Studies on the transport of lanthanides ions through the membrane of human erythrocyte in vitro by ICP-MS

A method was developed for the determination of lanthanum in the cytoplasm of human erythrocytes after they were incubated in lanthanum nitrate or citrate solutions. The lanthanum concentration in the cytoplasm of incubated erythrocytes is much higher than that in normal erythrocytes. It is suggested lanthanum can transport through the membrane of erythrocyte in vitro. Solutions containing chelator are unsuitable to be washing buffer in the investigation.

A new kind of potassium sensor based on capacitance measurement of mimic membrane

A novel type of potassium sensor based on the capacitance change of valinomycin-incorporated bilayer supported on a gold electrode has been developed and characterized. The lipid membrane was Formed by painted method and monitored simultaneously by capacitance variation. The capacitance of the electrode-supported membrane was found to be modulated by different concentrations of K+. Investigating the capacitance change allows a simple and specific technique for the measurement of potassium ion in solution. Especially, the homemade capacitance meter is, to our knowledge, used to monitor the bilayer membrane formation and detect K+ for the first time. It has been proved that this capacitance measurement is a very useful technique because it is simple and sensitive compared to the other methods.

Electrochemical detector at the liquid/liquid and liquid/membrane interface

Electrochemistry at the liquid/liquid and liquid/membrane interface has been developed recently. It can be used for a new kind of electrochemical detector and sensor. Some new aspects of the field in this laboratory are presented.

Separation of Ce(IV) and RE(III) with hollow fiber membrane-based extraction

Separation of Ce(IV) and RE(III) was investigated by hollow fiber membrane-based extraction with contercurrent recirculating operation. The mass transfer coefficients of Ce(IV) and RE(III) and the effective factors to them were tested. The results show the mass transfer coefficient of Ce(IV) is larger than that of RE(III), and their mass transfer mechanism is different. The mass transfer of Ce(IV) was controlled by the resistance in water critical layer due to its more rapid interfacial reaction rate and larger distribution coefficient, which was different from RE(III) mass transfer with a slow interfacial reaction rate and small distribution coefficient. Ce(IV) was separated from the mixed solution of Ce(IV) and RE(III) by means of the difference of their mass transfer rates.

Studies on extraction and mass transfer of samarium and neodymium in hollow fiber membrane (HFM) with HEH/EHP

The membranes of polyvinylidene fluoride, which were synthesized by our laboratory, were used to study the transfer and extraction performances of Nd(III) and Sm(III) with the extraction system of HEH/EHP-kerosene. The results show that the membrane material was suitable to the study on membrane extraction, and could offer a good transfer performance in the membrane construction parameters selected, The extraction reaction in the membrane module was the same as that in liquid-liquid process, HEH/EHP ammoniated for increasing the mass transfer coefficient was almost the same with increasing the concentration of HEH/EHP, and H+ was still transferred first at higher pH range of feed solution when HEH/EHP was ammoniated, The controlling model of the membrane extraction process was the diffusion model accompanied by interfacial reaction, The controlling function of interfacial reaction would increase gradually with the increasing of the membrane pore size. The mass transfer coefficient increased when extraction and stripping were carried out simultaneously.

Proton transfer across conducting polypyrrole membrane separated by two electrolyte solutions

Electrochemical behavior of the transfer of H+ across polypyrrole membrane (PPM) was studied. The transfer process was quasi-reversible and mainly diffusion-controlled. PPM electropolymerized in water solution has better reversibility than that in CH3CN solution for the transfer of H+. The transfer process of H+ across the two kinds of PPM indicated that the PPM electrochemically polymerized was of asymmetry.

Permeation of nitrogen and water vapor through sulfonated polyetherethersulfone membrane

The novel polyetherethersulfone (PES-C) prepared from phenol-phthalein in our institute is an amorphous, rigid, tough material with good mechanical properties over a wide temperature range. To improve its water vapor permeability for the application of gas drying, the PES-C was sulfonated with concentrated sulfuric acid and transferred in sodium, cupric, and ferric salt forms. The sulfonation degree can be regulated by controlling the temperature and reaction time. Characterization of sulfonated PES-C in sodium form was made by IR. Some properties of the sulfonated PES-C, such as solubility, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, mechanical properties, and transport properties to nitrogen and water vapor have also been discussed. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Plasma modification of aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis composite membrane surface

The surface of aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis composite membrane was modified by oxygen and argon plasma. The water permeability of oxygen-plasma-modified membrane increases, and the chlorine resistance of argon-plasma-modified membrane increases. The spectra of the attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the contact angle of the water were analyzed to explain the improvement of the two performances of the composite membrane. The carboxyl groups were introduced when modified by oxygen plasma, and cross-linking occurred when modified by argon plasma. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Direct electron transfer to cytochrome c oxidase in self-assembled monolayers on gold electrodes

The monolayer of cytochrome c oxidase maintaining physiological activity and attached covalently to the self-assembled monolayers of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) on a gold electrode was obtained. The results of cyclic voltammetry show that direct electron transfer between cytochrome c oxidase and the electrode surface is a fast and diffusionless process. MPA has a dual role as both electrode modifier and the bridging molecule which: keeps cytochrome c oxidase at an appropriate orientation without denaturation and enables direct electron transfer between the protein and the modified electrode. Immobilized cytochrome c oxidase exhibits biphasic phenomena between the concentration of the electrolyte and the normal potentials; meanwhile its electrochemical behavior is also influenced by the buffer components. The quasi-reversible electron transfer process of cytochrome c oxidase with formal potential 385 mV vs. SHE in 5mM phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.4) corresponds to the redox reaction of cyt a(3) in cytochrome c oxidase, and the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant obtained is 1.56 s(-1). By cyclic voltammetry measurements, it was observed that oxidation and reduction of cytochrome c in solution were catalyzed by the immobilized cytochrome c oxidase. This cytochrome c oxidase/MPA/Au system provides a good mimetic model to study the physiological functions of membrane-associated enzymes and hopefully to build a third-generation biosensor without using a mediator.

The transfer of chloride ion across an anion exchange membrane

The transfer of chloride ions into a low resistance anion exchange membrane (AEM) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectra. In all cases, concentration polarization of Cl- ions is exterior to the membrane. It controls the flux and produces the limiting currents: either steady state or transient (peak type) current. In CV experiments, when the size of the holes in the membrane was much smaller than the distance between membrane holes, the Cl- anion transfer showed steady state voltammetric behavior. Each hole in the membrane can be regarded as a microelectrode and the membrane was equivalent to a microelectrode array in this condition. When the hole in the membrane was large or the distance between membrane holes was small, the CV curve of the Cl- anion transfer across the membrane showed a peak shape, which was attributed to linear diffusion. In AC impedance measurement, the impedance spectrum of the membrane system was composed of two semicircles at low DC bias, corresponding to the bulk characteristics of the membrane and the kinetic process of ion transfer, respectively. The bulk membrane resistance increases with increasing DC bias and only one semicircle was observed at higher DC bias. The parameters related to kinetic and membrane properties were discussed.

Effective interface of a composite membrane serving as an ideally ultrathin barrier layer

A novel idea relating to the selective barrier layer of a composite membrane is described. The effective interface of the composite membrane could act as a barrier layer which could be controlled to an ideally ultrathin thickness. A new type of polyamide composite membrane was prepared according to this idea, which possessed permeability and chemical resistance more than one magnitude greater than those of ordinary polyamide composite membranes. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Truly chlorine-resistant polyamide reverse osmosis composite membrane

Truly chlorine-resistant polyamide reverse osmosis composite membranes were prepared by cross-linking the interface of the composite membrane. Such membranes possessed chlorine resistance one order of magnitude more than those of the commercially used polyamide composite membranes. The effect of the degree of cross-linking on chlorine resistance was also described. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HALF-WAVE POTENTIALS OF ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS AND THEIR TOPOLOGY

A significant correlation was found between half-wave potentials of organic compounds and their topological indices, A(x1), A(x2), and A(x3). The simplicity of calculation of the index from the connectivity in the molecular skeleton, together with the significant correlation, indicates its practical value. Good results have been obtained by using them to predict the half-wave potentials of some organic compounds.

APPLICATION OF POLYBUTADIENE-BASED POLYMERIC SURFACTANTS IN LIQUID MEMBRANE SEPARATION

New polybutadiene-based surfactants (LYF) were synthesized by sulfonation of liquid polybutadiene with acetal sulfate at an elevated temperature, and their properties in a liquid surfactant membrane (LSM) separation process were examined by comparison with the two polyisobutylene-based surfactants ECA4360 and EM301. It was found that LYF surfactants had satisfactory overall properties as regards stability, swelling, and demulsification Of the W/O emulsion in the cases of both acidic and caustic internal aqueous phases.

VOLTAMMETRY OF CYTOCHROME-C ENTRAPPED IN HYDROGEL MEMBRANE ON GRAPHITE ELECTRODE

The voltammetric behavior of cytochrome c entrapped in hydrogel membranes at paraffin wax-impregnated spectroscopic graphite electrodes (WISGE) was studied in this paper. A pair of well-defined peaks appeared at +70 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). Beside these two peaks, another pair of peaks emerged at around +225 mV. Further investigations suggested that at least three states of cytochrome c existed in the membranes due to the special structure of the hydrogel. The native conformation of cytochrome c molecules was stabilized by the hydrophilic environment that was formed by the hydroxyl structure of the membranes and facilitated the cytochrome c electron transfer reaction at +70 mV. The molecules directly adsorbed on the surface of the graphite electrode were responsible for the redox peaks at around +225 mV. Whether the adsorption peaks were detectable or not was related to the thickness of membranes and the pre-retaining time before the formation of membranes.