Antimicrobial Activity and Barrier Properties against UV Radiation of Alkaline and Enzymatically Treated Linen Woven Fabrics Coated with Inorganic Hybrid Material

One of the directions of development in the textiles industry is the search for new technologies for producing modern multifunctional products. New solutions are sought to obtain materials that will protect humans against the harmful effects of the environment, including such factors as the activity of microorganisms and UV radiation. Products made of natural cellulose fibers are often used. In the case of this type of material, it is very important to perform appropriate pretreatment before subsequent technological processes. This treatment has the aim of removing impurities from the surface of the fibers, which results in the improvement of sorption properties and adhesion, leading directly to the better penetration of dyes and chemical modifiers into the structure of the materials. In this work, linen fabrics were subjected to a new, innovative treatment being a combination of bio-pretreatment using laccase from Cerrena unicolor and modification with CuO-SiO₂ hybrid oxide microparticles by a dip-coating method. To compare the effect of alkaline or enzymatic pretreatment on the microstructure of the linen woven fabrics, SEM analysis was performed. The new textile products obtained after this combined process exhibit very good antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans, significant antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative Escherichia coli and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, as well as very good UV protection properties (ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) > 40). These innovative materials can be used especially for clothing or outdoor textiles for which resistance to microorganisms is required, as well as to protect people who are exposed to long-term, harmful effects of UV radiation.     

Kinetics and mechanism of sensitized photooxidation of tetramethylammonium salt of 2-(phenylthio)acetic acid in solution: Steady-state and flash photolysis studies

The mechanism for the photo-induced oxidation of the tetramethylammonium salt of 2-(phenylthio)acetic acid was elucidated. The photosensitizer was the benzophenone triplet in acetonitrile solutions. Time-resolved absorption spectra and kinetics were used to follow the intermediates which included the triplet of benzophenone, the ketyl radical of benzophenone, and an ion pair consisting of a radical anion of benzophenone and a tetramethylammonium cation. Rate constants for the growth and decay of the transients were determined along with the quantum yields of the transients. The intermediacy of other radicals was inferred by the products observed following steady-state photolysis. Quantum yields were also determined for photoproducts resulting from the steady-state irradiation. The mechanism was proposed that rationalized the quantitative observations. Of particular note was how the nature of the counter ion effected the secondary reactions of the radicals and the radical ions.     

Synthesis,structure, ADME and biological activity of three 2,6-disubstituted thiosemicarbazone derivatives

Three new 2,6-disubstituted thiosemicarbazone derivatives of pyridine, namely, 2-{amino[6-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pyridin-2-yl]methylidene}-N,N-dimethylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide, C₁₃H₂₀N₆S, 2-{amino[6-(piperidin-1-yl)pyridin-2-yl]methylidene}-N,N-dimethylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide, C₁₄H₂₂N₆S, and 2-[amino(6-phenoxypyridin-2-yl)methylidene]-N,N-dimethylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide monohydrate, C₁₅H₁₇N₅OS·H₂O, have been synthesized and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and low-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In addition, their antibacterial and anti-yeast activities have been determined. The ability of the tested compounds to inhibit bacterial growth was comparable to vancomycin as a reference drug. Compared to isoniazid (MIC 0.125 and 8 µg ml⁻¹), the compounds showed the ability to inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to a moderate degree for the standard strain and at the same level or higher (MIC 4–8 µg ml⁻¹) for the resistant strain. All three compounds adopt the zwitterionic form in the crystal structure regardless of the presence or absence of solvent molecules.     

Preparation and physicochemical characterisation of functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes

A series of new functionalised carbonaceous materials were prepared by means of oxidation and ammoxidation of commercially available multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The effect of oxygen and nitrogen doping on the textural, surface as well as thermal properties of the prepared adsorbents was tested. The materials were characterized by elemental analysis, low-temperature nitrogen sorption, determination of the surface oxygen groups content as well as by coupled thermogravimetric and spectroscopic methods (TG/DSC/MS). Depending of the variant of raw nanotubes modification, the final products were oxygen- and nitrogen-doped materials of medium-developed surface area and mesoporous structure, showing highly diverse acidic-basic character of the surface, from the weakly acidic to slightly alkaline.     

Solvent Effects on the Spectroscopic Properties of Styrylquinolinium Dyes Series

The study on the relationship between the structure and spectroscopic properties of styrylquinolinium dyes were carried out by measuring the electronic visible absorption, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectra of quinoline based hemicyanine dyes. The influence of the solvent on absorption and emission spectra and the solvatochromic properties, observed for both ground and first excited states, for all the dyes were applied for the evaluation of their excited state dipole moments. The ground state dipole moments of dyes under the study were established by applying ab initio calculations. The measured, using solvatochromic methods, excited state dipole moments of tested hemicyanines are in the range from 5.38 to 18.90 D and the change in the dipole moments caused by excitation were found to differ from 1.88 to 6.64 D. It was observed that for all tested dyes the dipole moments of the excited states were higher than those of a ground states. The fluorescence lifetime measurements with picosecond resolution was performed for entire series of hemicyanine dyes possessing different dialkylamino groups attached to the phenyl ring. The average lifetimes of the dye fluorescence, determined from the measured data by multi-order exponential decay curve fitting, were in the range from about 120 to 1200 ps at the fluorescence peak wavelength. The fluorescence lifetime measurements were performed for dyes in ethyl acetate solutions. The time-resolved fluorescence spectra measurements allowed to propose the mechanism of the dyes excited states deactivation.     

LC-ESI-MS/MS Identification of Biologically Active Phenolics in Different Extracts of Alchemilla acutiloba Opiz

Liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS/MS) qualitative and quantitative analysis of different extracts from the aerial parts and roots of Alchemilla acutiloba led to the identification of phenolic acids and flavonoids. To the best of our knowledge, isorhamnetin 3-glucoside, kaempferol 3-rutinoside, narcissoside, naringenin 7-glucoside, 3-O-methylquercetin, naringenin, eriodictyol, rhamnetin, and isorhamnetin were described for the first time in Alchemilla genus. In addition, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity of all extracts were evaluated. The results clearly showed that among analyzed extracts, the butanol extract of the aerial parts exhibited the highest biological activity comparable with the positive controls used.     

Molecular and crystal structure of bis-quinolizidine immonium salts,III: Δ1(6)-dehydrosparteinium diperchlorate

¹⁽⁶⁾-Dehydrosparteinium diperchlorate, [C₁₅H₂₆N₂]²⁺·2ClO ₄ ^– , is tetragonal; space groupP4₃,a=9.368(1),c=21.719(3) Å,Z=4,V _c =1906.1(5) ų,D _x =1.51g cm^–3,(CuK)=35.0 cm^–1. The finalR=0.055 for 1259 independent reflections. Atoms C(3) and C(4), which are trans-annular to the immonium bond in ringA, are disordered, as was observed for other bis-quinolizidine immonium salts. RingsB, C, andD have sofa, chair and chair conformations, respectively. The quinolizidinium and quinolizidine moieties have planar and cis configurations. The title compound was obtained by mercuric acetate dehydrogenation of sparteine to ⁵-dehydrosparteine and protonation of the latter with methanolic solution of perchloric acid to pH=2.0. From¹³C NMR measurements in DMSO-²H₆ and in²H₂O it is evident that in solution the chair/chair cis-ring fusion is present within the protonated quinolizidine moiety-identical to that found in the crystalline state by X-ray analysis.     

8,9-dioxa-6-methylbicyclo(5.2.0)nona-2,4-diene: a 1,2-dioxetane formed by (2+2)-cycloaddition of singlet oxygen to 7-methyl-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene.

Photosensitized oxygenation of 7-methyl-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene affords the title compound in ca. 15% yield, which represents the first 1,2-dioxetane derived from a cyclic conjugated polyene; its characterization, chemiluminescence, and mechanistic aspects are reported.     

The effect of flame coal oxidation on the solid and soluble products of its extraction

Solid and soluble products of THF and CH₂Cl₂ extraction of flame coal oxidised by four different oxidising agents (peroxyacetic acid (PAA), 5% HNO₃, O₂/Na₂CO₃, air/125 °C) were studied by elemental analysis and FTIR. The extraction yield with THF was much higher than that with CH₂Cl₂ for all samples. The greatest changes in elemental composition were in the extracts from coal oxidised by nitric acid. The sulphur content was lowest in extracts from coal oxidised with 5% HNO₃ and PAA. FTIR confirmed that coal treatment with nitric acid incorporates nitrogen into the coal structure.