Characterization of pigments and ligands in a wall painting fragment from Liternum archaeological park (Italy)

Spectroscopic and MS techniques were used to characterize the pigments and the composition of polar and nonpolar binders of a stray wall painting fragment from Liternum (Italy) archaeological excavation. X‐ray fluorescence and diffraction analysis of the decorations indicated mainly the presence of calcite, quartz, hematite, cinnabar, and cuprorivaite. Infrared spectroscopy, GC coupled to flame‐ionization detector, and MS analysis of the polar and nonpolar components extracted from paint layers from three different color regions revealed the presence of free amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. Interestingly, LC‐MS shotgun analysis of the red painting region showed the presence of αS1‐casein of buffalo origin. Compared to our previous results from Pompeii's wall paintings, even though the Liternum painting mixture contained also binders of animal origin, the data strongly suggest that in both cases a tempera painting technique was utilized.     

Improved procedure for protein binder analysis in mural painting by LC-ESI/Q-q-TOF mass spectrometry: detection of different milk species by casein proteotypic peptides

Diagnostic techniques applied to the field of cultural heritage represent a very important aspect of scientific investigation. Recently, proteomic approaches based on mass spectrometry coupled with traditional spectroscopic methods have been used for painting analysis, generating promising results for binder’s protein identification. In the present work, an improved procedure based on LC-ESI/Q-q-TOF tandem mass spectrometry for the identification of protein binders has been developed for the molecular characterization of samples from an early-twentieth-century mural painting from the St. Dimitar Cathedral in Vidin, Bulgaria. The proteomic investigation has led to the identification of both egg white and egg yolk proteins, according to traditional old recipes for tempera paintings. In addition, beyond the egg components, the presence of caseins was also revealed, thus suggesting the use of milk as binding medium, fixative or stabilising agent. Furthermore, for the first time, the capability to discriminate the milk origin on the basis of alpha casein proteotypic peptides is reported, that are diagnostic for a given species, thus opening interesting perspectives in art and archaeological fields.     

Effects of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Components on the Reduction of LiFSI over Lithium Metal

The use of a lithium metal anode still presents a challenging chemistry and engineering problem that holds back next generation lithium battery technology. One of the issues facing lithium metal is the presence of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that forms on the electrode creating a variety of chemical species that change the properties of the electrode and is closely related to the formation and growth of lithium dendrites. In order to advance the scientific progress of lithium metal more must be understood about the fundamentals of the SEI. One property of the SEI that is particularly critical is the passivating behavior of the different SEI components. This property is critical to the continued formation of SEI and stability of the electrolyte and electrode. Here we report the investigation of the passivation behavior of Li₂O, Li₂CO_3, LiF and LiOH with the lithium salt LiFSI. We used large computational chemistry models that are able to capture the lithium/SEI interface as well as the SEI/electrolyte interface. We determined that LiF and Li₂CO₃ are the most passivating of the SEI layers, followed by LiOH and Li₂O. These results match previous studies of other Li salts and provide further examination of LiFSI reduction.     

Determination of some phenolic compounds in red wine by RP-HPLC: method development and validation

A methodology employing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of five phenolic compounds in red wine. The chromatographic separation was carried out in a C(18) column with water acidify with acetic acid (pH 2.6) (solvent A) and 20% solvent A and 80% acetonitrile (solvent B) as the mobile phase. The validation parameters included: selectivity, linearity, range, limits of detection and quantitation, precision and accuracy, using an internal standard. All calibration curves were linear (R(2) > 0.999) within the range, and good precision (RSD < 2.6%) and recovery (80-120%) was obtained for all compounds. This method was applied to quantify phenolics in red wine samples from Santa Catarina State, Brazil, and good separation peaks for phenolic compounds in these wines were observed.     

New Imatinib Derivatives with Antiproliferative Activity against A549 and K562 Cancer Cells

Tyrosine kinase enzymes are among the primary molecular targets for the treatment of some human neoplasms, such as those in lung cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia. Mutations in the enzyme domain can cause resistance and new inhibitors capable of circumventing these mutations are highly desired. The objective of this work was to synthesize and evaluate the antiproliferative ability of ten new analogs that contain isatins and the phenylamino-pyrimidine pyridine (PAPP) skeleton, the main pharmacophore group of imatinib. The 1,2,3-triazole core was used as a spacer in the derivatives through a click chemistry reaction and gave good yields. All the analogs were tested against A549 and K562 cells, lung cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell lines, respectively. In A549 cells, the 3,3-difluorinated compound (3a), the 5-chloro-3,3-difluorinated compound (3c) and the 5-bromo-3,3-difluorinated compound (3d) showed IC₅₀ values of 7.2, 6.4, and 7.3 μM, respectively, and were all more potent than imatinib (IC₅₀ of 65.4 μM). In K562 cells, the 3,3-difluoro-5-methylated compound (3b) decreased cell viability to 57.5% and, at 10 µM, showed an IC₅₀ value of 35.8 μM (imatinib, IC₅₀ = 0.08 μM). The results suggest that 3a, 3c, and 3d can be used as prototypes for the development of more potent and selective derivatives against lung cancer.     

Polar and non-polar organic binder characterization in Pompeian wall paintings: comparison to a simulated painting mimicking an "a secco" technique

The use of Fourier transform infrared spectromicroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) allowed us to characterize the composition of polar and non-polar binders present in sporadic wall paint fragments taken from Pompeii’s archaeological excavation. The analyses of the polar and non-polar binder components extracted from paint powder layer showed the presence of amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids but the absence of proteinaceous material. These results are consistent with a water tempera painting mixture composed of pigments, flours, gums, and oils and are in agreement with those obtained from a simulated wall paint sample made for mimicking an ancient “a secco” technique. Notably, for the first time, we report the capability to discriminate by tandem MS the presence of free amino acids in the paint layer.     

Ion motion and charge transfer through a solid-electrolyte interphase: an atomistic view

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) films forming at the surface of anode electrodes are known as one of the crucial aspects that decide battery performance...     

New biphasic mono-component composite material obtained by partial oxypropylation of bacterial cellulose

The present work evaluates the partial oxypropylation of dried bacterial cellulose (BC) performed by grafting propylene oxide with potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. Samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. Partial transformation of BC was observed, with cellulose fibers being covered by the thermoplastic phase, leading to a new biphasic mono-component composite material. This synthesis can be considered a green chemical process, since it does not require the use of solvents nor the application of any processing operation, given the fact that the final product is ready for further exploitation as it is removed from the reactor. The obtained material can be used in various applications in the polymer field, i.e. composites, reinforced rigid polyurethane foams, and others.     

Use of bacterial cellulose in the textile industry and the wettability challenge—a review

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has been studied as an alternative material in several segments of the food, pharmaceutical, materials and textile industries. The importance of BC is linked to sustainability goals, since it is an easily degradable biomaterial of low toxicity to the environment and is a renewable raw material. For use in the textile area, bacterial cellulose has attracted great interest from researchers, but it presents some challenges notably to its hydrophilic structure. This integrative review article brings together studies and methods related to minimizing the hydrophilicity of bacterial cellulose, in order to expand its applicability in the textile industry in its dry state. The databases consulted were Scopus, ScienceDirect, ProQuest and Web of Science, the documents investigated were scientific articles and the time period investigated was between 2015 and 2021. The results showed that although there are methods to make the BC membrane more hydrophobic, future studies in this regard and on other properties must continue so that bacterial cellulose can be commercially introduced in the textile sector.