Guest-host complex formed between ascorbic acid and ß-cyclodextrin immobilized on the surface of an electrode.

This work deals with the formation of supramolecular complexes between ascorbic acid (AA), the guest, and ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD), the host, that was first potentiodynamically immobilized on the surface of a carbon paste electrode (CPE) throughout the formation of a ß-CD-based conducting polymer (poly-ß-CD). With the bare CPE and the ß-CD-modified CPE, an electrochemical study was performed to understand the effect of such surface modification on the electrochemical response of the AA. From this study it was shown that on the modified-CPE, the AA was surface-immobilized through formation of an inclusion complex with ß-CD, which provoked the adsorption of AA in such a way that this stage became the limiting step for the electrochemical oxidation of AA. Moreover, from the analysis of the experimental voltammetric plots recorded during AA oxidation on the CPE/poly-ß-CD electrode surfaces, the Gibbs' standard free energy of the inclusion complex formed by the oxidation product of AA and ß-CD has been determined for the first time, ∆G0inclus = -36.4 kJ/mol.

Compact microcubic structures platform based on self-assembly Prussian blue nanoparticles with highly tuneable conductivity.

Control of molecular and supramolecular properties is used to obtain a new advanced hybrid material based on Prussian blue nanoparticles (PB NPs). This hybrid material is obtained through a self-assembled Layer-by-Layer (LbL) approach combining the advantageous features of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) polysaccharides, PB NPs and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) from electrostatic interaction between the deposited layers. Transmission electronic microscopy images suggested that PB NPs were protected by ß-CD polysaccharides that prevent the aggregation phenomena. In addition, as confirmed by scanning electronic microscopy images, it was found that PB NPs are organized in microcubic supramolecular like structures via a mesoscale self-assembly process. Interestingly, the 3-bilayer {PAH/PB-CD} film exhibited a higher density of microcubic structures and a high electrochemical response with PB sites available for redox reactions at a supramolecular level. By utilizing fewer bilayers and consequently less material deposition, the formed {PAH/PB-CD} multilayer films of a tuneable conductivity can be expected to have interesting future applications for host-guest like dependent electrochemical biosensing designs.

New insights on the nature of the chemical species involved during the process of dopamine deprotonation in aqueous solution: theoretical and experimental study.

Due to dopamine's chemical structure and the fact that it has three pKa values, its deprotonation process, in aqueous solution, may involve different chemical species. For instance, the first deprotonation step, from the fully protonated dopamine molecule (H3DA+) to the neutral one (H2DA), will result in zwitterionic species if a proton from one of the OH groups in the catechol ring is lost or into a neutral species if the proton is lost from the amino group. Given that the interaction of such a product with its environment will be quite different depending on its nature, it is very important, therefore, to have an accurate knowledge of which is the dopamine chemical species that results after each deprotonation step. In order to gain a better understanding of dopamine chemistry and to establish a plausible dopamine deprotonation pathway, the optimized geometries of the aforementioned species were calculated in this work by means of the density functionals theory (B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)) in both cases: in vacuo and with solvent effect, to assess, among other theoretical criteria, the proton affinities of the different dopamine species. This permitted us to propose the following reaction pathway: [reaction in text]. Moreover, the calculations of the chemical shift (NMR-GIAO) modeling the effect of the solvent with a continuum method (PCM) was in agreement with the 13C NMR experimental spectra, which confirmed even further the proposed deprotonation pathway.

Spectrophotometric determination of acidity constants of salicylaldoxime in aqueous solution at 25 degrees C and ionic strength of 0.5 M controlled with NaCl.

The equilibrium constants of salicylaldoxime in water at 25 degrees C, 0.5 M of ionic strength with NaCl and concentration of 1x10(-4) M were determined spectrophotometrically. The spectral data were processed using SQUAD program. The salicylaldoxime in acid medium has the value of pKa1=1.224+/-0.027. In alkaline medium the salicylaldoxime has the values of pKa2=8.551+/-0.024 and pKa3=11.728+/-0.016.