tungsten oxide a catalyst worth studying for the abatement and decontamination of chemical warfare agents

AbstractTungsten(VI) oxide, WO3, was studied and used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the liquid-phase oxidative abatement and solid-phase decontamination of simulants of chemical warfare agents, CWAs. The catalytic performance of WO3 was compared to the one of a soluble W-containing model catalyst, W(IV)-heptaisobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, W-POSS. In liquid-phase abatement tests, WO3 promoted a complete degradation of the toxic agent simulant within 24 h, in the presence of aqueous hydrogen peroxide, at room temperature. In solid-phase decontamination tests, when WO3 was mixed with sodium perborate as a solid oxidant, it was also tested in the decontamination of a cotton textile support from organosulfide and organophosphonate agents (simulants of blistering and nerve CWAs, respectively), showing promising performances comparable to, or sometimes better than, a nanostructured TiO2 catalyst, taken as a reference material. The environmental impact of the WO3 catalyst was assessed on biolumi..

Potential of N-aryl(benzyl,heteryl)-2-(tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetamides as anticancer and antimicrobial agents

The death rate from cancer and infectious diseases is still very high, therefore research in this area is extremely important and promising as in medical, so in economic point of view. Thus, potassium salt of tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-thion was modified per alkylation by N-aryl(benzyl,heteryl)acetamides with proper confirmation of newly synthesized compounds’ structures by FT-IR, LC–MS, 1H NMR and elemental analysis data. The substances were tested for bioluminescence inhibition against Photobacterium leiognathi Sh1 (5–50 μg/mL) to check their cytotoxicity. Then they were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities (100 μg) against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes and Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans. It was found that compounds 1.1, 1.5, 1.10, 1.31, 1.33 possessed light activity against K. pneumonia. The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) has chosen 19 compounds and screened them for ability to inhibit in 10 μM concentration 60 different human tumor cell lines. The LOX IMVI cell line of melanoma appeared to be the most sensitive one, and N-(6-methylbenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2-(tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetamide (1.31) and N-(3-fluorobenzyl)-2-(tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetamide (1.19) exhibited high growth inhibition rate, and N-(6-methoxybenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2-(tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazolin-5-ylthio)acetamide (1.32) showed lethal antitumor activity against it. The latter compound 1.32 showed the best anticancer results, also inhibiting growth of leukemia SR cell line, NCI-H460 of non-small cell lung cancer, KM12 of colon cancer and SF-295 of CNS cancer. The in silico molecular docking studies have predicted the affinity of the synthesized substances to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)

Physico–chemical Properties, Biological and Environmental Impact of Nb–saponites Catalysts for the Oxidative Degradation of Chemical Warfare Agents

Niobium-containing saponite clays are active catalysts, under mild ambient conditions and in the presence of aqueous hydrogen peroxide, in the oxidative abatement of sulfurcontaining blister chemical warfare agent simulants, such as (2-chloroethyl)ethyl sulfide. Over a Nb-saponite solid, a complete, selective and safe abatement of the chemical agent was attained within 8 h. The biological and environmental impact of the Nb-containing nanostructured clays used as decontamination solids was assessed by specific rapid biotoxicity tests on bioluminescent bacteria and vegetable plants. No negative impact on the strain of luminescent bacteria was evidenced in terms of acute and chronic toxicity. No adverse effects have been observed on vegetable plants in terms of germination, vigour and induction of chlorophyll fluorescence either