The effect of the adsorption of 5-mercaptopentyl-3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (MPATA) on the corrosive behavior of brass (Cu80/Zn20) in neutral (pH 7.4) borate buffer solutions with and without 0.01 M NaCl was studied. Electrochemical methods show significant decrease of the anodic and cathodic currents on the polarization curves in the presence of MPATA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals MPATA adsorption on the brass surface from an inhibitor solution. After 17 h of exposure, a mixed complex [CuxZnyMPATAz] with a thickness of about 3–3.5 nm is formed on the surface. This nanolayer has sufficient protective ability to withstand corrosion tests in a salt fog chamber: after 5 days of testing, the samples remain glossy and less than 1% of the surface has been damaged. After corrosion tests in a salt fog chamber, the surface of unprotected samples is enriched with zinc, while at the surface of inhibitor-treated samples, the copper and zinc are present in practically equal contents.
In the modern world, complications caused by disorders in the blood coagulation system are found in almost all areas of medicine. Thus, the development of new, more advanced drugs that can prevent pathological conditions without disrupting normal hemostasis is an urgent task. The blood coagulation factor XIIa is one of the most promising therapeutic targets for the development of anticoagulants based on its inhibitors. The initial stage of drug development is directly related to computational methods of searching for a lead compound. In this study, docking followed by quantum chemical calculations was used to search for noncovalent low-molecular-weight factor XIIa inhibitors in a focused library of druglike compounds. As a result of the study, four low-molecular-weight compounds were experimentally confirmed as factor XIIa inhibitors. Selectivity testing revealed that two of the identified factor XIIa inhibitors were selective over the coagulation factors Xa and XIa.
The protective effect of 3-mercaptoalkyl derivatives of 5-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazole against corrosion of α-brass in a chloride media was studied using polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and full-scale corrosion testing. The brass electrode remains passive up to the activation potential, which is much higher than in solutions without organic additives, and it increases with the concentration of the inhibitor. The protection degree of all the studied inhibitors reaches its maximum of over 99% in solutions with the concentration of the inhibitor Cinh ≥ 0.10 mM. The protective effect increases with the length of the alkyl chain. All the studied derivatives are effective against atmospheric corrosion of α-brass. A protective film is formed on the brass surface, and it most probably includes oxides as well as complex compounds of zinc and copper with the molecules of the inhibitors. The impedance spectroscopy demonstrated that the presence of the inhibitor results in a decrease in the double-layer capacitance and an increase in the polarization resistance, which proves that the protective film actually forms on the brass surface. The quantum chemical analysis of the optimized molecular structures demonstrates that all the studied inhibitors should have a similar protective effect, which agrees with the experimental results.