The Effect of Copper Salts on Bioactive Compounds and Ultrastructure of Wheat Plants

Abiotic stress agents, among them metal stress, can cause oxidative damage to plant cells. In defense, plants can increase the production of secondary metabolites in order to mitigate the harmful effects caused by them. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of two types of copper salts (CuSO₄ and Cu(NO₃)₂), added in two different amounts in soil (150 mg/kg, respectively 300 mg/kg), on assimilating pigments, total polyphenols, antioxidant activity and the elemental composition of wheat. The obtained results were compared with those from control plants grown in the same conditions but without copper salts. The amount of assimilating pigments, total polyphenols, and antioxidant activity respectively increases or decreases in the plants treated with copper salts compared to the control depending on the stage of development of the plant. No significant damage induced in the leaves of the wheat plants treated with the selected salts was observed following the TEM analysis. In six-week-old plants it was observed by EDX analysis that the salts are transformed into nanoparticles. The bioactive compounds, elemental composition and their interaction is influenced by concentration of metal’s salt, type of salt and exposure period.     

Beryllium‐Based Anion Sponges: Close Relatives of Proton Sponges

Through the use of high‐level ab initio and density functional calculations it is shown that 1,8‐diBeX‐naphthalene (X=H, F, Cl, CN, CF₃, C(CF₃)₃) derivatives behave as anion sponges, very much as 1,8‐bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene derivatives behave as proton sponges. The electron‐deficient nature of the BeX substituents, which favors strong charge transfer from the anion towards the former, results in anion affinities that are among the largest ones reported for single neutral molecules.     

Structural Effects on the Intrinsic Basicities of alpha,beta-Unsaturated Lactones and Ketones

The proton affinities of 2(5H)-furanone, 1 (836 kJ/mol), 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one, 2 (862 kJ/mol), cyclopentenone, 3 (857 kJ/mol), and cyclohexenone, 4 (863 kJ/mol), have been measured by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance techniques. A comparison is made with (reexamined) data concerning saturated cyclic and unsaturated aliphatic analogs. Three general observations are made. First, the basicity is found to increase with the size of the ring. Second, unsaturated lactones are more basic than their corresponding aliphatic unsaturated esters. Third, unsaturated and saturated lactones have almost identical gas-phase basicities, while unsaturated and saturated lactones have almost identical gas-phase basicities, while unsaturated cyclic ketones are more basic than their saturated analogs. All these experimental findings have been rationalized by means of ab initio calculations up to the G2(MP2,SVP) level. The basicity trends along the series are the result of two main factors: the different hybridization pattern of the carbonyl carbon as the size of the ring changes and, in the case of lactones, the nonbonding interaction between the proton attached to the carbonyl group and the ether-like oxygen which contributes to the enhanced stability of the protonated form. For unsaturated ketones the C=C double bond participates fully in the change in charge distribution induced by the protonation, while for unsaturated lactones the existence of an oxygen atom within the ring impedes this shift of the electron density.     

Kinetic of decomposition of some complexes under non-isothermal conditions

Kinetics of thermal decomposition of three structurally similar complexes Co₂Cu(C₂O₄)₃ (R-diam)₂, where R is ethyl, 1,2-propyl or 1,3-propyl, was studied under non-isothermal conditions and nitrogen dynamic atmosphere at heating rates of 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15 K min⁻¹. For data processing the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and a modified non-parametric kinetic methods were used. By both methods the activation energy are in the range of 97–102 kJ mol⁻¹. The formal kinetic is r=kα(1−α)². Also a compensation effect between lnA and E was evidenced. The kinetic analysis lead to the conclusion of an identic decomposition mechanism by a single step process.     

Protonation thermochemistry of selected hydroxy- and methoxycarbonyl molecules

The gas-phase basicities of a representative set of hydroxy- and methoxycarbonyl compounds (hydroxyacetone, 1, 3-hydroxybutanone, 2, 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanone, 3, 1-hydroxy-2-butanone, 4, 4-hydroxy-2-butanone, 5, 5-hydroxy-2-pentanone, 6, methoxyacetone, 7, 3-methoxy-2-butanone, 8, 4-methoxy-2-butanone, 9, and 5-methoxy-2-pentanone, 10) were experimentally determined by the equilibrium method using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance and high-pressure mass spectrometry techniques. The latter method allows the measurement of proton transfer equilibrium constants at various temperatures and thus the estimate of both the proton affinities and the protonation entropies of the relevant species. Quantum chemical calculations at the G3 and the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//6-31G(d) levels of theory were undertaken in order to find the most stable structures of the neutrals 1-10 and their protonated forms. Conformational and vibrational analyses have been done with the aim of obtaining a theoretical estimate of the protonation entropies.     

Association of Cu2+ with uracil and its thio derivatives: a theoretical study.

The structures and relative stabilities of the complexes between Cu2+ and uracil, 2-thiouracil, 4-thiouracil, and 2,4-dithiouracil were investigated by B3LYP/6-311+G(2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G* DFT calculations. In those systems in which both types of basic centers, that is, a carbonyl and a thiocarbonyl group, are present, association of Cu2+ with the oxygen atom is systematically favored, in contrast to what was found for the corresponding Cu+ complexes. This can be understood by considering that association of Cu2+ is immediately followed by oxidation of the base, which accumulates the negative charge at the oxygen atoms. Similarly, for 2,4-dithiouracil the most basic site for Cu+ attachment is the sulfur atom at the 4-position, while for association of Cu2+ it is sulfur at the 2-position. In contrast, differences between uracil-Cu+ and uracil-Cu2+ complexes are very small, and in both cases the oxygen atom at the 4-position is the most basic. Cu2+ binding energies are about 4 and 1.2 times larger than Cu+ binding energies and proton affinities, respectively. Uracil- and thiouracil-Cu2+ complexes are thermodynamically unstable but kinetically stable with respect to their dissociation into uracil*+ + Cu+ or thiouracil*+ + Cu+. The Cu2+ binding energies vary with the difference between the second ionization potential of the metal and the first ionization potential of the base. regardless of the reference acid (H+, Cu+, Cu2+) the basicity trend is 2,4-dithiouracil > 4-thiouracil > 2-thiouracil > uracil.     

Exergonic and Spontaneous Production of Radicals through Beryllium Bonds

High‐level ab initio calculations show that the formation of radicals, by the homolytic bond fission of Y?R (Y=F, OH, NH₂; R=CH₃, NH₂, OH, F, SiH₃, PH₂, SH, Cl, NO) bonds is dramatically favored by the association of the molecule with BeX₂ (X=H and Cl) derivatives. This finding is a consequence of two concomitant effects, the significant activation of the Y?R bond after the formation of the beryllium bond, and the huge stabilization of the F^. (OH^., NH₂^.) radical upon BeX₂ attachment. In those cases where R is an electronegative group, the formation of the radicals is not only exergonic, but spontaneous.     

Synthesis,properties, and fungal degradation of castor-oil-based polyurethane composites with different cellulose contents

Different contents of bonded cellulose were dispersed in a matrix of castor-oil-based polyurethane to produce composites with high susceptibility to fungal attack. We chose to bond the cellulose filler with free diisocyanate, to increase the crosslinking density. Measurements indicated physical and chemical interactions between the polyurethane matrix and cellulose filler. The cellulose network significantly enhanced the interfacial adhesion and thus improved the thermal stability and Young’s modulus of the composites. The influences of the amount of cellulose on the surface chemical structure, surface morphology, and mechanical properties after fungal attack were also investigated. The tensile strength and elongation at break of these composites substantially decreased after exposure to fungus. These composites with high content of renewable raw materials present an optimal balance of physical properties and biodegradability, with potential applications as ecofriendly biomaterials.     

Removal of some nitrophenol contaminants using alginate gel beads

Biopolymers such as alginates are commonly used to remove the cationic contaminants from wastewaters. The major component of the alginate is the alginic acid, a linear, binary heteropolymer of β-d-mannuronate and -l-guluronate residues. In this study the fundamental aspects in the preparation of alginate beads and the effects of salt, sodium alginate concentrations and two cationic surfactants (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) on the domains of binding isotherms were investigated. The alginate cross-link complexes with metal ions can exist either as homogeneous clear solutions or precipitates or as spherical beads. The applicability of the calcium and calcium–iron alginate gel beads for removal of some nitrophenols from aqueous solutions was studied. The sorption and kinetic experiments were conducted under different values of pH, initial concentration of nitrophenols and the amount of alginate gel beads. The removal efficiency of contaminant increases with the increasing of the pH and the quantity of alginate beads and decreases with the increasing of initial contaminant concentration. The uptake of nitrophenols occurs rapidly in the first 12 h, followed by a slow process that takes about 72 h. According to the egg-box model of gelation mechanism the cavities formed in the alginate gel capture the cationic contaminants. The adsorption equilibrium data obtained for nitrophenols derivatives at various pH and initial solid sorbent amount were applied to the two classical models, i.e. Langmuir and Freundlich, and the isotherm parameters were calculated.