Survey of UV Emissions from Sunbeds in the UK

Increased use of indoor tanning for cosmetic purposes has led to concerns for its impact on the risk of cutaneous cancers. The effects on UVR on skin depend on radiant dose, i.e. combination of irradiance and exposure duration. While a number of studies surveyed accessible emission from sunbeds, majority did not include the information on doses received during tanning sessions. Spectral irradiance of 195 sunbeds in five areas of the United Kingdom was measured in order to assess the radiant doses for comparison with the SED. Erythema weighted irradiance of more than 85% of all tested solaria exceeded 0.3 W m^?2, consistent with the findings of other studies. However, evaluation of radiant doses showed no evidence of increasing exposure per session in the United Kingdom in the last decade despite the increasing sunbed emission levels. Use of sunbeds for cosmetic purposes should be discouraged, with effective enforcement of the ban on under‐18 use, strict control on tanning duration and promotion of information on health risks of sunbed use. Such an integrated approach on safe equipment, safe use, and information should reduce the risk of detrimental impact of sunbed use on public health.     

Rapid and ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of mercury(II) by chemically initiated aggregation of gold nanoparticles

The article describes a method for rapid and visual determination of Hg(II) ion using unmodified gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs). It involves the addition of Au-NPs to a solution containing Hg(II) ions which, however, does not induce a color change. Next, a solution of lysine is added which induces the aggregation of the Au-NPs and causes the color of the solution to change from wine-red to purple. The whole on-site detection process can be executed in less than 15 min. Other amines (ethylenediamine, arginine, and melamine) were also investigated with respect to their capability to induce aggregation. Notably, only amines containing more than one amino group were found to be effective, but a 0.4 μM and pH 8 solution of lysine was found to give the best results. The detection limits for Hg (II) are 8.4 pM (for instrumental read-out) and 10 pM (for visual read-out). To the best of our knowledge, this LOD is better than those reported for any other existing rapid screening methods. The assay is not interfered by the presence of other common metal ions even if present in 1000-fold excess over Hg(II) concentration. It was successfully applied to the determination of Hg(II) in spiked tap water samples. We perceive that this method provides an excellent tool for rapid and ultrasensitive on-site determination of Hg(II) ions at low cost, with relative ease and minimal operation.

Rapid and ultrasensitive detection of mercury ions using gold nanoparticle based label-free colorimetric method with excellent sensitivity, easy operation and low cost.

     

Chemoselective Oxidation of Benzyl,Amino, and Propargyl Alcohols to Aldehydes and Ketones under Mild Reaction Conditions

Catalytic oxidation reactions often suffer from drawbacks such as low yields and poor selectivity. Particularly, selective oxidation of alcohols becomes more difficult when a compound contains more than one oxidizable functional group. In order to deliver a methodology that addresses these issues, herein we report an efficient, aerobic, chemoselective and simplified approach to oxidize a broad range of benzyl and propargyl alcohols containing diverse functional groups to their corresponding aldehydes and ketones in excellent yields under mild reaction conditions. Optimal yields were obtained at room temperature using 1 mmol substrate, 10 mol % copper(I) iodide, 10 mol % 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), and 1 mol % 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) in acetonitrile, under an oxygen balloon. The catalytic system can be applied even when sensitive and oxidizable groups such as alkynes, amines, and phenols are present; starting materials and products containing such groups were found to be stable under the developed conditions.     

Convenient Microwave-Assisted Chlorosulfonic Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Some Quinazolinones from 2-Phenylindole

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A new convenient method has been developed for the synthesis of quinazolinones from 2-phenyl-1H-indole and substituted amines under catalysis by...     

Comparison of the Reactivities of Tyrosine–Proline-Based Dipeptides toward Acylation with Nitrophenyl Benzoates

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - The reactivities of the L-Tyr–L-Pro dipeptide and its analog with a hydroxymethyl group instead of carboxy group in the proline moiety were compared by...     

Magnetically separable biocatalysts based on glucose oxidase for d-glucose oxidation

Russian Chemical Bulletin - Biocatalytic systems based on glucose oxidase immobilized on the surface of magnetically separable oxides SiO2 and Al2O3 were studied. Silicon and aluminum oxides...