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International audience; Evidence is here provided that irradiation of some lake water samples can trigger the formation of fluorophores with humic-like properties, at the same time increasing water absorbance. This phenomenon is the opposite of photobleaching, which is often observed when natural waters are irradiated. Photogeneration of humic-like compounds can be highlighted in water samples where the initial fluorescence signal of humic substances is low, so that photobleaching is minimised. Samples that are most likely to show photoinduced formation of humic-like fluorophores are in fact characterised by high values of protein-like vs. humic-like contribution ratios to fluorescence, as evidenced by parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis. Mountain lakes in late summer appear to be suitable candidates to highlight the described phenomenon. In some cases, lake-water irradiation caused a decrease in the spectral slope of the absorbance that, together with increasing absorbance values, is consistent with an increase in molecular mass and aromaticity of organic matter. The absorbance increase triggered by irradiation might play a role in screening biologically harmful UV radiation, in mountain environments that would otherwise be characterised by very clear water, where UV light can be easily transmitted along the water column.

Chemometric techniques were applied to the study of the interaction of iron(III) and tannic acid (TA). Modeling the interaction of Fe(III)–TA is a challenge, as can be the modeling of the metal complexation upon natural macromolecules without a well-defined molecular structure. The chemical formula for commercial TA is often given as C76H52O46, but in fact, it is a mixture of polygalloyl glucoses or polygalloyl quinic acid esters with the number of galloyl moieties per molecule ranging from 2 up to 12. Therefore, the data treatment cannot be based on just the stoichiometric approach. In this work, the redox behavior and the coordination capability of the TA toward Fe(III) were studied by UV-vis spectrophotometry and fluorescence spectroscopy. Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) were used for the data treatment, respectively. The pH range in which there is the redox stability of the system Fe(III)–TA was evaluated. The binding capability of TA toward Fe(III), the spectral features of coordination compounds, and the concentration profiles of the species in solution as a function of pH were defined. Moreover, the stability of the interaction between TA and Fe(III) was interpreted through the chemical models usually employed to depict the interaction of metal cations with humic substances and quantified using the concentration profiles estimated by MCR-ALS.

An electro-activated glassy carbon electrode (aGCE) was tested as sensor for the detection of acetaminophen (APAP) in surface water samples. The best measurement conditions for the determination of APAP by Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV), assisted by the aGCE, were optimised by means of a Design of Experiment approach. The analytical performance of the electrochemical procedure was than assessed in synthetic solutions and in real samples. The analytical response had a linear trend in a concentration range between 13.3 and 33 μg L−1; the system could detect APAP concentrations higher than 4.4 μg L−1 in untreated river-water samples, and higher than 0.2 μg L−1 in river-water samples that were pre-treated by solid phase extraction. The electrochemical technique based on DPV with aGCE was then used for the quantification of APAP in river water samples collected in the Turin area (Piedmont region, NW Italy) and these results agreed well to those obtained by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC with HRMS detection).

Objective: Maternal plasma is a source of circulating placental nucleic acids. In this study, we validated previous observations on abnormal levels of circulating messenger RNA (mRNA) for the tenascin-X gene in pregnancies with ventricular septal defects in the second trimester of pregnancy. Methods: This was a bicentric retrospective study conducted from March 2016 to July 2017. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to identify abnormally expressed genes, comparing ten women carrying a euploid fetus with ventricular septal defects to 30 controls at 19–24 weeks of gestation. The univariable analysis was used to determine whether the mean mRNA for the tenascin-X gene values would differ from the expected values for the controls. Results: mRNA for tenascin-X gene values was higher in ventricular septal defects, 4.38 ± 3.01 versus 1.00 ± 0.80. The result was still significant even after adjustment for gestational age. Conclusions: These data confirm previous studies on the specific association of mRNA species and type of congenital heart defect and confirm that ventricular septal defects are associated with abnormal mRNA for the tenascin-X gene. The positive predictive value of this molecular marker in the general population should be assessed through prospective studies.

Humic substances are poorly known, though they represent a major pool of non-biotic organic carbon on earth. In particular, there is little knowledge on the formation of humic substances by irradiation of organic matter dissolved in waters. Specifically, it is known that humic substances can be formed from proteins by photochemical processes in surface waters, but the role of single amino acids and their transformation pathways are not yet known. Therefore, here we studied the phototransformation of aqueous l-tryptophan under simulated sunlight. Irradiated l-tryptophan solutions were analyzed by absorption, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies, chromatography, potentiometry and mass spectrometry (MS). The solutions appeared turbid after irradiation; therefore, nephelometry and dynamic laser light scattering were used to characterize the suspended particles. Results show that about 95% of l-tryptophan was degraded in 8-h irradiation, undergoing deamination and decarboxylation of the amino acidic moieties to release ammonium and formate. The MS signal at m/z 146 suggests the formation of 3-ethylindole, while pH-metric and NMR data revealed the presence of hydroxylated compounds. The phototransformation intermediates of l-tryptophan had fluorescence and absorption spectra similar to those of humic substances, they were able to produce ·OH upon irradiation and tended to aggregate by both ionic and hydrophobic interactions. Overall, our findings reveal for the first time the nature of products formed upon phototransformation of l-tryptophan. Interestingly, the transformation of l-tryptophan is quite different from that of the previously studied l-tyrosine, although both compounds produce humic-like materials under irradiation.

Tannic acid (TA) belongs to the class of hydrolysable tannins that are natural polymers derived from the vegetable kingdom. Although TA is described as a molecule with a central core of glucose esterified with five digallic units, its molecular structure has not yet been completely clarified. Actually, TA is described as a mixture of different compounds. In this work, by using potentiometry, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as ab initio calculations we identified the protonation properties and spectroscopic features of TA. A preliminary investigation on gallic acid (GA), present as an impurity in the commercial TA mixture, and on methyl 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate served as a benchmark for the computational work and gave insight into the contribution of GA to the TA properties. GA principally affects the pH of TA solutions and the fluorescence signals. The data showed the presence of three main types of protogenic groups that can be assigned to the typical TA structure, with pKa values included in the range of 6–8.5, which can be ascribed to the phenolic functions. The least acidic site shows the highest concentrations, and the dissociation of half of the TA phenolic groups takes place at pH ∼ 7.8. The UV-vis spectra of the protonated and deprotonated species were obtained through data elaboration by stoichiometric and chemometric approaches. The results show main absorption maxima (277 and 323 nm, respectively) similar to those obtained using ab initio calculations. Overall, we achieved a remarkable coherence among the outcomes obtained by using different methodologies.

Objective: Maternal plasma is a source of circulating placental nucleic acids. This study was designed to detect aberrantly expressed placental mRNA genes circulating in the maternal plasma of pregnancies affected with fetal conotruncal anomalies (CNTRA) and left-ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction in the second trimester of pregnancy. Methods: This was a retrospective monocentric study conducted from 1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2016. NanoString technology was used to identify aberrantly expressed genes, comparing 36 women carrying a fetus with CNTRA or LVOT obstruction to 42 controls at 19–24 weeks of gestation. The genes with differential expression were subsequently tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Linear discriminant analysis was used to combine all the mRNA species with discriminant ability for CNTRA and LVOT obstruction. A multivariable receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve having the estimated discriminant score as an explanatory variable was generated for the two affected groups versus controls. Results: Three genes with differential expression, namely MAPK1, IQGAP1 and Visfatin were found. The ROC curves yielded detection rates of 60 and 62.5% at a false-positive rate of 5% for CNTRA and LVOT, respectively. Conclusions: These data suggested that molecular screening of CNTRA and LVOT obstruction in the second trimester is feasible. Prospective studies are needed to test the discriminant ability of these genes and to calculate the predictive positive value in the general population.

Ferulic acid ((E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)prop-2-enoic acid, hereinafter FA) is a building block of plant cell walls that is commonly found in lignocellulose. As such, it is a potential component of humic substances produced by microbial degradation of plant spoils. The fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectra of FA have an interesting humic-like shape, with bands that can be assimilated to the A and C regions of humic substances. Therefore, the study of FA photoluminescence might provide interesting insight into the still unknown processes that lay behind the fluorescence properties of humic compounds. FA is a weak diprotic acid that occurs in three different forms in aqueous solution (neutral H2FA, singly deprotonated HFA- and doubly deprotonated FA2-), which have slightly different absorption and emission properties. The "A-like" fluorescence emission of the FA species is accounted for by excitation from the ground singlet state S0 to singlet excited states higher than the first (S4 for H2FA, S5 for HFA-, and a state higher than S2 for FA2-), followed by radiationless deactivation to the first excited singlet state (S1), and by fluorescence emission according to the S1 → S0 transition. In contrast, the "C-like" emission is mainly caused by S0 → S1 excitation combined with S1 → S0 emission, but there is also a minor contribution from the S0 → S2 excitation that becomes significant for HFA-. The uneven variations with pH of the wavelengths of the maximum FA radiation absorption and fluorescence emission can be rationalised in the framework of the energy levels of the frontier (HOMO and LUMO) molecular orbitals of the different FA species. These levels are affected by charge interaction between the relevant electrons and the neutral (protonated) or negative (deprotonated) groups of each species.

International audience; When irradiated in paddy-field water, propanil (PRP) undergoes photodegradation by direct photolysis, by reactions with •OH and CO3•–, and possibly also with the triplet states of chromophoric dissolved organic matter. Irradiation also inhibits the nonphotochemical (probably biological) degradation of PRP. The dark- and light-induced pathways can be easily distinguished because 3,4-dichloroaniline (34DCA, a transformation intermediate of considerable environmental concern) is produced with almost 100% yield in the dark but not at all through photochemical pathways. This issue allows an easy assessment of the dark process(es) under irradiation. In the natural environment, we expect PRP photodegradation to be important only in the presence of elevated nitrate and/or nitrite levels, e.g., [NO3–] approaching 1 mmol L–1 (corresponding to approximately 60 mg L–1). Under these circumstances, •OH and CO3•– would play a major role in PRP phototransformation. Because flooded paddy fields are efficient denitrification bioreactors that can achieve decontamination of nitrate-rich water used for irrigation, irrigation with such water would both enhance PRP photodegradation and divert PRP dissipation processes away from the production of 34DCA, at least in the daylight hours.

Objective To verify the hypothesis that aberrant placental mRNA genes related to cardiogenesis can be detected in maternal plasma at the second trimester of pregnancy. Methods NanoString technology was used to identify aberrant genes, comparing 39 women carrying a fetus with a congenital heart defect (CHD) to 31 controls at 19-24 weeks of gestation. The genes with differential expression were subsequently tested using real time polymerase chain reaction. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to combine all the mRNA species with discriminant ability for CHD. A multivariable receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve having the estimated discriminant score as an explanatory variable was generated. Results Six genes with differential expression, namely FALZ, PAPP-A, PRKACB, SAV1, STK4 and TNXB2, were found. The ROC curve yielded a detection rate of 66.7% at a false positive rate of 10%. A higher discriminant score (>75(th) centile) was reached for 14 CHD cases (82.4%) and only 1 control (5.8%). Two cases (11.8%) of heart rhythm disorders also yielded a discriminant score value >75(th) centile. Conclusion These data represent a step forward in the screening of CHDs. Additional studies are needed to detect more mRNAs with discriminant ability and to move the first trimester screening.

Soluble biobased lignin-like polymeric substances (SBO) isolated from the alkaline hydrolysates of composted biowastes are promising chemical auxiliaries for multiple uses. They have good surfactant properties. Their black color spoils their performance in detergency and dyeing. Ozonization of SBO is reported now to yield bleached biosurfactants with improved performance. The work was performed, with SBO obtained from composted gardening residues, alone or mixed with kitchen wastes. They were dissolved in water at 3.3 % concentration. Oxygen containing 4 mol/mol % ozone was flown at 60 L h−1 for 48 h through the SBO solution. The crude ozonized products in ca. 80 % yield were filtered through different molecular cut off membranes and characterized for chemical features, molecular weight, and surface tension in water. The ozonized fractions with 200–500 kDa molecular weights accounted for 12–29 % of the total ozonized fractions's organic matter. They lowered water surface tension to 48–52 mN m−1. The lower molecular weight ozonized fractions had no surfactant activity, but their molecular features suggest other potentially valuable uses.

Hydroxypyrone derivatives have a good bioavailability in rats and mice and have been used in drug development. Moreover, they show chelating properties towards vanadyl cation that could be used in insulin-mimetic compound development. In this work, the formation of coordination compounds of oxovanadium(IV) with four kojic acid (5-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-pyrone) derivatives was studied. The synthetized studied ligands (S2, S3, S4, and SC) have two or three kojic acid units linked through diamines or tris(2-aminoethyl)amine chains, respectively. The chemical systems were studied by potentiometry (25 &deg, C, ionic strength 0.1 mol L&minus, 1 with KCl), and UV-visible and EPR spectroscopy. The experimental data were analyzed by a thermodynamic and a chemometric (Multivariate Curve Resolution&ndash, Alternating Least Squares) approach. Chemical coordination models were proposed, together with the species formation constants and the pure estimated UV-vis and EPR spectra. In all systems, the coordination of the oxovanadium(IV) starts already under acidic conditions (the cation is totally bound at pH higher than 3&ndash, 4) and the metal species remain stable even at pH 8. Ligands S3, S4, and SC form three coordination species. Two of them are probably due to the successive insertion of the kojate units in the coordination shell, whereas the third is most likely a hydrolytic species.

Field analysis is becoming increasingly popular, owing to the commercial availability of portable instruments, fast response and cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, field analysis requires a careful planning. Voltammetry is particularly suitable for the field determination of trace elements thanks to its sensitivity, simplicity of operation and instrument portability. Therefore, in this work, Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) was applied to the field determination of Cu(II), as a pilot analyte, in natural water and in a soil extract, and the experiment organization was carefully detailed. Four solid electrodes were previously tested in the laboratory and their performances in terms of precision, linearity, trueness and overall ease of operation were discussed. The well-known Mercury Film Glassy Carbon Electrode (MF-GCE) was selected for field measurements because it yielded the most satisfactory performances. Anyway, the suggestions given in this paper can be useful for other electrodes and other analytes; in particular, a list of the items that should be brought to the site where analysis will be carried out was proposed in order to provide a general guide for the organization of field measurements by voltammetry.

A simple procedure for field fish sample pretreatment was developed. This treatment in combination with square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SW-ASV) with solid gold electrodes (SGE) and gold nanoparticle-modified glassy carbon electrodes (AuNPs-GCE) was applied for the determination of total mercury content. A certified reference material (CRM, Tuna Fish BCR 463), ten freeze-dried samples of canned tuna and two fresh fish samples were analysed both with a bench-top voltammetric analyser after microwave digestion and with a portable potentiostat after mild eating using a small commercial food warmer. The results obtained by the two SW-ASV approaches and by a Direct Mercury Analyser (DMA), the official method for mercury determination, were in very good agreement. In particular, (i) the results obtained with in field procedure are consistent with those obtained with the conventional microwave digestion, (ii) the presence of gold nanoparticles on the active electrode surface permits an improvement of the analytical performance in comparison to the SGE: the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) for mercury in fish-matrix was 0.1 &mu, g L&minus, 1 (Hg cell concentration), corresponding to 0.06 mg kg&minus, 1 wet fish, which is a performance comparable to that of DMA. The pretreatment proposed in this study is very easy and applicable to fresh fish, in combination with a portable potentiostat, it proved to be an interesting procedure for on-site mercury determination.

The stability of sodium complexes with poly-carboxylic and polyamino-carboxylic acids is investigated with ion-selective electrode-Na(+) potentiometry, working at strictly constant ionic strength. It is observed that the formation constants of the Na(+) complexes with monoligand stoichiometry (ML) increase with the number of charges on the ligand. For example, in poly-carboxylic acids this dependency is linear and is well captured by an experimental equation. A different behaviour is observed for the poly-amino carboxylic acids, which show higher complexation capabilities reaching a plateau of the binding energy past a specific ligand size. The experimental results are discussed qualitatively using ab initio calculations based on DFT B3LYP, and the principal electronic characteristics of the ligands under investigation are identified. As a result of the flexibility imparted by the long chains of polyamino-carboxylic ligands, both experimental and theoretical models demonstrate that nitrogen atoms in proximity of Na(+) ions can participate in the metal coordination, thus providing further stabilization for the complexes. Moreover, by increasing the ligand size the stabilization gained in terms of ΔG reached a plateau for EDTA, in agreement with experimental observations.

Nitrite photochemical transformation is an important sink for nitrite and a source of nitric oxide, which affects the air–water partitioning of NO. It is shown here that aliphatic and aromatic OH scavengers alter the photochemical fate of nitrogen, in addition to enhancing nitrite photodegradation. In aerated solution, the addition of phenol as scavenger induced a significant formation of gas-phase nitrogen species from irradiated nitrite, differently from nitrite alone or in the presence of 2-propanol. Moreover, phenol strongly favoured the photochemical production of gas-phase nitric oxide in aerated solution: an upper limit of about 20% could be established for the nitrite fraction that may be transformed into gas-phase NO under these conditions. The photochemical production of NO was considerably higher in the absence of oxygen, most likely because the scavenging of nitric oxide by superoxide is an important NO sink in aerated systems. These results suggest that the concentration of dissolved oxygen and the nature of the OH scavenger(s) may considerably affect the phototransformation of nitrite into gas-phase nitrogen compounds, and particularly into nitric oxide, in aqueous solution and at water-air interfaces.

The photochemistry of N-acetyl- para -aminophenol (acetaminophen, APAP) is here investigated by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis to monitor APAP photodegradation upon steady-state irradiation. The purpose of this work is to assess the applicability of DPV to monitor the photochemical behaviour of xenobiotics, along with the development of an electrochemical set-up for the real-time monitoring of APAP photodegradation. We here investigated the APAP photoreactivity towards the main photogenerated reactive transients species occurring in sunlit surface waters (hydroxyl radical HO , carbonate radical CO 3 − , excited triplet state of anthraquinone-2-sulfonate used as proxy of the chromophoric DOM, and singlet oxygen 1 O 2 ), and determined relevant kinetic parameters. A standard procedure based on UV detection coupled with liquid chromatography (HPLC-UV) was used under identical experimental conditions to compare and verify the DPV-based results. The latter were in agreement with HPLC data, with the exception of the triplet-sensitized processes. In the other cases, DPV could be used as an alternative to the well-tested but more costly and time-consuming HPLC-UV technique. We have also assessed the reaction rate constant between APAP and HO by real-time DPV, which allowed for the monitoring of APAP photodegradation inside the irradiation chamber. Unfortunately, real-time DPV measurements are likely to be affected by temperature variations of the irradiated samples. Overall, DPV appeared as a fast, cheap and reasonably reliable technique when used for the off-line monitoring of APAP photodegradation. When a suitable real-time procedure is developed, it could become a very straightforward method to study the photochemical behaviour of electroactive xenobiotics.

[EN] The valorization of olive oil mill solid wastes (OMW) has been addressed by considering it as a possible source of humic-like substances (HLSs), to be used as auxiliary substances for photo-Fenton, employing caffeine as a target pollutant to test the efficiency of this approach. The OMW-HLS isolation encompassed the OMW basic hydrolysis, followed by ultrafiltration and drying. OMW-HLS structural features have been investigated by means of laser light scattering, fluorescence, size exclusion chromatography, and thermogravimetric analysis; moreover, the capability of OMW-HLS to generate reactive species under irradiation has been investigated using spin-trap electronic paramagnetic resonance. The caffeine degradation by means of photo-Fenton process driven at pH = 5 was significantly increased by the addition of 10 mg/L of OMW-HLS. Under the mechanistic point of view, it could be hypothesized that singlet oxygen is not playing a relevant role, whereas other oxidants (mainly OH center dot radicals) can be considered as the key species in promoting caffeine degradation., Authors want to acknowledge the financial support of Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (CTQ2015-69832-C04) and European Union (645551-RISE-2014, MAT4-TREAT).

The valorisation of bio-waste is pursued to cope with the increasing amount of waste that results from human food consumption and also to find renewable feedstock for manufacturing fuel and chemicals, as an alternative to fossils. Bio-waste is currently processed using fermentation and thermo-chemical technologies, to produce bio-fuel, compost and small platform molecules. Commercial low temperature chemical processes to valorise the bio-waste lignin fractions as feedstock for value-added chemicals do not as yet exist. The present work addresses this technology gap showing that the low-temperature hydrolysis of municipal bio-waste compost is a safe eco-friendly, cost effective process for converting the lignin-like material from compost into value-added speciality chemicals. It is reported that the process produces a 30%–70% yield of soluble biopolymers (SBO) as temperature increases from 60 to 150 °C. The SBO at 150 °C exhibit the best surfactant properties, making them promising for multipurpose uses in the future. The reaction yield is limited by non-hydrolysable lignin-like matter present in the pristine compost. Energy changes occur due to endothermic and exothermic reaction during hydrolysis at different temperatures. The process allows most of the process water and reagent to be recycled and saves on reagents, water and processing energy. No secondary treatment of the process effluent is necessary. The data lead to the conclusion that it will be feasible to produce SBO at commercial level through low-temperature hydrolysis of compost or biomass from different sources.

This paper deals with the evaluation of the measurement uncertainty of Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) of human plasma estimated by the CUPRAC-BCS method, a photometric method that uses the redox couple Cu(II)/Cu(I) to estimate the reducing capacity of a fluid. The urate is usually used as reference molecule in the clinical chemistry field. In this work, the measurement uncertainty was assessed on TAC values obtained using both urate and Cu(I), as reference species, and two measurement apparatuses i.e. i) a UV–visible spectrophotometer and ii) a routine auto-analyser. A comprehensive list of relevant sources of uncertainty was compiled. Uncertainties estimated are related to the effects of: calibration curve, repeatability, temperature, pH, concentration of the reference stock solutions, electronic exchange of the redox reaction between Cu(II) and urate. The measurements performed with the automatic apparatus associated with the use of Cu(I) ion for the calibration provide the lowest uncertainty, u(TAC)/TAC = 0.0094.

1,2-Benzenedisulfonimide (1) has previously been found to be an excellent and, importantly, safe Bronsted acid catalyst. In this work we present the results of a search for derivatives of 1 that are more acidic and effective. Instead of blindly synthesizing a series of analogues, we have carried out a screening process in which the pKa of 1 and a set of its derivatives were calculated. The calculated pKa values were confirmed experimentally by carrying out determination through potentiometric titrations of some of the compounds: 1, 4-methyl and 4-nitro derivatives of 1. The calculations indicated that the dinitro and 4-nitro derivatives are among the best candidates for the synthesis. The latter was obtained in good yields and tested as a catalyst. Results were excellent as the reactions took place more quickly and at lower temperatures in all cases, and in a number of cases it was even possible to reduce the amount of catalyst.

The photophysics and photochemistry of 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HOBP) are interesting because they can give some insight into the behavior of humic material. Here we show that 4HOBP has a number of fluorescence peaks: (i) an intense one at excitation/emission wavelengths Ex/Em ∼ 200–230/280–370 nm, likely due to an excitation transition from S0 to S5 or S6, followed by S2 → S0 in emission (Sn denotes the singlet states of 4HOBP); (ii) a minor peak at Ex/Em ∼ 270–300/320–360 nm (S0 → S2 in absorption and S2 → S0 in emission), and (iii) very interesting signals in the typical emission region of humic substances, most notably at Ex/Em ∼ 200–220/400–500 nm and Ex/Em ∼ 260–280/400–470 nm (in both cases the emission corresponded to an S1 → S0 transition). The peak (i) (Ex/Em ∼ 200–230/280–370 nm) is quite intense at low 4HOBP concentration values, but it undergoes an effective inner-filter phenomenon. Remarkably, 4HOBP shows fluorescence peaks that arise from S2 → S0 transitions and that do not follow Kasha's rule. Fluorescence is observed in aprotic or poorly protic solvents, and to a lesser extent in aqueous solution. The excited states of 4HOBP, and most notably 4HOBP-S1, are much stronger acids than 4HOBP-S0. Therefore, excited 4HOBP is quickly deprotonated to 4OBP−-S0 in ∼neutral solution, with a considerable loss of the fluorescence properties. Higher fluorescence intensity can be observed under acidic conditions, where excited-state deprotonation is less effective, and in basic solution where the dissociated 4OBP−-S0 form prevails as the ground state. The excited states of 4OBP− are formed directly upon radiation absorption, and being weak bases they do not undergo important acid–base equilibria. Therefore, they can undergo radiational deactivation to produce significant fluorescence emission.

Water and Suspended Particulate Material (SPM) samples analysed in this work were collected in the austral summer 2011/12 from six shallow Antarctic lakes (Carezza, Edmonson Point 14 and 15a, Gondwana, Inexpressible Island 10b and Tarn Flat 20) of Terra Nova Bay (Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica). The total concentrations of a large suite of inorganic analytes were determined, in order to gain insight into the natural processes regulating species distribution, define natural background values and detect possible present or future local and/or global anthropogenic contamination. Lake water composition was found to be influenced by marine spray, lake geographical position and meltwater input. Seasonal variability was also evaluated for each analyte, and explained considering the natural transport processes involving each species. Multivariate chemometric techniques were used in order to identify groups of samples with similar characteristics and find out similarities and correlations among variables. The variability observed within the water samples is closely connected to the marine aerosol input; hence, it is primarily a consequence of geographical and meteorological factors, such as distance from the ocean and period of year. Higher element concentrations have been found in SPM than in water, suggesting that weathering plays an important role on the chemistry of these lakes or that adsorption processes take place. SPM samples were also examined with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and many diatoms belonging to different species were detected. No clear evidence of a relevant metal contamination was found in the investigated area.

The interactions of dioxouranium(VI) cation with different organic and inorganic ligands of environmental and biological interest were carefully examined with the aim to draw a chemical speciation picture of this ion in natural aquatic ecosystems and in biological fluids. Since UO22+ ion shows a significant tendency to hydrolyze, particular attention was paid in considering the hydrolysis species formation both in the presence and in absence of ligands. The results reported in the literature show that formation of the hydrolytic species assumes a great importance in the complexation models for all the UO22+-ligand systems considered. In particular, the following ligands have been taken into account: (i) hydroxyl, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, carbonate and phosphate, as inorganic ligands, and (ii) carboxylates (with particular reference to oxalate and citrate), amines, amino acids, poly(amino carboxylates) (complexones), nucleotides, phosphonates, mercapto compounds and sulfonates, as organic ligands. In order to elucidate the speciation of uranyl in the presence of dissolved natural organic matter, the interactions with humic and fulvic acids were also considered. The strength of interaction in all the systems considered was expressed in terms of stability constants of complex species and, if available, of the relative thermodynamic stability parameters. When possible, if data reported in the literature were sufficiently homogeneous, trends of stability were found for the different ligands of the same class and for ligands of different classes. Moreover, relationships were derived for poly-functional ligands, such as poly-carboxylate, poly-amine and poly(amino carboxylate) ones, useful to predict the stability constants as a function of the number of binding sites per molecule, considering also, as in the case of amino acids, the contribution of the single functional groups to the whole stability of uranyl species formed. In addition, using the stability data collected for the uranyl-ligand systems considered, the sequestering capacity of some classes of ligands towards uranyl was calculated in terms of pL0.5, i.e., the ligand concentration useful to bind at least 50% of the cation. A comparison of pL0.5 of the most important classes of ligands considered was made to point out the different effectiveness in the UO22+ sequestration by the different ligands which can be present in multi-component solutions as natural waters and biological fluids. Finally, some considerations are reported about the different experimental techniques employed to study the complex formation in solution.

In this paper we report an investigation on the interactions between dioxouranium(VI) and citrate using potentiometry (H+-glass electrode) and UV-spectrophotometry. Potentiometric measurements were carried out in NaCl and KNO3 aqueous solutions at t = 25 ºC in a wide range of experimental conditions (concentrations, ligand/metal molar ratio, pH, titrants). Measurements in NaCl were carried out at different ionic strength values (0.1 ≤ I/mol L−1 ≤ 1.0); different procedures were employed for the acquisition of experimental data and careful analysis of these data performed. In all cases the speciation model that best fits experimental data takes into account the formation of the following species: UO2(Cit)−, (UO2)2(Cit)2 2−, (UO2)2(Cit)2(OH) 2 4− , (UO2)2(Cit)2(OH)3−, (UO2)2(Cit)(OH)2 −, (UO2)2(Cit)(OH)0, (UO2)3(Cit)2(OH) 5 5−. The dependence on ionic strength of formation constants was taken into account by using both a simple Debye–Hückel type equation and the SIT (specific ion interaction theory) approach. Moreover, a visible absorption spectrum for each complex reaching a significant percentage of formation in solution (KNO3 medium) has been calculated to characterise the compounds found by pH-metric refinement. Recommended values for the uranyl-citrate species were proposed for each ionic strength values in NaCl aqueous solution. Comparison with literature stability constants is reported too.

In this paper we report an investigation on coordination compounds of vanadyl ion with citric, D(+)- threo -isocitric, cis - and trans -aconitic acids in aqueous solution. The different binary systems have been studied by potentiometric and spectroscopic techniques ( t = 25 °C, I = 0.1 mol dm −3 ). Electronic paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) at room temperature and molecular absorption spectrophotometry were employed in order to obtain a structural characterization of complexes. A speciation model was proposed for all the metal–ligand systems from potentiometric data. For all the systems studied the chemical model assumes the formation of complexes with stoichiometry MLH r and binuclear species M 2 L 1 H − r . Citric and D(+)- threo -isocitric acids also form stable dimeric species M 2 L 2 H − r . The EPR investigation reveals that the dimeric complexes of hydroxyacids present magnetic interaction supporting the hypothesis of an alcoholate-bridged dinuclear structure. For each system investigated we recorded visible absorption spectra and estimated the individual spectrum of species in solution. A particular spectrophotometric behaviour of citrate system was recognized and the joint examination of our spectroscopic results and the literature data leads us to suppose that the trans position of vanadyl is occupied by the bridged alcoholate group.

The formation constants of dioxouranium(VI)-2,2′-oxydiacetic acid (diglycolic acid, ODA) and 3,6,9-trioxaundecanedioic acid (diethylenetrioxydiacetic acid, TODA) complexes were determined in NaCl (0.1≤I≤1.0 mol⋅L−1) and KNO3 (I=0.1 mol⋅L−1) aqueous solutions at T=298.15 K by ISE-[H+] glass electrode potentiometry and visible spectrophotometry. Quite different speciation models were obtained for the systems investigated, namely: ML0, MLOH−, ML22−, M2L2(OH)−, and M2L2(OH)22−, for the dioxouranium(VI)–ODA system, and ML0, MLH+, and MLOH− for the dioxouranium(VI)–TODA system (M=UO22+ and L = ODA or TODA), respectively. The dependence on ionic strength of the protonation constants of ODA and TODA and of both metal-ligand complexes was investigated using the SIT (Specific Ion Interaction Theory) approach. Formation constants at infinite dilution are [for the generic equilibrium pUO22++q(L2−)+rH+⇌(UO22+)p(L)qHr(2p−2q+r);βpqr]: log 10β110=6.146, log 10β11−1=0.196, log 10β120=8.360, log 10β22−1=8.966, log 10β22−2=3.529, for the dioxouranium(VI)–ODA system and log β110=3.636, log 10β111=6.650, log 10β11−1=−1.242 for dioxouranium(VI)–TODA system. The influence of etheric oxygen(s) on the interaction towards the metal ion was discussed, and this effect was quantified by means of a sigmoid Boltzman type equation that allows definition of a quantitative parameter (pL50) that expresses the sequestering capacity of ODA and TODA towards UO22+; a comparison with other dicarboxylates was made. A visible absorption spectrum for each complex reaching a significant percentage of formation in solution (KNO3 medium) has been calculated to better characterize the compounds found by pH-metric refinement.

Nitrobenzene (NB) would undergo photodegradation in sunlit surface waters, mainly by direct photolysis and triplet-sensitized oxidation, with a secondary role of the *OH reaction. Its photochemical half-life time would range from a few days to a couple of months under fair-weather summertime irradiation, depending on water chemistry and depth. NB phototransformation gives phenol and the three nitrophenol isomers, in different yields depending on the considered pathway. The minor *OH role in degradation would make NB unsuitable as *OH probe in irradiated natural water samples, but the selectivity towards *OH could be increased by monitoring the formation of phenol from NB+*OH. The relevant reaction would proceed through ipso-addition of *OH on the carbon atom bearing the nitro-group, forming a pre-reactive complex that would evolve into a transition state (and then into a radical addition intermediate) with very low activation energy barrier.

Objective: To verify the hypothesis that aberrant placental mRNA genes related to cardiogenesis can be detected in maternal plasma at the second trimester of pregnancy. Methods: NanoString technology was used to identify aberrant genes, comparing 39 women carrying a fetus with a congenital heart defect (CHD) to 31 controls at 19–24 weeks of gestation. The genes with differential expression were subsequently tested using real time polymerase chain reaction. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to combine all the mRNA species with discriminant ability for CHD. A multivariable receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve having the estimated discriminant score as an explanatory variable was generated. Results: Six genes with differential expression, namely FALZ, PAPP-A, PRKACB, SAV1, STK4 and TNXB2, were found. The ROC curve yielded a detection rate of 66.7% at a false positive rate of 10%. A higher discriminant score (>75th centile) was reached for 14 CHD cases (82.4%) and only 1 control (5.8%). Two cases (11.8%) of heart rhythm disorders also yielded a discriminant score value >75th centile. Conclusion: These data represent a step forward in the screening of CHDs. Additional studies are needed to detect more mRNAs with discriminant ability and to move the first trimester screening.

International audience; The UVB photolysis of l-tyrosine yields species with fluorescence and absorption spectra that are very similar to those of humic substances. By potentiometric measurements, chemical modeling and the application of NMR, mass spectrometry and laser flash photolysis, it was possible to get insights into the structural and chemical properties of the compounds derived by the l-tyrosine phototransformation. The photolytic process follows aromatic-ring hydroxylation and dimerization. The latter is presumably linked with the photoinduced generation of tyrosyl (phenoxy-type) radicals, which have a marked tendency to dimerize and possibly oligomerize. Interestingly, photoinduced transformation gives compounds with protogenic and complexation capabilities similar to those of the humic substances that occur naturally in surface waters. This finding substantiates a new and potentially important abiotic (photolytic) pathway for the formation of humic compounds in surface-water environments.

A simple approach such as the anodic activation of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) can be used successfully to improve the detection of acetaminophen at very low concentration levels. In this work, we observed that the exposure of a GCE to a high potential (2 V vs Ag/AgCl) for a limited time period (60 s) in the presence of 50 mM borate/phosphate buffer (pH 9) provides a strongly electro-activated surface. The activated surface was characterized by means of several techniques (electrochemistry, EIS, SEM, AFM, μ-Raman, XPS). It appeared that the anodization procedure gave rise to a strong oxygen-based functionalization that did not affect morphologically the electrode surface. The mechanism of interaction of the activated electrode with the analyte was studied by electrochemical methods, then the electrode was applied to the electroanalysis of acetaminophen by differential pulse voltammetry. In this application, the method showed promising analytical performance, detecting nanomolar traces of acetaminophen.

A new aqueous insoluble ionic β-cyclodextrin polymer (PYR) has been synthesized and a potentiometric study of the binary Cu(II)-PYR system is performed to calculate the complexation constants (as logβ in heterogeneous medium). The mathematical processing of the pH-metric data gave the formation constants of Cu(II) complexes and the related species distributions. The model is compatible with the presence of five complex species in the range of pH 2.5–7. Stoichiometry indicates the probable involvement of the alcoholate functionalities of the ligand in the complexation. The capacity of the polymer with respect to metal ions retention is evaluated for both Cu(II) and Cd(II) (chosen as target probes). The possibility to recover the sorbed Cd(II) is also tested by using acidic pH solutions. A complete recovery is obtained and the stability of the polymer is verified over ten steps of retention and desorption. To understand the complexation mechanism involved, two other cyclodextrin-based polymers are synthesized which are characterized by the presence of naphthalic dicarboxylic and carbonate groups as spacers. Their interactions with Cu(II) or Cd(II) are studied. Since the β-cyclodextrin polycarbonate polymer does not have acidic groups on the spacer, it is interesting to compare metal ions retention between this material, which does not present a real cation exchange site, and PYR.

This paper reports evaluation of the behaviour of different combined glass electrodes applied to measurement of the pH of a primary, 0.01 mol kg(-1), tetraborate buffer. Measurements were first performed by use of a primary Harned cell (at 15, 25, and 37 degrees C); these results were then compared with those obtained for the same solution by use of three combined glass electrodes (25 degrees C) with different membranes and liquid-junction designs, calibrated by use of commercial pH-metric buffers. The pH of the same solution was also measured in terms of the molal concentration of hydrogen ions, using acid-base titration to evaluate the formal potential difference K of each cell at fixed ionic strength, I, adjusted by addition of KCl or Et4NI (tetraethylammonium iodide). The reference value from primary measurement, paH = 9.171, was slightly closer to the mean value obtained by determination of concentration, rather than that obtained by direct measurement of activity; the differences were smaller than the extended uncertainty characteristics of the secondary measurements. The importance of evaluation of the ionic strength of the solution under study is emphasised. We verified that for tetraborate buffer slight modification of the value of I used to calculate gamma (i) (the activity coefficient of a single ion) in the calculation of paH from the acidity function at zero molality of chloride can significantly affect the reference value of the calibrator tool. This is true, in general, for low values of the ionic strength, such as those considered in this work; an approximate value of I can then cause distortions along the pH traceability chain. Application of the concepts of thermodynamics to this traceability chain is discussed.

In this study, a new aqueous insoluble ionic β-cyclodextrin polymer (PYR), synthesized by reaction of β-cyclodextrin with pyromellitic anhydride [1], is characterized by IR spectroscopy, showing typical cyclodextrin and carboxylic absorptions. pH-metric titrations of the acidic functions with standard NaOH solutions followed by a refinement of protonation constants, with specific software for equilibrium in solution, have been performed. Through this approach, the pK a values of the functional groups have been calculated. The complexation capabilities of PYR towards metal ions [Al(III), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pd(II), Cd(II), Pt(IV), Tl(I), and U(IV)] have been evaluated in aqueous solution (pH 3–5). The retention is mainly pH dependent and higher than 70% for Al(III), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pd(II), Cd(II) and U(IV). For Tl(I) and Pt(IV) the retention is about 60% and 40% respectively.

Waste-derived, soluble bio-based substances (SBO), are effective low-cost photosensitizers that couldfind application in pollutant photodegradation. For this reason, it is important to understand if and towhat extent irradiation could modify their properties. The exposure of SBO to simulated sunlight inducedimportant spectral and structural modifications. Both the whole material and its acid-soluble fractionwere characterized, highlighting several properties in common with humic and fulvic substances, includingabsorption spectra, specific absorbance and fluorescence behavior. The latter was described with athree-component model using PARAFAC analysis. Irradiation induced SBO photobleaching, but the absorbanceof the acid-soluble fraction increased with irradiation. This finding suggests a progressivephotochemical solubilization of SBO, which is confirmed by the increase of the carboxylic groups. In additionto absorbance, the fluorescence of whole SBO was also decreased by irradiation, thereby suggestingthat both chromophores and fluorophores were photodegraded. The increasingly hydrophilic charactergiven to SBO by irradiation also accounted for the photoinduced decrease of the surfactant propertiesof the material., Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

We attempted to draw some general considerations regarding the ability of the visible absorption spectra to provide information on axial co-ordination around copper(II) ion in aqueous solution. A series of visible spectra was recorded on the copper(II)–2,2′-bipyridine and copper(II)– l -aspartic acid systems. 2,2′-Bipyridine is known for its ability to co-ordinate copper(II) in axial position(s) as well, while l -aspartic acid is a potential tridentate ligand whose ability to chelate in axial position has been here investigated. Combined pH-metric and visible absorption spectrophotometric measurements were performed: visible absorption spectra were recorded during alkalimetric titrations as a function of pH. Further computer-assisted treatment allowed obtaining absorption spectra of single complexes. A series of axially co-ordinated copper(II) complexes found in the literature was also considered. Structural assignment of planar complexes is based on an empirical equation previously published by our research group, which allows an estimation of the ligand field strength of the equatorial donor groups involved. This equation can now help to strengthen the discussion and to assess a criterion to establish the axial co-ordination mode of copper(II) ion. The location of a donor group along the z -axis of the copper(II) distorted octahedron causes a red shift in the absorption spectrum. A quantitative estimation of the red shift per donor group was performed and ranges of red shifts for single donor groups were identified: we calculated a mean value of 36 nm, while extreme values are 19 and 58 nm.

Starting with known analytical concentrations related to the considered Italian red grape table wines, we now expound the methodology which allows us to establish a relationship among (a) the molar concentration of a series of substances of routine measurement, (b) the total acidity and (c) the pH value of each fluid at a thermodynamic level. The experimental pH value of each wine is compared with the calculated one, obtained as a result of a thermodynamic simulation based on the contemporary treatment of a series of chemical equilibria (17 reactants, 77 equilibria). Accurate equilibrium constant values are previously refined on test substances components of red wines (namely: acetic, tartaric, succinic and citric acid) starting by pH-metric readings (at 25°C) recorded in appropriate experimental conditions. In fact, the chemical conditions take care of both the solvent composition, as regards the amount of ethanol, and the ionic strength value, to take into account the effect due to the backgroun...

In this study we considered pi-methyl-L-histidine (pi-methis) and tau-methyl-L-histidine (tau-methis) as ligands for copper(II) ion, in order to clarify, by means of ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy in aqueous solution (T = 25 degrees C, I = 0.1 M), some aspects of the co-ordination mode with respect to other ligands of a previous study in which copper(II) complexes of L-histidine, N-acetyl-L-histidine, histamine, L-histidine methyl ester or carnosine were investigated. Particularly, UV spectra (300-400 nm) were recorded on solutions at various pH values, containing each binary system Cu-L; afterwards, an UV absorption spectrum for single complexes was calculated, taking into account the chemical model previously assessed, in order to fulfil a correct spectrum-structure correlation. The problem related to the eventual superimposition of the CT shoulder (approximately 330 nm) to copper(II) of OH- and imidazole pyridine nitrogen groups were now solved by means of a comparison of the UV spectra of dimer species formed by both pi-methis or tau-methis. Finally, copper(II) complex formation with 2,2'-bipyridine was taken into account to compare the behaviour of pyridine (from 2,2'-bipyridine) and pyridine imidazole nitrogens (from pi-methis or tau-methis) with respect to the UV charge transfer process to copper(II) ion.