Surfactant Hydrogels for the Dispersion of Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Catalysts

Novel hydrogel phases based on positively charged and zwitterionic surfactants, namely, N‐[p‐(n‐dodecyloxybenzyl)]‐N,N,N‐trimethylammonium bromide (pDOTABr) and p‐dodecyloxybenzyldimethylamine oxide (pDOAO), which combine pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs), were obtained, thus leading to stable dispersions and enhanced cross‐linked networks. The composite hydrogel featuring a well‐defined nanostructured morphology and an overall positively charged surface was shown to efficiently immobilise a polyanionic and redox‐active tetraruthenium‐substituted polyoxometalate (Ru₄POM) by complementary charge interactions. The resulting hybrid gel has been characterised by electron microscopy techniques, whereas the electrostatic‐directed assembly has been monitored by means of fluorescence spectroscopy and ζ‐potential tests. This protocol offers a straightforward supramolecular strategy for the design of novel aqueous‐based electrocatalytic soft materials, thereby improving the processability of CNTs while tuning their interfacial decoration with multiple catalytic domains. Electrochemical evidence confirms that the activity of the catalyst is preserved within the gel media.     

Principal hierarchies of infinite-dimensional Frobenius manifolds: The extended 2D Toda lattice

We define a dispersionless tau-symmetric bihamiltonian integrable hierarchy on the space of pairs of functions analytic inside/outside the unit circle with simple poles at 0/∞$0/\infty$ respectively, which extends the dispersionless 2D Toda hierarchy of Takasaki and Takebe. Then we construct the deformed flat connection of the infinite-dimensional Frobenius manifold _M0$M_0$ introduced by Carlet, Dubrovin and Mertens (2011) [3] and, by explicitly solving the deformed flatness equations, we prove that the extended 2D Toda hierarchy coincides with principal hierarchy of _M0$M_0$.     

Metabolism of JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in silico and in vitro: a pilot study for the detection of unknown synthetic cannabinoids metabolites

This pilot study was performed to study the main metabolic reactions of four synthetic cannabinoids: JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in order to setup a screening method for the detection of main metabolites in biological fluids. In silico prediction of main metabolic reactions was performed using MetaSite^? software. To evaluate the agreement between software prediction and experimental reactions, we performed in vitro experiments on the same JWHs using rat liver slices. The obtained samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight and the identification of metabolites was executed using Mass-MetaSite^? software that automatically assigned the metabolite structures to the peaks detected based on their accurate masses and fragmentation. A comparison between the experimental findings and the in silico metabolism prediction using MetaSite^? software showed a good accordance between experimental and in silico data. Thus, the use of in silico metabolism prediction might represent a useful tool for the forensic and clinical toxicologist to identify possible main biomarkers for synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids, especially urine, following their administration.

QuEChERS sample preparation for the determination of pesticides and other organic residues in environmental matrices: a critical review

Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) is an extraction and clean-up technique originally developed for recovering pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables. Since its introduction, and until December 2013, about 700 papers have been published using the QuEChERS technique, according to a literature overview carried out using SciFinder, Elsevier SciVerse, and Google search engines. Most of these papers were dedicated to pesticide multiresidue analysis in food matrices, and this topic has been thoroughly reviewed over recent years. The QuEChERS approach is now rapidly developing beyond its original field of application to analytes other than pesticides, and matrices other than food, such as biological fluids and non-edible plants, including Chinese medicinal plants. Recently, the QuEChERS concept has spread to environmental applications by analyzing not only pesticides but also other compounds of environmental concern in soil, sediments, and water. To the best of our knowledge, QuEChERS environmental applications have not been reviewed so far; therefore, in this contribution, after a general discussion on the evolution and changes of the original QuEChERS method, a critical survey of the literature regarding environmental applications of conventional and modified QuEChERS methodology is provided. The overall recoveries obtained with QuEChERS and other extraction approaches (e.g., accelerated solvent extraction, ultrasonic solvent extraction, liquid/solid extraction, and soxhlet extraction) were compared, providing evidence for QuEChERS higher recoveries for various classes of compounds, such as biopesticides, chloroalkanes, phenols, and perfluoroalkyl substances. The role of physicochemical properties of soil (i.e., clay and organic carbon content, as well as cation exchange capacity) and target analytes (i.e., log K_OW, water solubility, and vapor pressure) were also evaluated in order to interpret recovery and matrix effect data.     

Exploiting in vitro and in vivo bioluminescence for the implementation of the three Rs principle (replacement,reduction, and refinement) in drug discovery

Bioluminescence-based analytical tools are suitable for high-throughput and high-content screening assays, finding widespread application in several fields related to the drug discovery process. Cell-based bioluminescence assays, because of their peculiar advantages of predictability, possibility of automation, multiplexing, and miniaturization, seem the most appealing tool for the high demands of the early stages of drug screening. Reporter gene technology and the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer principle are widely used, and receptor binding studies of new agonists/antagonists for a variety of human receptors expressed in different cell lines can be performed. Moreover, bioluminescence can be used for in vitro and in vivo real-time monitoring of pathophysiological processes within living cells and small animals. New luciferases and substrates have recently arrived on the market, further expanding the spectrum of applications. A new generation of probes are also emerging that promise to revolutionize the preclinical imaging market. This formidable toolbox is demonstrated to facilitate the implementation of the three Rs principle in the early drug discovery process, in compliance with ethical and responsible research to reduce cost and improve the reliability and predictability of results.     

A unifying approach for the study of linear sampling type operators in function spaces

Sampling series play a crucial role in Signal and Image Processing. In this note, we illustrate a general method to construct Sampling series and to determine their convergence in Orlicz spaces. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Driving Organic Nanocrystals Dissolution Through Electrochemistry

We have recently discussed how organic nanocrystal dissolution appears in different morphologies and the role of the solution pH in the crystal detriment process. We also highlighted the role of the local molecular chemistry in porphyrin nanocrystals having comparable structures: in water-based acid solutions, protonation of free-base porphyrin molecules is the driving force for crystal dissolution, whereas metal (Zn^II) porphyrin nanocrystals remain unperturbed. However, all porphyrin types, having an electron rich π-structure, can be electrochemically oxidized. In this scenario, a key question is: does electrochemistry represent a viable strategy to drive the dissolution of both free-base and metal porphyrin nanocrystals? In this work, by exploiting electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM), we monitor in situ and in real time the dissolution of both free-base and metal porphyrin nanocrystals, as soon as molecules reach the oxidation potential, showing different regimes according to the applied EC potential.     

Electrical biosensing with synthetic nanopores and nanochannels

The integration of constriction structures such as nanopores and nanochannels into fluidic devices discloses powerful biosensing capabilities that can be tuned to a wide range of analytes through conceptually simple size calibrations. The practical implementation of this tuning requires a nontrivial manipulation of matter at nanoscale with further requirements for low complexity and low-cost procedures that may be adapted to industrial production. Here, we review the recent progress on the fabrication techniques of nanopores and nanochannels, together with the efforts to realize their full biosensing potential by understanding and amending the problems still afflicting the measurement performed during operation.     

Exploiting Protein N-Terminus for Site-Specific Bioconjugation

Although a plethora of chemistries have been developed to selectively decorate protein molecules, novel strategies continue to be reported with the final aim of improving selectivity and mildness of the reaction conditions, preserve protein integrity, and fulfill all the increasing requirements of the modern applications of protein conjugates. The targeting of the protein N-terminal alpha-amine group appears a convenient solution to the issue, emerging as a useful and unique reactive site universally present in each protein molecule. Herein, we provide an updated overview of the methodologies developed until today to afford the selective modification of proteins through the targeting of the N-terminal alpha-amine. Chemical and enzymatic strategies enabling the selective labeling of the protein N-terminal alpha-amine group are described.