Antimicrobial Activity and Degradation Ability Study on Nanoparticle-Enriched Formulations Specially Designed for the Neutralization of Real and Simulated Biological and Chemical Warfare Agents

The present work reveals a comprehensive decontamination study on real and simulated biological and chemical warfare agents (BCWA). The emphasis was on evaluating the antimicrobial activity against real biological warfare agents, such as Bacillus anthracis, and also the capacity of neutralizing real chemical warfare agents, such as mustard gas or soman, by employing three different types of organic solutions enriched with ZnO, TiO2, and zeolite nanoparticles, specially designed for decontamination applications. The capacity of decontaminating BCWA was evaluated through specific investigation tools, including surface monitoring with the swabs method, minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) evaluations, time-kill tests for microorganisms, and GC-MS for monitoring chemical agents on different types of surfaces (glass, painted metal, rubber, and cotton butyl rubber). These tests revealed high decontamination factors for BCWA even after only 10 min, accomplishing the requirements imposed by NATO standards. At the completion of the decontamination process, the formulations reached 100% efficacy for Bacillus anthracis after 10–15 min, for soman after 20–30 min, and for mustard gas in an interval comprised between 5 and 24 h depending on the type of surface analyzed.

Electromigration Separation of Lithium Isotopes: The Effect of Electrode Solutions

Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 with high abundance are indispensable materials in nuclear industry. Here, an aqueous solution│organic solution│aqueous solution system was fabricated to separate lithium isotopes. The effects of species and concentration of electrolytes in the electrode solutions on the lithium ions migration and lithium isotope separation with different voltages and migration time was studied. It was found that lithium-7 was enriched in aqueous solutions on both sides at 0 V and 2 V, while lithium-7 was enriched in anode solution and lithium-6 was enriched in cathode solution at 16 V. The weakening stability of the chelate consisted of crown ether and lithium ion with increasing voltage was believed to the possible reason. Meanwhile, the variation of electrolyte in electrode solution led to notable changes in migration ratio of lithium ions and lithium isotope separation effect, which can be attributed to the different degree of both ionization and hydrolysis for various electrolytes in aqueous solutions and the different ability of H+ and NH4+ to replace Li+ of chelate in organic solutions. This work is of great significance for the selection of electrode solutions in electromigration separation of lithium isotopes and even other electrochemical systems.

The Influence of Synthesis Method on Characteristics of Buffer and Organic Solutions of Thermo- and pH-Responsive Poly(N-[3-(diethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide)s

Thermo- and pH-responsive poly(N-[3-(diethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide)s were synthesized by free radical polymerization and RAFT polymerization. The molar masses of the samples were 33,000–35,000 g∙mol−1. Investigations of the dilute solutions showed that the prepared samples were flexible chain polymers. The behavior of the synthesized polymers in the buffer solutions was analyzed by turbidity and light scattering at a pH range of 7–13 and a concentration range of 0.0002–0.008 g·cm−3. When the concentrated solutions were at a low temperature, there were macromolecules and aggregates, which were formed due to the interaction of hydrophobic units. For the investigated samples, the lower critical solution temperatures were equal. The phase separation temperatures decreased as pH increased. The influence of polydispersity index on the characteristics of the samples in the solutions was analyzed. The radii of molecules of poly(N-[3-(diethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide) obtained by RAFT polymerization at this temperature at the onset and end of the phase separation interval were lower than ones for samples synthesized by conventional free radical polymerization.

Phase Transfer Catalysts and Role of Reaction Environment in Nucleophilc Radiofluorinations in Automated Synthesizers

Incorporation of [18F]fluorine into PET radiotracer structure has traditionally been accomplished via nucleophilic pathways. The [18F]fluoride is generated in an aqueous solution via proton irradiation of oxygen-18 enriched water and must to be introduced into water-free organic solutions in order to generate reactive species. Thus nucleophilic 18F-fluorination traditionally included steps for [18F]fluoride concentration on the anion exchange resin, followed by removal of residual water via azeotropic distillation with MeCN, a time-consuming process associated with radioactivity losses and difficult automation. To circumvent this, several adsorption/elution protocols were developed based on the minimization of water content in traditional kryptofix-based [18F]fluoride eluents. The use of pre-dried KOH/kryptofix solutions, tertiary alcohols, and strong organic bases was found to be effective. Advances in transition metal-mediated SNAr approaches for radiolabeling of non-activated aromatic substrates have prompted development of alternative techniques for reactive [18F]fluoride species generation, such as organic solutions of non-basic alkyl ammonium and pyridinium sulfonates, etc. For radiofluorinations of iodonium salts precursors, a “minimalist” approach was introduced, avoiding the majority of pitfalls common to more complex methods. These innovations allowed the development of new time-efficient and convenient work-up procedures that are easily implementable in modern automated synthesizers. They will be the subject of this review.

POTENSI BEBERAPA LARUTAN ORGANIK DALAM MENDUKUNG PRODUKSI BAWANG MERAH (Allium ascalonicum)

Red unions are one type of plant that is widely used as a spice ini cooking and cannot be replaced with other types of plants so it is needed every time. The research objective was to obtain one type of organic solution that produced the highest production of shallots and to calculate the potential production of each given organic solution. The research was carried out at the Kebun Percontohan Balai Penyuluhan Pertanian Bulango Timur in January-April 2020. The research was conducted in the form of Randomized Bloc design consisting of 8 treatments including control namely without the use of organic solutions, POC, MOL Rice, MOL Banana, ZPT red union, ZPT Tauge, PGPR Root Bamboo and PGPR Elephan Grass Root. Repeat 3 times with a plot size 1 m x 1 m. The parameters observed were fresh weight and dry weight of red union bulbs. The results showed that the highest fresh weight was obtained from the treatment of ZPT red union 14,22 ton haˉ¹) and MOL banana (14,06 ton haˉ¹). The highest dry weight of bulbs resulted from the MOL treatment of banana (9,93 ton haˉ¹) and ZPT red union (9,87 ton haˉ¹).

Study and Evaluation of the release of Flavonoids extracted from various Eggplant cones from Semisolid Pharmaceutical Forms (In vitro)

Various semisolid pharmaceutical forms have been prepared from eggplant calyx extract which rich in flavonoids and antioxidants. These ingredients were titrated in the prepared extracts, and then incorporated into the prepared pharmaceutical forms. Eggplant calyxes were used for three varieties cultivated in Syria. The flavonoids were extracted from them by using several aqueous and organic solutions. Three types of extracts were prepared for each type of eggplant (aqueous, ethanolic 70%, methanolic). The ethanolic extract of black eggplant showed the highest content of flavonoids. The black eggplant extract contained the largest amount of flavonoids in the three types of extracts. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was measured by measuring its ability to remove free radicals of the fixed root DPPH, and the ethanolic extract of the black eggplant showed the best antioxidant capacity. Three topical pharmaceutical formulas were prepared of the ethanolic extract 70% for the rectangular black eggplant calyx, and the kinetics of the release of the main components from them in vitro was studied using a Franz cell, within four hours to determine the release model for each formulation in order to compare the formulas and select the best one. The cream of the (o / w) pattern gave the best release of the active substances because it released the highest percentage (92%) after two hours and the release pattern was of the zero order, while the rest of the formulas had the highest percentage of release after four hours with some deficiency of the active substances in them.

Electrochemical Study of the Redox Properties of Levulinic Acid in Organic and Aqueous-Organic Solutions

The redox properties of levulinic acid (LA) were studied by electrochemical methods in acetonitrile, a mixture of acetonitrile with water, ethanol, acetone, and dimethyl sulfoxide. It was shown that the irreversible two-electron reduction of LA under the studied conditions leads to the formation of γ-valerolactone. This reduction potential depends on the solvent and shifted anodically by following order: dimethyl sulfoxide

Characterization and Structural Insights of the Reaction Products by Direct Leaching of the Noble Metals Au, Pd and Cu with N,N′-Dimethyl-piperazine-2,3-dithione/I2 Mixtures

In the context of new efficient and safe leaching agents for noble metals, this paper describes the capability of the Me2pipdt/I2 mixture (where Me2pipdt = N,N′-dimethyl-piperazine-2,3-dithione) in organic solutions to quantitatively dissolve Au, Pd, and Cu metal powders in mild conditions (room temperature and pressure) and short times (within 1 h in the reported conditions). A focus on the structural insights of the obtained coordination compounds is shown, namely [AuI2(Me2pipdt)]I3 (1), [Pd(Me2pipdt)2]I2 (2a) and [Cu(Me2pipdt)2]I3 (3), where the metals are found, respectively, in 3+, 2+ and 1+ oxidation states, and of [Cu(Me2pipdt)2]BF4 (4) and [Cu(Me2dazdt)2]I3 (5) (Me2dazdt = N,N′-dimethyl-perhydrodizepine-2,3-dithione) compared with 3. Au(III) and Pd(II) (d8 configuration) form square–planar complexes, whereas Cu(I) (d10) forms tetrahedral complexes. Density functional theory calculations performed on the cationic species of 1–5 help to highlight the nature of the bonding in the different complexes. Finally, the valorization of the noble metals-rich leachates is assessed. Specifically, gold metal is quantitatively recovered from the solution besides the ligands, showing the potential of these systems to promote metal recycling processes.