Correction to: Foreword to the memorial issue for Professor Roberto Marassi

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry -     

Shedding Light on the Origin of Solid-State Luminescence Enhancement in Butterfly Molecules

Different molecular strategies have been carefully evaluated to produce solid-state luminescence enhancement (SLE) in compounds that show dark states in solution. A set of α-phenylstyrylarene derivatives with a butterfly shape have been designed and synthesised, for the first time, with the aim of improving the solid-state fluorescence emission of their parent styrylarene compounds. Although these butterfly molecules are not fluorescent in solution, one of them (1,2,4,5-tetra(α-phenylstyryl)benzene) exhibits a fluorescence quantum yield as high as 68 % in a drop-cast sample and 31 % in its crystalline form. In contrast, 1,3,5-tris(α-phenylstyryl)benzene and 4,6-bis(α-phenylstyryl)pyrimidine do not show SLE. A range of fluorescence spectroscopy experiments and DFT calculations were carried out to unravel the origin of different photophysical behaviour of these compounds in the solid state. The results indicate that a rational strategy to control the SLE effect in luminogens depends on a delicate balance between molecular properties and inter-/intramolecular interactions in the solid state.     

Smart,self-repair polymers based on acryloyl-6-aminocaproic acid and modified with magnetic nanoparticles—preparation and characterization

Capability of materials to self-repair is an innovative and unique property from a point of view both chemistry and physics. Moreover, such property could arouse special interests if such an ability could be caused by the selection of the environmental parameters. Such materials—polymers based on acryloyl-6-aminocaproic acid (A6ACA)—were synthesized in the present paper. In addition, mentioned polymers have been modified with different amount of magnetic nanoparticles solution. Subsequently, sorption capacity and behavior of synthesized polymers in simulated body fluids have been determined. What is also important, studies on cytotoxicity of prepared materials in relation to fibroblasts and cells of cancer origin have been conducted. Materials have also been analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy method. Based on the research aiming at physicochemical characteristics of abovementioned materials it was proved that prepared hydrogels showed self-repair property in a low pH environment. Apart from this essential issue, these were characterized by high sorption capacity, high porosity which decreases with the introduced amount of nanoparticles and, what is important, cytotoxicity to cancer cells. Such combination is a very interesting from a point of view of many realms and due to its unique features may be widely applicable in the nearest future.     

Migration of perfluorinated compounds from paperbag to Tenax® and lyophilised milk at different temperatures

ABSTRACT

Migration tests of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from a grease-proof paperbag used for packaging of pet food have been carried out. No migration of perfluorocaboxylic acids (PFCAs), from PFBA to PFTeDA, to the simulant Tenax® was found after 10 days at 40°C. However, the increase of temperature in the range 80–160°C gave rise to the migration of the PFCAs. Finally, the migration to real foods such as lyophilised whole and low-fat milk samples at 80 and 120°C was studied. The results indicate that the migration percentages of the PFCASs into food samples are much higher than those obtained into Tenax®.     

Gold(III)-pteridine compounds: synthesis, spectral, and X-ray diffraction studies on new adducts between sodium tetrabromoaurate(III) and lumazine derivatives

In aqueous hydrobromic medium, Na[AuCl₄] reacts with 1,3-dimethyllumazine (1,3-dimethyl-pteridine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, DLM) or 1,3,6,7-tetramethyllumazine (DLMD) to give three adducts with simplified formulas Na[AuBr₄](DLMD), Na[AuBr₄](DLM), and Na[AuBr₄](DLM)₂. These compounds have been characterized by means of analytical techniques, and IR and NMR spectroscopies. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction studies have been made on the Na[AuBr₄](DLM)₂ compound. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic Pbca space group, with a = 15.249(1), b = 15.238(2), c = 21.563(2) Å, Z = 8, and R = 0.053. The structure consists of planar [AuBr₄]^– anions and Na⁺ cations weakly linked to two crystallographically independent DLM molecules. The Na⁺ cation interacts weakly with four oxygen and one nitrogen atoms from four different pteridine molecules, its environment may be described as a very distorted square pyramid.     

Rapid enantiomeric excess and concentration determination using simple racemic metal complexes

Racemic-metal complexes were used to determine identity, enantiomeric excess, and concentration of chiral diamines using metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands in circular dichroism spectroscopy. It takes under just 2 min per sample to determine [G]t and %R with tolerable errors (19% and 4%, respectively). The simplicity of the achiral receptors employed confers to this technique great potential for high-throughput screening.     

Effect of swift heavy ions in Ni-Al nanocrystalline films studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray absorption spectroscopic measurements have been used to compare the electronic structures of swift heavy ions (100 MeV Si ions) irradiated and pristine Ni-Al nanocrystalline films. Results from X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra at Al K-, and Ni L(2,3)-edges and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) at Ni K-edges are discussed. The observed XRD peaks indicate the improvement of crystalline nature and Al(111) clustering after the swift heavy ion interactions. While the XANES spectra at Ni L(2,3)-edges show decrease in the intensity of white line strength, the Al K-edge shows increase in intensity after irradiation. Above results imply that swift heavy ions induce low Z (i.e., Al) ion mass transport, changes in Al sp-Ni-d hybridization, and charge transfer. EXAFS results show that crystalline nature is improved after swift heavy irradiation which is consistent with XRD results.     

Multitechnique investigation of conformational features of small molecules: the case of methyl phenyl sulfoxide

The conformational distribution of methyl phenyl sulfoxide (a molecule representative of a very important class of reagents widely used in asymmetric synthesis) has been studied in two different phases of matter (gas phase and solution) by a comprehensive approach including theoretical calculations, microwave spectroscopy, liquid crystal NMR experiments, and atomistic molecular dynamics computer simulations. The aim was to investigate the combined action of intra- and intermolecular interactions in determining the molecule's conformational equilibrium, upon which important physicochemical properties (inter alia, the chemoselectivity) significantly depend. Basically, the results converge in describing the tendency of the molecule to favor stable conformations governed by intramolecular interactions (in particular, the expected optimization between steric repulsion and conjugation of pi systems). However, significant solvent effects (whose "absolute" magnitude is actually difficult to assess, due to a certain "method-dependence" of the results) have been also detected.     

Protein extraction from Phoenix dactylifera L. leaves, a recalcitrant material, for two-dimensional electrophoresis

This work was aimed at optimizing a protein extraction procedure for date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) leaves, a highly recalcitrant plant tissue for 2-DE. Five protein extraction protocols based on different protein precipitation agents (TCA/acetone vs. phenol (Ph) methods) and protein resolubilization methods (physical treatments, e.g., sonication, shaking and/or heating) were tested. Ph/SDS extraction with methanol/ammonium acetate precipitation, followed by DOC preincubation and TCA/acetone precipitation and, finally, solubilization by shaking in rehydration solution was found to be the best protein extraction method. We conclude that DOC with TCA/acetone precipitation step eliminates interfering compounds, thus allowing efficient resolubilization of date palm leaf proteins. This method could be appropriate for proteomic studies such as date palm colonization by entomopathogenic fungi.