Host-guest Assembly Based on γ-Cyclodextrin-functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Rutin Electrochemical Sensing

Here, we report multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with γ-cyclodextrins (γCD) as a novel electrochemical strategy for Rutin determination, showing superior performance than β-cyclodextrins (βCD) modified MWCNTs, suggesting an adequate environment for host-guest interactions. Under optimized conditions, the sensor showed a linear range of 39–975 nmol L⁻¹ and a limit of detection of 7 nmol L⁻¹. When tested with quercetin, catechin, and caffeine, the platform presented high selectivity with an interference response <10 %. The method was employed to quantify Rutin in spiked pharmaceutical and herbal extracts, providing recovery of 93–98.4 %. Also, HPLC-PDA confirmed the method‘s accuracy.     

The Biochemical Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy†

The unbridled dissemination of multidrug-resistant pathogens is a major threat to global health and urgently demands novel therapeutic alternatives. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has been developed as a promising approach to treat localized infections regardless of drug resistance profile or taxonomy. Even though this technique has been known for more than a century, discussions and speculations regarding the biochemical mechanisms of microbial inactivation have never reached a consensus on what is the primary cause of cell death. Since photochemically generated oxidants promote ubiquitous reactions with various biomolecules, researchers simply assumed that all cellular structures are equally damaged. In this study, biochemical, molecular, biological and advanced microscopy techniques were employed to investigate whether protein, membrane or DNA damage correlates better with dose-dependent microbial inactivation kinetics. We showed that although mild membrane permeabilization and late DNA damage occur, no correlation with inactivation kinetics was found. On the other hand, protein degradation was analyzed by three different methods and showed a dose-dependent trend that matches microbial inactivation kinetics. Our results provide a deeper mechanistic understanding of aPDT that can guide the scientific community toward the development of optimized photosensitizing drugs and also rationally propose synergistic combinations with antimicrobial chemotherapy.     

Formic acid oxidation on Pd/RuO2: does the RuO2 support enhance the electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles?

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The aim of this work was to study the effect of a RuO2 support on the activity of Pd nanoparticles for formic acid oxidation, comparing the results with...     

Carbonyl complexes of molybdenum and tungsten with sulfur donors: V. Reactions of carbonyl complexes of molybdenum(0) with uninegative (X,Y)-donor ligands (X,Y = S,N, O)

The reactions of the zerovalent carbonyl complexes Mo(CO)₆ and Mo(CO)₄(bipy) with a series of uninegative bidentate (X,Y)-donor ligands (X,Y = xanthates, dithiocarbamates, o-aminophenoxide, o-aminothiophenoxide, 2-picolinate and thioacetate) lead to new anionic tetracarbonyl complex anions [Mo⁰(X,Y)(CO)₄]^?. These anions, which can be isolated as their tetraphenylphosphonium salts, contain the (X,Y)-ligand as a bidentate group. In the case of (X,Y) = monothioacetate the decarbonylated species [PPh₄][Mo^II(TA)₃] is formed. The reacions of the new complexes with allyl bromide and methyl iodide are described.