Application of cyclodextrins in molecular imprinting technology

In the last decade molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) have gained great interest in the area of selective recognition various type substances. Scientific work in this field is carried out very intensively - the methods of synthesis are modified and improved, new types of hydride materials are created, as well as new reagents for synthesis. In this case, cyclodextrins (CD) and their analogues show good molecular recognition ability for its unique physical and chemical properties and suitable cavity structure. As a result, these supramolecular ligands can perform various functions in the MIP technology, and the resulting polymeric materials are characterized by high selectivity and binding specificity (recognition) of analytes structurally matched to the MIP cavity. Of particular importance is the fact that cyclodextrins enable the imprinting not only of low-molecular-weight biologically active compounds, but also of high-molecular molecules (proteins, peptides). The numerous hydroxyl groups available in cyclodextrins are active sites that can form different types of linkages. They can be cross-linked with one another, or they can be derivatized to produce monomers that can form linear or branched networks. This article provides a detailed review of MIPs based on CD and their application in the field of separation science and analytical chemistry in recent years. The discussion is grouped according to the different role of CD in MIPs, that is, functional monomer, carrier modifier, etc

Multivariate Assessment of Procedures for Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Synthesis for Pesticides Determination in Environmental and Agricultural Samples

In the case of quantitative and qualitative analysis of pesticides in environmental and food samples, it is required to perform a sample pre-treatment process. It allows to minimalize the impact of interferences on the final results, as well as increase the recovery rate. Nowadays, apart from routinely employed sample preparation techniques such as solid-phase extraction (SPE) or solid-phase microextraction (SPME), the application of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) is gaining greater popularity. It is mainly related to their physicochemical properties, sorption capacity and selectivity, thermo-mechanical resistance, as well as a wide range of polymerization techniques allowing to obtain the desired type of sorption materials, adequate to a specific type of pesticide. This paper targets to summarize the most popular and innovative strategies since 2010, associated with the MIPs synthesis and analytical procedures for pesticides determination in environmental and food samples. Application of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) allows for visualization of the most beneficial analytical procedures in case of changing the priority of each step of analysis (MIPs synthesis, sample preparation process—pesticides extraction, chromatographic analysis) bearing in mind metrological and environmental issues

Dietary supplements for athletes in terms of anti-doping regulations

Motywacja w zakresie stosowania suplementów diety w sporcie jest duża i silnie skorelowana z potrzebą osiągania coraz lepszych wyników przez konsumenta. Dane pochodzące z Centrum Badań Opinii Społecznej wskazują, że dziewięciu na dziesięciu dorosłych Polaków stosuje suplementację, a sportowcy wielokrotnie sięgają po kilka suplementów jednocześnie. Korzystanie z suplementów zależy przede wszystkim od rodzaju uprawianej dyscypliny sportowej i wzrasta wraz z intensywnością treningu oraz wiekiem respondentów. Opublikowane dane sugerują również, że sportowcy są skłonni przyjmować suplementy bez gromadzenia wiarygodnych informacji o zawartych w nich substancjach aktywnych. Dlatego w historii sportu udokumentowanych jest wiele przypadków dopingu, również tego niezamierzonego. Znaczącym problemem w przypadku stosowania suplementów diety przez zawodowych sportowców są również potencjalne zanieczyszczenia substancjami z listy Światowej Agencji Antydopingowej (World Anti-Doping Agency – WADA). Ocena dotychczasowego sposobu odżywiania powinna być pierwszym krokiem w doborze suplementacji. Proces ten powinien uwzględniać ocenę danych antropometrycznych, biochemicznych, klinicznych i środowiskowych sportowca. Zatem kompleksowe podejście do oceny takiej potrzeby powinno być zadaniem sztabu szkoleniowego. Decyzja zaś powinna się opierać na złożonej analizie potrzeb żywieniowych sportowca. Podstawą niniejszej analizy są raporty WAD-y oraz piśmiennictwo naukowe, a jej celem jest przybliżenie informacji na temat wykorzystania suplementów w sporcie, z uwzględnieniem danych dotyczących przepisów prawnych i potencjalnych zagrożeń wynikających z ich zastosowania.The motivation to use dietary supplements in sports is very high and strongly correlated with the need to perform better and achieve improved results. Data from the Public Opinion Research Center indicate that nine out of ten Polish adults use supplements, while athletes often use several supplements concomitantly. The usage of supplements depends primarily on the type of sports discipline and increases with the intensity of training and the age of the respondents. The published data also suggests that athletes are willing to take supplements without gathering reliable information about the active substances they contain. Therefore, there are many documented cases of doping, including unintentional doping, in the history of sport. In the case of professional athletes, a significant problem is the risk of the contamination of supplements with substances from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list. Therefore, one should ensure that the possible benefits of using supplements outweigh the risks of using them. Evaluation of the current diet should be the first step in selecting potential supplementation. This process should be carried out based on an assessment of anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and environmental data. The decision should be based on a complex analysis of the athlete. The analysis presented here is based on the reports of the WADA and scientific literature and it aims to provide information on the use of supplementation in sports, including data on legal regulations and potential risks associated with their use

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of the New Cultivars of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. Bred in Ukraine

Lavender, otherwise known as Lavandula angustifolia Mill., is widely used in landscaping, and its oil is a valuable raw material used in many industries. Therefore, new varieties of this plant are bred. The essential oil composition obtained from fresh flowers of thirteen new Ukrainian cultivars of L. angustifolia were analysed by GC-MS, and eighty-two components were identified. Linalool and linalyl acetate were principal constituents of all of the samples, and ranged from 11.4% to 46.7% and 7.4% to 44.2%, respectively. None of the studied samples fulfilled the requirements of Ph. Eur. and ISO 3515:2002. The main reason was a high content of α-terpineol (0.5–4.5%) and/or terpinene-4-ol (1.2–18.7%). Our results are in line with multiple researchers showing that the studied lavender oils do not comply with the industry standards despite their authenticity. We also investigated the effect of the growth year on the chemical composition of five tested cultivars grown on the same plots and noticed a considerable variability between years. The obtained experimental data did not show a significant inter-year trend for the content changes of the major components. Our results allow us to deeply characterize the new cultivars and evaluate their oil for a possible use in the industry, or to designate them for future selective breeding

Volatile profile of bee bread

Abstract Bee bread is one of the least studied bee products. In this study, ten bee bread samples were characterized using palynology and HS–SPME–GC–MS (headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). In total, over one hundred different volatile components were identified, belonging to different chemical groups. Only ten common components were detected in all the samples. These volatiles were ethanol, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, α-pinene, furfural, nonane, nonanal, n-hexane and isovaleric acid. Several other components were commonly shared among various bee bread samples. Over sixty detected compounds have not been previously reported in bee bread. The analysis required a mild extraction temperature of 40 °C, as higher temperatures resulted in the Maillard reaction, leading to the production of furfural. The profile of volatile compounds of the tested bee pollen samples was complex and varied. Some relationships have been shown between botanical origin and volatile organic compound profile

<i>Lavandula × intermedia</i>—A Bastard Lavender or a Plant of Many Values? Part I. Biology and Chemical Composition of Lavandin

This review article is the first in a series that provides an overview of the biology, chemistry, biological effects, and applications of Lavandula × intermedia (lavandin, LI). Despite its prevalence in cultivation and on the essential oil market, lavandin has received limited attention from the scientific community. Remarkably more attention is paid to Lavandula angustifolia (LA), which is commonly regarded as the superior lavender and has been extensively researched. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive review of LI, as none currently exists, and assess whether its inferior status is merited. In the first part, we outline the biological and chemical characteristics of the plant and compare it to the parent species. The chemical composition of lavandin oil is similar to that of LA but contains more terpenes, giving camphor notes that are less valued in perfumery. Nevertheless, lavandin has some advantages, including a higher essential oil yield, resulting in reduced production cost, and therefore, it is a preferred lavender crop for cultivation

<i>Lavandula x intermedia</i>—A Bastard Lavender or a Plant of Many Values? Part II. Biological Activities and Applications of Lavandin

This review article is the second in a series aimed at providing an in-depth overview of Lavandula x intermedia (lavandin). In part I, the biology and chemistry of lavandin were addressed. In part II, the focus is on the functional properties of lavandin and its applications in industry and daily life. While reviewing the biological properties, only original research articles employing lavandin were considered. Lavandin essential oil has been found to have antioxidant and biocidal activity (antimicrobial, nematicidal, antiprotozoal, insecticidal, and allelopathic), as well as other potential therapeutic effects such as anxiolytic, neuroprotective, improving sleep quality, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic. Other lavandin preparations have been investigated to a much lesser extent. The research is either limited or inconsistent across all studies, and further evidence is needed to support these properties. Unlike its parent species—Lavandula angustifolia (LA)—lavandin essential oil is not officially recognized as a medicinal raw material in European Pharmacopeia. However, whenever compared to LA in shared studies, it has shown similar effects (or even more pronounced in the case of biocidal activities). This suggests that lavandin has similar potential for use in medicine

Comparative Evaluation of the Essential Oil of the New Ukrainian Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia Cultivars Grown on the Same Plots

New cultivars of lavender adapted to arid steppe conditions were developed by the Institute of Rice of Ukrainian National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (NAAS). This work is a part of the characterization process of the new cultivars. The chemical composition of the essential oil of the seven new Lavandula angustifolia and eight new Lavandula x intermedia cultivars was investigated and compared. In total, 71 different compounds were identified. Linalool and linalool acetate were the main components in both species in ranges of 26.14&ndash;57.07% and 9.08&ndash;24.45%, respectively. They were followed by terpinen-4-ol (2.16&ndash;22.44%), lavandulyl acetate (2.12&ndash;10.23%), and lavandulol (1.30&ndash;3.14) in the case of L. angustifolia and camphor (10.11&ndash;12.55%), borneol (5.49&ndash;8.71%), and eucalyptol (0.47&ndash;7.41%) in the case of L. x intermedia. The oils had a valuable terpene profile&mdash;a high linalool content and the substantial presence of lavandulol and its ester. Nevertheless, they did not comply with the industry standards, mostly due to high levels of terpinene-4-ol. Evidently, a high content of terpinen-4-ol is a characteristic feature of L. angustifolia oils bred in Ukraine. Additionally, the LA3 cultivar yielded an oil with some of the highest linalool contents reported in the literature. Statistical analysis and literature data allowed for the comparative analysis of the gathered data. MANOVA, PCA, and HCA marked caryophyllene oxide as another potential differentiating compound between studied species

Molecular Fingerprints of Thyroid Cancer Cells by Using Library of Molecular Receptors Formed by N-Lipidated Peptides Immobilized on Cellulose

A novel diagnostic method based on recognition of qualitative and quantitative composition of healthy and tumor tissue samples by library of molecular receptors was presented. Molecular receptors were formed by self-organization of N-lipidated peptides attached in the regular fashion via aminophenylamino-1,3,5-triazine linker to the surface of cellulose plate. For samples testing, the library was cloned into multiple, identical copies and for each experiment the new clone was used. The binding process was monitored by staining the discs with Brilliant Black and quantitative color measurement was performed in 256 grade gray scale. Substantial differences in the composition of healthy and tumor samples were observed in most cases. The highly individual chemical fingerprints were found to be reliant on the cancer type. For malignant papillary thyroid cancer statistical analysis identified two receptors most useful for diagnostic purposes