Ana M. Ferreira

Critical Assessment of the Formation of Ionic-Liquid-Based Aqueous Two-Phase Systems in Acidic Media

In this work, the ability of Na(2)SO(4) and ionic liquids to induce the formation of acidic aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) is investigated. Ternary phase diagrams, tie lines, and tie-line lengths for several systems were determined and reported at 298 K and atmospheric pressure. It is here shown that among the ionic liquids studied only those containing long alkyl side chains at the ions and/or anions with low hydrogen bond basicity are capable of undergoing liquid-liquid demixing in the presence of Na(2)SO(4) aqueous solutions. The results obtained indicate that, besides the salting-out ability of the inorganic salt, the pH of the aqueous solution plays a crucial role toward the formation of ionic-liquid-based ATPS. In acidic media the range of ionic liquids that are able to undergo ATPS formation is substantially reduced when compared to alkaline aqueous salt solutions. The use of inorganic salts and ionic liquids to promote acidic ATPS is envisaged as particularly valuable in the extraction of compounds that exhibit low acid dissociation constants.

Enhanced extraction of caffeine from guaraná seeds using aqueous solutions of ionic liquids

The extraction of caffeine from bioresources using more benign and cost-effective processes is of fundamental relevance towards the finding of alternative (bio)pesticides. Classically, the best attempts to extract caffeine from biomass have resulted in low efficiency and in a large consumption of hazardous organic solvents and/or energy requirements. Here, we report an enhanced and selective extraction of caffeine from guarana (Paullinia cupana, Sapindaceae) seeds using aqueous solutions of ionic liquids. Several ionic liquids composed of imidazolium or pyrrolidinium cations combined with the chloride, acetate and tosylate anions were investigated. Furthermore, the effect of the cation alkyl side chain length and the presence of functionalized groups were also addressed. Additional conditions such as the ionic liquid concentration, the contact time, the solid–liquid ratio and temperature were further optimized by a response surface methodology. Outstanding extraction yields (up to 9 wt% of caffeine per guarana dry weight) were obtained at a moderate temperature and in a short-time. The recyclability and reusability of the ionic liquids were also confirmed. For the first time it is shown that aqueous solutions of ionic liquids are superior alternatives for the solid–liquid extraction of caffeine from biomass samples and, as a result, the development of an ionic-liquid-based process is straightforwardly envisaged.

Highly Linear Integrated Optical Transmitter for Subcarrier Multiplexed Systems

A highly linear optical transmitter for radio-over-fiber subcarrier-multiplexed systems is presented. An integrated dual Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) is utilized to combine an optical carrier suppressed signal with an optical carrier. The proposed transmitter enables more than 10-dB improvement in the carrier-to-interference ratio compared to a quadrature biased MZM, and similar results to low biased MZM considering similar insertion loss. Negligible radio-frequency power dependence with temperature-induced bias drift is reported, while the low biased MZM is penalized by more than 12 dB for a 15% bias drift. The proposed transmitter reduces the minimum error vector magnitude from 4.2% to 3.5%, when compared to quadrature biased MZM, for a 54-Mb/s orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexed signal.

Improving the extraction and purification of immunoglobulin G by the use of ionic liquids as adjuvants in aqueous biphasic systems.

Immunoglobulins G (IgG) could become widespread biopharmaceuticals if cost-efficient processes for their extraction and purification are available. In this work, aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of polyethylene glycols and a buffered salt, and with ionic liquids (ILs) as adjuvants, have been studied as alternative extraction and purification platforms of IgG from a rabbit serum source. Eleven ILs were investigated to provide insights on the chemical features which maximize the IgG partitioning. It is shown that in polymer-salt systems pure IgG preferentially partitions to the polymer-rich phase; yet, the complete extraction was never attained. Remarkably, after the addition of 5wt% of adequate ILs to polymer-salt ABS, the complete extraction of pure IgG in a single-step was accomplished. The best systems and conditions were then applied to the extraction and purification of IgG directly from rabbit serum samples. The complete extraction of IgG in a single-step was maintained while its purity in the polymer-rich phase was enhanced by ca. 37% as compared to the IL-free ABS. The antibody stability was also evaluated revealing that appropriate ILs are able to maintain the IgG stability and can be used as phase-forming components of ABS when envisaging the purification of high-cost biopharmaceuticals.

Enhanced tunability afforded by aqueous biphasic systems formed by fluorinated ionic liquids and carbohydrates

This work unveils the formation of novel aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) formed by perfluoroalkylsulfonate-based ionic liquids (ILs) and a large number of carbohydrates (monosaccharides, disaccharides and polyols) aiming at establishing more benign alternatives to the salts commonly used. The respective ternary phase diagrams were determined at 298 K. The aptitude of the carbohydrates to induce phase separation closely follows their hydration capability, while the length of the IL cation/anion fluorinated chain also plays a crucial role. Finally, these systems were investigated as liquid-liquid extraction strategies for four food dyes. Single-step extraction efficiencies for the carbohydrate-rich phase up to 94% were obtained. Remarkably and contrarily to the most investigated IL-salt ABS, most dyes preferentially migrate for the most hydrophilic and biocompatible carbohydrate-rich phase - an outstanding advantage when envisaging the products recovery and further use. On the other hand, more hydrophobic dyes preferentially partition to the IL-rich phase, disclosing therefore these novel systems as highly amenable to be tuned by the proper choice of the phase-forming components.

40-Gb/s Multichannel NRZ to CSRZ Format Conversion Using an SOA

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Mitigation of chromatic dispersion effects on optical single sideband signals by Butterworth filtering

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Switchable (pH-driven) aqueous biphasic systems formed by ionic liquids as integrated production–separation platforms

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Designing the thermal behaviour of aqueous biphasic systems composed of ammonium-based zwitterions

We present a study on the application of electrical dispersion compensation on optical single sideband signals using Butterworth filters, which are optimized for this purpose. Three schemes are studied: pre-equalization, post-equalization and dual-equalization.

Enhanced extraction and biological activity of 7-hydroxymatairesinol obtained from Norway spruce knots using aqueous solutions of ionic liquids

The ability to induce reversible transitions between homogeneous solutions and biphasic systems is of paramount relevance in separation processes. In this context, pH-triggered aqueous biphasic systems composed of ionic liquids and salts are here disclosed as switchable mono/biphasic systems, and their potential application further demonstrated through an intregated aproach comprising both the production and separation of hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose.