• Applied Microscopy
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2000

Zinc is one of the most abundant oligoelements in the living cell. It appears tightly bound to some metalloproteins and nucleic acids, loosely bound to some metallothioneins or even as free ion. Small amounts of zinc ions (in the nanomolar range) regulate a plentitude of enzymatic proteins, receptors and transcription factors, thus rolls need accurate homeostasis of zinc ions. Zinc is an essential catalytic or structural element of many proteins, and a signaling messenger that is released by neural activity at many central excitatory synapses. Growing evidences suggest that zinc may also be a key mediator and modulator of the neuronal death associated with transient global ischemia and sustained seizures, as well as perhaps other neurological disease stoles. Some neurons have developed mechanisms to accumulate zinc in specific membrane compartment ('vesicular zinc') which can be evidenced using histochemical techniques. Substances giving a bright colour or emitting fluorescence when in contact with divalent metal ions are currently used to detect them inside cells; their use leads to the so called 'direct' methods. The fixation and precipitation of metal ions as insoluble salt precipitates, their maintenance along the histological process and, finally, their demonstration after autometallographic development are essential steps for other methods, the so called 'indirect methods'. This study is a short report on the autometallograhical approaches for zinc detection in the central nervous system (CNS) by means of a modified selenium method.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2010

Metal ions are essential to life. However, some metals such as mercury are harmful, even when present at trace amounts. Toxicity of mercury arises mainly from its oxidizing properties. Ionizing radiation (IR) is an active tool for destruction of cancer cells and diagnosis of diseases, etc. IR induces DNA double strand breaks in the nucleus, In addition, it causes lipid peroxidation, ceramide generation, and protein oxidation in the membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus. Yeasts have been a commonly used material in biological research. In yeasts, the physiological response to changing environmental conditions is controlled by the cell types. Growth rate, mutation and environmental conditions affect cell size and shape distributions. In this work, the effect of IR and mercury chloride (II) on the morphology of yeast cells were investigated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were treated with IR, mercury chloride (II) and IR combined with mercury chloride (II). Non-treated cells were used as a control group. Morphological changes were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The half-lethal condition from the previous experimental results was used to the IR combined with mercury. Yeast cells were exposed to 400 and 800 Gy at dose rates of 400Gy $hr^{-1}$ or 800 Gy $hr^{-1}$, respectively. Yeast cells were treated with 0.05 to 0.15 mM mercury chloride (II). Oxidative stress can damage cellular membranes through a lipidic peroxidation. This effect was detected in this work, after treatment of IR and mercury chloride (II). The cell morphology was modified more at high doses of IR and high concentrations of mercury chloride(II). IR and mercury chloride (II) were of the oxidative stress. Cell morphology was modified differently according to the way of oxidative stress treatment. Moreover, morphological changes in the cell membrane were more observable in the frequently stress treated cells than the temporarily stress treated cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.510-518
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• 1989

Most of orange peels are disposed from orange juice manufacturing process. Thus, our purpose is to utilize these orange peels as fermentation substrate. We have investigated culture conditions and factors influencing citric acid production by an isolated strain, Asp. niger. Citric acid production was much higher in semisolid culture than in submerged culture and the particle size of ground orange peels was favored at 20 mesh in semisolid culture. The optimal pH and temperature were 4.5-5.0 and 3$0^{\circ}C$ respectively and the temperature cycling at 35$^{\circ}C$ for 20 hrs durig exponential phase, 1$0^{\circ}C$ for 4 hrs and 3$0^{\circ}C$ during stationary phase showed higher citric acid production than did at fixed temperature, 3$0^{\circ}C$. The addition of NH$_4$NO$_3$0.2%, MgSO$_4$7$H_2O$ 0.1%, methanol 2.5%, ethanol 1.5%, to culture medium promoted citric acid production but the addition of trace metal ions as nutrients had not effect on the acid production in orange peel medium. Under the optimal culture conditions, maximum yield of citric acid was 80.4% in solid medium. Almost of all original components of citrus peel was consumed by Asp. niger during fermentation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.177-180
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• 2003

A glassy carbon electrode(GCE) modified with nafion-DTPA-glycerol was used for the highly selective and sensitive determination of a trace amount of Cu$\^$2+/. Various experimental parameters, which influenced the response of nafion-DTPA-glycerol modified electrode to Cu$\^$2+/, were optimized. The copper(II) was accumulated on the electrode surface by the formation of the complex in an open circuit, and the resulting surface was characterized by medium exchange, electrochemical reduction, and differential pulse voltammetry, A linear range was obtained in the concentration range 1.0${\times}$10$\^$-8/M∼1.0${\times}$10$\^$-6/M Cu(II) with 7 min preconcentration. Further, when an approximate amount of lead(II) is added to the test solution, nafion-DTPA-glycerol modified glassy carbon electrode has a dynamic range of 2 orders magnitude(1.0${\times}$10$\^$-9/M∼1.0${\times}$10$\^$-7/M). The detection limit(3 $\sigma$) was as low as 5.0${\times}$10$\^$-6/M(0.032ppb). The interferences from other metal ions could be reduced by adding KCN into the sample solutions. This method was applied to the determination of coppe,(II) in certified reference material(3.23${\times}$10$\^$-7/M, 21ppb), sea water(9.50${\times}$10/sup-7/M, 60ppb). The result agrees satisfactorily with the value measured by Korea Research Institute of Standard and Science.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.146-150
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• 1994

The simultaneous determination of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in 1.000%(w/v) tungsten matrix by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electrode has been studied. Tartaric acid(pH=5.00) was used as a supporting electrolyte. Optimum analytical conditions were found that the deposition potential was -1.2 volt(vs. Ag/AgCl), the deposition time was 3 minutes. The linear concentration range of all trace metal ions in 1.000%(w/v) tungsten matrix were 10 to 50 ppb. And the detection limit(3${\sigma}$) of zinc, cadmium, lead and copper were 1.25, 1.02, 1.69, and 1.02 ppb respectively. This method was superior to the ICP-AES method which detection limits(3${\sigma}$) in 1.000%(w/v) tungsten matrix were 8.0, 5.0, 120 and 5 ppb respectively.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1998

This study focuses on developing a controlling and analyzing software for the portable atomic emission spectrometer equipped with an electrothermal vaporizer(ETV) that can perform the in-situ trace analysis of heavy metal ions dissolved in water. The software works well for a notebook PC and it is exclusively developed for the real time analysis with a line filter and a photomultiplier light detector. The program is designed to operate under Windows 95 environment and either Korean or English can be used as a main language. The Delphi 2.0 language software is mainly used for programing. The program is designed to make a calibration curve and the system users can get the analytical data in a short time. And a final report can be generated without having difficulties. This software can be easily modified for other analytical atomic spectrometers.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2022

Bottom ash generated from thermal power plants is mainly disposed in landfills, from which metals may be leached by infiltrating water. To evaluate the effect of metals in leachate on soil and groundwater, we characterized bottom ash generated from burning cokes, bituminous coal, the mixture of bituminous coal and wood pellets, and charcoal powder. The bottom ash of charcoal powder had a relatively large particle size, and its wood texture was well-preserved from SEM observation. The bottom ash of charcoal powder and wood pellets had relatively high K concentration from total element analysis. The eluates of the bottom ash samples had appreciable concentrations of Ca, Al, Fe, SO₄, and NO₃, but they were not a significant throughout the batch test. Therefore, it is considered that there is low possibility of soil and groundwater contamination due to leaching of metal ions and anions from these bottom ash in landfills. To estimate the trend of various trace elements, long-term monitoring and additional analysis need to be performed while considering the site conditions, because they readily adsorb on soil and aquifer substances.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.106-110
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• 2023

Lignin is compatible with various polymeric materials and useful as a carbon precursor. In this work, carbon monolith films were produced from polyacrylonitrile (PAN)@lignin precursor films by a controlled carbonization cycle. In addition, their morphological features, electrical properties, and adsorption behavior were analyzed and compared with those of carbonized PAN films. The successful formation of PAN@lignin precursor was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. SEM was used to examine the morphology of precursor and carbonized films, revealing that both precursor and carbonized films retained structural stability following carbonization. A trace of lignin in the carbonized films was also found. The pore structure of the carbonized PAN@lignin film was measured using the BET method, indicating the formation of fairly uniform pores. The electrical properties were also analyzed to obtain the Ohmic relation, which demonstrated that the electrical signal was influenced by incoming materials. Finally, the carbonized PAN@lignin films were useful as adsorbents to remove metal ions. This study provides important information for future initiatives in relevant research fields.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2015

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the surface treatment and shape of the dental alloy on the composition of the prosthetic work and its metallic ion release in a corrosive medium after casting. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Orion Argos (Pd-Ag) and Orion Vesta (Pd-Cu) were used to cast two crowns and two disks. One of each was polished while the other was not. Two as-received alloys were also studied making a total of 5 specimens per alloy type. The specimens were submersed for 7 days in a lactic acid/sodium chloride solution (ISO standard 10271) and evaluated for surface structure characterization using SEM/EDAX. The solutions were quantitatively analysed for the presence of metal ions using ICP-MS and the results were statistically analysed with one-way ANOVA and a Tukey post-hoc test. RESULTS. Palladium is released from all specimens studied (range $0.06-7.08{\mu}g{\cdot}cm^{-2}{\cdot}week^{-1}$), with the Pd-Cu alloy releasing the highest amounts. For both types of alloys, ion release of both disk and crown pairs were statistically different from the as-received alloy except for the Pd-Ag polished crown (P>.05). For both alloy type, disk-shaped pairs and unpolished specimens released the highest amounts of Pd ions (range $0.34-7.08{\mu}g{\cdot}cm^{-2}{\cdot}week^{-1}$). Interestingly, in solutions submerged with cast alloys trace amounts of unexpected elements were measured. CONCLUSION. Shape and surface treatment influence ion release from dental alloys; polishing is a determinant factor. The release rate of cast and polished Pd alloys is between $0.06-0.69{\mu}g{\cdot}cm^{-2}{\cdot}week^{-1}$, which is close to or exceeding the EU Nickel Directive 94/27/EC compensated for the molecular mass of Pd ($0.4{\mu}g{\cdot}cm^{-2}{\cdot}week^{-1}$). The composition of the alloy does not represent the element release, therefore we recommend manufacturers to report element release after ISO standard corrosion tests beside the original composition.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2023

Because the application of lithium has gradually increased for the production of lithium ion batteries (LIBs), more research studies about recycling using solvent extraction (SX) should focus on Li⁺ recovery from the waste solution obtained after the removal of the valuable metals nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM). The raffinate obtained after the removal of NCM metal contains lithium ions and other impurities such as Na ions. In this study, we optimized a selective SX system using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the extractant and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) as a modifier in kerosene for the recovery of lithium from a waste solution containing lithium and a high concentration of sodium (Li⁺ = 0.5 ~ 1 wt%, Na⁺ = 3 ~6.5 wt%). The extraction of lithium was tested in different solvent compositions and the most effective extraction occurred in the solution composed of 20% D2EHPA + 20% TBP + and 60% kerosene. In this SX system with added NaOH for saponification, more than 95% lithium was selectively extracted in four extraction steps using an organic to aqueous ratio of 5:1 and an equilibrium pH of 4 ~ 4.5. Additionally, most of the Na⁺ (92% by weight) remained in the raffinate. The extracted lithium is stripped using 8 wt% HCl to yield pure lithium chloride with negligible Na content. The lithium chloride is subsequently treated with high purity ammonium bicarbonate to afford lithium carbonate powder. Finally the lithium carbonate is washed with an adequate amount of water to remove trace amounts of sodium resulting in highly pure lithium carbonate powder (purity > 99.2%).