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FAVs (fatty acid vesicles), originated from natural biomass and created available biointerface, have advantages of biocompatibility, low-cost, and easy self-assembly in aqueous solution due to their dynamic feature. However, there is no example of applying FAVs in contact with human body since they are inherently alkaline-adapted and pH windows for the FAV formation and application are very narrow and far away from the physiological pH range. In this work an attempt to turn the alkaline-adapted FAVs into neutral and acid-adapted ones was made by fabricating the amphiphile-hybrid vesicles of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) with a typical cosmetic emulsifier SDS (sodium dodecylsulfate) and/or a co-emulsifier DA (dodecyl alcohol). pH windows for the SDS- and/or DA-hybrid FAV formation of CLA were judged by using dynamic light scattering criterion, and confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering and room temperature transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results show that with the aid of H-bonding and ion-dipole forces among molecules of CLA, SDS and DA within the hybrid vesicle walls that were identified by Fourier transform infrared analysis, much wider pH windows of 2.5-11.7 for the hybrid FAVs were obtained by expansion from 8.0-9.0 for FAV of CLA alone, which was composition-dependent and made the hybrid FAVs become neutral and acid-adapted., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new fibroin/dodecanol floating solidification microextraction, coupled with high performance liquid chromatography, was developed and applied for enrichment and quantification of the trace flavonoids in traditional Chinese medicine and biological samples. Also, fibroin sensibilization mechanism was described, and influence of sample matrix to enrichment factor was investigated. In this method, a homogeneous fibroin/dodecanol of dispersed solution was employed as microextraction phase to flavonoids (myricetin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, chrysin, kaempferide), the several critical parameters affecting the performance, such as organic extractant, amount of fibroin in organic extractant, volume of extraction phase, dispersant, salt concentration, pH of sample phase, stirring rate, extraction time, and volume of sample phase were tested and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, enrichment factor of flavonoids ranged from 42.4 to 238.1 in different samples, excellent linearities with r 2 ≥ 0.9968 for all analytes were achieved, limits of detection were less than or equal to 5.0ng/mL, average recoveries were 92.5% to 115.0% in different samples. The new procedure is simple, fast, low cost, environmentally friendly and high EF, it can also be applied to the concentration and enrichment of the trace flavonoids in other complex matrixes., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A new method for the simultaneous determination of the three antifungal drugs using ultrasonic-assisted supramolecular dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of a floating organic droplet (UASMDLLME-SFO) was proposed. The supramolecular solvents produced from reversed micelles of 1-dodecanol (extraction solvent) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) were injected into the aqueous sample solution. Reverse micelle coacervates were produced in situ through self-assembly processes. The antifungal drugs were extracted from the aqueous sample into a supramolecular solvent. Sonication accelerated the mass transfer of the target analytes into the supramolecular solvent phase and enhanced the dispersion process. Some parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as type and volume of the extraction solvent, pH, volume of the disperser solvent and ultrasound extraction time were investigated. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detections for ketoconazole, clotrimazole and miconazole ranged from 0.08 to 1.3μgL(-1) and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, n=5)<6% were obtained. The method was successfully applied for preconcentration of the three drugs in biological and water samples., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dispersive-solidification liquid-liquid microextraction (DSLLME) coupled with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was developed for preconcentration and determination of inorganic arsenic (III, V) in water samples. At pH=1, As(III) formed complex with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) and extracted into the fine droplets of 1-dodecanol (extraction solvent) which were dispersed with ethanol (disperser solvent) into the water sample solution. After extraction, the organic phase was separated by centrifugation, and was solidified by transferring into an ice bath. The solidified solvent was transferred to a conical vial and melted quickly at room temperature. As(III) was determined in the melted organic phase while As(V) remained in the aqueous layer. Total inorganic As was determined after the reduction of the pentavalent forms of arsenic with sodium thiosulphate and potassium iodide. As(V) was calculated by difference between the concentration of total inorganic As and As(III). The variable of interest in the DSLLME method, such as the volume of extraction solvent and disperser solvent, pH, concentration of APDC (chelating agent), extraction time and salt effect, was optimized with the aid of chemometric approaches. First, in screening experiments, fractional factorial design (FFD) was used for selecting the variables which significantly affected the extraction procedure. Afterwards, the significant variables were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD). In the optimum conditions, the proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of inorganic arsenic in different environmental water samples and certified reference material (NIST RSM 1643e)., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Composite scaffolds consisting of polymers reinforced with ceramic nanoparticles are widely applied for hard tissue engineering. However, due to the incompatible polarity of ceramic nanoparticles with polymers, they tend to agglomerate in the polymer matrix which results in undesirable effects on the integral properties of composites. In this research, forsterite (Mg2SiO4) nanoparticles was surface esterified by dodecyl alcohol and nanofibrous poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL)/modified forsterite scaffolds were developed through electrospinning technique. The aim of this research was to investigate the properties of surface modified forsterite nanopowder and PCL/modified forsterite scaffolds, before and after hydrolytic treatment, as well as the cellular attachment and proliferation. Results demonstrated that surface modification of nanoparticles significantly enhanced the tensile strength and toughness of scaffolds upon 1.5- and 4-folds compared to unmodified samples, respectively, due to improved compatibility between matrix and filler. Hydrolytic treatment of scaffolds also modified the bioactivity and cellular attachment and proliferation due to greatly enhanced hydrophilicity of the forsterite nanoparticles after this process compared to surface modified samples. Results suggested that surface modification of forsterite nanopowder and hydrolytic treatment of the developed scaffolds were effective approaches to address the issues in the formation of composite fibers and resulted in development of bioactive composite scaffolds with ideal mechanical and structural properties for bone tissue engineering applications., (© 2013.)

A novel sample preparation method, "water with low concentration of surfactant in dispersed solvent-assisted emulsion dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (WLSEME)", coupled with gas chromatography using an electron capture detector (GC-ECD) was developed for the analysis of the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), heptachlor, α-endosulfan, 4,4-DDE, 2,4-DDD and endrin, in aqueous samples. A microsyringe is used to withdrew and discharge 10-12μL of the extraction solvent and 60-120μL of water as the dispersed solvent (containing 1mgL(-1), Tween 80) 4 times within 10s to form a cloudy emulsified solution in the syringe. This is then injected into an 8mL aqueous sample spiked with all above OCPs. Dodecyl acetate and 2-dodecanol were both selected as extraction solvents to optimize their conditions separately. The total extraction time was about 0.5min. Under optimum conditions, using dodecyl acetate (12μL) as extraction solvent, the linear range of the method was 10-1000ngL(-1) for all OCPs, and the the limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 1 to 5ngL(-1). The absolute recoveries and relative recoveries were from 20.8 to 43.5% and 83.2 to 109.8% for lake water, and 19.9-49.2% and 85.4-115.9% for seawater respectively. In the second method, 2-dodecanol as extraction solvent, the linear range was from 5 to 5000ngL(-1) for the target compounds, and the LODs were between 0.5 and 2ngL(-1). The absolute recoveries and relative recoveries ranged from 25.7 to 42.2% and 96.3-111.2% for sea water, and 22.4-41.9% and 90.7-107.9% for stream water. This could solve several problems, which commonly occur in ultrasound-assisted emulsification micro-extraction (USAEME), dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (DLLME) and other assisted emulsification methods. These problems include analyte degradation, increased solubility of the extraction solvent and analyte, and high toxicity and large volume of the organic solvent used., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new one-step derivatization and microextraction technique was developed for determination of amino acids in tobacco samples. In the proposed method, amino acids were derivatized with isobutyl chloroformate (IBCF) in aqueous solution. The derivatives were extracted by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet (DLLME-SFO). Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated in detail. The optimum conditions were as follows: a mixture of 500μL acetone, containing 40μL 2-dodecanol, was rapidly injected by syringe into the 2mL water sample. After centrifugation, the 2-dodecanol droplets were floated at the top of the tube. Then, the tube was cooled in an ice bath. After 5min the solvent had solidified and was then transferred into a conical vial; it melted quickly at room temperature and it was injected into a gas chromatograph for analysis. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection were of the order of 0.12-2.82μg/mL. The calibration curves showed good linearity over the investigated concentration range between 0.5 and 200μg/mL with a coefficient of estimation (R(2))>0.9887 for GC-MS (SIM). The proposed method is an alternative approach to the quantification of amino acids in tobacco samples., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new temperature controlled cold column trapping (CCT) system was developed for in-line sequestration of organic phase in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method. In the developed CCT-DLLME method, the dispersed organic extraction phase is solidified and trapped in the CCT, packed with glass particles. Subsequently, the sequestered phase is washed out in an elevated temperature by using an appropriate solvent. The column temperature is controlled by a pair of thermal electric cooler (TEC) plates. The new device is simple and portable and can eliminate the need for centrifugation in the DLLME method for solvents with an appropriate melting point. Some important parameters such as types of extraction and disperser solvents and their volumes, minimum and maximum column temperatures and extraction time were optimized for the extraction of curcumin, as a model compound. Using 1-dodecanol as the organic solvent and acetone as the disperser, recoveries exceeding 90% and a relative standard deviation of 2.87% were obtained for 5 replicated analyses of curcumin by an HPLC method. The detection limit of curcumin (3σ) extracted by the CCT-DLLME system was 28 μg L⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the determination of curcumin in some human serum samples., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Seven crosslinking monomers, i.e., 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,3-BDDMA), 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDDMA), neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate (NPGDMA), 1,5-pentanediol dimethacrylate (1,5-PDDMA), 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (1,6-HDDMA), 1,10-decanediol dimethacrylate (1,10-DDDMA), and 1,12-dodecanediol dimethacrylate (1,12-DoDDMA), were used to synthesize highly cross-linked monolithic capillary columns for reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) of small molecules. Dodecanol and methanol were chosen as "good" and "poor" porogenic solvents, respectively, for these monoliths, and were investigated in detail to provide insight into the selection of porogen concentration using 1,12-DoDDMA. Isocratic elution of alkylbenzenes at a flow rate of 300 nL/min was conducted for all of the monoliths. Gradient elution of alkylbenzenes and alkylparabens provided high resolution separations. Optimized monoliths synthesized from all seven crosslinking monomers showed high permeability. Several of the monoliths demonstrated column efficiencies in excess of 50,000 plates/m. Monoliths with longer alkyl-bridging chains showed very little shrinking or swelling in solvents of different polarities. Column preparation was highly reproducible; the relative standard deviation (RSD) values (n=3) for run-to-run and column-to-column were less than 0.25% and 1.20%, respectively, based on retention times of alkylbenzenes., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lauryl grafted sodium alginate (SA-C(12)) was prepared by the reaction between sodium alginate and dodecanol with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) as a coupling agent. The structure of SA-C(12) was confirmed by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, and thermoanalysis. Meantime, the degree of substitution (DS) of SA-C(12) was determined by GC. The reaction conditions were studied systematically, which included reaction time and temperature, the molar ratio of hexuronic acid in alginate to dodecanol (N(hexuronic)/N(dodecanol)) and N(hexuronic)/N(EDC), the mass of toluenesulfonic acid. By investigating the relationship between these conditions and DS, the optimal conditions with the maximum DS were obtained., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet method (DLLME-SFO) was developed for the determination of volatile aldehyde biomarkers (hexanal and heptanal) in human blood samples. In the derivatization and extraction procedure, 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) as derivatization reagent and formic acid as catalyzer were injected into the sample solution for derivatization with aldehydes, then the formed hydrazones was rapidly extracted by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with 1-dodecanol as extraction solvent. After centrifugation, the floated droplet was solidified in an ice bath and was easily removed for analysis. The effects of various experimental parameters on derivatization and extraction conditions were studied, such as the kind and volume of extraction solvent and dispersive solvent, the amount of derivatization reagent, derivatization temperature and time, extraction time and salt effect. The limit of detections (LODs) for hexanal and heptanal were 7.90 and 2.34nmolL(-1), respectively. Good reproducibility and recovery of the method were also obtained. The proposed method is an alternative approach to the quantification of volatile aldehyde biomarkers in complex biological samples, being more rapid and simpler and providing higher sensitivity compared with the traditional dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) methods., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Monolithic capillary columns were prepared via electron beam triggered free radical polymerization within the confines of 0.2 and 0.1mm I.D. capillary columns using ethyl methacrylate and trimethylolpropane triacrylate as monomers as well as 2-propanol, 1-dodecanol and toluene as porogenic system. The influence of column diameter on reproducibility and separation performance was investigated. For evaluation, a protein standard consisting of five proteins in the range of 5800-66,000 g mol(-1) was used. Reproducibility was checked by determining the relative standard deviations in retention times, peak widths at half height, asymmetry and resolution. Excellent run-to-run reproducibility was found for both 0.2 and 0.1mm I.D. columns; batch-to-batch reproducibility was good for both column types. In order to enhance the non-polar character of the monolithic columns, lauryl methacrylate-based capillary columns were prepared. These were successfully used for the separation of proteins and a cytochrome c digest.

A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet method (DLLME-SFO) was developed for the determination of five kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental water samples. In this method, no specific holder, such as the needle tip of microsyringe and the hollow fiber, is required for supporting the organic microdrop due to the using of organic solvent with low density and proper melting point. Furthermore, the extractant droplet can be collected easily by solidifying it in the lower temperature. 1-Dodecanol was chosen as extraction solvent in this work. A series of parameters that influence extraction were investigated systematically. Under optimal conditions, enrichment factors (EFs) for PAHs were in the range of 88-118. The limit of detections (LODs) for naphthalene, diphenyl, acenaphthene, anthracene and fluoranthene were 0.045, 0.86, 0.071, 1.1 and 0.66ngmL(-1), respectively. Good reproducibility and recovery of the method were also obtained. Compared with the traditional liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) methods, the proposed method obtained about 2 times higher enrichment factor than those in LPME. Moreover, the solidification of floating organic solvent facilitated the phase transfer. And most importantly, it avoided using high-density and toxic solvent in the traditional DLLME method. The proposed method was successfully applied to determinate PAHs in the environmental water samples. The simple and low-cost method provides an alternative method for the analysis of non-polar compounds in complex environmental water.

A simple and efficient liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) in conjunction with gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) has been developed for extraction and determination of 11 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from water samples. In this technique a microdrop of 1-dodecanol containing pentachloronitrobenzene (internal standard) is delivered to the surface of an aqueous sample while being agitated by a stirring bar in the bulk of solution. Following completion of extraction, the sample vial was cooled by putting it into an ice bath for 5 min. Finally 2 muL of the drop was injected into the GC for analysis. Factors relevant to the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized. Under the optimized extraction conditions (extraction solvent: 1-dodecanol; extraction temperature: 65 degrees C; sodium chloride concentration: 0.25 M; microdrop and sample volumes: 8 muL and 20 mL respectively; the stirring rate: 750 rpm and the extraction time: 30 min), figures of merit of the proposed method were evaluated. The detection limits of the method were in the range of 7-19 ngL(-1) and the RSD% for analysis of 2 mugL(-1) of OCPs was below 7.2% (n=5). A good linearity (r(2)> or =0.993) and a relatively broad dynamic linear range (25-2000 ngL(-1)) were obtained. After 30 min of extraction, preconcentration factors were in the range of 708-1337 for different organochlorine pesticides and the relative errors ranged from -10.1 to 10.9%. Finally the proposed method was successfully utilized for preconcentration and determination of OCPs in different real samples.

Syntheses of oligosaccharides expressed on cells are indispensable for the improvement of the functional analyses of the oligosaccharides and their applications. We are developing saccharide primers for synthesizing oligosaccharides using living cells. In this study, dodecyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside (GlcNAc-C12) and dodecyl beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside (LacNAc-C12) were examined for their abilities to prime the syntheses of neolacto-series oligosaccharides in HL60 cells. When GlcNAc-C12 was incubated with HL60 cells in serum-free medium for 2 days, 14 kinds of glycosylated products were collected from the culture medium. They were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The sequences of the products were determined to be neolacto-series oligosaccharides including Lewis(X), sialyl Lewis(X), polylactosamine, and sialylpolylactosamine by mass spectrometry. GlcNAc-C12 was also glycosylated by B16 cells and gave sialyllactosamine. Furthermore, LacNAc-C12 gave similar glycosylated products to GlcNAc-C12.

Surface molecular imprinting was applied to the preparation of an ion-selective polymeric membrane for the first time. The use of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber and a porous solid support in the polymer matrix resulted in improved flexibility and mechanical strength of the imprinted membrane. The asymmetric porous structure of the membrane was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The selectivity of the zinc(II)-imprinted membrane was evaluated by competitive adsorption and permeation studies. The imprinted membrane showed higher adsorption affinity and permeation selectivity towards the imprinted zinc ion than the non-imprinted counterpart. On the basis of the results obtained, the permeation mechanism of the metal ions was considered to be hopping of metal ions on the binding sites in the membranes.

Crystal structures are reported of cycloamylose containing 26 D-glucose residues (CA26, cyclohexaicosaose, C156H260O130) in complexes with undecanoic acid (CA26 x 2C10H21COOH x 34.95 H2O, orthorhombic P2(1)2(1)2(1), one CA26 and two bound undecanoic acids F1 and F2 in the asymmetric unit, resolution 0.95 angstroms) and with dodecanol ((CA26)(0.5) x C12H25OH x 32.0H2O, monoclinic C2, half a CA26 binding one dodecanol, A, in the asymmetric unit, resolution 1.0 angstroms). The macrocycle of CA26 is folded like the figure '8' into two 10 D-glucoses long left-handed V-amylose helices forming approximately 5A wide V-channels that are occupied by undecanoic acid (F1, F2) or dodecanol (A) as guest molecules. The functional head groups of the guests near the O(6) ends of the V-channels are hydrogen bonded with d-glucose O(6)n-H; the aliphatic termini beyond C(9) protrude from the O(2), O(3) ends. Parts of the aliphatic chains enclosed in the V-channels are all-trans except for one torsion angle each (approximately 130 degrees ) in undecanoic acid molecules F1 and F2. There are several (guest)C-H...O hydrogen bonds to O(4) and O(6) of CA26 in both complexes, and H...H van der Waals interactions with d-glucose C(3)-H and C(5)-H dominate. C(5)-H determine the position of the aliphatic chains of undecanoic acid F1 and of dodecanol A in contrast to F2 where both C(3)-H and C(5)-H contribute equally, probably because the V-channel is narrower than in F1 and in dodecanol. Complexes of polymeric V-amylose with fatty acids and alcohols studied by X-ray fiber diffraction could not provide the here described high resolution., (Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ltd.)

The following sequence of reactions has been employed to synthesize the title anionic surfactants: [chemical reaction: see text] where R=C7H15; C11H23; and C15H31, respectively, and Py refers to pyridine. Aggregation of the surfactants synthesized (predominantly alpha anomers) in water was studied at 40 degrees C by conductivity measurements. Increasing the chain length of R decreases the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the degree of counter-ion dissociation. The dependence of the Gibbs free energy of micellization and CMC on the length of R is similar to other ionic surfactants, but the head-group, i.e., the sulfated sugar moiety is less hydrophilic than the structurally related group -(OCH2-CH2)2-OSO3-Na+, most probably because of intermolecular H-bonding in the micellar pseudo-phase

Within the scope of evaluating transparent oil-water gels (TOW gel) as dermatological vehicles, the release of indomethacin from a model TOW gel into 1-dodecanol is studied at various pH levels of the water phase. Apparent partition coefficient determinations and flame photometrical measurements show that both indomethacin and its sodium salt, as the ion pair, migrate into the 1-dodecanol layer. The pH-dependent release-rate profile is explained in terms of the amount of readily diffusible drug in the water phase of the gel.