Volume 67, Issue 5

The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesised and the influence of the type of porogen, the nature of sample solvent, and the binding capacity of material were tested by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Umbelliferone was used as the template for imprint formation. Methacrylic acid was used as the monomer and acetonitrile, ethanol, and chloroform as porogen. Non-imprinted polymers (NIPs) were prepared by the same procedure. The highest value of the specific binding capacity (269 μg of umbelliferone per 100 mg of polymer) was obtained for polymers prepared in chloroform as porogen and methanol/water (φ r = 1: 1) as the sample solvent. The group-selective MIP was used as sorbent for the SPE pre-treatment of umbelliferone from plant extracts prior to HPLC analysis. Analysis of the spiked samples showed good recoveries (> 77 %). The limit of detection, limit of determination, and repeatability of the method were also calculated.

Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. Hydroxyl radical is the oxidative species most commonly causing damage to cells. The aim of this work was to optimize the method for antioxidant activity determination on a model lipophilic geranylated flavanone, diplacone. This method uses protection of plasmid DNA from oxidation by a hydroxyl radical generated by the Fenton reaction involving oxidation of metal ions using H2O2 and ascorbate. The method was optimized for lipophilic compounds using several solvents and co-solvents. It was found that (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (0.1 mass % aq. sol.) is the best co-solvent for our model lipophilic compound to measure the antioxidant activity by the method presented. Other solvents, namely dimethyl sulfoxide, Cremophor EL® (0.1 mass % aq. sol.), ethanol, and methanol, were not suitable for the determination of the antioxidant activity by the method described. Tween 80 (0.1 mass % aq. sol.) and a mixture of 10 vol. % ethanol and 9 mass % bovine serum albumin (aq. sol.) significantly decreased the antioxidant activity of the model lipophilic compound and thus were not suitable for this method.

The condensation reaction of o-phenylenediamine and arylaldehydes was investigated in the presence of nanosized sulfated zirconia (SO42−-ZrO2) as the solid acid catalyst. Nanosized SO42−-ZrO2 was prepared and characterized by the XRD, FT-IR, and SEM techniques. The results confirm good stabilization of the tetragonal phase of zirconia in the presence of sulfate. Reusability experiments showed partial deactivation of the catalyst after each run; good reusability can be achieved after calcinations of the recovered catalyst before its reuse.

This study’s main objective was the development of effective low-cost sorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The influence of different factors on the sorption capacity of ash and modified ash as low-cost sorbents obtained by different methods was investigated. The synthesis of new ash-based materials was carried out at ambient temperature (20°C), 70°C, and 90°C, respectively, in an alkaline medium with NaOH concentrations of 2 M and 5 M, respectively, corresponding to a mixture with solid/liquid ratios of 1: 3 and 1: 5, respectively. The prepared materials (sorbents) were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), X-ray diffraction, and BET surface measurement. Adsorption isotherms were determined using the batch equilibrium method. The results showed that these types of new materials displayed a good capacity to remove copper, nickel, and lead ions (29.97 mg of Cu2+ per g of sorbent, 303 mg of Ni2+ per g of sorbent, and 1111 mg of Pb2+ per g of sorbent) from aqueous solutions. The modified materials were prepared using an alkaline attack (a recognised method used in previous studies), but Romanian ash from a thermal power plant was studied for the above purpose for the first time. Hence, the factors which affect the sorption capacity of the prepared low-cost sorbents were determined and their behaviour was explained, taking into account the composition and structure of the new materials.

The reduction of pyruvic acid in near-critical water has successfully been conducted under conditions of various temperatures, pressures, reaction time and the presence of formic acid as the reducing agent. In this work, additives (K2CO3, KHCO3, and sodium acetate) used in the reduction of pyruvic acid were also investigated. The results showed that by adding K2CO3 (25 mole %) a markedly higher lactic acid yield (70.7 %) was obtained than without additives (31.3 %) at 573.15 K, pressure of 8.59 MPa, 60 min, and in the presence of 2 mol L−1 formic acid. As a base catalyst, K2CO3 definitely accelerated the reduction of pyruvic acid. The reaction rate constants, average apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor were evaluated in accordance with the Arrhenius equation. The reaction mechanism of the reduction was proposed on the basis of the experimental results.

The rapid expansion of a supercritical solution (RESS) process represents an attractive prospect for producing sub-micron and nano-particles of medical compounds with low solubility. The solubility of phenacetin in supercritical carbon dioxide was measured by the analytical-isothermal method at pressures ranging from 9.0 MPa to 30.0 MPa and temperatures ranging from 308.0 K to 328.0 K. The results show that the mole fraction solubility of phenacetin in supercritical carbon dioxide is up to 10−5. Four density-based semi-empirical models were introduced to correlate the experimental data. Agreement between the model predictions and experimental data is greater with the Adachi-Lu-modified Chrastil model than with the Chrastil model, Méndez-Santiago-Teja model, and the Bartle model and the average absolute relative deviation (AARD) observed is 0.0483. The preparation of fine phenacetin particles by the RESS process under different conditions of extraction temperatures (308.0–328.0 K), extraction pressures (9.0–30.0 MPa), nozzle temperatures (373.0–393.0 K), nozzle diameters (0.1–0.8 mm), and collection distance (20.0–40.0 mm) was investigated. The size and morphology of the resultant particles were analysed by SEM. A remarkable modification in size and morphology can be obtained by condition-optimisation.

A very simple, cost-effective, chloride- and alkali-free, carbonate co-precipitation synthesis in aqueous medium was applied in the preparation of perovskite-type lanthanum manganese oxide-based powders, i.e. La0.70Sr0.30MnO3−δ (LSM) and La0.75Sr0.25Cr0.5Mn0.5O3−δ (LSCrM). The precursors so obtained yielded nano-structured perovskite oxides when treated at 900°C and 800°C, respectively. The measured BET surface areas were in the low-end range for high temperature oxides (4 m2 g−1 and 10 m2 g−1) but the X-ray crystallite size was as low as 50 nm for LSCrM and 90 nm for LSM.

β-amide ketones were synthesised by a three-component one-pot reaction of phenylacetylene, aldehydes, and amides in anhydrous acetonitrile containing trifluoroacetic acid and acetic acid in the presence of AlCl3 catalyst. The title compound structures were identified by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, and elemental analysis.

The deprotonation of 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one (naringenin) was studied in aqueous solutions of ethanol and 0.1 mol L−1 sodium perchlorate at 25°C. The chemical species that contributed to deprotonation were evaluated together with their pure spectral characteristics and concentration profiles by some chemometric methods. The deprotonation constants assigned by pK 1, pK 2, and pK 3 were determined by multivariate curve analysis of spectral data at different pcH values. The pure spectral analysis concordant with the theoretical prediction of deprotonation constants indicates that the acidity of hydroxyl groups in naringenin decreases in the order: 7-OH, 4′-OH, 5-OH. The effects of the solvent on deprotonation were analysed in terms of the linear solvation energy relationships using the model of Kamlet, Abboud, and Taft (KAT). Multiple linear regressions were aimed towards correlating the deprotonation constants with the microscopic parameters containing hydrogen-bond acidity (α), dipolarity/polarisability (π*), and hydrogen-bond basicity (β). The most significant parameter was found to be the hydrogen-bond acidity of binary mixtures.

Double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy in orthogonal configuration was used for the analysis of twelve samples of volcanic glass. Raw material and artifact samples originated from Czech, Slovak, German, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, and Ukrainian sites. The primary 266 nm laser beam was focused onto a sample area of about 0.1 mm in diameter at the optimised energy of 10 mJ resulting in only very slight sample damage, almost unrecognizable even by a microscope. The secondary 1064 nm laser beam, positioned parallel to the sample surface and focused onto the intersection with the primary beam, induced a spark with enhanced radiation at the optimised energy of 100 mJ. Measurement of emission lines selected on basis of chemical composition, signal intensity, signal-to-background ratio, and minimum interference from the surrounding spectra: Si(I) 288.16 nm, Mg(II) 279.55 nm, 280.27 nm, Mg(I) 285.21 nm, Ca(II) 317.93 nm, Na(I) 589.59 nm, Al(I) 308.22 nm, Fe(II) 259.94 nm, Ti(II) 334.94 nm, Sr(II) 407.77 nm, Ba(II) 455.40 nm, K(I) 769.90 nm, provided experimental data sufficiently sensitive to differentiate the properties of the studied samples. Rare earth elements were not detected even though the double pulse technique is more sensitive than the single pulse variant. Visualisation methods of multidimensional statistical analyses such as radar chart, Chernoff faces, scatterplots, and the Spearman correlation matrix provided successful differentiation of the sample groups and/or particular samples by their origin.

A multivariate QSAR study with a set of 34 p-aminosalicylic acid derivatives, described as neuraminidase inhibitors of the H1N1 viruses, is presented in this work. The variable selection was performed with the Ordered Predictors Selection (OPS) algorithm and the model was built with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression method. Leave-N-out cross-validation and y-randomization tests showed that the model was robust and free from chance correlation. The external predictive ability was superior to the 3D-QSAR model previously published. Moreover, it was possible to perform a mechanistic interpretation, where the descriptors referred directly to the mechanism of interaction with the neuraminidase.

Benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid sanguilutine was extracted and purified from the dried roots of Sanguinaria canadensis. The interaction of the positively charged iminium form of alkaloid with double-stranded DNA oligonucleotides was studied using luminescence spectroscopy. The results showed that the interaction with various double-stranded oligonucleotides was not specific to A-T or G-C base pairs; also, no preference was found for either homogeneous or heterogeneous base composition of strands. The association constants were calculated to be in the range of (1.31–14.36) × 105 M−1. The luminescence intensity response at 610 nm to low concentrations of double-stranded DNA was found to be linear and can potentially be used for the fluorometric quantification of DNA. The limit of detection was estimated to be 120 ng mL−1 of DNA (calculated by 3σ method).