Photostability of UV Absorber Systems in Sunscreens†

Sunscreens are used to protect the human skin against harmful UV radiation. Today there is a trend toward higher sun protection factors (SPF) and better UVA protection. Methods for the assessment of SPF and UVA protection involve irradiation of the product, and the photostability properties of the sunscreen have an influence on its performance. Sunscreens often contain more than one UV filter. Thus it is important to understand the photostability properties of the complete system. The filter combinations used may exhibit destabilizing, stabilizing or inert interactions. For that reason, besides assessment of the properties of the single filters, photostabilities of binary filter combinations are investigated. Destabilization occurs when two UV absorbers undergo a chemical reaction after absorption of UV radiation. Stabilization may be achieved when the optical density of the system is very high, giving rise to a self‐protection effect of the sunscreen film. Photounstable UV absorbers may be additionally stabilized by employing triplet quenchers. Being aware of these mechanisms and applying them for specific UV filter combinations can help in designing efficient sunscreens.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and structural characterization of novel α-Keggin unit-supported Cu(II)- and Mn(II)-bipyridine complexes from a <Emphasis Type="Italic">tri</Emphasis>-lacunary precursor

Blue [{Cu(2,2′-bipy)₂}₂{α-SiW₁₂O₄₀}] (bipy = bipyridyl) (1) and pale yellow [Mn(2,2′-bipy)₃]₂[α-SiW₁₂O₄₀] (2) have been synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by IR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray structure analysis. In 1, the [α-SiW₁₂O₄₀]⁴⁻ ion acts as a bridge between the two [{Cu(2,2′-bipy)₂]²⁺ moieties via coordination through the terminal oxygen atoms, while in 2, the [Mn(2,2′-bipy)₃]²⁺ ion balances the charge on the polyoxo anion without forming any covalent bond. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of transition metal-mediated transformation of [α-SiW₉O₃₄]¹⁰⁻ to [α-SiW₁₂O₄₀]⁴⁻. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The Use of Iron-Enriched Yeast for the Production of Flatbread

The most common cause of iron deficiency is an improperly balanced diet, in which the body’s need for iron cannot be met by absorption of this element from food. Targeted iron supplementation and food fortification may be the main treatments for iron deficiency in the population. However, many iron-rich supplements and foods have low bioavailability of this element. In our study, we used yeast enriched with iron ions to produce flatbread. The yeast cells accumulated iron ions from the medium supplemented with Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, additionally one of the cultures was treated with pulsed electric field in order to increase the accumulation. The potential bioavailability of iron from flatbread containing 385.8 ± 4.12 mg of iron in 100 g dry mass was 10.83 ± 0.94%. All the flatbreads had a moderate glycemic index. There were no significant differences in antioxidant activity against DPPH^• between flatbread with iron-enriched and non-iron-enriched yeast. Sensory evaluation showed that this product is acceptable to consumers since no metallic aftertaste was detected. Iron enriched flatbread can potentially be an alternative to dietary supplements in iron deficiency states.     

Cellulose--model films and the fundamental approach

This critical review describes the recent arrival of ultrathin films of cellulose. The methodology of preparation as well as the applications of the films for fundamental research is fully covered. The review places cellulose in a wider scientific context where cellulose research is no longer a field of interest for specialised scientists only. Cellulose and cellulosic materials should interest communities such as biochemists, physical chemists, surface chemists, organic chemists, polymer chemists and also physicists working close the disciplines mentioned. (149 references.).     

Representation of Operators in the Time-Frequency Domain and Generalized Gabor Multipliers

Starting from a general operator representation in the time-frequency domain, this paper addresses the problem of approximating linear operators by operators that are diagonal or band-diagonal with respect to Gabor frames. A characterization of operators that can be realized as Gabor multipliers is given and necessary conditions for the existence of (Hilbert-Schmidt) optimal Gabor multiplier approximations are discussed and an efficient method for the calculation of an operator’s best approximation by a Gabor multiplier is derived. The spreading function of Gabor multipliers yields new error estimates for these approximations. Generalizations (multiple Gabor multipliers) are introduced for better approximation of overspread operators. The Riesz property of the projection operators involved in generalized Gabor multipliers is characterized, and a method for obtaining an operator’s best approximation by a multiple Gabor multiplier is suggested. Finally, it is shown that in certain situations, generalized Gabor multipliers reduce to a finite sum of regular Gabor multipliers with adapted windows.     

Cold crystallization from chiral smectic phase

Cold crystallization of liquid crystalline (S)-4’-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl) biphenyl-4-yl 4-[7-(2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobutoxy) heptyl-1-oxy]-2-fluorobenzoate (3F7HPhF) was studied in isothermal as well as non-isothermal conditions. For isothermal conditions at temperatures between 233 and 250?K X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were used. The crystallization kinetics was described by the Avrami–Avramov model, and the values of Avrami exponent, characteristic time and activation energy were determined. The kinetics of the cold crystallization in non-isothermal conditions for chosen heating rates up to 0.5?K/s was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and analyzed using Ozawa, Mo and Augis–Bennett models. Cold crystallization was found to be three-dimensional and controlled by diffusion both in the isothermal and non-isothermal process, however the activation energy determined in the non-isothermal process is about two times smaller than in the isothermal one.     

Acoustical and excess properties of {1-hexanol + n-hexane, or n-octane, or n-decane} at (298.15, 303.15, and 308.15) K

Densities (ρ) and speeds of sound (u) for the binary mixtures of 1-hexanol with n-hexane, n-octane and n-decane have been measured over the entire composition range at 298.15, 303.15 and 308.15 K. The dynamic viscosities (η) for these systems have been measured at 298.15 K. From experimental data, excess molar volumes (V_m^E), molar isentropic compressibility (K_s,m), excess molar isentropic compressibility (K_s,m^E), deviation in speed of sound (u^D) from their ideal values (u^id) in an ideal mixture, and excess free volumes (V_f^E) have been calculated. The excess functions have also been correlated with the Redlich–Kister polynomial equation. The viscosity data have been analysed in terms of some semi-empirical equations. The theoretical values of speed of sound (u) and isentropic compressibility (κ_S) have also been estimated using the Prigogine–Flory–Patterson (PFP) theory with the van der Waals (vdW) potential energy model and the results have been compared with experimental values. The effect of chain-length of n-alkanes as well as the temperature on the excess properties has also been studied.