Research Paper in Green Chemistry

Phytoremediation: A Technology to Remediate Soil Contaminated with Heavy Metals

V.K. Sinhal, Alok Srivastava & V.P. Singh

It is almost impossible to imagine soil without atleast trace levels of heavy metals. Natural and anthropogenic activities concentrated some of these elements in certain areas up to hazardous levels for living organisms. The non-biodegradable metals accumulate in the environment and subsequently contaminate the food chain. The elevated level of heavy metals poses a risk to human health. These heavy metals drastically can alter the metabolic activities of organism. Heavy metals may be carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic. Thus phytoremediation of heavy metals deserves great attention. Most of the conventional remedial technologies are expensive and may inhibit the soil fertility. In contrast, phytoremediation is a cost effective, environmentally friendly pleasing approach most suitable for developing countries. Among several subsets of phytoremediation, the widely studied strategies are (a) phytoextration, (b) phytofiletreation, (c) phytovolatilization, (d) phytostabilization, (e) phytodegradation and (f) rhizodegradation. Now a day new efficient metal hyperaccumulators are being used in phytoremediation & phytomining. Various techniques to enhance phytoremediation and utilization of by-products have been elaborated. Present investigation reports about the mobility, bioavailablity and plant response to heavy metals and future trends in phytoremediation to remediate the soil and water contaminated with heavy metals.">

Comparative Analysis of Total Quercetin Content in Aqueous and Ethanolic Extract of Artocarpus heterophyllus by Liquid Chromatography">

J. Shrivastava

The ethanolic and aqueous extract of Artocarpus heterophyllus was evaluated by the well-known HPLC method was developed using a Thermo C-18 column with 250 x 4.6 mm i.d. and 5 μm particle size column. Methanol and Acetonitrile was taken in the same proportion as same proportion and detected at 256 nm. Flow rate employed was 1mL min-1. The aqueous and ethanolic extract of Artocarpus heterophyllus was analysed at optimised condition and the content of quercetin of in crude aqueous extract was found as 7.11 mg per 100 mg while in crude ethanolic extract it was found 18.48 mg per 100 mg. Quercetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid which is a polar auxin transport inhibitor and also induce insulin secretion by activation of L-type calcium channels in the pancreatic β-cells. Hence the presence of Bio flavonoid quercetin gives promising advice for antidiabetic potential of the plant.

Pollution of Erenik River from City Discharge and Industrial Water of Gjakova-Kosovo

Bardha Korça, Driton Musliu and Ilir Shehu

Surface water quality includes a range of conditions that are part of the aquatic environment in a water stream. Different studies have shown that there is no single measure for water quality; nonetheless, numerous water parameters should be determined continuously in order to determine the quality of that specific water. The purpose of this research is to determine the levels of some physicochemical parameters in the river of Erenik in Kosovo. Water samples were collected in different points and analyses that were studied include different parameters, such as total dissolved oxygen (TDS), phosphate, alkal ini ty, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium ion, sulfate, chloride, calcium, magnesium and so on. The heavy metals that whose concentrations were determined include cadmium, iron, copper, zinc, nickel,manganese and chromium. The results suggest that the water in this area is polluted due to the discharge of the city and industrial water into this river. The river should be continuously monitored so as to ensure the health of aquatic life and avoid water pollution. 

Cucumis Melo Peel as an Ingenious Biosorbent for Heavy Metal Alleviation: A Kinetic Study

M. Manjuladevi , S. Manonmani , J. Krishnaveni and D. Kalaiselvi

In the present study, the parameters, pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, adsorbent size and agitation speed were optimized for Nickel (II) removal from aqueous medium. The optimum conditions for maximum removal of Nickel (II) from an aqueous solution of 100 mg/L were found as follows: pH (6), biosorbent dose (250mg), contact time (210 min), biosorbent size (75-125 μm) and agitation speed (200 rpm). Adsorption kinetic data were tested using Intra-particle diffusion model and Elovich’s equation. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption follows first order reaction. Studies revealed that the intraparticle diffusion plays an important role in the mechanism of metal adsorption.

Studies on a Mutual Prodrug of Nalidixic Acid

Asif Husain

An amide-based mutual prodrug (3) has been synthesized in a single step by simple method. Nalidixic acid (1) was condensed with sulfisoxazole (2), in minimum quantity of pyridine in presence of few drops of phosphorous oxychloride, with an objective to get a useful compound which may act against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (broad-spectrum) with effectiveness. Its structure was established on the basis of elemental analysis, 1H NMR and Mass spectral data results. The prodrug (3) has been evaluated for in-vitro antibacterial activity, and its hydrolysis kinetics are also performed in acidic and basic buffers.