Sustainable chemistry wit transactions on ecology and the environment

Sustainable Chemistry WIT Press publishes leading books in Science and Technology Visit our website for the current list of titles www.witpress.com WITeLibrary Home of the Transactions of the Wessex Institute Papers presented at Sustainable Chemistry are archived in the WIT elibrary in volume 154 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1743-3541) The WIT electronic-library provides the international scientific community with immediate and permanent access to individual papers presented at WIT conferences http://library.witpress.com FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY Sustainable Chemistry 2011 CONFERENCE CHAIRMEN G RENIERS University of Antwerp, Belgium C.A BREBBIA Wessex Institute of Technology, UK INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE G Centi L Diels E Favre K.R Genwa B Han P.G Jessop Y Lin B Maes M Naito H Nakazawa A Stankiewicz T Van Gerven M.P Wilson Organised by Wessex Institute of Technology, UK University of Antwerp, Belgium Sponsored by WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment & FISCH, Antwerp, Belgium WIT Transactions Transactions Editor Carlos Brebbia Wessex Institute of Technology Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst Southampton SO40 7AA, UK Email: carlos@wessex.ac.uk Editorial Board B Abersek University of Maribor, Slovenia Y N Abousleiman University of Oklahoma, G Belingardi Politecnico di Torino, Italy R Belmans Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, P L Aguilar University of Extremadura, Spain K S Al Jabri Sultan Qaboos University, Oman E Alarcon Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, C D Bertram The University of New South USA Spain A Aldama IMTA, Mexico C Alessandri Universita di Ferrara, Italy D Almorza Gomar University of Cadiz, Spain B Alzahabi Kettering University, USA J A C Ambrosio IDMEC, Portugal A M Amer Cairo University, Egypt S A Anagnostopoulos University of Patras, Greece M Andretta Montecatini, Italy E Angelino A.R.P.A Lombardia, Italy H Antes Technische Universitat Braunschweig, Germany M A Atherton South Bank University, UK A G Atkins University of Reading, UK D Aubry Ecole Centrale de Paris, France H Azegami Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan A F M Azevedo University of Porto, Portugal J Baish Bucknell University, USA J M Baldasano Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain J G Bartzis Institute of Nuclear Technology, Greece A Bejan Duke University, USA M P Bekakos Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Belgium Wales, Australia D E Beskos University of Patras, Greece S K Bhattacharyya Indian Institute of Technology, India E Blums Latvian Academy of Sciences, Latvia J Boarder Cartref Consulting Systems, UK B Bobee Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Canada H Boileau ESIGEC, France J J Bommer Imperial College London, UK M Bonnet Ecole Polytechnique, France C A Borrego University of Aveiro, Portugal A R Bretones University of Granada, Spain J A Bryant University of Exeter, UK F-G Buchholz Universitat Gesanthochschule Paderborn, Germany M B Bush The University of Western Australia, Australia F Butera Politecnico di Milano, Italy J Byrne University of Portsmouth, UK W Cantwell Liverpool University, UK D J Cartwright Bucknell University, USA P G Carydis National Technical University of Athens, Greece J J Casares Long Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain M A Celia Princeton University, USA A Chakrabarti Indian Institute of Science, India A H-D Cheng University of Mississippi, USA J Chilton University of Lincoln, UK C-L Chiu University of Pittsburgh, USA H Choi Kangnung National University, Korea A Cieslak Technical University of Lodz, Poland S Clement Transport System Centre, Australia M W Collins Brunel University, UK J J Connor Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA M C Constantinou State University of New York at Buffalo, USA D E Cormack University of Toronto, Canada M Costantino Royal Bank of Scotland, UK D F Cutler Royal Botanic Gardens, UK W Czyczula Krakow University of Technology, Poland M da Conceicao Cunha University of Coimbra, Portugal L Dávid Károly Róbert College, Hungary A Davies University of Hertfordshire, UK M Davis Temple University, USA A B de Almeida Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal E R de Arantes e Oliveira Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal L De Biase University of Milan, Italy R de Borst Delft University of Technology, Netherlands G De Mey University of Ghent, Belgium A De Montis Universita di Cagliari, Italy A De Naeyer Universiteit Ghent, Belgium W P De Wilde Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium L Debnath University of Texas-Pan American, USA N J Dedios Mimbela Universidad de Cordoba, Spain G Degrande Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium S del Giudice University of Udine, Italy G Deplano Universita di Cagliari, Italy I Doltsinis University of Stuttgart, Germany M Domaszewski Universite de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard, France J Dominguez University of Seville, Spain K Dorow Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA W Dover University College London, UK C Dowlen South Bank University, UK J P du Plessis University of Stellenbosch, South Africa R Duffell University of Hertfordshire, UK A Ebel University of Cologne, Germany E E Edoutos Democritus University of Thrace, Greece G K Egan Monash University, Australia K M Elawadly Alexandria University, Egypt K-H Elmer Universitat Hannover, Germany D Elms University of Canterbury, New Zealand M E M El-Sayed Kettering University, USA D M Elsom Oxford Brookes University, UK F Erdogan Lehigh University, USA F P Escrig University of Seville, Spain D J Evans Nottingham Trent University, UK J W Everett Rowan University, USA M Faghri University of Rhode Island, USA R A Falconer Cardiff University, UK M N Fardis University of Patras, Greece P Fedelinski Silesian Technical University, Poland H J S Fernando Arizona State University, USA S Finger Carnegie Mellon University, USA J I Frankel University of Tennessee, USA D M Fraser University of Cape Town, South Africa M J Fritzler University of Calgary, Canada U Gabbert Otto-von-Guericke Universitat Magdeburg, Germany G Gambolati Universita di Padova, Italy C J Gantes National Technical University of Athens, Greece L Gaul Universitat Stuttgart, Germany A Genco University of Palermo, Italy N Georgantzis Universitat Jaume I, Spain P Giudici Universita di Pavia, Italy F Gomez Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain R Gomez Martin University of Granada, Spain D Goulias University of Maryland, USA K G Goulias Pennsylvania State University, USA F Grandori Politecnico di Milano, Italy W E Grant Texas A & M University, USA S Grilli University of Rhode Island, USA R H J Grimshaw Loughborough University, D Gross Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, M Karlsson Linkoping University, Sweden T Katayama Doshisha University, Japan K L Katsifarakis Aristotle University of R Grundmann Technische Universitat J T Katsikadelis National Technical A Gualtierotti IDHEAP, Switzerland R C Gupta National University of Singapore, E Kausel Massachusetts Institute of UK Germany Dresden, Germany Singapore J M Hale University of Newcastle, UK K Hameyer Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium C Hanke Danish Technical University, Denmark K Hayami University of Toyko, Japan Y Hayashi Nagoya University, Japan L Haydock Newage International Limited, UK A H Hendrickx Free University of Brussels, Belgium C Herman John Hopkins University, USA S Heslop University of Bristol, UK I Hideaki Nagoya University, Japan D A Hills University of Oxford, UK W F Huebner Southwest Research Institute, USA J A C Humphrey Bucknell University, USA M Y Hussaini Florida State University, USA W Hutchinson Edith Cowan University, Australia T H Hyde University of Nottingham, UK M Iguchi Science University of Tokyo, Japan D B Ingham University of Leeds, UK L Int Panis VITO Expertisecentrum IMS, Belgium N Ishikawa National Defence Academy, Japan J Jaafar UiTm, Malaysia W Jager Technical University of Dresden, Germany Y Jaluria Rutgers University, USA C M Jefferson University of the West of England, UK P R Johnston Griffith University, Australia D R H Jones University of Cambridge, UK N Jones University of Liverpool, UK D Kaliampakos National Technical University of Athens, Greece N Kamiya Nagoya University, Japan D L Karabalis University of Patras, Greece Thessaloniki, Greece University of Athens, Greece Technology, USA H Kawashima The University of Tokyo, Japan B A Kazimee Washington State University, USA S Kim University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA D Kirkland Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners Ltd, UK E Kita Nagoya University, Japan A S Kobayashi University of Washington, USA T Kobayashi University of Tokyo, Japan D Koga Saga University, Japan S Kotake University of Tokyo, Japan A N Kounadis National Technical University of Athens, Greece W B Kratzig Ruhr Universitat Bochum, Germany T Krauthammer Penn State University, USA C-H Lai University of Greenwich, UK M Langseth Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway B S Larsen Technical University of Denmark, Denmark F Lattarulo Politecnico di Bari, Italy A Lebedev Moscow State University, Russia L J Leon University of Montreal, Canada D Lewis Mississippi State University, USA S lghobashi University of California Irvine, USA K-C Lin University of New Brunswick, Canada A A Liolios Democritus University of Thrace, Greece S Lomov Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium J W S Longhurst University of the West of England, UK G Loo The University of Auckland, New Zealand J Lourenco Universidade Minho, Portugal J E Luco University of California at San Diego, USA H Lui State Seismological Bureau Harbin, China C J Lumsden University of Toronto, Canada L Lundqvist Division of Transport and Location Analysis, Sweden T Lyons Murdoch University, Australia Y-W Mai University of Sydney, Australia M Majowiecki University of Bologna, Italy D Malerba Università degli Studi di Bari, Italy G Manara University of Pisa, Italy B N Mandal Indian Statistical Institute, India Ü Mander University of Tartu, Estonia H A Mang Technische Universitat Wien, Austria G D Manolis Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece W J Mansur COPPE/UFRJ, Brazil N Marchettini University of Siena, Italy J D M Marsh Griffith University, Australia J F Martin-Duque Universidad Complutense, Spain T Matsui Nagoya University, Japan G Mattrisch DaimlerChrysler AG, Germany F M Mazzolani University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy K McManis University of New Orleans, USA A C Mendes Universidade de Beira Interior, Portugal R A Meric Research Institute for Basic Sciences, Turkey J Mikielewicz Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland N Milic-Frayling Microsoft Research Ltd, UK R A W Mines University of Liverpool, UK C A Mitchell University of Sydney, Australia K Miura Kajima Corporation, Japan A Miyamoto Yamaguchi University, Japan T Miyoshi Kobe University, Japan G Molinari University of Genoa, Italy T B Moodie University of Alberta, Canada D B Murray Trinity College Dublin, Ireland G Nakhaeizadeh DaimlerChrysler AG, Germany M B Neace Mercer University, USA D Necsulescu University of Ottawa, Canada F Neumann University of Vienna, Austria S-I Nishida Saga University, Japan H Nisitani Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan B Notaros University of Massachusetts, USA P O’Donoghue University College Dublin, Ireland R O O’Neill Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA M Ohkusu Kyushu University, Japan G Oliveto Universitá di Catania, Italy R Olsen Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., USA E Oñate Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain K Onishi Ibaraki University, Japan P H Oosthuizen Queens University, Canada E L Ortiz Imperial College London, UK E Outa Waseda University, Japan A S Papageorgiou Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA J Park Seoul National University, Korea G Passerini Universita delle Marche, Italy B C Patten University of Georgia, USA G Pelosi University of Florence, Italy G G Penelis Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece W Perrie Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada R Pietrabissa Politecnico di Milano, Italy H Pina Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal M F Platzer Naval Postgraduate School, USA D Poljak University of Split, Croatia V Popov Wessex Institute of Technology, UK H Power University of Nottingham, UK D Prandle Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, UK M Predeleanu University Paris VI, France M R I Purvis University of Portsmouth, UK I S Putra Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia Y A Pykh Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia F Rachidi EMC Group, Switzerland M Rahman Dalhousie University, Canada K R Rajagopal Texas A & M University, USA T Rang Tallinn Technical University, Estonia J Rao Case Western Reserve University, USA A M Reinhorn State University of New York at Buffalo, USA A D Rey McGill University, Canada D N Riahi University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, USA B Ribas Spanish National Centre for Environmental Health, Spain K Richter Graz University of Technology, Austria S Rinaldi Politecnico di Milano, Italy F Robuste Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain J Roddick Flinders University, Australia A C Rodrigues Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal F Rodrigues Poly Institute of Porto, Portugal C W Roeder University of Washington, USA J M Roesset Texas A & M University, USA W Roetzel Universitaet der Bundeswehr Hamburg, Germany V Roje University of Split, Croatia R Rosset Laboratoire d’Aerologie, France J L Rubio Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion, Spain T J Rudolphi Iowa State University, USA S Russenchuck Magnet Group, Switzerland H Ryssel Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen, Germany S G Saad American University in Cairo, Egypt M Saiidi University of Nevada-Reno, USA R San Jose Technical University of Madrid, Spain F J Sanchez-Sesma Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexico B Sarler Nova Gorica Polytechnic, Slovenia S A Savidis Technische Universitat Berlin, Germany A Savini Universita de Pavia, Italy G Schmid Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Germany R Schmidt RWTH Aachen, Germany B Scholtes Universitaet of Kassel, Germany W Schreiber University of Alabama, USA A P S Selvadurai McGill University, Canada J J Sendra University of Seville, Spain J J Sharp Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada Q Shen Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA X Shixiong Fudan University, China G C Sih Lehigh University, USA L C Simoes University of Coimbra, Portugal A C Singhal Arizona State University, USA P Skerget University of Maribor, Slovenia J Sladek Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia V Sladek Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia A C M Sousa University of New Brunswick, Canada H Sozer Illinois Institute of Technology, USA D B Spalding CHAM, UK P D Spanos Rice University, USA T Speck Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Germany C C Spyrakos National Technical University of Athens, Greece I V Stangeeva St Petersburg University, Russia J Stasiek Technical University of Gdansk, Poland G E Swaters University of Alberta, Canada S Syngellakis University of Southampton, UK J Szmyd University of Mining and Metallurgy, Poland S T Tadano Hokkaido University, Japan H Takemiya Okayama University, Japan I Takewaki Kyoto University, Japan C-L Tan Carleton University, Canada E Taniguchi Kyoto University, Japan S Tanimura Aichi University of Technology, Japan J L Tassoulas University of Texas at Austin, USA M A P Taylor University of South Australia, Australia A Terranova Politecnico di Milano, Italy A G Tijhuis Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands T Tirabassi Institute FISBAT-CNR, Italy S Tkachenko Otto-von-Guericke-University, Germany N Tosaka Nihon University, Japan T Tran-Cong University of Southern Queensland, Australia R Tremblay Ecole Polytechnique, Canada I Tsukrov University of New Hampshire, USA R Turra CINECA Interuniversity Computing Centre, Italy S G Tushinski Moscow State University, Russia J-L Uso Universitat Jaume I, Spain E Van den Bulck Katholieke Universiteit Z-Y Yan Peking University, China S Yanniotis Agricultural University of Athens, D Van den Poel Ghent University, Belgium R van der Heijden Radboud University, A Yeh University of Hong Kong, China J Yoon Old Dominion University, USA K Yoshizato Hiroshima University, Japan T X Yu Hong Kong University of Science & Leuven, Belgium Netherlands R van Duin Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Greece Technology, Hong Kong P Vas University of Aberdeen, UK R Verhoeven Ghent University, Belgium A Viguri Universitat Jaume I, Spain Y Villacampa Esteve Universidad de M Zador Technical University of Budapest, F F V Vincent University of Bath, UK S Walker Imperial College, UK G Walters University of Exeter, UK B Weiss University of Vienna, Austria H Westphal University of Magdeburg, R Zarnic University of Ljubljana, Slovenia G Zharkova Institute of Theoretical and Alicante, Spain Germany J R Whiteman Brunel University, UK Hungary K Zakrzewski Politechnika Lodzka, Poland M Zamir University of Western Ontario, Canada Applied Mechanics, Russia N Zhong Maebashi Institute of Technology, Japan H G Zimmermann Siemens AG, Germany Sustainable Chemistry Editors G RENIERS University of Antwerp, Belgium C.A BREBBIA Wessex Institute of Technology, UK Sustainable Chemistry 237 and this value could be considered as the approximate surface free energy of the porous material [15] Based on this principle, a series of isopropanol (IPA)-water solutions were prepared with different IPA mass percentages of 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24% (surface tension values were summarized in Table [16]), then the surface free energy of natural cotton thread was measured by depositing a drop of IPA-water solution of different concentrations on thread and observing the drop penetration behaviour (i.e the liquid forms a bead on thread surface or penetrates into thread) Table shows that liquids of surface tension higher than 32.4 mN/m cannot penetrate along the thread, while liquids of surface tension lower than 31.2 mN/m can penetrate into thread That means the surface free energy of the untreated cotton thread was between 31.2 and 32.4 mJ/m2 Table 1: Penetration behaviour of IPA + water on cotton thread Though natural cotton thread is hydrophobic to water, the fibre surface can be modified into hydrophilic with certain treatment (e.g plasma in this work) The plasma-treated thread was strongly hydrophilic and easily wettable by water Such difference in thread’s wettability before and after treatment is referred as the hydrophobic-hydrophilic contrast Figure shows the XPS analysis of the surface chemistry of cotton threads before and after treatment to reveal changes in the surface atomic concentrations of C and O Plasma treatment may have two effects on thread surface modification First, the wax was partially removed, thus exposing the underlying cellulose, which was indicated by the increase in surface concentration of C–O (BE = 286.8 eV) Second, thread surface was substantially oxidized, which was revealed by the increase in surface concentrations of O–C═O, O–C–O and C═O (BE = 289.2, 288.3 and 288.3 eV, respectively) These changes increased the surface oxygen concentration and the surface polarity of the thread, making the plasma-treated thread hydrophilic 3.2 Liquids penetration along hydrophilic thread and colour display on thread Liquid penetration along the hydrophilic thread was investigated to understand the relationship between the volume of liquid introduced onto thread and the liquid penetration distance along thread Four pieces of threads were fixed in parallel onto a supporting film Magenta ink solutions of different volume (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 µL) were introduced onto each thread using a micropipette (Eppendorf Research® 0.1 – 2.5 µL) and penetrated along thread with different WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) 238 Sustainable Chemistry distance (Figure 3a) A calibration curve (Figure 3b) from six independent measurements shows that the liquid penetration length almost linearly correlates to the liquid volume (when volume ≤ 0.4 µL) This correlation became curved as the liquid volume increased beyond 0.4 µL The near-linear section of the calibration curve suggests that the ink “concentration” on the thread (i.e the amount of dye molecules on each unit length of thread) is constant and is independent on the ink volume This indicates that a semi-quantitative analysis can still be performed on µTADs even without precise liquid-handling instrument (as long as sample volume ≤ 0.4 µL) To further prove this prediction, three parallel sets of µTADs were fabricated and each µTAD has four detection zones vertically arranged from top to bottom (Figure 4a) Ink solutions of 0.1 µL of different concentrations (1.56%, 6.25%, 25%, and 100%) were added to µTAD (the left set) Similarly, ink solutions of 0.2 µL were added to µTAD (the middle set) and those of 0.4 µL were added to µTAD (the right set) The adding sequence is shown in Figure 4a The penetration length of 0.1 µL ink solution is about mm; for ink solutions of C 1s Spectra Cellulose (f ilterpaper) Cotton thread (untreated) Intensity (normalised cps) Cotton thread (plasmatreated) O–C–O C=O C–O C–C C–H O–C=O 292 290 288 286 284 282 Binding Energy (eV) Figure 2: XPS results of the untreated (hydrophobic) thread and plasmatreated (hydrophilic) thread Filter paper is used as the control sample for cellulose WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) Sustainable Chemistry b a 35 y = -18.432x2 + 50.702x + 2.2556 R2 = 0.9999 30 Distance (mm) 239 25 20 15 10 cm 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 Volume (L) Figure 3: (a) Ink penetration on hydrophilic thread Ink solutions of different amount (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 L) are introduced onto four pieces of thread from top to bottom; (b) the average ink penetration length obtained from six repeated tests using a Vernier caliper b a 0.1 µL 0.2 µL 0.4 µL 1.56% 6.25% 25% 100% mm Figure 4: (a) Colour display of different ink solutions on sets of TADs The volume of ink is 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 L, respectively (from left to right); the concentration of ink is 1.56%, 6.25%, 25% and 100%, respectively (from top to bottom); (b) The average ± s.d colour intensity of each observation zone is obtained from six independent tests larger volume, the extra amount of solution penetrates along thread to the back side of polymer film and cannot be seen For each µTAD, the colour of ink solution varies from weak to strong as ink concentration increases However, the colour of ink solution of same concentration and different volume has negligible variation which is proved by colour intensity measurement For each detection zone, a fixed rectangle area is set to encompass the zone and the mean colour intensity of the selected area is analyzed Six independent measurements performed provide the average ± standard deviation (s.d.) data of colour intensity (Figure 4b) The results show that the average colour intensity is consistent for ink solution of different volume and same concentration; the small standard deviation indicates that thread is a good substrate for colour display WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) 240 Sustainable Chemistry 3.3 Semi-quantitative measurement of NO2‾ using µTADs and cheap liquid dosing tool Since the colour intensity of sample solutions spotted on µTADs is not affected by the sample volume (volume ≤ 0.4 µL), semi-quantitative assays can be performed even if high precision liquid-handling instrument is unavailable A household sewing needle was used in this work as a simple means to spot liquids We found that by rapidly dipping the needle eye into liquids, it can pick up liquid of 0.22 ± 0.04 µL (average ± s.d., 12 repeats) after moving out from the solution This small volume variation does not cause a significant colorimetric error for the reasons discussed above Water and 70% ethanol were used to wash and disinfect the needle eye for repeated use b 40 Mean Intensity a mm y = -4E-05x2 + 0.072x + 0.2228 R2 = 0.9964 30 20 10 0 200 400 600 800 1000 [Nitrite], M Figure 5: (a) NO2‾ sample solutions of different concentration (0, 125, 250, 500, and 1000 M) were added using needle eye onto TAD from left to right NO2‾ triggered different colour changes on each detection zone; (b) semi-quantitative results of the relationship between NO2‾ concentration and colour intensity (n=6) Nitrite (NO2‾) was used as an analyte to demonstrate the feasibility of using µTADs and cheap sample dosing tool to perform semi-quantitative analysis The hydrophilic thread was soaked in NO2‾ indicator solution and then dried in oven (60˚C) for min; the indicator-treated thread was sewn onto a polymer film to fabricate µTAD (procedure in Figure 1) containing five detection zones for colorimetric measurement Five standard NO2‾ solutions (0, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 µM) were introduced onto each detection zone (from left to right) using the needle eye and caused different colour development from colourless to pink of different shades (Figure 5a) The NO2‾concentration calibration curve can be obtained through colorimetric analysis of those detection zones with the average ± s.d data of colour intensity from six independent tests on six µTADs Therefore, µTADs, together with cheap liquid-handling tool, can be used as new low-cost, low-volume and easy-to-use analytical platform for health or environmental care in developing and remote regions with limited resources; and the users only need to get basic training for utilizing them WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) Sustainable Chemistry 241 3.4 Blood grouping using thread-based platform To investigate the feasibility of using antibody-treated threads as blood grouping platform, three types of thread (thread treated with anti-A, anti-B and anti-D, respectively) were immobilized in folded polypropylene films with lodging slits to aid testing, and a micropipette (Eppendorf researchđ 0.12.5 àL) was used to dose whole-blood sample of µL onto each thread If red blood cells (RBCs) have haemagglutination reaction with the antibody deposited on thread, a separation band can be seen on thread The separation distance is around mm (similar length to a standard “stitch” found on a shirt cuff), and is therefore easily visible by unaided human eye Typically, results became observable within of sample dosing, making the test quite rapid compared to some existing techniques Identifying a person’s ABO and Rh blood type requires three tests, two for A and B antigens to determine ABO grouping, and a further test for D antigen to verify Rh grouping A results-matrix (Table 2) aids in the interpretation of results Table 2: Results-matrix for blood grouping interpretation Tick indicates a positive result (separation occurs); crosses indicate a negative result (no separation) Identifying the agglutination of RBCs using thread has a unique advantage: large and discrete particles in a suspension system undergo a phase separation from the continuous liquid phase in the narrow capillary channels As wholeblood sample penetrates through the inter-fibre gaps of the antibody-treated threads, blood serum will dissolve the antibody molecules on the fibre surface If antibodies bond to the specific binding sites on the antigens of adjacent RBCs (i.e the haemagglutination reaction happens), the aggregation of RBCs by the antibody molecules leads to the formation of significantly larger particles that cannot be stably suspended in the serum phase As the sample penetrates along thread, the size of the particles increases and the agglutinated RBCs cannot contribute to the capillary driving force required for the blood sample to continue penetrating forward Instead, the agglutinated RBCs can only be carried by the serum to move forward In this situation agglutinated RBCs will be gradually left behind from the serum penetration front Furthermore, agglutinated RBCs in the inter-fibre channels may act as a “filter” which permits serum to pass, but prevents agglutinated RBCs from passing This causes the separation of agglutinated RBCs from the serum phase and the separation is visually WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) 242 Sustainable Chemistry identifiable by the appearance of a pale pink coloured band between the agglutinated RBCs and dry antibody residue, as seen in Figure 6a, 6c In the case where the deposited antibody does not react with the antigen of RBCs, no separation is visually detectable (as seen for type O- blood in Figure 6d-f) Anti ‐ A a Anti ‐ B No Separation Separation A+ e B3 d No Separation O‐ Figure 6: Anti ‐ D c b Separation f No Separation No Separation Proof of concept tests with samples of whole blood of type A+ and O- on antibody-treated polyester threads Columns show results on threads treated with anti-A, anti-B and anti-D from left to right; rows show the results for the different blood types as labelled on the left 3.5 Storage stability of the devices Referring to the ultimate practical application of the µTADs, it is important that these devices must be stable for a certain period (e.g one month or longer) to become commercialized products for consumers In this study, µTADs fabricated for semi-quantitative NO2‾ detection were stored in a light-tight container in a desiccator at room temperature The performance of µTADs showed no deterioration after weeks, indicating that these low-cost and easy-to-use µTADs have sufficient shelf life for practical use The efficacy of the thread-based platform for blood grouping was investigated after a week storage period Two sets of antibody-treated threads were stored in microtubes wrapped in foil; one at 4°C the other at ambient temperature All tests showed the correct grouping, suggesting that the device could be stored for a moderate period of time without degrading if sealed in airtight and light-proof packaging Conclusion Thread, a cheap and widely available material, was used in this study to fabricate low-cost microfluidic analytical devices; the analytical capabilities of these devices were studied in detail The hydrophobic natural cotton threads can be surface modified using plasma treatment into hydrophilic threads, allowing the WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) Sustainable Chemistry 243 transport of aqueous liquids via capillary driving force Threads as liquid transport channels not rely on physical or chemical barriers, enabling µTADs to transport low surface tension liquids such as organic solvents or oil, which may not be possible for some paper-based microfluidic channels Threads are white and stainable, making them suitable for color display Semi-quantitative tests of analytes can be rapidly and easily performed on µTADs through colorimetric reaction using the non-precision household liquid handling items such as sewing needle which are also available in resource-limited regions Based on this principle the concentration of NO2‾ (a biomarker for indicating some human diseases) in aqueous samples has been successfully measured Thread was further used as a porous substrate for blood grouping in this work, which requires only whole blood of small amount (e.g ~ µL for ABO blood grouping) and eliminates the need for the end user to either handle other testing reagents or perform sample dilutions Although only ABO and Rh/D blood groups were tested in this study, it is expected that the platform could easily be extended to identify other groups of interest that follow similar antibody/antigen interactions All these µTADs and thread-based blood grouping system prototyped are simple and robust enough to be employed by the end user without assistance They are portable, disposable, can be easily preserved and maintain a low cost of construction, making them attractive for diagnostics and point of care testing especially in remote and developing regions Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the kind blood donors: Mr Scot Sharman, Mr Henri Kröling; as well as Ms Lisa Collison of the Monash University Health Service for collecting blood donations The authors also thank Dr Lijing Wang of the School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University, for kindly providing thread samples The research scholarships of Monash University and the Department of Chemical Engineering are gratefully acknowledged The Postgraduate Research Travel Grant from Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS) and the New Speakers Contest prize from Appita are also appreciatively acknowledged for supporting the prospective conference participation References [1] West, J., Becker, M., Tombrink, S & Manz, A., Micro total analysis systems: latest achievements Analytical Chemistry, 80(12), pp 4403–4419, 2008 [2] Zhao, W & van den Berg, A., Lab on paper Lab on a Chip, 8(12), pp 1988–1991, 2008 [3] Martinez, A.W., Phillips, S.T., Butte, M.J & Whitesides, G.M., Patterned paper as a platform for inexpensive, low-volume, portable bioassays Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 46(8), pp 1318–1320, 2007 WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) 244 Sustainable Chemistry [4] Abe, K., Suzuki, K & Citterio, D., Inkjet-printed microfluidic multianalyte chemical sensing paper Analytical Chemistry, 80(18), pp 6928–6934, 2008 [5] Li, X., Tian, J., Nguyen, T & Shen, W., Paper-based microfluidic devices by plasma treatment Analytical Chemistry, 80(23), pp 9131–9134, 2008 [6] Li, X., Tian, J., Garnier, G & Shen, W., Fabrication of paper-based microfluidic sensors by printing Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 76(2), pp 564–570, 2010 [7] Dungchai, W., Chailapakul, O & Henry, C.S., Electrochemical detection for paper-based microfluidics Analytical Chemistry, 81(14), pp 5821– 5826, 2009 [8] Hossain, S.M.Z., Luckham, R.E., McFadden, M.J & Brennan, J.D., Reagentless bidirectional lateral flow bioactive paper sensors for detection of pesticides in beverage and food samples Analytical Chemistry, 81(21), pp 9055–9064, 2009 [9] Li, X., Tian, J & Shen, W., Quantitative biomarker assay with microfluidic paper-based analytical devices Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 396(1), pp 495–501, 2010 [10] Li, X., Tian, J & Shen, W., Thread as a versatile material for low-cost microfluidic diagnostics ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2(1), pp 1– 6, 2010 [11] Wakelyn, P.J., Cotton Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp 19–20, 2000 [12] Blicharz, T.M., Rissin, D.M., Bowden, M., Hayman, R.B., DiCesare, C., Bhatia, J.S., Grand-Pierre, N., Siqueira, W.L., Helmerhorst, E.J., Loscalzo, J., Oppenheim, F.G & Walt, D.R., Use of colorimetric test strips for monitoring the effect of hemodialysis on salivary nitrite and uric acid in patients with end-stage renal disease: a proof of principle Clinical Chemistry, 54(9), pp 1473–1480, 2008 [13] Daniels, G & Reid, M.E., Blood groups: the past 50 years Transfusion, 50(2), pp 281–289, 2010 [14] Sun, J., Zhang, X., Broderick, M & Fein, H., Measurement of nitric oxide production in biological systems by using Griess reaction assay, Sensors, 3(8), pp 276–284, 2003 [15] Nisbet, D.R., Pattanawong, S., Ritchie, N.E., Shen, W., Finkelstein, D.I., Horne, M.K & Forsythe, J.S., Interaction of embryonic cortical neurons on nanofibrous scaffolds for neural tissue engineering Journal of Neural Engineering, 4(2), pp 35, 2007 [16] Vazquez, G., Alvarez, E & Navaza, J.M., Surface tension of alcohol + water from 20 to 50 °C Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 40(3), pp 611–614, 1995 WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) Sustainable Chemistry 245 Author Index Abe H 51 Aelterman W 11 Apaer P 187, 199 Hada K 61 Held A 167 Idczak F 61 Ballerini D 233 Barbosa L 177 Ben Soltane H 141 Bergmans B 61 Cappuyns V 213 Cardoso E M 225 Chamrai D 39 Chen Q 187, 199 Chiodo A 155 Costa J 177 Couturier J L 141 Crispim A 177 de Clippel F 129 De Luca P 155 Delaunay D 141 Delerue-Matos C 177 Dewulf J 11 Dhaler D 141 Domon M 199 Dormann M 61 Dusselier M 129 Eckert C A 21 Filho I N 225 Fischmeister C 141 Freitas O M 177 Fujiwara I 199 Geboers J 129 Goderis B 129 Gommes C J 129 Gonỗalves M P 177 Gui L 199 Guo X 187 Jacobs P A 129 Kamiya H 71 Keraani A 141 Kirihara S 103 Kogure N 71 Kondo A 51 Kurokawa H 187 Lenggoro W 71 Li X 233 Liotta C L 21 Lovatel E R 225 Luyten J 93 Maezono T 187, 199 Makino H 83 Mitsumura N 187, 199 Mullens S 93 Nagy J B 155 Naito M 51 Nakazawa H 117 Nasser G 141 Niida D 199 Niki T 103 Noda N 83 Ohta N 103 Peng L 129 Petitjean S 61 Pollet P 21 Ponnusamy E 33 Qian Q 187 246 Sustainable Chemistry Rabiller-Baudry M 141 Reniers G L L Renouard T 141 Ricci M 167 Rocha C 177 Roizard D 141 Santoro A 167 Schaerlaekens K 11 Sekizawa T 71 Sels B F 129 Shen W 233 Snijkers F 93 Sörensen K Steyls D 61 Stouthuyzen P 11 Szymanski W W 71 Tasaki S 103 Tian J 233 Tsukada M 71 Tumba-Tshilumba M F 167 Uehara Y 103 Van Broeck P 11 Van de Vyver S 129 Van der Vorst G 11 Van Langenhove H 11 Van Noyen J 93 Van Tendeloo G 129 Vanderheyden B 61 Wada M 71 Walraedt S 11 Wang Q 187, 199 Wang Y 199 Vieceli N C 225 Vosch T 129 Yamada M 71 Yamaguchi N 199 Yuping Y 71 Zhang L 129 This page intentionally left blank .for scientists by scientists The Sustainable City VI Urban Regeneration and Sustainability Edited by: C.A BREBBIA, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK, S HERNÁNDEZ, University of La Coruña, Spain and E TIEZZI, University of Siena, Italy Urban areas produce a series of environmental problems arising from the consumption of natural resources and the consequent generation of waste and pollution These problems contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances All these problems, that continue to grow in our society, require the development of new solutions The Sustainable City 2010 follows five very successful meetings held in Rio (2000); Segovia (2002); Siena (2004); Tallinn (2006) and Skiathos (2008) The Conferences attracted a substantial number of contributions from participants from different backgrounds and countries The variety of backgrounds and experiences is one of the main reasons behind the success of the series The papers from the 2010 conference are published under the following topics: Planning, Development and Management; Landscape Planning and Design, The Community and the City; Urban Strategies; Urban-Rural Relationships; Architectural Issues; Cultural Heritage Issues; Waste Management; Case Studies; Environmental Management; and Energy Issues WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 129 ISBN: 978-1-84564-432-1 eISBN: 978-1-84564-433-8 Published 2010 / 752pp / £286.00 WIT Press is a major publisher of engineering research The company prides itself on producing books by leading researchers and scientists at the cutting edge of their specialities, thus enabling readers to remain at the forefront of scientific developments Our list presently includes monographs, edited volumes, books on disk, and software in areas such as: Acoustics, Advanced Computing, Architecture and Structures, Biomedicine, Boundary Elements, Earthquake Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, Fracture Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Marine and Offshore Engineering and Transport Engineering for scientists by scientists Food and Environment The Quest for a Sustainable Future Edited by: V POPOV and C.A BREBBIA, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK The many advances in food production over the past century have made it possible to feed the whole of humanity But food production and processing can have detrimental effects on the environment Major challenges remain with industrial-scale farming Higher productivity and larger volumes should not come at the expense of product quality or animal suffering Despite their importance, the consequences of food-related problems have not been sufficiently considered It is essential to understand the impact that food production processes and the demands of rising living standards can have on the food consumed daily by the world’s people Of particular importance are the effects on human health and the well-being of the population, as well as the more general issues related to possible damage to the environment and ecology This book includes contributions presented at the first international conference convened to examine these challenges Topics include; Food Processing Issues; Contamination of Food; Pharmaceuticals in Food; Obesity-Related Issues; Pesticides and Nutrients; Hormonal Effects; Food and Fecundity; Genetic Engineering; Freezing and Thawing; Heavy Metals; Pathogens; Salination Problems; Desertification; Transportation Problems; Traceability; Threshold Values; Modern Farming; Changing Climate; Laws and Regulations; Epidemiological Studies; Water Resources Problems; and Animal Welfare The book will be of interest to food scientists and nutritionists, as well as agricultural, ecological, and environmental health experts interested in all these challenges WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 152 ISBN: 978-1-84564-554-0 eISBN: 978-1-84564-555-7 2011 / 256pp / £110.00 .for scientists by scientists Sustainable Development and Planning V Edited by: C.A BREBBIA, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK This book contains the proceedings of the latest in a series of biennial conferences on the topic of sustainable regional development that began in 2003 Organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology, the conference series provides a common forum for all scientists specialising in the range of subjects included within sustainable development and planning It has become apparent that planners, environmentalists, architects, engineers, policy makers, and economists have to work together in order to ensure that planning and development can meet our present needs without compromising future generations The topics covered by the papers included in the book include: City planning; Regional planning; Social and political issues; Sustainability in the built environment; Rural developments; Cultural heritage; Transportation; Ecosystems analysis, protection and remediation; Environmental management; Environmental impact assessment; Indicators of sustainability; Sustainable solutions in developing countries; Sustainable tourism; Waste management; Flood risk management; Resources management; and Industrial developments WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 150 ISBN: 978-1-84564-544-1 eISBN: 978-1-84564-548-5 Forthcoming 2011 / apx 900pp / apx £342.00 All prices correct at time of going to press but subject to change WIT Press books are available through your bookseller or direct from the publisher for scientists by scientists Energy and Sustainability III Edited by: Y VILLACAMPA, University of Alicante, Spain, C.A BREBBIA, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK and A.A MAMMOLI, University of New Mexico, USA It has been clear for some time that the way in which our society exists, operates, and develops is strongly influenced by the way in which energy is produced and consumed No industrial process can proceed without an adequate energy supply, and without industrial production, society lacks the commodities on which it depends Our energy systems have evolved over a long period and continue evolving in response to the needs of both Industry and Society This evolution involves technological development and innovation, especially now that we need to look beyond simple fuel combustion as a source of energy and consider both greater efficiency in the use of energy and new ways of producing it The Third International Conference convened on the subject is the latest in a biennial series that brings together experts from around the world Their papers, contained in this book, will include research on: Renewable Energy Technologies; Energy Management; Energy Policies; Energy and the Environment; Energy Analysis; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage and Management; Conversion Process for Biomass and Biofuels; CO Sequestration and Storage WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 143 ISBN: 978-1-84564-508-3 eISBN: 978-1-84564-509-0 2011 / 528pp / £227.00 WITPress Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7AA, UK Tel: 44 (0) 238 029 3223 Fax: 44 (0) 238 029 2853 E-Mail: witpress@witpress.com ... at Sustainable Chemistry are archived in the WIT elibrary in volume 154 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1743-3541) The WIT electronic-library provides the international... scheduling and planning of the supply WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on- line) Sustainable Chemistry chain is therefore... conception of the environment – Competitiveness Relationship, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(4), p 97-118 WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 154, © 2011 WIT Press www.witpress.com,