New frontiers in thermal analysis: A TG/Chemometrics approach for postmortem interval estimation in vitreous humor

The coupling of thermogravimetric analysis (TG) associated with chemometrics is proposed as an innovative approach in thanatochemistry in order to develop a new analytical tool using thermal analysis for the characterization of vitreous humor. Vitreous samples were selected from the medicolegal deaths which occurred in casualty and where the death interval is known. Only hospital deaths with no metabolic disorders were taken, and the precise time of death was certified by the treating physician. Samples were analyzed by TG7 thermobalance, and principal component analysis was used to evaluate the results. The TG/Chemometrics outcomes show a clearly distinct behavior according to the postmortem interval, concluding that TG and Chemometrics are capable of predicting the time since death using only a few microliters of vitreous, without any pretreatment and with an hour of analysis tim

Biomimetic complexes of Co(II), Mn(II), and Ni(II) with 2-propyl-4,5-imidazoledicarboxylic acid. EGA-MS characterization of the thermally induced decomposition

Solid complexes of Co(II), Mn(II), and Ni(II) with 2-propyl-4,5-imidazoledicarboxylic acid have been prepared and studied by means of mass spectrometry evolved gas analysis (EGA-MS). The applied hyphenated thermoanalytical approach has allowed description of the thermally induced decomposition steps and has supported the suggested mechanism. The results of this work in combination with the earlier reported data have suggested that two main thermally induced decomposition pathways are common of the imidazole-substituted complexes

Innovative coating technologies to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut fruits by edible film materials.

In this work, the application of a novel strategy to extend the shelf life of fresh cut fruits is proposed. In particular, edible film coatings from natural resources were used with the aim of extending the shelf life of fresh cut apples. Chitosan and carboxymethylcellulose were considered and a promising formulation was developed. The evaluation of the shelf life extension of fruits was performed in a multiparametric way over a period of 10 days. The percentage weight losses were calculated for treated and untreated fruits in order to evaluate the performances of the coating material to avoid contact with environment. In the meanwhile, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was considered to determine the volatile compounds producing a characteristic flavor of apples. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in the physiological loss in weight of treated fruits with respect to controls, while the study of the volatile component indicated the ability of treated fruits to retain its freshness during storage

FTIR - Evolved Gas Analysis in recent thermoanalytical investigations

Several analytical instruments (like pyrolyzers, thermobalances, differential thermal analyzers, or calorimeters, and sometimes simply temperature-controlled reactors) can be on-line coupled to infrared spectrometers to perform evolved gas analysis (EGA). Advances in EGA techniques are currently proposed by the scientific literature because the possibility to on-line detect the nature of the released gases or vapors has become fundamental to proving a supposed reaction, either under isothermal or under heating conditions. In this review, recent analytical applications of evolved gas analysis performed by infrared spectroscopy (EGA-IR), selected among those published in the years 2013 to 2015, are collected. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Advances in thermoanalytical techniques: may aspirin interfere with ß-thalassemia diagnosis?

Thermogravimetry coupled with chemometrics has proved to be a rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tool for β-thalassemia screening. This model, consisting of Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), permitted the discrimination of thalassemic patients and healthy individuals, using thermogravimetric curves of blood samples. In this study, the impact of aspirin on the capability of the TGA/chemometric validated model to screen for thalassemia was investigated. Whole blood samples from patients with congenital defects and healthy individuals were analyzed by the TGA7 thermobalance (Perkin Elmer) without any pretreament, and the resulting curves were compared to those typical of patients after aspirin intake. The chemometric approach allowed a quick identification of the anemia and confirms that the proposed model was not affected by aspirin. Results permit to consider the coupling TGA/chemometrics as a promising diagnostic approach to provide a high-throughput and sensitive tool to obtain an early detection of thalassemia. © 2018, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary