Antioxidant activities and polyphenolic contents of three selected Micromeria species from Croatia

Antioxidant activities of three selected Micromeria species growing in Croatia (M. croatica, M. juliana and M. thymifolia) were evaluated using five different antioxidant assays, in comparison with plant polyphenolic constituents and reference antioxidants. All studied ethanolic extracts exhibited considerable activity to scavenge DPPH and hydroxyl free radicals, reducing power, iron chelating ability and total antioxidant capacity in the order: M. croatica > M. juliana > M. thymifolia. Total polyphenol (9.69-13.66%), phenolic acid (5.26-6.84%), flavonoid (0.01-0.09%) and tannin (3.07-6.48%) contents in dried plant samples were determined spectrophotometrically. A strong positive correlation between antioxidant activities and contents of phenolic acids and tannins was found, indicating their responsibility for effectiveness of tested plants. Our findings established Micromeria species as a rich source of antioxidant polyphenols, especially the endemic M. croatica.     

Role of magnetism in the formation of a short-range order in an Fe-Ga alloy

The formation of a short-range order in an Fe-Ga bcc alloy has been studied by Monte Carlo simulation with the use of effective interaction potentials calculated within the density functional theory for the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states. It has been found that the pronounced short-range order of the D0₃ type is formed at Ga concentrations close to the boundary of the two-phase region at T < T _c, whereas no short-range order is observed at T < T _c. The results obtained are in agreement with the experimental X-ray diffraction analysis. The relation of the features of the short-range order in the Fe-Ga alloy to the magnetostriction value has been discussed.     

Application of pulsed field gradient NMR with high gradient strength for studies of self-diffusion in lipid membranes on the nanoscale

This work demonstrates the feasibility of noninvasive studies of lipid self-diffusion in model lipid membranes on the nanoscale using proton pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR spectroscopy with high (up to 35 T/m) gradient amplitudes. Application of high gradients affords for the use of sufficiently small diffusion times under the conditions when the width of the gradient pulses is much smaller than the diffusion time. As a result, PFG NMR studies of partially restricted or anomalous diffusion in lipid bilayers become possible over length scales as small as 100 nm. This length scale is important because it is comparable to the size of membrane domains, or lipid rafts, which are believed to exist in biomembranes. In this work, high-gradient PFG NMR has been applied to study lipid self-diffusion in three-component planar-supported multibilayers (1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine/sphingomyelin/cholesterol). The degree of lipid orientation in the bilayers was determined with (31)P NMR. A special insert was designed to mechanically align the multibilayer stack at the magic angle with respect to the direction of the constant magnetic field to address the detrimental effects of proton dipole-dipole interactions on the NMR signal. This insert is an alternative to the conventional method of magic angle orientation of lipid membranes, the goniometer probe, which is not compatible with commercial high-gradient coils because of the lack of space in the magnet bore. Macroscopic orientation of the multibilayer stacks using the insert was confirmed with (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies and the comparison of results obtained from identical experiments using a goniometer probe for orientation. Diffusion studies were carried out at three different constant magnetic field strengths ( B 0) over a range of temperatures and diffusion times. The measured diffusivities were found to be in agreement with the data obtained previously by techniques that are limited to much larger length scales of diffusion observation than high-gradient PFG NMR.     

Synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: application of a statistical experimental design

With the intention of decreasing the experimental test runs during the optimization of synthesis of zeolites from fly ash, a 2⁴ full-factorial experimental design was applied in this study. The preparation parameters that had showed significant influence on the synthesis of pure phase zeolite Na-P1 using one-step-at-a-time experimental approach were included, but extended also to those parameters of importance identified in the literature. At the same time, it was important that the levels of variation of parameters not be restricted to the conditions where a pure phase of zeolite Na-P1 was formed. The four synthesis variables investigated were; NaOH concentration (NaOH:SiO₂ molar ratio ranged between 0.35 and 0.71), ageing temperature (35?C55°C), hydrothermal treatment time (36?C60?h) and temperature (130?C150°C). The results obtained were assessed by the improvement in the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the obtained zeolite, which showed that the phase purity is strictly controlled by the synthesis conditions. In the end, this approach provided sufficient understanding of the relationship between product properties and the four synthesis parameters, which took into account the individual effects as well as linear and nonlinear interacting phenomena. From the analysis, it was found that the main effects were ageing temperature and hydrothermal treatment time and temperature, which showed some interactions among each other.     

Layer-by-layer growth of thin amorphous solid water films on Pt(111) and Pd(111)

The growth of amorphous solid water (ASW) films on Pt(111) is investigated using rare gas (e.g., Kr) physisorption. Temperature programmed desorption of Kr is sensitive to the structure of thin water films and can be used to assess the growth modes of these films. At all temperatures that are experimentally accessible (20-155 K), the first layer of water wets Pt(111). Over a wide temperature range (20-120 K), ASW films wet the substrate and grow approximately layer by layer for at least the first three layers. In contrast to the ASW films, crystalline ice films do not wet the water monolayer on Pt(111). Virtually identical results were obtained for ASW films on epitaxial Pd(111) films grown on Pt(111). The desorption rates of thin ASW and crystalline ice films suggest that the relative free energies of the films are responsible for the different growth modes. However, at low temperatures, surface relaxation or "transient mobility" is primarily responsible for the relative smoothness of the films. A simple model of the surface relaxation semiquantitatively accounts for the observations.     

Monte carlo simulations of polymer surfaces in a cubic lattice, 1 development of a simulation algorithm and first results

A method is presented which allows to simulate surface properties of a model polymer system (in addition to bulk properties). The decisive parameter which controls the equilibrium concentration of empty sites within the bulk phase as well as the surface properties is the attractive energy operating between nonbonded neighbouring polymer segments. In effect, by varying this parameter between -0,5 and -1,5 the volume fraction of vacancies in the bulk phase changed from 0,183 to 0,003. All the parameters defined in order to characterize the “roughness” of the surface indicate that the surface gets smoother and smoother with increasing attractive segment-segment interaction and, accordingly, also with decreasing bulk equilibrium concentration of vacancies.