Cadmium speciation in Arabidopsis thaliana as a strategy to study metal accumulation system in plants

The strategy to identify cadmium deactivation mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana has been developed using selective and sensitive hyphenated techniques. Cadmium concentrations, in main parts of the plant, were determined by ICP-MS and total amount was found as 0.43-0.44 μg g⁻¹ in leaves and 3.3-3.4 μg g⁻¹ in roots. Speciation of the metal complexes in cells was investigated by SEC-ICP-MS in order to estimate the accumulation process. Phytochelatins, desglycyl-phytochelatins and phytochelatins homologues lacking the N-terminal γ-linked glutamic acid were extracted from plant and were identified by RPLC-ESI-MS. Two-dimensional chromatography allowed to link the metal complexes separated by SEC with isoforms of phytochelatins analyzed by high resolution RPLC and confirm their significant responsibility for metal accumulation. The potential of the cadmium complexes speciation indicates that obtained results could be reliable source of knowledge to confirm the information coming from the well-known genomic sequence of Arabidopsis and to estimate the role of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase in metabolism of glutathione.     

Investigation of the Flavonoids in Croatian Propolis by Thin-Layer Chromatography

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Flavonoids and phenolic acids with a variety of biological activity are considered to be the main compounds in propolis–a...     

Statistical investigations of some element distributions in healthy and pathologically altered human colon mucosa

In this paper data are presented concerning the distribution of Cr, Sb, Sc, Fe, Co, and Zn in HCM, of patients with histopathologically and clinically verified findings: Healthy—N; Colitis Chronica-CCh; Colitis Ulcerosa-CU; Adenoma Tubulare-AT; Adenocarcinoma-ACa. The data are presented on the basis of the contents of elements (C_E parameter expressed in nkg/g of lyophilized HCM) obtained by INAA and calculated by computer programs, with statistical parameters (n, XBAR, XMIN-XMAX, R, V, SE and SDEV). The values of C_E parameters of elements found in all diagnostic groups (decreasing order) are also presented. The minimal \(\bar C_E \) parameters for all elements except Zn are found in diagnostic groups AT and ACa. The maximal differences of \(\bar C_E \) parameters in DS-decreasing orders are found for Sb (78.89%) and the minimal for Zn (18.89%).     

Conformational analysis of benzoannulated nine-membered rings. Part 3. 1,4,5,7-Tetrahydro-3H-2,6-benzodiselenine and its 4-spiro derivatives

The ¹H and ¹³C nmr spectra of 1,4,5,7-tetrahydro-3H-2,6-benzodiselenine (1) and three 4-spiro derivatives 2–4 as well as the ⁷⁷Se nmr spectra of 2 have been recorded at different temperatures in order to investigate their conformational behavior. It was found that in analogy to corresponding dithionins the molecules adopt a chiral ground state conformation (Figure 2), and coalescence effects are due to racemization.     

Photopolymers for Rapid Prototyping of Soluble Mold Materials and Molding of Cellular Biomaterials

Summary. To substitute cross-linked photopolymers in rapid prototyping of mold materials and therefore extend the range of materials which can be casted, organo-soluble photopolymers were developed. Branched bisalkylacrylamides were suitable as base component for such formulations, due to their high reactivity, good mechanical properties, and excellent solubility of the formed polymers. These molding materials were used to prepare cellular biocompatible materials which could be used as bone replacement materials. Biocompatible crosslinkers based on methacrylates from hydrolyzed gelatine or lactic acid ethyleneglycol blockcopolymers and commercially available reactive diluents are the base components of such a formulation. Biocompatibility was investigated by osteoblast-like cells. Cellular biocompatible parts were obtained by thermal polymerization in soluble mould materials prepared by 3D-photoshaping.     

Revisiting the S-Au(111) interaction: static or dynamic?

The Au-S interaction is probably the most intensively studied interaction of Au surfaces with nonmetals, as, for example, it plays an important role in Au ore formation(1) and controls the structure and dynamics of thiol-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Various S-induced surface structures on Au(111) were recently reported for different conditions and predominantly interpreted in terms of a static Au surface. Here, we demonstrate that the Au(111) surface exhibits a very dynamic character upon interaction with adsorbed sulfur: large-scale surface restructuring and incorporation of Au atoms into a growing 2D AuS phase were observed in situ. These results provide new insight into the Au-S surface chemistry.     

Algebraic Kekulé structures of benzenoid hydrocarbons

An algebraic Kekulé structure of a benzenoid hydrocarbon is obtained from an ordinary Kekulé structure by inscribing into each hexagon the number of pi-electrons which (according to this Kekulé structure) belong to this hexagon. We show that in the case of catafusenes, there is a one-to-one correspondence between ordinary and algebraic Kekulé structures. On the other hand, in the case of perifusenes, one algebraic Kekulé structure may correspond to several ordinary Kekulé structures.     

Determination of Lercanidipine Hydrochloride and Its Impurities in Tablets

The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for determination of lercanidipine hydrochloride and its synthetic impurities, degradation and oxidative products in Carmen^® tablets. The best separation was performed on Zorbax SB C18 column, 250 x 4.6 mm, particle size 5 m. Acetonitrile-water-triethylamine 55:44.8:0.2 (v/v/v) was used as a mobile phase with flow rate 1 mL min^–1. pH was adjusted to 3.0 with orthophosphoric acid. UV detection was performed at 240 nm. Duration of chromatographic run was about 12 min for six examined compounds. The chromatographic conditions for the determination of lercanidipine hydrochloride and its related substances were the same, but the concentration of lercanidipine hydrochloride was 0.03 mg mL^–1 for assay and 0.3 mg mL^–1 for related substances. The validation of the method performance characteristics (figures of merits, quality of parameters) was established to be adequate for the intended use. The evaluation of number of parameters, such as selectivity, linearity, accuracy, specificity, precision (repetability and reproducibility), sensitivity and detection and determination limits is entailed.Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Institute of Pharmacy of Serbia, Belgrade and by the Ministry for Science, Technology and Development of Serbia, Contact: 1458     

Oxygen adsorption on hydrated gold cluster anions: experiment and theory

The discovery that supported gold clusters act as highly efficient catalysts for low-temperature oxidation reactions has led to a great deal of work aimed at understanding the origins of the catalytic activity. Several studies have shown that the presence of trace moisture is required for the catalysts to function. Using near-atmospheric pressure flow reactor techniques, we have studied humidity and temperature effects on the reactivity of gas-phase gold cluster anions with O2. Near room temperature, the humid source produces abundant gold-hydroxy cluster anions, Au(N)OH(-), and these have a reversed O2 adsorption activity: Nonreactive bare gold clusters become active when in the form Au(N)OH(-), while active bare clusters are inactive when -OH is bound. The binding energies for the stable structures obtained from density functional calculations confirm fully these findings. Moreover, the theory provides evidence that electron-transfer induced by the binding of a OH group enhances the reactivity toward molecular oxygen for odd anionic gold clusters and suppresses the reactivity for the even ones. The temperature dependence of O2 addition to Au(3)OH(-) and Au(4)(-) indicates deviations from equilibrium control at temperatures below room temperature. The effects of humidity on gold cluster adsorption activity support the conclusion drawn for the mechanism of O2 adsorption on "dry" gold cluster anions and provides insight into the possible role of water in the enhanced activity of supported gold cluster catalysts.     

The effect of morphological changes on the coprecipitation of strontium by calcium phosphate

The coprecipitation of strontium by a calcium phosphate phase formed at an elevated pH 10.8 was investigated. The first phase obtained under these conditions in the amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) which is transformed into crystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) after the induction period. Is has been shown that this transformation together with morphological changes of the precipitated solid phase, influences the amount of the sorbed strontium significantly. The possible consequences of this finding on practical application of coprecipitation of strontium by calcium phosphate have been discussed.