethanol with Magnesium Catalyzed by Glacial Acetic Acid.

Targeted degradation of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) constituents like anthracene, may offer cost effective and efficient cleaning of coal tar-contaminated sites. Thus, a reductive degradation procedure of anthracene using activated magnesium with anhydrous ethanol at room temperature was developed and optimized. To determine the optimum conditions for anthracene, such as effective magnesium concentrations, glacial acetic acid volumes, and exposure time for the anthracene reduction, the experiments were designed using the response surface methodology based on the central composite design.

Removal and biodegradation of naphthenic acids by biochar and attached environmental biofilms in the presence of co-contaminating metals.

This study evaluated the efficacy of using a combined biofilm-biochar approach to remove organic (naphthenic acids (NAs)) and inorganic (metals) contaminants from process water (OSPW) generated by Canada's oil sands mining operations. A microbial community sourced from an OSPW sample was cultured as biofilms on several carbonaceous materials. Two biochar samples, from softwood bark (SB) and Aspen wood (N3), facilitated the most microbial growth (measured by protein assays) and were used for NA removal studies performed with and without biofilms, and in the presence and absence of contaminating metals.

Ion-imprinted chitosan gel beads for selective adsorption of Ag⁺ from aqueous solutions.

In this study, the Ag(+)-imprinted chitosan gel beads were synthesized to selectively adsorb Ag(+) from bimetallic aqueous solutions containing the same molar concentration of Ag(+) and Cu(2+). The Ag(+)-imprinting not only helps to achieve extremely high selectivity of Ag(+), but also enhances the uptake capacity of the target Ag(+) by protecting some amine groups, the primary binding sites of metal ions from cross-linking. The maximum uptake of Ag(+) by the ion-imprinted chitosan beads was found to be 89.

Direct analysis of sterols by derivatization matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry.

Rationale: Free sterols are neutral molecules that are difficult to analyze by MALDI or ESI and their molecular ions easily fragment. In order to increase their ionization efficiency and selectivity, sterols were derivatized by different reagents.

Methods: Selected sterols were converted into their corresponding picolinyl esters, N-methylpyridyl ethers and sulphated esters.

Comprehensive proteomics approach in characterizing and quantifying allergenic proteins from northern shrimp: toward better occupational asthma prevention.

Occupational asthma is a major chronic health dilemma among workers involved in the seafood industry. Several proteins notoriously known to cause asthma have been reported in different seafood. This work involves the application of an allergenomics strategy to study the most potent allergens of northern shrimp.