QSPR studies on the photoinduced-fluorescence behaviour of pharmaceuticals and pesticides

Fluorimetric analysis is still a growing line of research in the determination of a wide range of organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals and pesticides, which makes necessary the development of new strategies aimed at improving the performance of fluorescence determinations as well as the sensitivity and, especially, the selectivity of the newly developed analytical methods. In this paper are presented applications of a useful and growing tool suitable for fostering and improving research in the analytical field. Experimental screening, molecular connectivity and discriminant analysis are applied to organic compounds to predict their fluorescent behaviour after their photodegradation by UV irradiation in a continuous flow manifold (multicommutation flow assembly). The screening was based on online fluorimetric measurement and comprised pre-selected compounds with different molecular structures (pharmaceuticals and some pesticides with known ‘native’ fluorescent behaviour) to study their changes in fluorescent behaviour after UV irradiation. Theoretical predictions agree with the results from the experimental screening and could be used to develop selective analytical methods, as well as helping to reduce the need for expensive, time-consuming and trial-and-error screening procedures.     

Quantitative colorimetric-imaging analysis of nickel in iron meteorites

A quantitative analytical imaging approach for determining the nickel content of metallic meteorites is proposed. The approach uses a digital image of a series of standard solutions of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime coloured chelate and a meteorite sample solution subjected to the same treatment as the nickel standards for quantitation. The image is processed with suitable software to assign a colour-dependent numerical value (analytical signal) to each standard. Such a value is directly proportional to the analyte concentration, which facilitates construction of a calibration graph where the value for the unknown sample can be interpolated to calculate the nickel content of the meteorite. The results thus obtained were validated by comparison with the official, ISO-endorsed spectrophotometric method for nickel.The proposed method is fairly simple and inexpensive; in fact, it uses a commercially available digital camera as measuring instrument and the images it provides are processed with highly user-friendly public domain software (specifically, ImageJ, developed by the National Institutes of Health and freely available for download on the Internet).In a scenario dominated by increasingly sophisticated and expensive equipment, the proposed method provides a cost-effective alternative based on simple, robust hardware that is affordable and can be readily accessed worldwide. This can be especially advantageous for countries were available resources for analytical equipment investments are scant. The proposed method is essentially an adaptation of classical chemical analysis to current, straightforward, robust, cost-effective instrumentation.     

Exploiting the bead injection LOV approach to carry out spectrophotometric assays in wine: application to the determination of iron

A sequential injection lab-on-valve (SI-LOV) system was used to develop a new methodology for the determination of iron in wine samples exploiting the bead injection (BI) concept for solid phase extraction and spectrophotometric measurement. Nitrilotriacetic Acid (NTA) Superflow resin was used to build the bead column of the flow through sensor. The iron (III) ions were retained by the bead column and react with SCN⁻ producing an intense red colour. The change in absorbance was monitored spectrophotometrically on the optosensor at 480 nm. It was possible to achieve a linear range of 0.09-5.0 mg L⁻¹ of iron, with low sample and reagent consumption; 500 μL of sample, 15 μmol of SCN⁻, and 9 μmol of H₂O₂, per assay. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of iron in wine, with no previous treatment other than dilution, and to other food samples.     

Fast determination of thyroid stimulating hormone in human blood serum without chemical preprocessing by using infrared spectroscopy and least squares support vector machines

The least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) was used to model infrared spectral data for TSH hormone secreted by thyroid, which regulates the basal metabolic rate. This model was used for direct estimation of the content of TSH in blood serum samples, and the results were comparable with those obtained with the conventional analytical method based on chemoluminescence methodology. Excellent agreement was observed between the conventional method and the newly developed calibration model based in analysis of spectral data with LS-SVM. The latter has clear advantages, because it is fast and requires no reagent once the measurements were done directly in the serum by using a simple mid-infrared spectrometer in the ATR mode. An important advantage observed in this calibration method based on LS-SVM is the remarkable capacity to avoid overfitting in the model-building step, that is, the developed method is highly robust.     

Picosecond dynamics of proton transfer of a 7-hydroxyflavylium salt in aqueous-organic solvent mixtures

The intermediacy of the geminate base-proton pair (A*···H(+)) in excited-state proton-transfer (ESPT) reactions (two-step mechanism) has been investigated employing the synthetic flavylium salt 7-hydroxy-4-methyl-flavylium chloride (HMF). In aqueous solution, the ESPT mechanism involves solely the excited acid AH(+)* and base A* forms of HMF as indicated by the fluorescence spectra and double-exponential fluorescence decays (two species, two decay times). However, upon addition of either 1,4-dioxane or 1,2-propylene glycol, the decays become triple-exponential with a term consistent with the presence of the geminate base-proton pair A*···H(+). The geminate pair becomes detectable because of the increase in the recombination rate constant, k(rec), of (A*···H(+)) with increasing the mole fraction of added organic cosolvent. Because the two-step ESPT mechanism splits the intrinsic prototropic reaction rates (deprotonation of AH(+)*, k(d), and recombination, k(rec), of A*···H(+)) from the diffusion controlled rates (dissociation, k(diss), and formation, k(diff)[H(+)], of A*···H(+)), the experimental detection of the geminate pair provides a wealth of information on the proton-transfer reaction (k(d) and k(rec)) as well as on proton diffusion/migration (k(diss) and k(diff)).     

In situ microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for organic carbon

The biological oxygen demand (BOD) may be the most used test to assess the amount of pollutant organic matter in water; however, it is time and labor consuming, and is done ex-situ. A BOD biosensor based on the microbial fuel cell principle was tested for online and in situ monitoring of biodegradable organic content of domestic wastewater. A stable current density of 282±23mA/m(2) was obtained with domestic wastewater containing a BOD(5) of 317±15mg O(2)/L at 22±2°C, 1.53±0.04mS/cm and pH 6.9±0.1. The current density showed a linear relationship with BOD(5) concentration ranging from 17±0.5mg O(2)/L to 78±7.6mg O(2)/L. The current generation from the BOD biosensor was dependent on the measurement conditions such as temperature, conductivity, and pH. Thus, a correction factor should be applied to measurements done under different environmental conditions from the ones used in the calibration. These results provide useful information for the development of a biosensor for real-time in situ monitoring of wastewater quality.     

Electrokinetic properties of wavellite and its floatability with cationic and anionic collectors

The reverse apatite flotation with fatty acids has been widely used for the reduction of phosphorus content of magmatic origin iron ores. However, the occurrence of phosphorus intensely disseminated as secondary minerals such as wavellite renders the anionic reverse flotation a challenge. Zeta potential measurements and microflotation tests of wavellite with the use of anionic and cationic collectors were carried out in this work. The wavellite's IEP value was achieved at pH 4.5. Below the IEP value, the surface positively charged sites are made up of aluminum ions. The species H(+), Al(OH)(2)(+), Al(OH)(2+), Al(3+), OH(-), H(2)PO(4)(-), HPO(4)(2-), and PO(4)(3-) play a role in the protonation and deprotonation reactions that will determine the wavellite-solution interface properties. The highest values of wavellite's floatability under basic pH conditions were achieved in the presence of cationic collectors (1 × 10(-4) mol L(-1)). The formation of surface complexes and the precipitation of insoluble salt of aluminum onto wavellite surface seems to be the most likely hypothesis for the chemical nature interactions between amines and wavellite. The surface formation of aluminum oleate on the wavellite's surface seems to be the most probable hypothesis for the adsorption mechanism and the resultant high floatability of wavellite between pH 7.5 and pH 10.0 in the presence of sodium oleate (1 × 10(-4) mol L(-1)). The results showed that the cationic reverse flotation of secondary phosphates is a promising route to reduce the phosphorus content of iron ores from deposits that underwent a supergene enrichment process, since wavellite floatability in the alkaline pH range, using amine as collector, was not significantly affected by the presence of corn starch.     

Characterization of the singlet and triplet excited states of 3-chloro-4-methylumbelliferone

An extensive photophysical characterization of 3-chloro-4-methylumbelliferone (3Cl4MU) in the ground-state, S(0), first excited singlet state, S(1), and lowest triplet state, T(1), was undertaken in water, neutral ethanol, acidified ethanol, and basified ethanol. Quantitative measurements of quantum yields (fluorescence, phosphorescence, intersystem crossing, internal conversion, and singlet oxygen formation) together with lifetimes were obtained at room and low temperature in water, dioxane/water mixtures, and alcohols. The different transient species were assigned and a general kinetic scheme is presented, summarizing the excited-state multiequilibria of 3Cl4MU. In water, the equilibrium is restricted to neutral (N*) and anionic (A*) species, both in the ground (pK(a) = 7.2) and first excited singlet states (pK(a)* = 0.5). In dioxane/water mixtures (pH ca. 6), substantial changes of the kinetics of the S(1) state were observed with the appearance of an additional tautomeric T* species. In low water content mixtures (mixture 9:1 v:v), only the neutral (N*) and tautomeric (T*) forms of 3Cl4MU are observed, whereas at higher water content mixtures (water mole fraction superior to 0.45), all three species N*, T*, and A* coexist in the excited state. In the triplet state, in the nonprotic and nonpolar solvent dioxane, the observed transient signals were assigned as the triplet-triplet transition of the neutral form, N*(T(1)) → N*(T(n)). In water, two transient species were observed and are assigned as the triplets of the neutral N*(T(1)) and the anionic form, A*(T(1)) (also obtained in basified ethanol). The phosphorescence spectra and decays of 3Cl4MU, in neutral, acidified, and basified solutions, demonstrate that only these two species N*(T(1)) and A*(T(1)) exist in the lowest lying triplet state, T(1). The radiative channel was found dominant for the deactivation of the anionic species, whereas with the neutral the S(1) ? S(0) internal conversion competes with fluorescence. For both N* and A* the intersystem crossing yield represents a minor deactivation channel for S(1).     

Thermal stability evaluation of methylic biodiesel obtained for different oilseeds

Biodiesel is defined as a mixture of mono- or di-alquil esters of vegetable oil or animal fats. During long-term storage, oxidation caused by contact with air (autoxidation) presents a legitimate concern in relation to monitoring and maintaining fuel quality. Extensive oxidative degradation may compromise the quality by adversely affecting kinematic viscosity, acid value, or peroxide value. The oxidation susceptibility of biodiesel, due to the presence of triacilglycerides of poly-unsaturated fatty acids, was evaluated in this study. Samples of sunflower, castor, and soybean biodiesels were obtained through the transesterification reaction, with the intention of achieving the thermal stability study through thermogravimetrical analyses and differential scanning calorimetry high pressure. It was furthermore observed through thermogravimetry and pressure differential scanning calorimetry curves that castor biodiesel exhibited the highest thermal and oxidative stability.     

High pressure: a tool to improve the enzymatic production of glycosides

Naringinase, an enzyme complex that expresses α -l-rhamnosidase and β -d-glucosidase activities in native state, can be used to deglycosylate natural glycosides. The selective inactivation of one of these activities will allow the biosynthesis of different bioactive compounds in a simple, effective and cheap way. In this work, pressure and temperature were the tools used to selectively inactivate the activities expressed by naringinase. The main goal was the identification of pressure–temperature conditions to acquire conditions for the maximization of enzymatic hydrolysis of substrates with different numbers of glycosidic residues. α -l-Rhamnosidase was 32-fold more resistant against inactivation at 250 MPa than at atmospheric pressure. The best pressure condition to reduce β -d-glucosidase inactivation at 75°C was 173 MPa, while in the case of α -l-rhamnosidase inactivation at 85°C, it was above 250 MPa. Moreover, a selective inactivation of β -d-glucosidase activity of naringinase was attained, allowing an easy and cheap method with which to produce prunin and other expensive glycosides. The present work highlights the effect of high pressure on enzyme protection against thermal inactivation, demonstrating its potential as a powerful tool in biosynthesis.