Unveiling the relevance of the redox character of nitroaromatic and nitroheteroaromatic compounds as potential medicines

This review discusses the state of the art, challenges, and perspectives in recent applications of nitroaromatics and nitroheteroaromatics, which are redox-bio-activated drugs or leads, in Medicinal Chemistry. It deals mainly with the electrochemical approach toward the electron transfer-based molecular mechanisms of drug action, drug design, estimation and measurement of redox potentials, correlation of physicochemical and pharmacological data, and electrochemical studies of the main representatives of nitro-containing prodrugs, along with approaches to combat their toxicity issues, aiming at a better therapeutic profile. Electrochemical investigation plays essential roles, being strategic in the design and discovery of potential medicines.     

Clay fraction mineralogy of a Cambisol in Brazil

Clay minerals having a 2:1 (tetrahedral:octahedral sheet) structure may be found in strongly weathering soils only if the local pedo-climatic environment prevents them from further weathering to other minerals such as iron oxides. The clay minerals impart important chemical properties to soils, in part by virtue of changes in the redox state of iron in their crystal structures. Knowing the chemical nature of soil clays is a first step in evaluating their potential reactivity with other soil constituents and processes, such as the chemical decomposition of organic substrates to be potentially used in environmental remediation. The purpose of this work was to characterize the iron oxides and iron-bearing clay minerals from a B horizon of a Cambisol developed on tuffite in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. The iron oxides of this NaOH-treated clay-fraction were found to contain mainly maghemite (γFe₂O₃) and superparamagnetic goethite (αFeOOH). Kaolinite (Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄), smectite, and minor portions of anatase (TiO₂) were identified in the CBD-treated sample.