Influence of surface heterogeneity in electroosmotic flows—Implications in chromatography, fluid mixing, and chemical reactions in microdevices

We analyze the influence of surface heterogeneity, inducing a random ζ-potential at the walls in electroosmotic incompressible flows. Specifically, we focus on how surface heterogeneity modifies the physico-chemical processes (transport, chemical reaction, mixing) occurring in microchannel and microreactors. While the macroscopic short-time features associated with solute transport (e.g. chromatographic patterns) do not depend significantly on ζ-potential heterogeneity, spatial randomness in the surface ζ-potential modifies the spectral properties of the advection-diffusion operator, determining different long-term properties of transport/reaction phenomena compared to the homogeneous case. Examples of physical relevance (chromatography, infinitely fast reactions) are addressed.     

Tunable Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties from Room Temperature Phosphorescent Cyclic Triimidazole-Pyrene Bio-Probe

Organic materials with multiple emissions tunable by external stimuli represent a great challenge. TTPyr, crystallizing in different polymorphs, shows a very rich photophyisics comprising excitation-dependent fluorescence and phosphorescence at ambient conditions, and mechanochromic and thermochromic behavior. Transformation among the different species has been followed by thermal and X-ray diffraction analyses and the emissive features interpreted through structural results and DFT/TDDFT calculations. Particularly intriguing is the polymorph TTPyr(HT), serendipitously obtained at high temperature but stable also at room temperature, whose non-centrosymmetric structure guarantees an SHG efficiency 10 times higher than that of standard urea. Its crystal packing, where only the TT units are strongly rigidified by π-π stacking interactions while the Pyr moieties possess partial conformational freedom, is responsible for the observed dual fluorescence. The potentialities of TTPyr for bioimaging have been successfully established.     

Tuning the phase transition of ZnO thin films through lithography: an integrated bottom‐up and top‐down processing

An innovative approach towards the physico‐chemical tailoring of zinc oxide thin films is reported. The films have been deposited by liquid phase using the sol–gel method and then exposed to hard X‐rays, provided by a synchrotron storage ring, for lithography. The use of surfactant and chelating agents in the sol allows easy‐to‐pattern films made by an organic–inorganic matrix to be deposited. The exposure to hard X‐rays strongly affects the nucleation and growth of crystalline ZnO, triggering the formation of two intermediate phases before obtaining a wurtzite‐like structure. At the same time, X‐ray lithography allows for a fast patterning of the coatings enabling microfabrication for sensing and arrays technology.     

Organocatalytic Stereoselective Iodoamination of Alkenes

A new chiral thiohydantoin catalyst is used for the stereoselective iodoamination of alkenes. N‐iodosuccinimide as the source of the electrophilic iodine is activated by catalytic amounts of different additives which also influence the regioselectivity of some cyclizations.     

XPS study of Cr segregation in a martensitic stainless steel

Cr martensitic steels are promising materials for structural applications in future nuclear fusion reactors. Because the embrittlement after tempering treatments can be a serious problem, the fracture mode of a steel with 10.5 wt% of Cr treated at 700°C for 18 h has been investigated through Charpy tests in the temperature range from −100°C to +150°C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses carried out on the fracture surfaces evidenced the segregation of Cr in both ductile and brittle (quasicleavage) fields. The unexpected result indicates that Cr segregation weakens the atomic bonds; thus, the fracture path in both the cases corresponds to the zones with higher Cr content.     

Combining electronic properties and virtual screening for the development of new antioxidants: Trolox-like compounds as application example

Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the antioxidant defenses of the organism. Heart diseases, anemia, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disorders have been associated with this biological condition. Trolox is a notable antioxidant drug similar to vitamin E, and it is used to decrease the oxidative stress or repair the damage caused by it. In this work, the virtual screening technique is applied to identify compounds with antioxidant activities similar to Trolox. The antioxidant activity of these compounds was assessments by the mechanisms of hydrogen atom transfer and single electron transfer. Properties such as bond dissociation enthalpy, adiabatic ionization potential, Gibbs free reaction energy, spin density, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), and GAP (HOMO-LUMO) energies, obtained from the DFT approach, point out to the predominance of the HAT mechanism for the antioxidant action of these compounds. The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of the chemical and physical properties responsible for antioxidant activity and the design of new antioxidant agents.     

Characterization of Phenolic Compounds,Vitamin E and Fatty Acids from Monovarietal Virgin Olive Oils of “Picholine marocaine” Cultivar

Olive oil is an important product in the Mediterranean diet, due to its health benefits and sensorial characteristics. Picholine marocaine is the most cultivated variety in Morocco. The present research aims to evaluate the phenolic compounds, vitamin E and fatty acids of commercial Picholine marocaine virgin olive oils (VOOs) from five different North Moroccan provinces (Chefchaouen, Taounate, Errachidia, Beni Mellal and Taza), using HPLC-photodiode array (PDA)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS, normal phase (NP)-HPLC/ fluorescence detector (FLD) and GC-flame ionization detector (FID)/MS, respectively. The obtained results showed an average content of 130.0 mg kg⁻¹ of secoiridoids (oleuropein aglycone, 10-hydroxy-oleuropein aglycone and ligstroside aglycone, oleocanthal and oleacein), 108.1 mg kg⁻¹ of phenolic alcohols (tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol), 34.7 mg kg⁻¹ of phenolic acids (caffeic acid, ferulic acid and elenolic acid), and 8.24 mg kg⁻¹ of flavonoids (luteolin, luteolin glucoside, apigenin). With regard to vitamin E, α-tocopherol was the most abundant vitamin E (57.9 mg kg⁻¹), followed by α-tocotrienol (2.5 mg kg⁻¹), γ-tocopherol (4.5 mg kg⁻¹) and β-tocopherol (1.9 mg kg⁻¹), while δ-tocopherol was not detected. Moreover, 14 fatty acids were found and, among them, oleic acid (76.1%), linoleic acid (8.1%) palmitic acid (8.7%) and stearic acid (2.5%) were the major fatty acids detected. Finally, heat map and principal component analysis allowed us to classify the studied provinces in terms of VOO chemical composition: Chefchaouen (tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol), Taounate (oleuropein aglycone), Errachidia (ferulic acid, w-3 and w-6), Beni Mellal (oleocanthal) and Taza (luteolin and oleic acid).     

Enrichments of post‐translational modifications in proteomic studies

More than 300 different protein post‐translational modifications are currently known, but only a few have been extensively investigated because modified proteoforms are commonly present in sub‐stoichiometry amount. For this reason, improvement of specific enrichment techniques is particularly useful for the proteomic characterization of post‐translationally modified proteins. Enrichment proteomic strategies could help the researcher in the challenging issue to decipher the complex molecular cross‐talk existing between the different factors influencing the cellular pathways. In this review the state of art of the platforms applied for the enrichment of specific and most common post‐translational modifications, such as glycosylation and glycation, phosphorylation, sulfation, redox modifications (i.e. sulfydration and nitrosylation), methylation, acetylation, and ubiquitinylation, are described. Enrichments strategies applied to characterize less studied post‐translational modifications are also briefly discussed.