Analysis of the volatile components of five Turkish Rhododendron species by headspace solid-phase microextraction and GC-MS (HS-SPME-GC-MS)

Volatile constituents of various solvent extracts (n-hexane, CH2Cl2, H2O) of 15 different organs (leaves, flowers, fruits) of five Rhododendron species (Ericaceae) growing in Turkey were trapped with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique and analyzed by GC-MS. A total of 200 compounds were detected and identified from organic extracts, while the water extracts contained only traces of few volatiles. The CH2Cl2 extract of the R. luteum flowers was found to exhibit the most diverse composition: 34 compounds were identified, with benzyl alcohol (16.6%), limonene (14.6%) and p-cymene (8.4%) being the major compounds. The CH2Cl2-solubles of R. x sochadzeae leaves contained only phenyl ethyl alcohol. This study indicated appreciable intra-specific variations in volatile compositions within the genus. Different anatomical parts also showed altered volatile profiles. This is the first application of HS-SPME-GC-MS on the volatiles of Rhododendron species

Cyclodextrin- grafted electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibers via "Click" reaction for removal of phenanthrene

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Beta-cyclodextrin (p-CD) functionalized cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers have been successfully prepared by combining electrospinning and "click" reaction. Initially, p-CD and electrospun CA nanofibers were modified so as to be azide-p-CD and propargyl-terminated CA nanofibers, respectively. Then, "click" reaction was performed between modified CD molecules and CA nanofibers to obtain permanent grafting of CDs onto nanofibers surface. It was observed from the SEM image that, while CA nanofibers have smooth surface, there were some irregularities and roughness at nanofibers morphology after the modification. Yet, the fibrous structure was still protected. ATR-FTIR and XPS revealed that, CD molecules were successfully grafted onto surface of CA nanofibers. The adsorption capacity of p-CD-functionalized CA (CA-CD) nanofibers was also determined by removing phenanthrene (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH) from its aqueous solution. Our results indicate that CA-CD nanofibers have potential to be used as molecular filters for the purpose of water purification and waste water treatment by integrating the high surface area of nanofibers with inclusion complexation property of CD molecules. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. A