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BackgroundCalcium channel blockers (CCBs) are common antihypertensive medications. Pharmacogenetic variants affect CCB clinical outcomes, although effect sizes are modest in community samples. Variation in patient characteristics may also predict CCB outcomes, and variation attributable to relevant polygenic scores is less prone to confounding. We aimed to test associations between genetically predicted patient characteristics plus pharmacogenetic variants with CCB outcomes in a large community cohort.MethodsWe extended our analysis of 32,000 UK Biobank dihydropiridine CCBs treated participants (mean duration 5.9 years) testing 23 variants, whereNUMA1rs10898815 andRYR3rs877087 showed the most robust associations (for discontinuation and heart failure, respectively). We calculated polygenic scores for systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP), body fat mass, waist hip ratio, lean mass, serum calcium, eGFR, lipoprotein A, urinary sodium, and liver fibrosis. Outcomes were CCB discontinuation, heart failure, coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease.ResultsFor heart failure, the highest risk 20% of polygenic scores for fat mass, lean mass and lipoprotein A were associated with increased risks (Hazard-Ratio (HR)Fat-mass 1.46, 95% CI 1.25-1.70, p=1*10-6; HRLean-mass 1.20, 95%CI 1.04-1.38, p=0.01; HRLipoproteinA 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48, p= 4*10-4), versus the lowest risk 20% of each score respectively. Across the cohort,RYR3T-allele modestly increased heart failure risks (HR 1.13: 1.02-1.25) versus non-carriers, but in subsets with high fat mass, lean mass, and lipoprotein A scores, estimates were substantially larger, e.g., in females aged 65-70 the heart failure Relative Risk was 4.4 (95% CI 1.54-12.4) versus no T-alleles and low scores.For CCB discontinuation, high polygenic scores for fat mass and lean mass increased risks versus the lowest 20%, whereas high SBP and DBP scores decreased discontinuation risks. Hazard ratios for discontinuation with the pharmacogenetic NUMA1 rs10898815 A-allele (overall HR 1.07: 1.02-1.12) were higher (HR 1.17: 1.05-1.29) in those with high polygenic scores for fat mass and lean mass.ConclusionPolygenic scores affecting adiposity and lipoprotein A levels add to known pharmacogenetic variants in predicting key clinical outcomes in CCB treatment. Combining pharmacogenetic variants and relevant individual characteristic polygenic scores may help for personalizing prescribing.What is needed, what do we add?We previously showed that pharmacogenetic variants inRYR3andNUMA1were associated with key clinical outcomes in community CCB patients, although effect sizes were modest. Various patient characteristics reportedly affect CCB outcomes. We therefore tested effects of relevant patient characteristics using polygenic scores. They minimize the effect of unmeasured confounders as genotypes are invariant since conception and reflect lifetime exposure to the risk factor. We showed that combining associated scores with the pharmacogenetic variants improved outcome prediction.

To estimate the effect of rs4149056 (SLCO1B1*5) genotype (decreases statin transport) on cholesterol control and treatment duration in male and female primary care patients prescribed common statin medications.This study comprised 69 185 European-ancestry UK Biobank cohort participants prescribed simvastatin or atorvastatin (aged 40-79 years at first prescription, treatment duration 1 month to 29 years, mean 5.7 years). Principal outcomes were clinically high total cholesterol (5 mmol/L) at baseline, plus treatment discontinuation.A total of 48.4% of 591 females homozygous for SLCO1B1*5 decreased function genotype had raised cholesterol vs 41.7% of those with functioning SLCO1B1 (odds ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.55, P = .001). Fewer males had high cholesterol and the genotype effect was attenuated. In primary care prescribing, females homozygous for SLCO1B1*5 were more likely to stop receiving these statins (29.5%) than women with normal SLCO1B1 (25.7%) (hazard ratio [HR] 1.19, 95% CI 1.03-1.37, P = .01), amounting to five discontinuations per 100 statin-years in the SLCO1B1*5 group vs four in the normal SLCO1B1 function group. This remained significant after the first year of treatment (HR for discontinuing1 year after first prescription 1.3, 95% CI 1.08-1.56, P = .006). In men SLCO1B1*5 was only associated with treatment discontinuation in the first year.In this large community sample of patients on commonly prescribed statins, the SLCO1B1*5 decreased function variant had much larger effects on cholesterol control and treatment duration in women than in men. Efforts to improve the effectiveness of statin therapy in women may need to include SLCO1B1*5 genotype-guided statin selection.

Bu araştırma, Eskişehir ilinin Odunpazarı ve Tepebaşı İlçe Millî Eğitim Müdürlüğüne bağlı liselerde öğrenim gören ve COVID-19 pandemi döneminde uzaktan eğitim ile ders işlemiş olan öğrencilerin uzaktan eğitime yönelik algı düzeylerini çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, nicel araştırma yönteminin kesitsel tarama modeliyle yürütülen araştırmaya toplam 526 ortaöğretim öğrencisi katılmıştır. Araştırmanın verileri Doğrukök, Kurnaz, Barışık ve Kaynar (2021) tarafından geliştirilen “Lise Öğrencileri Uzaktan Eğitim Algıları Ölçeği” kullanılarak çevrim içi ortamda toplanmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen bulgulardan bazıları şu şekildedir: (1) Öğrencilerin uzaktan eğitim algıları cinsiyet, gelir durumu, sınıf düzeyleri ve örgün öğretim sırasında okulu sevme durumlarına göre anlamlı bir farklılık göstermemektedir. (2) Devlet liselerine sınavsız şekilde giren öğrencilerin uzaktan eğitime ilişkin algı düzeylerinin devlet liselerine sınav puanı ile giren öğrencilere göre daha yüksek bir seviyede olduğu görülmüştür. (3) Hazırlık sınıfı, onuncu sınıf ve on ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinin uzaktan eğitim döneminde verilen ödevlere yönelik algıları ile uzaktan eğitime ilişkin tutumları dokuzuncu ve on birinci sınıf öğrencilerine göre daha yüksek bir seviyededir. (4) EBA sistemine girişte hiçbir sorun yaşamayan öğrencilerin, ara sıra veya her zaman sorun yaşayan öğrencilere göre hem uzaktan eğitim algıları bakımından hem de uzaktan eğitimde kendilerine, öğretim uygulamalarına ve ödevlere ilişkin algı düzeyleri bakımından daha yüksek puanlara sahip oldukları tespit edilmiştir.

Bu araştırma, Eskişehir İli Odunpazarı ve Tepebaşı ilçelerinde ikamet eden ve farklı kuşakları temsil ettiği kabul edilen bireylerin sosyal medya kullanım düzeyleri ve tercihlerini “süreklilik” ve “yetkinlik” boyutu açısından ele alan bir araştırmadır. Araştırmada tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Tarama modeli, çok sayıda elemanın oluşturduğu bir evrende, evren hakkında genel bir kanıya varmak amacıyla evrenin tamamı yahut ondan alınacak bir grup üzerinde yapılan tarama kodifikasyonudur (Karasar, 2012). Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu kent merkezinde yaşayan 877 kişi oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın verileri Deniz ve Tutgun-Ünal (2019) tarafından geliştirilen “Sosyal Medya Kullanımı Ölçeği” kullanılarak çevrimiçi ortamda toplanmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen bulgular; (1) Kuşaklar sosyal medya ağlarına erişimde en çok akıllı telefon kullanmaktadır. (2) BabyBoomer ve X kuşağı en çok Facebook’u kullanmayı tercih ederken, Y ve Z kuşağı ise en çok İnstagram’ı kullanmaktadır. (3) BabyBoomer, Y ve Z kuşakları sosyal medyada en fazla video ve müzik içeriklerini beğenirken, X kuşağı ise en fazla haber içeriklerini beğenmektedir.(4) Kuşaklar süreklilik ve yetkinlik boyutlarında sosyal medyayı orta düzeyde kullanmaktadır. (5) Y ve Z kuşağı, BabyBoomer ve X kuşağına göre sosyal medya kullanımında süreklilik sağlamakta ve kendilerini bu konuda daha yetkin bulmaktadırlar. (6) Z kuşağı kadınları aynı kuşakta bulunan erkeklere göre sosyal medya kullanımında süreklilik sağlayan cinsiyeti temsil etmektedir.

In this study, we fabricated magnetic ion-imprinted polymers (IIP) for arsenic removal. Ion-imprinted method was developed by complexing N-methacryloyl-l-cysteine (MAC) monomer and As(III) and As(V...

Pharmacogenetic variants impact dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers (dCCBs; e.g., amlodipine) treatment efficacy, yet evidence on clinical outcomes in routine primary care is limited. Reported associations in pharmacogenomics knowledge base PharmGKB have weak supporting evidence. We aimed to estimate associations between reported pharmacogenetic variants and incident adverse events in a community-based cohort prescribed dCCB.We analysed up to 32 360 UK Biobank participants prescribed dCCB in primary care (from UK general practices, 1990-2017). We investigated 23 genetic variants. Outcomes were incident diagnosis of coronary heart disease, heart failure (HF), chronic kidney disease, oedema and switching antihypertensive medication.Participants were aged 40-79 years at first dCCB prescription. Carriers of rs877087 T allele in RYR3 had increased risk of hazard ratio (HF 1.13: 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.25, P = .02). Although nonsignificant after multiple testing correction, the association is consistent with prior evidence. We estimated that if rs877087 T allele could experience the same treatment effect as noncarriers, the incidence of HF in patients prescribed dCCB would reduce by 9.2% (95% confidence interval 3.1 to 15.4). In patients with a history of heart disease prior to dCCB (n = 2296), rs877087 homozygotes had increased risk of new coronary heart disease or HF compared to CC variant. rs10898815 in NUMA1 and rs776746 in CYP3A5 increased likelihood of switching to an alternative antihypertensive. The remaining variants were not strongly or consistently associated with studied outcomes.Patients with common genetic variants in NUMA1, CYP3A5 and RYR3 had increased adverse clinical outcomes. Work is needed to establish whether outcomes of dCCB prescribing could be improved by prior knowledge of pharmacogenetics variants supported by clinical evidence of association with adverse events.

In this study, selective and sensitive detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) in both aqueous solution and biological samples was performed using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a molecular imprinting technique. For this, dopamine-imprinted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-N-methacroyl-(L)-cysteine methyl ester-gold nanoparticles-N-methacryloyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] nanoparticles were prepared. Furthermore, to evaluate the imprinting efficiency, non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] nanoparticles were designed using the same polymerization procedure except for the addition of dopamine molecules. To examine the effect of incorporating AuNPs to increase the SPR signal response, control experiments were carried out via the SPR biosensor produced using [PHEMAC/MAPADA] nanoparticles prepared without the addition of AuNPs. Characterization studies of dopamine- + imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] and non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] nanoparticles was performed with a zetasizer and an FTIR-ATR spectrophotometer. In addition, dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] and non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensors were characterized by ellipsometer and contact angle measurements. The high imprinting efficiency (I.F: 9.67) of the dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was determined by comparing it with the non-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPA] SPR sensor. A good linear relationship was obtained in the 0.01–0.5 ppb concentration range with correlation coefficients of 0.9818 and 0.9819, respectively. The dopamine-imprinted [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was 5.53 and 4.59 times more selective for the target molecule dopamine than for epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE), respectively. The repeatability of the [PHEMAC-AuNPs/MAPADA] SPR sensor was assessed with a 0.5 ppb dopamine solution, with the percent relative standard deviation of the intra-assays (RSD) being less than 1.7%, indicating negligible loss of dopamine sensing capability after four adsorption–desorption cycles with the same sensor.

Günümüzde insanlığın karşı karşıya bulunduğu başlıca sorunlarından biri de şiddettir. Bu sorununçözülmesi için bireylerin toplumsal ve bireysel özelliklerinin detaylı bir şekilde incelenmesi ve şiddeteyönelme sebeplerinin ortaya çıkarılması gerekmektedir. Ergenlik, şiddet davranışının sıklıkla görüldüğübir gelişim dönemidir. Bu araştırmanın amacı, ergenlerin şiddete yönelik tutumlarının, cinsiyet, yaş, okultürü ve anne-babanın eğitim durumu değişkenlerine göre incelenmesidir. Araştırmanın örneklem grubu,Eskişehir İli Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğüne bağlı ve il merkezinde bulunan Anadolu Lisesi, İmam- Hatip Lisesi,Sosyal Bilimler Lisesi, Fen Lisesi, Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi olmak üzere rastgele seçilen beş farklıokul türünde, 2019-2020 eğitim-öğretim yılında eğitim gören, 140’ı kız, 173’ü erkek olmak üzere toplam313 lise öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Araştırma tarama modelli ve betimsel bir çalışmadır. Veri toplamaaracı olarak “Kişisel Bilgi Formu” ve “Şiddete Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde“t-Testi” ve “Tek Yönlü Varyans Analizi” kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, ergenlerin şiddete yöneliktutumlarında cinsiyet ve okul türü faktöründe anlamlı farklılık olduğu saptanırken, yaş ve ebeveynlerineğitim düzeyi değişkenleri açısından anlamlı farklılık tespit edilmemiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, katılımcıların%41.9`u “Gerektiğinde kaba kuvvet kullanırım” ifadesine katıldığını belirtmiştir. Öğrencilerin okuldakişiddeti daha çok fiziksel şiddet olarak gördüğü ortaya çıkmaktadır. Elde edilen bulgular doğrultusunda;anne babaların konuyla ilgili bilinçlendirilmelerine yönelik çalışmaların artırılması, ergenlere şiddeteyönelmeden etkili problem çözme yöntemlerinin kazandırılmasına yönelik çalışmalar yapılması, eğitimmüfredatında bütünleşmeyi sağlayan sevgi, saygı, güven, yardımseverlik gibi ortak sosyal değerlerinkazandırılmasına yönelik etkinliklere daha çok yer verilmesi ve okullarda şiddeti önleme ve izlemeçalışmalarının artırılması önerilmektedir ., Violence is one of the main problems that the public encounter today. In order this problem to be solved,the social and personal features of the individuals must be examined and the reasons of their tendencyto violence must be detected. The adolescence is a developmental period in which acts of violence areencountered more often. The aim of the present study was to investigate adolescents’ attitudes towardviolence in terms of their gender, age, type of school and parents’ educational level. The sample groupof the study consisted of 313 high school students (140 females and 173 males), studying in five differenttypes of state high schools in the center of Eskişehir city in 2019- 2020 academic year. The descriptivesurvey model was used in the study. As data collection tools, “Personal Information Form” and “TheAttitudes toward Violence Scale” were used. In the analysis of the data, “t-test” and “one-way analysis ofvariance” were used. As a result of the study, that there is a significant level of difference between the highschool students’ attitude toward violence and gender and type of school, whereas, there is not a significantlevel of difference in terms of age and parents’ educational level has been found out. In the conlusion, the41.9 % of the sample group agreed with the expression “I commit violence when it is needed.” It has beenfound out that violence is often seen as a physical thing by the students in the schools. In accordancewith the findings, it is suggested to increase awareness-raising activities for parents about the issue, toorganize trainings to help adolescents to make use of effective problem-solving methods without usingviolence, to include more facilities in the curriculum to make social values like compassion, respect, trust,helpfulness be acquired; and also it is suggested to extend facilities of violence prevention and monitoringin the schools.

The term biomimetic can be simply defined as the examination of nature. The scientists inspired by the enormous diversity of nature to solve human problems or facilitate daily life by mimicking natural models, systems, and elements especially in the biomedical and therapeutic applications to make better drugs, artificial organs, sensing instruments, etc. Biological recognition elements like proteins, antibodies, enzymes, DNA, lectins, aptamers, cells, and viruses have been heavily used to ensure specificity in such applications in spite of their lack of stability and reusability. However, in the last two decades molecularly imprinted polymers, MIPs, have been synthesized as an alternative to mimic natural biological interactions for a broad spectrum of templates by means of coordinating functional monomers around template in the presence of cross-linker. This review will outline the broad contours of biomimetics prepared by molecular imprinting techniques and their practical applications in the separation techniques, tissue engineering applications, biomimetic surfaces, sensors, artificial membranes, and drug delivery systems.

BackgroundDihydropiridine calcium channel blockers (dCCB) (e.g. amlodipine) are widely used for treating hypertension. Pharmacogenetic variants impact treatment efficacy, yet evidence on clinical outcomes in routine primary care is limited. We aimed to estimate associations between reported pharmacogenetic variants and incident adverse events in a community-based cohort prescribed dCCB, including in high-risk subgroups.MethodsWe analysed up to 32,360 UK Biobank European-ancestry participants prescribed dCCB in primary care electronic health records (from UK General Practices, 1990 to 2017). We investigated 23 genetic variants in 16 genes reported in PharmGKB, including CYP3A5 and RYR3. Outcomes were incident diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF), chronic kidney disease (CKD), edema, and switching antihypertensive medication. Secondary analysis in patients with history of heart disease was also performed.ResultsParticipants were aged 40 to 79 years at first dihydropyridine prescription (treatment duration 1 month to 40 years, mean 5.9 years). Carriers of rs877087 T allele in the ryanodine receptor 3 (RYR3) had increased risk of HF (Hazard Ratio 1.13: 95% Confidence Intervals 1.02 to 1.25, p=0.02). We estimated that if rs877087 T allele carriers were prescribed an alternative treatment the incidence of HF in patients prescribed dCCB would reduce by 9.2% (95%CI 3.1 to 15.4). In patients with a history of heart disease when first prescribed dCCB (N=2,296), RYR3 rs877087 homozygotes had increased risk of new CHD or HF compared to CC variant (HR 1.25, 95%CI 1.09 to 1.44, p=0.002). Two variants increased likelihood of switching to an alternate antihypertensive medication (rs10898815 in gene NUMA1 HR 1.16: 95%CI 1.07 to 1,27, p=0.0009; rs776746 in CYP3A5 HR 1.59: 95%CI 1.09 to 2.32, p=0.02). rs776746 in CYP3A5 also increased CKD risk (HR 2.12, p=0.002). The remaining previously reported variants were not strongly or consistently associated with the studied clinical outcomes.ConclusionsIn this large primary care cohort, patients with common genetic variants in NUMA1, CYP3A5 and RYR3 had increased adverse clinical outcomes. Work is needed to establish whether outcomes of dCCB prescribing could be improved by prior knowledge of such pharmacogenetics variants supported by clinical evidence of association with adverse events.

Bu çalışmanın amacı, Ankara milletvekillerinin bir sosyal medya aracı olan Twitter ’ı kullanım sıklıklarını tespit ederek, mevcut Twitter hesaplarından temsil ettikleri Ankara hakkındaki gelişmeleri, sorunları ne sıklıkla kamuoyuna paylaştıklarını belirlemektir. Yapılan çalışmada 2018 yılının 15 Ekim -15 Kasım tarihleri arasında, Ankara’yı temsil eden 36 milletvekilinin Twitter ’daki şahsi hesaplarından yaptıkları paylaşımlar incelenmiştir. Bu incelemeler yapılırken içerik analizi yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, belirtilen tarih aralığında 33 milletvekilinin toplamda 2916 adet paylaşım yaptığı tespit edilmiş olup, Ankara milletvekillerinin günlük tweet atma oranı %2,94 olarak saptanmıştır. Milletvekillerinin içinde en çok tweet AK Parti milletvekilleri tarafından paylaşılırken en az paylaşımı BBP milletvekilinin yaptığı görülmüştür. Toplamda AK Parti milletvekilleri 930, CHP vekilleri 846, MHP vekilleri 524, İYİ Parti milletvekilleri 315, HDP vekili 223 ve BBP milletvekili 78 adet paylaşım yapmıştır. Vekillerin tweetlerde ele aldıkları konular incelendiğinde %87,1 oranında ulusal konular ile ilgili paylaşım yaptıkları görülürken, %12,8 oranında yerel konular ile ilgili paylaşım yaptıkları tespit edilmiştir.

ObjectiveTo estimate the effect of the SLCO1B1*5 genotype (decreases statin transport) on cholesterol control and treatment duration in male and female primary care patients prescribed common statin medications.Methods and Analysis69,185 European-ancestry UK Biobank cohort participants prescribed simvastatin or atorvastatin (aged 40 to 79 years at first prescription; treatment duration 1 month to 29 years, mean 5.7 years). Principal outcomes were clinically high total cholesterol (>5mmol/L) at baseline, plus treatment discontinuation.Results48.4% of 591 females homozygous for SLCO1B1*5 decreased function genotype had raised cholesterol, vs. 41.7% of those with functioning SLCO1B1 (Odds Ratio 1.31: 95% Confidence Intervals 1.1 to 1.55, p=0.001). Fewer males had high cholesterol, and the genotype effect was attenuated. In primary care prescribing, females homozygous for SLCO1B1*5 were more likely to stop receiving these statins (29.5%) than women with normal SLCO1B1 (25.7%) (Hazard Ratio 1.19: 95%CI 1.03 to 1.37, p=0.01), amounting to five discontinuations per 100 statin-years in the SLCO1B1*5 group vs four in the normal SLCO1B1 function group. This remained significant after the first year of treatment (HR for discontinuing >1 year after first prescription 1.3: 95%CI 1.08 to 1.56; p=0.006). In men SLCO1B1*5 was only associated with treatment discontinuation in the first year.ConclusionsIn this large community sample of patients on commonly prescribed statins, the SLCO1B1*5 decreased function variant had much larger effects on cholesterol control and treatment duration in women than in men. Efforts to improve effectiveness of statin therapy in women may need to include SLCO1B1*5 genotype-guided statin selection.What is already known about this subjectGenetic variants affecting SLCO1B1 (statin transporter) gene function increase concentrations of unmetabolized statin molecules (mostly simvastatin and atorvastatin). Previous studies of statin-treated patients have reported reduced likelihood of achieving target cholesterol levels plus increased adverse effects and medication non-adherence mainly in the first year of treatment.However, little data have been available on key outcomes over longer follow-ups or on outcomes by sex, despite large differences in statin treatment patterns between men and women.What this study addsIn 69,185 UK Biobank participants reporting simvastatin or atorvastatin use at baseline assessment, substantially more women had clinically high total cholesterol (>5 mmol/L) compared to men (42% vs. 25%). Female carriers of the SLCO1B1*5 (decreased SLCO1B1 function) genetic variant were especially likely to have high cholesterol, despite being on statin treatment.In primary care records of atorvastatin and simvastatin prescribing (>10 years follow-up), female carriers of SLCO1B1*5 were more likely to stop statins. In men, SLCO1B1*5 was only associated with discontinuing statin treatment in the first year after starting treatment.

Cibacron blue F3GA functionalized poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) cryogel membranes were prepared and applied for a simple purification of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) from crude extract of S...

The combination of magnetism and nanotechnology has presented promising materials: magnetic nanoparticles. These materials have been getting more attention due to their “size‐dependent functionality”. There is a critical size for nanoparticles that their properties change. Materials with various functions can be synthesized with the desired properties since a wide range of polymers including natural and synthetic polymers can be utilized in the production of the magnetic nanoparticles. Furthermore, they can be more selective and specific with the conjugation target-specific ligands. This structural and functional diversity enables these materials to be used in a wide range of areas. In this review, we discuss the main components of the magnetic nanoparticles and their examples in biomedical applications. They can be used as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging; delivery systems in the controlled release of therapeutic agents; supporting materials for separation, isolation, and purification of biomolecules. They can be also functioned in hyperthermia and magnetofection for gene therapy. However, even though their increasing research interest, magnetic nanoparticles still need to be improved to be more popular in the commercial area. We hope that these functional materials will present promising possibilities in nanotechnology and biomedicine in near future.

Plasmonic sensors based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have shown prosperous growth in recent years due to their flexibility in designing it at smaller scale devices. The sensing techniques predominantly include surface-enhanced spectroscopic sensors such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) and surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIR), and SPR sensors which already have good commercial options. This chapter overviews and discusses the plasmonic nanosensors advancement and the most relevant applications in the field of agriculture. We focus on the effects that distinguish plasmonic nanosensors and give them their particular conduct for agrotechnology. We also evaluated the main applications of plasmonic nanosensors developed within the last five years for agriculture sector benefit.

A molecularly imprinted polymeric nanofilm was prepared for cocaine detection and applied to plasmonic nanosensor for real-time kinetic, selectivity and reusability analyses. The sensing polymeric surface was fabricated by synthesizing a selective and specific nanofilm on the gold plasmonic nanosensor surface. After characterization experiments with atomic force microscopy, ellipsometer, and contact angle measurements, the kinetic studies of cocaine detection in aqueous solutions in a wide concentration range between 0.2-100 μg/mL were applied to plasmonic nanosensor system at 24 °C with a low limit of detection (0.1 μg/L) and quantification values (0.3 μg/L) and the results showed that this molecularly imprinted polymeric nanofilm integrated plasmonic nanosensor is providing a model for the fastest, most accurate and most precise identification of the cocaine molecule which constitutes a large part of the workload of forensic laboratories.

Cibacron blue F3GA functionalized poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) cryogel membranes were prepared and applied for a simple purification of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) from crude extract of

Artan kentselleşmenin sonucu nüfusun ihitiyaçlarını karşılamak amacı ile konut,sanayi yapıları, iş merkezleri, spor merkezleri, altyapı projeleri gibi inşaat projelerininartmasına yol açmaktadır. Yoğun nüfuslu kentlerde mevcut arsaların kullanımını enefektif şekilde değerlendirme mecburiyeti doğmuştur. Bu sebeple arazileringörünmeyen kısımları da inşaat alanlarına dönüşmüştür. Bu alanlarda açılan kazıçukurlarını desteklemek amacı ile tasarlanan iksa sistemi yapılırken sisteme etkiyecekolan toprak ve su basıncının yanı sıra sürsarj basınçlarının hesaplanmasıgerekmektedir. İksa sistemine etkiyecek olan yükleri belirlemek için sağlıklı bir zeminetüdünün yapılması gerekmektedir. Yanlış yapılan zemin etüdleri neticesindetasarlanan iksa sistemleri neticesinde çevre yapılarda ve yollarda yapısal hasaroluşabilmektedir. Oluşan hasarlar izin verilen sınırlar içeresinde kalmadığı takdirdecan ve mal kaybına yol açmaktadır. Tasarımı yapılan iksa sisteminin hesaplananyükleri izin verilen deplasmanlar sınırında tasarım ömrü süresince karşılamasıgerekmektedir.Çalışmanın amacı, aletsel gözlemlerin derin kazılardaki önemi ve faydasınıngösterilmesidir. Bu çalışma da tasarımı yapılmış olan derin kazı sisteminin analizlersonucu elde edilen deplasmanlarla sahada gerçekleşen deplasmanlarınınkarşılaştırılması anlatılmıştır.Tez kapsamında, İstanbul ili Avrupa Yakası kısmında yapılacak olan bir metro hatınaait istasyonunun kazı destek sistemi için öncelikle literatürdeki veriler ışığında sahadayapılan sondaj verilerine göre zemin parametreleri belirlenmiştir. Zemin profili, yeraltısuyu, sürsarj yükleri ve kesitler belirlendikten sonra PLAXIS 2D ve PLAXIS 3Dyazılımı ile analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir.Tez çalışmasının birinci bölümünde iksa sistemlerinin öneminden bahsedilmiştir.İkinci bölümünde ise iksa sistemlerine etkiyen yanal toprak basınçları hakkında bilgiverilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde yanal toprak basınçları ve çevresel yükleri sağlıklı birşekilde taşımak amacıyla gerekli yatay-düşey destekler anlatılmıştır. Sonraki bölümdeiksa sistemlerinin en önemli bir parçası olan geoteknik enstürümantasyonlar hakkındabilgi verilmiştir. Tezin beşinci bölümünde sonlu elemanlar yöntemi ve geoteknikanalizlerde kullanılan Plaxis programı tanıtılmıştır.Tez kapsamında Plaxis 2D ve Plaxis 3D ile yapılan analizler sonucunda elde edilendeplasmanlar ile sahada gerekli enstürümantasyonlar ile ölçülen gerçek deplasmanlarkarşılaştırılmıştır.Sonuç kısmında ise metro projesine ait istasyon için yapılan analizlerin sonuçları ileinklinometre ölçümlerinin karşılaştırılması değerlendirilmiştir. Belirlenen idealize zemin profili için farklı kazı uzunluğuna sahip kazı çukurunun çevre yapılarınoturmasına etkisi incelenmiş ve tez çalışması tamamlanmıştır. Since the urbanization trend continues to grow throughout the world, so does the needof construction projects as the ever-growing human population demands and requiresnew houses, industrial facilities, social centers and infrastructures. This increase indemands made it a necessity in central cities for the land to be used as efficient aspossible. As a result, the unseen parts of the land; the underground turned intoconstruction sites. But making deep excavations in order to make use of undergroundareas require additional engineering designs.When designing a support system for an excavation site, surcharge loads must be takeninto account in addition to earth and water pressure. To determine all loads that willeffect the support system, a healthy soil investigation must be carried out first. Withoutthe data from a healthy soil investigation, designing a support system might causedamage to nearby structures and roads. When exceeding the agreeable limits, thesedamages can lead to loss of lives or properties. The designed support system isexpected to compensate the loads within agreeable displacement limits as far as thedesign life.As one of the problems solved in geotechnical engineering, deep excavations are acomplex topic. This problem incorporates numerous factors which includes severalvertical and horizontal members. The basic logic behind this design is to transfer theearth and water pressure as well as surcharge loads effecting the system through thesevertical and horizontal members and eventually divert these loads into the soil. Whiledesigning the deep excavation support system, a lateral earth pressure distribution mustbe achieved behind the wall in order to determine final wall height and estimatesupport loads and bending moment of the wall. Unlike a standard excavation, whenconstructing the support system `top-down`; the deformation pattern would becomemuch more complex and inconsistent with the theoretical Rankine and Coulomb earthpressure distribution.The aim of this study is to show the importance and benefit of instrumentalobservations in deep excavations. This study contains comparison of a designed deepexcavation support systems displacements and actual displacements seen on site.Within the study, soil parameters for a deep excavation support system constructed asa part of subway construction in the European side of İstanbul were determined first.After determining the soil profile, ground water level, surcharge loads and sections;analyses were conducted using PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3D software.The deep excavation system for the station structure will be approximately 21x99m.In the study area, surface elevations are fixed and the excavation height is 25.40m. Thedeep excavation system will be supported internally at 4 different levels. Reinforced concrete elements were preferred as internal support system in the first three levels,while steel pipe was preferred in the fourth level.In the first chapter of study, the reasons behind the increased use of deep excavationsand this methods importance in geotechnical engineering were addressed.Following these details, study continues with earth pressures which is the main factorbehind determining the dimensions of deep excavation support system elements.Prized scientists in Geotechnical Engineering such as Terzaghi, Peck andTschebotarioff proposed various loadings based on the cohesion levels of the soil.The third section of the study focused on the vertical and horizontal support elementsof the deep excavation support systems. Within the study; bored piles, diaphragm wallsand sheet pile walls were showed as vertical support elements. The comparison andevaluation of these elements were touched on in details in respect of productionmethod and difficulties in production. Furthermore; anchorages, soil nails and strutsupports were showed as horizontal support elements. In it a fact that anchorages areused more often in comparison to soil nails as anchorages provide greater carryingcapacity as a horizontal support element. Whereas the strut supports can also bepreferred as they can be produced a lot faster and are usually required less in number.Following these details, in the fourth section study focuses on the monitoring of deepexcavation support systems and surrounding structures. It is essential to monitor thebehavior of support systems to ensure the structural safety of deep excavations andother structures surrounding the excavation site. It is very common to see engineeringapplications which show different behavior than their original designs. Because of this,geotechnical instrumentation holds great importance in all engineering applications.To this purpose, the respective section of the study shows crack gauges, deformationmeasurements, extansometers, piezometers, reflectors and inclinometers in detail.During deep excavations, high levels of stresses are faced. To compensate thesestresses, diaphragm walls are often preferred as the safest system. The reason behindthis is that diaphragm walls are much more rigid in comparison to pile systems andthat they also allow displacements that will occur during the excavation to bemonitored easily. The most common way to monitor these displacements is withinclinometers. The deep excavation this study is based on is carried out usingdiaphragm walls and struts. The displacements during excavation were monitored withinclinometers.The fifth chapter of the study refers to finite elements method and the PLAXISsoftware. In principal, finite elements method bears the logic of reaching to the wholethrough working on small pieces. In the last century, the fast development ofcomputers made this method a frequently used supportive element in all engineeringsubjects. Today, finite elements method is used in many areas. One of the widelyknown software PLAXIS also uses finite elements method logic as its base in order tosolve complex geotechnical problems.In the analyzes, soil units were modeled using 'Hardening Soil' model, while rockunits were modeled using 'Mohr-Coulomb' structure model, structural elements were'plate' and struts were modeled using 'node-to-node anchor' elements.The analyses conducted in two-dimensions and three-dimensions were then comparedto on-site data. The results achieved after this comparison is as follows; The displacement behavior and values obtained in PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3Danalyses were found out to be similar and within close range.Boscardin and Cording have developed a method for determining damage to existingstructures by angular rotation and horizontal unit deformations. According to thismethod, the displacement values obtained as a result of the analyzes were processedand the effect of displacements on the existing structures were examined and it wasobserved that the displacements in the structures remained in the negligible region intwo-dimensional and three-dimensional analyzes.When the results obtained from finite elements method was compared to actual on-sitedata, it was seen that the results from finite elements method were higher in value. Itis believed that the main reason behind this difference is the actual soil parameters arehigher than the parameters taken from literature of which the analyses were based onor that the soil profile differs.In respect of displacement behavior, inclinometer results showed similarity todisplacement results obtained through finite elements method.Internal forces of the diyaphram wall obtained through PLAXIS 2D and PLAXIS 3Danalyses were found out to be similar and within close range.In the conclusion, the inclinometer measurements and the results of the analyzes forthe station belonging to the subway project were evaluated and compared. For theidealized soil profile, the effect of excavation with different dimensions on thesettlement of the surrounding structures was investigated and the thesis study wascompleted. 104

Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography is one of the methods used for the adsorption of proteins. In this study, poly(glycidyl methacrylate) cryogel discs were prepared by free radical polymerization. The metal chelating groups were polymeric chain of poly-( l )-histidine (mol wt ≥ 5000) having poly-imidazole ring sequence. Then, Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) ions were separately chelated on the poly-( l )-histidine immobilized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) cryogel discs to be used in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography separation of lysozyme. The swelling test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and scanning electron microscopy were performed to characterize both poly(glycidyl methacrylate) and poly-( l )-histidine immobilized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) cryogel discs. The effects of the pH, lysozyme concentration, adsorption time, and ionic strength on the adsorption capacity were studied. These parameters were varied between 4.0 and 8.0 for pH, 0.0 and 2.0 mg/ml for initial lysozyme concentration, 0 and 120 min for adsorption time, and 0.0 and 1.0 µM for ionic strength. The maximum lysozyme adsorption capacity of the Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) ions chelated poly-( l )-histidine immobilized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) cryogel discs was 36.4, 26.8, and 17.3 mg/g cryogel, respectively. Desorption of lysozyme from cryogel discs was easily achieved by 1.0 M NaCI solution. Repeated adsorption-elution processes showed that these cryogel discs were suitable for repeatable lysozyme adsorption. Adsorption isotherms fitted to Langmuir model and adsorption kinetics suited to pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic parameters (i.e. ΔH°, ΔS°, ΔG°) were also calculated from Langmuir isotherms at different temperatures.

The aim of this study is to prepare megaporous dye-affinity cryogel discs for the purification of plasmid DNA (pDNA) from bacterial lysate. Poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [PHEMA] cryogel discs were produced by free radical polymerization initiated by N,N,N',N'-tetramethylene diamine (TEMED) and ammonium persulfate (APS) redox pair in an ice bath. Cibacron Blue F3GA was used as an affinity ligand (loading amount: 68.9μmol/g polymer). The amount of pDNA adsorbed onto the PHEMA-Cibacron Blue F3GA cryogel discs first increased and then reached a plateau value (i.e., 32.5mg/g cryogel) at 3.0mg/mL pDNA concentration. Compared with the PHEMA cryogel (0.11mg/g cryogel), the pDNA adsorption capacity of the PHEMA-Cibacron Blue F3GA cryogel (32.4mg/g polymer) was improved significantly due to the Cibacron Blue 3GA immobilization onto the polymeric matrix. pDNA adsorption amount decreased from 11.7mg/g to 1.1mg/g with the increasing of NaCl concentration. The maximum pDNA adsorption was achieved at 4°C. The overall recovery of pDNA was calculated as 90%. The PHEMA-Cibacron Blue F3GA cryogel discs could be used five times without decreasing the pDNA adsorption capacity significantly. The results show that the PHEMA-Cibacron Blue F3GA cryogel discs promise high selectivity for pDNA.

The removal of mercury from wastewater is gaining much attention because of being one of the common heavy metal pollutants found in water source affecting human health and environment. Dye affinity chromatography is a general method for heavy metal removal having high reactivity, stability, easiness, and cost effectiveness. In this study, modified bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BC) were prepared using a dye namely Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB). The covalently attached Cibacron Blue F3GA (17.8 × 104 nmol/g) to the bacterial cellulose nanofibers was successfully applied to remove Hg2+ from aqueous solutions. Cibacron Blue F3GA attachment onto the bacterial cellulose nanofibers significantly increased the Hg2+ adsorption (928.0 mg/g), while the adsorption of Hg2+ onto the unmodified bacterial cellulose nanofibers was obtained very low (0.62 mg/g polymer). The competitive adsorption of heavy metals on BC-CB nanofibers was performed to examine the efficiency of BC-CB nanofibers for Hg2+ in comparison with other divalent metal ions. The adsorption capacities were observed as 322.4 mg/g for Hg2+; 48.5 mg/g for Cd2+; and 41.9 mg/g for Pb2+ indicating higher specificity for Hg2+ adsorption onto BC-CB nanofibers for the mercury ions comparing to other ions. The successive adsorption experiments and elution process demonstrated the efficient repeated workability of modified BC nanofibers. The results show that the preparation of cheap, effective, and eco-friendly nanofibers for mercury removal was performed successfully indicating the potential of BC-CB nanofibers for metal ion removal applications. © 2018 Scrivener Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

Poly-L-histidine immobilized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) cryogel discs were used for the removal of heavy metal ions [Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II)] from aqueous solutions. In the first step, PGMA cryogel discs were synthesized using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as a basic monomer and methylene bisacrylamide (MBAAm) as a cross linker in order to introduce active epoxy groups through the polymeric backbone. Then, the metal chelating groups are incorporated to cryogel discs by immobilizing poly-L-histidine (mol wt ≥ 5000) having poly-imidazole ring. The swelling test, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed to characterize both the PGMA and poly-L-histidine immobilized PGMA [P-His@PGMA] cryogel discs. The effects of the metal ion concentration and pH on the adsorption capacity were studied. These parameters were varied between 3.0–6.0 and 10–800 mg/L for pH and metal ion concentration, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of heavy metal ions...

One-step activation, purification, and stabilization of lipase enzyme were performed by using composite hydrophobic support at low ionic strength with increased surface area during embedding process. A novel hydrophobic poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) [PHEMA] based, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-N-methacryloly-(L)-tryptophan) [PGMATrp] bead embedded composite cryogel membrane having specific surface area of 195 m(2)/g was used as hydrophobic matrix for adsorption of commercial Candida Rugosa lipase in a continuous system. PGMATrp embedded PHEMA cryogel membrane with 60-100 mu m pore size was obtained by dispersion polymerization of GMA and MATrp to form PGMATrp beads followed by embedding of PGMATrp to HEMA via APS and TEMED redox pair. The introduction of hydrophobic MATrp monomer into bead structure aiming to increase interaction between lipase and composite membrane was estimated using nitrogen stoichiometry of elemental analysis and found to be 239 mu mol/g of polymer. Hydophobicity increment due to embedding process was confirmed by measuring contact angle, it was found 42 degrees and 48.4 degrees for the PHEMA and PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel respectively. Some parameters i.e. pH, flow-rate, protein concentration, temperature, salt type and ionic intensity were evaluated on the adsorption capacity in a continuous system. Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) studies were performed for specific adsorption of lipase onto the PHEMA/PGMATrp embedded composite cryogel membrane. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize megaporous cryogel loaded with hydrophobic affinity beads which can be utilized for the purification of lysozyme from chicken egg-white. N-methacryloyl-( l )-tryptophan methylester (MATrp) was used as the hydrophobic ligand. In the first step, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-N-methacryloyl-( l )-tryptophan methyl-ester) [PGMATrp] beads (2.2 μm in diameter) were produced by dispersion polymerization. In the second step, the poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) cryogel loaded with PGMATrp beads [PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel] was polymerized initiated by N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylene diamine (TEMED) and ammonium persulfate (APS) at −12 °C. Lysozyme adsorption capacity of the PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel (332.7 mg/g polymer) was improved significantly due to the loading of PGMATrp beads into the cryogel structure. The hydrophobic MATrp comonomer played a vital role in this binding mechanism. The PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel could be used many times without decreasing the lysozyme adsorption amount significantly. The main advantage of the PHEMA/PGMATrp composite cryogel is the high adsorption capacity.

WOS: 000394064800071, PubMed: 28183651, This study reports a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based affinity sensor system with the use of molecular imprinted nanoparticles (plastic antibodies) to enhance the pesticide detection. Molecular imprinting based affinity sensor is prepared by the attachment of atrazine (chosen as model pesticide) imprinted nanoparticles onto the gold surface of SPR chip. Recognition element of the affinity sensor is polymerizable form of aspartic acid. The imprinted nanoparticles were characterized via FTIR and zeta-sizer measurements. SPR sensors are characterized with atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) and contact angle measurements. The imprinted nanoparticles showed more sensitivity to atrazine than the non-imprinted ones. Different concentrations of atrazine solutions are applied to SPR system to determine the adsorption kinetics. Langmuir adsorption model is found as the most suitable model for this affinity nanosensor system. In order to show the selectivity of the atrazine-imprinted nanoparticles, competitive adsorption of atrazine, simazine and amitrole is investigated. The results showed that the imprinted nanosensor has high selectivity and sensitivity for atrazine. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved., Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, of Republic of Turkey [TAGEM 12/AR-GE/35], This research has been carried out with supports from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, of Republic of Turkey with grant number TAGEM 12/AR-GE/35.

Supermacroporous cryogel with an average pore size of 10–200 μm in diameter was prepared by cryopolymerization of N-methacryloyl-( l )-glutamic acid (MAGA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The poly(HEMA–MAGA) cryogel was characterized by surface area measurements, FTIR, swelling studies, elemental analysis and SEM. The poly(HEMA–MAGA) cryogel had a specific surface area of 23.2 m 2 /g. The equilibrium swelling ratio of the cryogel is 9.68 g H 2 O/g for poly(HEMA–MAGA) and 8.56 g H 2 O/g cryogel for PHEMA. The poly(HEMA–MAGA) cryogel disks with a pore volume of 71.6% containing 878 μmol MAGA/g were used in the removal of UO 2 2+ from aqueous solutions. Adsorption equilibrium of UO 2 2+ was obtained in about 30 min. The adsorption of UO 2 2+ ions onto the PHEMA cryogel disks was negligible (0.78 mg/g). The MAGA incorporation significantly increased the UO 2 2+ adsorption capacity (92.5 mg/g). The adsorption process is found to be a function of pH of the UO 2 2+ solution, with the optimum value being pH 6.0. Adsorption capacity of MAGA contained PHEMA based cryogel disks increased significantly with pH and then reached the maximum at pH 6.0. Consecutive adsorption and elution cycles showed the feasibility of repeated use for poly(HEMA–MAGA) cryogel disks.

Supermacroporous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) cryogel carrying DNA was used in the removal of anti-dsDNA antibodies from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient plasma. The PHEMA cryogel was prepared by bulk polymerization which proceeds in an aqueous solution of monomer frozen inside a plastic syringe. After thawing, the PHEMA cryogel contains a continuous matrix having interconnected macropores of 10–200 μm size. Pore volume in the PHEMA cryogel was 67.5%. Ester groups in the PHEMA structure were converted to imine groups by reacting with poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) in the presence of NaHCO 3 . Amino (− NH 2 ) content of PEI-modified PHEMA cryogel was determined as 82 mg PEI/g. Then, DNA was attached onto the PHEMA cryogel via amino groups (53.4 mg DNA/g cryogel). Anti-dsDNA-antibody concentration declined significantly from 780 IU/ml to 80 IU/ml with the time. The maximum anti-dsDNA-antibody adsorption amount was 70 × 10 3 IU/g. Anti-dsDNA-antibodies could be repeatedly adsorbed and eluted without noticeable loss in the anti-dsDNA-antibody adsorption amount.

Metal-chelating affinity beads have attracted increasing interest in recent years for protein purification. In this study, iminodiacetic acid (IDA) was covalently attached to the poly(glycidyl methacrylate) [PGMA] beads (1.6 μm in diameter). Cu(2+) ions were chelated via IDA groups on PGMA beads for affinity binding of hemoglobin (Hb) from human blood hemolysate. The PGMA beads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The PGMA-Cu(2+) beads (628 μmol/g) were used in the Hb binding-elution studies. The effects of Hb concentration, pH and temperature on the binding efficiency of PGMA-Cu(2+) beads were performed in a batch system. Non-specific binding of Hb to PGMA beads in the absence of Cu(2+) ions was very low (0.39 mg/g). The maximum Hb binding was 130.3 mg/g. The equilibrium Hb binding increased with increasing temperature. The negative change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG°0) indicated that the binding of Hb on the PGMA-Cu(2+) beads was a thermodynamically favorable process. The ΔS and ΔH values were 102.2 J/mol K and -2.02 kJ/mol, respectively. Significant amount of the bound Hb (up to 95.8%) was eluted in the elution medium containing 1.0 M NaCl in 1 h. The binding followed Langmuir isotherm model with monolayer binding capacity of 80.3-135.7 mg/g. Consecutive binding-elution experiments showed that the PGMA-Cu(2+) beads can be reused almost without any loss in the Hb binding capacity. To test the efficiency of Hb depletion from blood hemolysate, eluted portion was analyzed by fast protein liquid chromatography. The depletion efficiency for Hb was above 97.5%. This study determined that the PGMA-Cu(2+) beads had a superior binding capacity for Hb compared to the other carriers within this study.

Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB) was covalently attached onto poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) monosize beads for removal of bilirubin from hyperbilirubinemia human serum. PGMA beads were produced by dispersion polymerization (1.6 μm in diameter). CB loading was 1.73 mmol/g. Bilirubin adsorption experiments were performed by stirred-batch adsorption. The non-specific adsorption of bilirubin was low (0.4 mg/g polymer). CB attachment onto the PGMA beads significantly increased the bilirubin adsorption (241.5 mg/g) from aqueous solutions. The maximum bilirubin adsorption was observed at pH 6.0. With an increase of the aqueous phase concentration of sodium chloride, the adsorption amount of bilirubin decreased drastically. The equilibrium adsorption of bilirubin significantly increased with increasing temperature. Much higher adsorption values up to 332 mg bilirubin/g were achieved in the case of the PGMA/CB beads from human plasma.

Poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) nanobeads with an average size of 300 nm in diameter and with a polydispersity index of 1.156 were produced by a surfactant free emulsion polymerization. Specific surface area of the PHEMA nanobeads was found to be 996 m 2 /g. Imidazole containing 3-(2-imidazoline-1-yl)propyl(triethoxysilane) (IMEO) was used as a metal-chelating ligand. IMEO was covalently attached to the nanobeads. PHEMA-IMEO nanobeads were used for the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solutions. To evaluate the degree of IMEO loading, the PHEMA nanobeads were subjected to Si analysis by using flame atomizer atomic absorption spectrometer and it was estimated as 973 µmol IMEO/g of polymer. The PHEMA nanobeads were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in about 8 min. The adsorption of Cu 2+ ions onto the PHEMA nanobeads was negligible (0.2 mg/g). The IMEO attachment into the PHEMA nanobeads significantly increased the Cu 2+ adsorption capacity (58 mg/g). Adsorption capacity of the PHEMA-IMEO nanobeads increased significantly with increasing concentration. The adsorption of Cu 2+ ions increased with increasing pH and reached a plateau value at around pH 5.0. Competitive heavy metal adsorption from aqueous solutions containing Cu + , Cd 2+ , Pb 2+ and Hg 2+ was also investigated. The adsorption capacities are 61.4 mg/g (966.9 µmol/g) for Cu 2+ ; 180.5 mg/g (899.8 µmol/g) for Hg 2+ ; 34.9 mg/g (310.5 µmol/g) for Cd 2+ and 14.3 mg/g (69 µmol/g) for Pb 2+ . The affinity order in molar basis is observed as Cu 2+ > Hg 2+ > Cd 2+ > Pb 2+ . These results may be considered as an indication of higher specificity of the PHEMA-IMEO nanobeads for the Cu 2+ comparing to other ions. Consecutive adsorption and elution operations showed the feasibility of repeated use for PHEMA-IMEO nanobeads.