Study on metal complexes of chelating resins bearing iminodiacetate groups

Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes of chelating resins (CR) bearing iminodiacetate (IDA) ligands were prepared. The CR-metal complexes were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal behavior (TG and DTG) under nitrogen atmosphere, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). FT-IR spectra of the CR-metal complexes showed the characteristic bands of CR were still present but red-shifted after the metal complexation, and new bands assigned to Me-N bonds were observed. Thermal behavior of the metal-CR complexes supported the metal complexation, metal complexation leading to the decrease of the thermal stability of the CR, the lowest thermal stability being found when the highest amount of Cu(II) was loaded. Based on the EPR results and the thermal behavior of Cu(II)-CR complexes, the scheme for the complexation of Cu(II) on the CR was suggested.     

Investigation of anthropic effects connected with metal ions concentration, organic matter and grain size in Bormida river sediments

An investigation on the sediment composition and grain size was carried out along the Bormida river (Piedmont, Northern Italy). The samples were taken both in the riverbed and on its banks. Multivariate statistical exploratory methods permitted to identify possible sources of primary pollution. In particular, principal component analysis (PCA) showed that there are probably at least three anthropogenic main causes of pollution, one connected with Cr, Ni and Sn, the second with cadmium and the last one with mercury. Some correlations were found between heavy metal ion concentrations and organic matter and/or the sediment grain size. Differences between the samples collected in the riverbed and on the banks were identified and the relationships between the principal components and the distance of the samples from the riverbed and from the hot spot represented by the ACNA industrial site were also analyzed.     

Comparison of photodynamic efficacy of tetraarylporphyrin pegylated or encapsulated in liposomes: In vitro studies

Two photosensitizing systems: (1) tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (p-THPP) encapsulated in sterically stabilized liposomes (SSL) and (2) p-THPP functionalized by covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (p-THPP–PEG₂₀₀₀) were studied in vitro. The dark and photo cytotoxicity of these systems were evaluated on two cell lines: HCT 116, a human colorectal carcinoma cell line, and DU 145, a prostate cancer cell line and compared with these determined for free p-THPP. It was demonstrated that both encapsulation in liposomes as well as attachment of PEG chain result in pronounced reduction of the dark cytotoxicity of the parent porphyrin. The liposomal formulation showed higher than p-THPP–PEG₂₀₀₀ photocytotoxicity towards both cell lines used in the studies.     

A comparative study of calibration transfer methods for determination of gasoline quality parameters in three different near infrared spectrometers

This work presents a comparative study of calibration transfer among three near infrared spectrometers for determination of naphthenes and RON (Research Octane Number) in gasoline. Seven transfer methods are compared: direct standardization (DS), piecewise direct standardization (PDS), orthogonal signal correction (OSC), reverse standardization (RS), piecewise reverse standardization (PRS), slope and bias correction (SBC) and model updating (MU). Two pre-treatment procedures, namely standard normal variate (SNV) and multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), are also investigated. The choice of an appropriate number of transfer samples for each technique, as well as the effect of window size in PDS/PRS and OSC components, are discussed. A broad set of gasoline samples representative of the Northeastern states of Brazil is employed in the investigation. The results show that the use of calibration transfer yields prediction errors comparable to those obtained with complete recalibration of the secondary instrument. Overall, the results point to RS as the best method for the analytical problem under consideration. When storage and/or physical transportation of transfer samples are impractical, MU is more appropriate. The comprehensive investigation carried out in the present work will be of value for practitioners involved in networks of fuel monitoring.     

Comparison of analytical methods for the quality control of a new formulation containing soy extract and melatonin

Three analytical methods have been developed and compared for the quality control of a new formulation (Soymen GN(R) capsules) containing soy extract and melatonin for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. The first method is based on MEKC with diode-array detection, using a mixture of basic carbonate buffer (95%) and methanol (5%), containing 55 mM SDS, as the BGE. The second method is an HPLC method with UV detection at 260 nm. The third method is an HPLC method coupled to amperometric detection which is carried out at an oxidation potential of +0.8 V. In both HPLC systems, the chromatographic separation is obtained on an RP C18 column using a mixture of ACN and an acidic phosphate buffer (25:75 v/v) as the mobile phase. A feasible pretreatment procedure with a methanol/water mixture has been implemented to achieve the quantitative extraction of the main soy isoflavones and of melatonin from the capsules. The results obtained with the three methods are in good agreement with each other and satisfactory in terms of linearity (r(2) >0.9996), precision (RSD <5.4%) and accuracy (recovery >97%). Thus, each of the three analytical methods seems to be suitable for the simultaneous analysis of the main soy isoflavones and melatonin in the new commercial formulation.     

A series of three-dimensional coordination polymers with general formula [{Ln(H2O)n}{Re6Te8(CN)6}] · xH2O (Ln = Eu,Gd, Tb,Dy, Ho,Er, Tm,Yb; n = 3, 4, x = 0, 2.5)

A series of new compounds containing rare earth cations (Eu to Yb) and paramagnetic cluster anion [Re₆Te₈(CN)₆]³⁻ was prepared and investigated. The X-ray structural analyses have revealed that the compounds [{Ln(H₂O)₄}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] · 2.5H₂O; Ln = Eu (1), Tb (3), Dy (4), Ho (5), Er (6), Tm (7), [{Gd(H₂O)₃}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] · 2.5H₂O (2) and [{Yb(H₂O)₄}{Re₆Te₈(CN)₆}] (8) are three-dimensional polymers based on Re–CN–Ln interactions. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility for 2 and 5 showed that effective magnetic moment (at 300 K) was 8.13 μ_B for compound 2 and 10.79 μ_B for compound 5 with weak antiferromagnetic ordering appeared at low temperatures.     

Determination of volatile organic compounds in urban and industrial air from Tarragona by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This study describes the optimisation of an analytical method to determine 54 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air samples by active collection on multisorbent tubes, followed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Two multisorbent beds, Carbograph 1/Carboxen 1000 and Tenax/Carbograph 1TD, were tested. The latter gave better results, mainly in terms of the peaks that appeared in blank chromatograms. Temperatures, times and flow desorption were optimised. Recoveries were higher than 98.9%, except methylene dichloride, for which the recovery was 74.9%. The method's detection limits were between 0.01 and 1.25 μg m⁻³ for a volume sample of 1200 ml, and the repeatability on analysis of 100 ng of VOCs, expressed as relative standard deviation for n = 3, was lower than 4% for all compounds. Urban and industrial air samples from the Tarragona region were analysed. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) were found to be the most abundant VOCs in urban air. Total VOCs in urban samples ranged between 18 and 307 μg m⁻³. Methylene chloride, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, chloroform and styrene were the most abundant VOCs in industrial samples, and total VOCs ranged between 19 and 85 μg m⁻³.     

Closed-System Solution of the 1D Atom from Collision Model

Obtaining the total wavefunction evolution of interacting quantum systems provides access to important properties, such as entanglement, shedding light on fundamental aspects, e.g., quantum energetics and thermodynamics, and guiding towards possible application in the fields of quantum computation and communication. We consider a two-level atom (qubit) coupled to the continuum of travelling modes of a field confined in a one-dimensional chiral waveguide. Originally, we treated the light-matter ensemble as a closed, isolated system. We solve its dynamics using a collision model where individual temporal modes of the field locally interact with the qubit in a sequential fashion. This approach allows us to obtain the total wavefunction of the qubit-field system, at any time, when the field starts in a coherent or a single-photon state. Our method is general and can be applied to other initial field states.     

The acoustical characterization of orchestra platforms and uncertainty estimation of the results

Measurements have been carried out on furnished orchestra platforms in four concert halls in Italy in order to describe the sound field perceived by musicians. The heterogeneous nature of the orchestra suggested a procedure able to take into account the mutual hearing between instrumental sections. The measured parameters were the early, late and total support, the reverberation time, the early decay time and the clarity index. A part of the study has been devoted to the measurement uncertainty estimation. The source directivity and the small displacements of the microphone influence the early decay time to a great extent while the on-platform spatial variability affects both the early decay time and the clarity index. Per-section early support shows differences that render the overall spatial mean inappropriate to describe the stage as a whole. For the other parameters an overall mean platform value can instead be suitable, even though, for the case of clarity a more evident group variability is observed. The values of late support, reverberation time, early decay time and clarity index, proposed in literature as suitable measures of reverberance for musicians, are not all intercorrelated, indicating that not all these parameters can be associated to the same subjective impression.