Colloidal Surface Active Maghemite Nanoparticles for Biologically Safe CrVI Remediation: from Core‐Shell Nanostructures to Pilot Plant Development

The present study is aimed at the exploration of achievable improvements for Cr^VI ex situ and in situ water remediation by using novel naked colloidal maghemite (γ‐Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles (surface active maghemite nanoparticles, SAMNs). The reliability of SAMNs for Cr^VI binding and removal was demonstrated, and SAMN@Cr^VI complex was characterized, as well as the covalent nature of the absorption was unequivocally proved. SAMNs were structurally and magnetically well conserved after Cr^VI binding. Thus, in consideration of their affinity for Cr^VI, SAMNs were exploited in a biological model system, mimicking a real in situ application. The assay evidenced a progressive reduction of revertant colonies of Salmonella typhimurium TA100 strain, as maghemite nanoparticles concentration increased, till the complete suppression of Cr^VI mutagen effect. Finally, an automatic modular pilot system for continuous magnetic removal and recovery of Cr^VI from water is proposed. SAMNs, thanks to their colloidal, binding, and catalytic properties, represent a promising tool as a reliable nanomaterial for water remediation by Cr^VI.     

Spatio-Temporal Variation of the Bacterial Communities along a Salinity Gradient within a Thalassohaline Environment (Saline di Tarquinia Salterns,Italy)

The “Saline di Tarquinia” salterns have been scarcely investigated regarding their microbiological aspects. This work studied the structure and composition of their bacterial communities along the salinity gradient (from the nearby sea through different ponds). The communities showed increasing simplification of pond bacterial diversity along the gradient (particularly if compared to those of the sea). Among the 38 assigned phyla, the most represented were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Differently to other marine salterns, where at the highest salinities Bacteroidetes dominated, preponderance of Proteobacteria was observed. At the genus level the most abundant taxa were Pontimonas, Marivita, Spiribacter, Bordetella, GpVII and Lentibacter. The α-diversity analysis showed that the communities were highly uneven, and the Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated that they were structured by various factors (sampling site, sampling year, salinity, and sampling month). Moreover, the taxa abundance variation in relation to these significant parameters were investigated by Generalized Linear Models. This work represents the first investigation of a marine saltern, carried out by a metabarcoding approach, which permitted a broad vision of the bacterial diversity, covering both a wide temporal span (two years with monthly sampling) and the entire salinity gradient (from the nearby sea up to the crystallisation ponds).     

Parameters influencing the capacitive behavior of carbon composite electrodes: composition,morphology, electrical conductivity,and surface chemistry

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The interplay and overlapping of several factors determine the capacitive behavior of carbon composite electrodes for capacitive energy storage...     

Ordered mesoporous Co3O4 as highly active catalyst for low temperature CO-oxidation

Cubic ordered mesoporous Co(3)O(4), prepared via the nanocasting pathway using KIT-6 as hard template, was found to be an excellent catalyst for low temperature CO oxidation, with the activity clearly depending on surface area and pore systems of the catalysts.     

Can a synthetic thread act as an electrochemically switchable molecular device?

Here we report that at room temperature in acetonitrile after the reduction of the naphthalimide-site, a synthetic molecular thread undergoes a complete conformational change which makes possible an efficient conversion of chemical energy into mechanical work; such results point out the ability of the thread to act as a molecular device under electrochemical control.     

On the behaviour of the (Z)-phenylhydrazones of some 5-alkyl-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles in solution and in the gas phase: kinetic and spectrometric evidence in favour of self-assembly

Rate constants, k_A,R, for the rearrangement of the (Z)-phenylhydrazones (1a-e) of a series of 5-alkyl-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles substituted at C(5) with linear alkyl chains of different length (from C₄ up to C₁₂) into the relevant 4-acylamino-2,5-diphenyl-1,2,3-triazoles (2a-e) have been measured in dioxan/water in the base-catalyzed region (pS⁺ 10.5-12.6). For each substrate log k_A,R are linearly related to pS⁺. The significant decrease of the slopes of these straight lines (from 0.96 down to 0.78) upon increasing the length of the linear alkyl chain at C(5) and that of the reactivity (down to 14-26%) upon increasing the substrate concentration suggest a decrease of the polarity of the ‘actual’ reaction medium and provide indirect evidence of the tendency of the substrates (Z)-1a-e to self-assemble. To confirm the above outcome direct evidence of the formation of self-assemblies in solution were obtained from ¹H NMR and spectrofluorimetry measurements while ESI-MS experiments point out the presence of aggregated substrates also in the gas phase.     

Kinetic investigation of porphyrin interaction with chiral templates reveals unexpected features of the induction and self-propagation mechanism of chiral memory

Kinetics of the porphyrin aggregation leading to a chiral memory system shows a remarkable "catalytic" effect of the noncovalent templates explaining their self-replication ability.