Microalgae as a Potential Functional Ingredient: Evaluation of the Phytochemical Profile,Antioxidant Activity and In-Vitro Enzymatic Inhibitory Effect of Different Species

The functional food market has been in a state of constant expansion due to the increasing awareness of the impact of the diet on human health. In the search for new natural resources that could act as a functional ingredient for the food industry, microalgae represent a promising alternative, considering their high nutritional value and biosynthesis of numerous bioactive compounds with reported biological properties. In the present work, the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity, and enzymatic inhibitory effect aiming at different metabolic disorders (Alzheimer’s disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity) were evaluated for the species Porphyridium purpureum, Chlorella vulgaris, Arthorspira platensis, and Nannochloropsis oculata. All the species presented bioactive diversity and important antioxidant activity, demonstrating the potential to be used as functional ingredients. Particularly, P. purpureum and N. oculata exhibited higher carotenoid and polyphenol content, which was reflected in their superior biological effects. Moreover, the species P. purpureum exhibited remarkable enzymatic inhibition for all the analyses.     

Modern Methods of Pre-Treatment of Plant Material for the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds

In this review, recent advances in the methods of pre-treatment of plant material for the extraction of secondary metabolites with high biological activity are presented. The correct preparation of the material for extraction is as important as the selection of the extraction method. This step should prevent the degradation of bioactive compounds as well as the development of fungi and bacteria. Currently, the methods of preparation are expected to modify the particles of the plant material in such a way that will contribute to the release of bioactive compounds loosely bonded to cell wall polymers. This review presents a wide range of methods of preparing plant material, including drying, freeze-drying, convection drying, microwave vacuum drying, enzymatic processes, and fermentation. The influence of the particular methods on the structure of plant material particles, the level of preserved bioactive compounds, and the possibility of their release during the extraction were highlighted. The plant material pre-treatment techniques used were discussed with respect to the amount of compounds released during extraction as well their application in various industries interested in products with a high content of biologically active compounds, such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food industries.     

Intermolecular Interactions and Spectroscopic Signatures of the Hydrogen-Bonded System—n-Octanol in Experimental and Theoretical Studies

n-Octanol is the object of experimental and theoretical study of spectroscopic signatures and intermolecular interactions. The FTIR measurements were carried out at 293 K for n-octanol and its deuterated form. Special attention was paid to the vibrational features associated with the O-H stretching and the isotope effect. Density Functional Theory (DFT) in its classical formulations was applied to develop static models describing intermolecular hydrogen bond (HB) and isotope effect in the gas phase and using solvent reaction field reproduced by Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM). The Atoms in Molecules (AIM) theory enabled electronic structure and molecular topology study. The Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory (SAPT) was used for energy decomposition in the dimers of n-octanol. Finally, time-evolution methods, namely classical molecular dynamics (MD) and Car-Parrinello Molecular Dynamics (CPMD) were employed to shed light onto dynamical nature of liquid n-octanol with emphasis put on metric and vibrational features. As a reference, CPMD gas phase results were applied. Nuclear quantum effects were included using Path Integral Molecular Dynamics (PIMD) and a posteriori method by solving vibrational Schrödinger equation. The latter applied procedure allowed to study the deuterium isotope effect.     

Adsorption of urea on a polycrystalline silver electrode; comparison of electrochemical and radiometric methods

The adsorption of urea on a polycrystalline silver electrode was studied by radiometry and impedance spectroscopy. The differential capacity of the silver electrode in 0.01 M NaClO₄ solution containing urea in concentrations from 10^–6 to 5×10^–4 M has been determined. The isotherms of urea adsorption, found from the capacitance and radiometric measurements have been compared. The experimental data were described by the Langmuir isotherm, and the Gibbs energy of adsorption was calculated. The urea adsorption takes place in the entire range of the applied potential. The process is reversible with respect to the electrode potential and the bulk urea concentration.Dedicated to Professor Gyorgy Horanyi on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Optimization of TLC Detection by Phosphomolybdic Acid Staining for Robust Quantification of Cholesterol and Bile Acids

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In this paper we describe a robust and sensitive detection procedure for cholesterol and selected bile acids (cholic acid,...     

Gingipains, the major cysteine proteinases and virulence factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis: structure, function and assembly of multidomain protein complexes

Gingipains, extracellular cysteine proteinases of Porphyromonas gingivalis, constitute the major virulence factor of this periodontopathogenic bacterium. They are the product of three genes, two coding for an Arg-specific (RgpA and RgpB) and one for a Lys-specific proteinase (Kgp). Proteinase domains of RgpA and RgpB are virtually identical; however, the gene encoding the former enzyme is missing a large segment coding for hemaglutinin / adhesin (HA) domains. The latter domains are present also in Kgp. The tertiary structure of RgpB revealed that the proteinase domain of gingipains has a protein fold referred to as the caspase-hemoglobinase fold. On this basis, they are also evolutionary related to other highly specific proteinases including clostripain, caspases, legumains and separase (clan CD of cysteine peptidases). Gingipains are produced as large preproproteins and are subject to elaborate, not yet fully understood, secretion, glycosylation, activation, and maturation processes. How they traverse the outer membrane is unknown, although it can be hypothesized that they use an autotransporter pathway. Apparently during transport through the periplasm the LPS-like glycan moiety is added at the conserved C-terminal portion of progingipains. At the cell surface pro-gingipains fold into partially active, single-chain zymogens and undergo autocatalytic, intermolecular processing. Two sequential cleavages within the profragment domain enhance zymogen activity and in the case of RgpA and Kgp are followed by excision of the individual HA domains. These domains are further truncated at the C-terminus by concerted action of Kgp and carboxypeptidase and form a non-covalent multidomain, multifunctional complex anchored into the outer membrane by the glycated, C-terminal HA domain. This hypothetical scenario is a reasonable explanation for the occurrence of many forms of gingipains.     

Synthesis of polymeric supports with spacer-modified triazene linkers: aldol and Grignard reactions of immobilized nortropinone

Four new polymeric supports with 3- and 6-carbon atom spacers and triazene linkers derived from meta- and para-aminophenol were synthesized from commercial Merrifield polymer. The supports could be used for immobilization of secondary amines in SPOS. A new strategy based on the use of diethylamine triazenes as masked precursors for the generation of polymer-supported diazonium ions was used. The performance of the new linkers was tested on Grignard and aldol reactions of solid-phase immobilized nortropinone. The new supports with C₃-T2 linkers gave products with better yields and purities than the classical T2 supports or the supports with the C₆-T2 linkers.     

Hydrogen bonds in quinoline <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-oxide derivatives: first-principle molecular dynamics and metadynamics ground state study

Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations were carried out for 8-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide (1) and 2-carboxyquinoline N-oxide (2) in vacuo and in the solid state. The first-principle approach was employed to intramolecular hydrogen bond features present in the studied quinoline N-oxides. Grimme’s dispersion correction was employed throughout the study. Special attention was devoted to the solid-state computations knowing that in the molecular crystals, strong and weak interactions are responsible for spatial organization and molecular properties of molecules. On the basis of Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics, it was possible to reproduce the hydrogen bond dynamics as well as to investigate the vibrational features on the basis of Fourier transform of the atomic velocity autocorrelation function. The free energy surfaces for proton motion were reproduced by unconstrained CPMD runs as well as by metadynamics. Larger flexibility of the bridge proton in 2 was noticed. The computations are verified by experimental X-ray and IR data available.     

Surface tension of binary mixtures of imidazolium and ammonium based ionic liquids with alcohols, or water: cation, anion effect

The surface tensions were measured at atmospheric pressure, with use of a ring tensiometer, of a series of alcoholic solutions of closely related ionic liquids: 1-methyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate, [MMIM][CH3SO4] in alcohol (methanol, or ethanol, or 1-butanol at 298.15 K), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate, [BMIM][CH3SO4] in alcohol (methanol, or ethanol, or 1-butanol at 298.15 K), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octylsulfate, [BMIM][OcSO4] in alcohol (methanol, or 1-butanol at 298.15 K) and of 1-hexyloxymethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [C6H(13)OCH2MIM][BF4], 1,3-dihexyloxymethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [(C6H13OCH2)2IM][BF4] in alcohol (methanol, or 1-butanol, or 1-hexanol at 308.15 and 318.5 K) and hexyl(2-hydroxyethyl)dimethylammonium bromide, C6Br in 1-octanol at 298.15 K. The set of ammonium ionic liquids of different cations and anions (C2Br, C2BF4, C2PF6, C2N(CN)2, C3Br, C4Br and C6Br) was chosen to show the influence of small amount of the ammonium ionic liquid on the surface tension of water at 298.15 K. The influence of the cation, or anion alkyl chain length on the properties under study (densities and surface tension) was tested.     

Bifunctional Cyclam‐Based Ligands with Phosphorus Acid Pendant Moieties for Radiocopper Separation: Thermodynamic and Kinetic Studies

Two macrocyclic ligands based on cyclam with trans‐disposed N‐methyl and N‐(4‐aminobenzyl) substituents as well as two methylphosphinic (H₂ L1 ) or methylphosphonic (H₄ L2 ) acid pendant arms were synthesised and investigated in solution. The ligands form stable complexes with transition metal ions. Both ligands show high thermodynamic selectivity for divalent copper over nickel(II) and zinc(II)—K(CuL) is larger than K(Ni/ZnL) by about seven orders of magnitude. Complexation is significantly faster for the phosphonate ligand H₄ L2 , probably due to the stronger coordination ability of the more basic phosphonate groups, which efficiently bind the metal ion in an “out‐of‐cage” complex and thus accelerate its “in‐cage” binding. The rate of Cu^II complexation by the phosphinate ligand H₂ L1 is comparable to that of cyclam itself and its derivatives with non‐coordinating substituents. Acid‐assisted decomplexation of the copper(II) complexes is relatively fast (τ_1/2=44 and 42 s in 1 M aq. HClO₄ at 25 °C for H₂ L1 and H₄ L2 , respectively). This combination of properties is convenient for selective copper removal/purification. Thus, the title ligands were employed in the preparation of ion‐selective resins for radiocopper(II) separation. Glycidyl methacrylate copolymer beads were modified with the ligands through a diazotisation reaction. The separation ability of the modified polymers was tested with cold copper(II) and non‐carrier‐added ⁶⁴Cu in the presence of a large excess of both nickel(II) and zinc(II). The experiments exhibited high overall separation efficiency leading to 60–70 % recovery of radiocopper with high selectivity over the other metal ions, which were originally present in 900‐fold molar excess. The results showed that chelating resins with properly tuned selectivity of their complexing moieties can be employed for radiocopper separation.