Photoperoxidation of ciprofloxacin antibiotic in aqueous medium using Fe3-XO4-Y-TiO2 particles as catalyst

Conventional treatment processes are not effective in removing micropollutants such as antibiotics and other drugs present in wastewater, and degradation methods based on advanced oxidative processes become attractive. Herein, it was synthesized Fe3-xO4-y-TiO2 particles by coprecipitation method and they were heat-treated at 100, 400, and 800 �C. The obtained solids were characterized by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis and analytical determinations were performed using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. The particles were evaluated in photoperoxidation processes on the degradation of the ciprofloxacin antimicrobial in an aqueous solution. The studies took place at pH 9; with an H2O2 concentration of 31 mg L�1 and particle mass 0.22 g L�1 previously defined and, in these conditions, degradation percentages between 40 and 85% were observed, with the removal in the Photo/H2O2/Fe3-xO4-y-TiO2 800 �C. The kinetic study performed for this process revealed the process adjusts to the first-order kinetics during the 120 min of reaction. The use of the catalyst can be attractive with the potential for degradation of the studied antimicrobial.

Theoretically studying the optoelectronic properties of oligomers based on 2.7-divinyl-cabazole

This work consists of theoretically studying the electronic and optical properties of 9-(4-octyloxyphenyl)-2.7-divinyl-carbazole (PCrV) oligomers. This study has been undertaken using the density functional theory (DFT) method at the B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level and BP86/6-31G (d,p) level of theory. To evaluate the PCrV-basis systems properties, the structural optimization without geometrical restrictions was performed on the total potential energy surface (TPES). In order to ensure good absorption of radiation, the interest was in increasing the efficiency of the organic photovoltaic cell. For this effect, the (HOMO-LUMO) gap energy of such compounds was reduced in terms of geometric and electronic structure. The BP86 functional gives good results at the energy gap level, while other parameters using the B3LYP functional give the best results.

Biofuel from hydrocracking of Cerbera manghas oil over Ni-Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst

The effects of reaction temperature on the hydrocarbon composition of biofuel produced in hydrocracking of Cerbera manghas oil with Ni-Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst were investigated. The incipient wetness impregnation method was applied to prepare the Ni-Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts. Furthermore, the properties of catalysts were measured by X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption spectrometry, and nitrogen physisorption. Hydrocracking process was carried out in Parr USA pressure batch reactor at pressure of 20 � 5 bar after flowing H2 for 1 h. The reaction with a catalyst/oil ratio of 1 g/150 mL proceeded at various temperatures of 350, 375 and 400 �C for 2 h. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was�used to analyze biofuel. The most abundant hydrocarbon compounds in biofuel were identified as pentadecane and heptadecane (a major diesel fuel compound) with a different amount at different reaction temperatures. It can be said that the hydrodecarboxylation/decarbonylation routes were the predominant reaction pathways and oxygen removal occurred during hydrocracking. The Cerbera manghas oil can be recommended as a promising biofeed to produce the gasoil as an alternative transportation fuel.

Screening of coformers for quercetin cocrystals through mechanochemical methods

Quercetin (QUE) is a nutraceutical compound that exhibits pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, cardioprotective, anti-ulcer, and anti-inflammatory effects. Although QUE is well-known for its benefits, its efficacy is limited due to low solubility. Thus, cocrystallization acts as an interesting approach to improve the solubility�among other properties�of this compound. In this work, cocrystallization screening was applied through neat grinding (NG) and liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), in which QUE and four cocrystal formers (benzamide,�picolinamide, isonicotinamide, and pyrazinoic acid) were tested. The precursors and QUE-coformer systems were characterized using thermoanalytical techniques (TG-DTA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results showed the formation of QUE cocrystals with picolinamide and isonicotinamide coformers in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. Furthermore, although coformers are isomers, spectroscopic and thermal data suggest that the supramolecular synthons involved in cocrystallization are different.

Bioadsorption of lead(II) over the pulp of Acrocomia aculeata

The adsorption of lead in aqueous solution onto Acrocomia aculeata pulp was examined. The pulp was characterized in the presence and absence of lead using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Sulfur and oxygen bonds were responsible for adsorbing lead onto the pulp surface. The TG-DTA profile proved that adding sodium azide increases the pulp�s thermal stability until 200 �C. Adsorption data in batch and column systems were analyzed to understand the pulp adsorption compared to other biomaterials. In the batch experiments, the removal efficiency reached a maximum of 91.9% when a solution of 50 ppm of lead was placed in contact with the pulp for 30 min and fit Freundlich isotherm behavior. In the column experiments, the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 11.97 mg g�1; more column data is needed to compare column results to other studies. Further studies to improve the pulp adsorption capacity are needed for it to be a competitive biomaterial for water treatment.

Variability levels of selected amino acids among mandarins produced in Uruguay

Nutraceutical properties of mandarins are of great interest to promote their consumption. The occurrence of free amino acids in foods is relevant to assess the nutritional value of it. To learn more about the amino acids� occurrence and variability between species, a targeted metabolomics study in �Ellendale�, �Willowleaf� and �Page� varieties was performed through ion exchange liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The studied amino acids were asparagine, glutamic acid, glutamine, histidine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, threonine and tyrosine. The difference between two consecutive seasons was evaluated, as well as the influence of fruit maturity of �Page� collected in two periods of 2015. The analytical methodology was validated. The concentration of the compounds through principal component analysis, separated well apart the three cultivars in both harvests, showing a particular profile for each of them. When comparing mature and immature cultivar �Page�, the amino acids with higher levels in mature samples were histidine, asparagine, glutamine and glutamic acid. The profiles were different due to genetic diversity, and the climatic conditions. These results add value to citric production.

Effect of the deformation parameter on the nonrelativistic energy spectra of the q-deformed Hulthen-quadratic exponential-type potential

In this study, an approximate solution of the Schr�dinger equation for the q-deformed Hulthen-quadratic exponential-type potential model within the framework of the Nikiforov�Uvarov method was obtained. The bound state energy equation and the corresponding eigenfunction was obtained. The energy spectrum is applied to study H2, HCl, CO and LiH diatomic molecules. The effect of the deformation parameters and other potential parameters on the energy spectra of the system were graphically and numerically analyzed in detail. Special cases were considered when the potential parameters were altered, resulting in deformed Hulthen potential, Hulthen potential, deformed quadratic exponential-type potential and quadratic exponential-type potential. The energy eigenvalues expressions agreed with what obtained in literature. Finally, the results can find many applications in quantum chemistry, atomic and molecular physics.

Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical application and environmental remediation: a review

Ferrous oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) formed from plant materials have been considered as chemically friendly materials and have offered extensive applications. The distinctive features of IONPs, such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, catalytic behavior and multi reaction mechanism, have embodied them as good candidate for several biomedical applications. However, the synthesis of IONPs using plant extracts is gaining high popularity and recommendations because plant extracts could act as reducing and stabilizing agents during the process of synthesis. Furthermore, the biological method of synthesizing IONPs using plant extract offer some benefits, such as being simple, economic, environmentally friendly and require less energy when compared with both physical and chemical methods of synthesis. Hence, this review significantly summarized the synthesis, optimum conditions and characterization techniques involved in the synthesis of IONPs using several plant extracts. Consequently, comprehensive information about the applications of green synthesized IONPs as antimicrobial and anticancer therapeutic agents were well presented. The effectiveness of IONPs in environmental treatment of effluent containing dyes and other toxic agents were also properly discussed.

Geographical chemical variability and processing oxidation of volatile compounds of Casearia sylvestris leaves

The Casearia sylvestris Sw. dried leaf essential oil (EO) contains sesquiterpenes as the main components. However, the volatile components in the in natura leaves remain unknown. This study compares the volatile chemicals in the in natura leaves and dried leaf EO of two C. sylvestris populations from Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. The volatile compounds were directly analysed by thermal desorption (TD) coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS); the dried leaf EO composition was determined by GC-MS. All the identified compounds were sesquiterpenes, and the major components were (E)-caryophyllene, bicyclogermacrene, ?-elemene, spathulenol, and caryophyllene oxide. In both populations, the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon content and the oxygenated sesquiterpene content respectively decreased and increased on going from the in natura leaves to the dried leaf essential oil, indicating that drying and/or hydrodistillation modified the volatile chemical composition by generating oxidation artifacts. Results suggested that (E)-caryophyllene and bicyclogermacrene may be oxidized during the process to yield caryophyllene oxide and spathulenol, respectively. The two C. sylvestris populations also differed in terms of volatile chemical composition.

A criticism of the reductionist and holistic vision in the planning of drugs in biological, chemical and physical level

In this work, two philosophical premises of science applied in the understanding of diseases and in the planning of drugs were studied. The first premise is reductionism. This idea is present in modern science when a problem can be reduced to the sum of its individual parts. Diseases can be understood as the metabolic action of few enzymes. Drugs can be planned through the mimicry of a specific enzymatic substrate. Biological molecules can be explained by the quantum theory applied to atoms and molecules. his idea has been the predominant way in modern science. On the other hand, there is a holistic view of the phenomenon. In this holistic view, the phenomenon must be understood as the whole. Drug design should be thought from a network of proteins, not just from a single enzymatic target. There is in fact a slight advantage in the reductionist method, because this philosophical view simplifies the problem. Today, a holistic view combined with methodological reductionism is used to develop new potential drugs.