0000000000121829
AUTHOR
Serena Fanara
Antimicrobial and antistaphylococcal biofilm activity from the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus
Aims: Staphylococcal biofilm-associated infections are resistant to conventional antibiotics. Consequently, new agents are needed to treat them. With this aim, we focused on the effector cells (coelomocytes) of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus immune system. Methods and Results: We tested the activity of the 5-kDa peptide fraction of the cytosol from coelomocytes (5-CC) against a group of Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. We determined minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 253·7 to 15·8 mg ml−1. We observed an inhibitory activity and antibiofilm properties of 5-CC against staphylococcal biofilms of reference strains Staphylococcus epidermidis DSM 3269 an…
Occurrence of illicit drugs in two wastewater treatment plants in the South of Italy
In this study the occurrence and the behavior of illicit drugs and their metabolites have been investigated for two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (namely, WWTP-1 and WWTP-2) located in Sicily (island of Italy). Samples were analyzed for methamphetamine, cocaine (COC), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methadone (METH), 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), 3,4-methylenedioxy amphetamine (MDA); 3,4-methylenedioxy ethylamphetamine (MDEA), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Î9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) and Benzoylecgonine (BEG). The BEG, COC, MOR and THC-COOH were found at the highest concentration in both WWTPs. The Wastewater-based epidemiology calculation for BEG, COC…
Effetto del PRD (Partial Rootzone Drying)sulla composizione della frazione volatile di mele ‘Pink Lady’
Mucoadhesive Solid Lipid Microparticles (SLM) for sustained release of corticosteroids to the lungs
Pulmonary delivery is the preferred route of drug administration in the treatment of many respiratory disease, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Over the years, several kinds of carriers have been studied for sustained release of corticosteroids and bronchodilators to the lungs. Solid Lipid Microparticles (SLM) due to their biocompatibility and size (3-5 µm) can reach the bronchial epithelium directly, circumvent first pass metabolism and avoid systemic toxicity [1,2]. In this work we describe the preparation and the characterization of two different systems subjected to chitosan and alginate coating for sustained release of fluticasone propionate (FP) into th…
Orientation and molecular contacts of melatonin confined into AOT and lecithin reversed micellar systems
Abstract The state of increasing amounts of melatonin (MLT) confined in dry AOT or lecithin reversed micelles dispersed in CCl 4 has been investigated by UV–vis and 1 H NMR spectroscopies. The experimental results are consistent with MLT totally entrapped in reversed micelles, as a consequence of specific melatonin/surfactant interaction; the main driving force of the MLT solubilization in the core of reversed micelles is the establishment of H-bonding between the MLT NH groups (both indolic and amidic) and the head group of surfactants. The short contacts deduced from intermolecular NOEs are accounted for by favourable interactions between the surfactant's polar head and the H7–NH–H2 fragm…
ESI/MS study of singly charged clusters formed by bis-(ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT-) and Fe 3+
Self Assembling di tensioattivi in fase gassosa: ESI/MS di aggregati a sigola carica di Yb(AOT)3
Analisi ambientale: determinazione di IPA, pesticidi e acrilammide in bacini idrogeologici della regione sicilia
Aroma compounds in sicilian olive oils from three cultivars at different ripening stages
Partitioning study of polyciclic aromatic hydrocarbons between water and water insoluble phases
Idrocarburi policiclici aromatici: studi di ripartizione tra acqua e sistemi complessi per la ricerca di nuove metodiche analitiche
Analysis of furan in coffee of different provenance by head-space solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: effect of brewing procedures.
A simple, sensitive and accurate method for the analysis of furan in roasted coffee has been used based on headspace-solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The extraction was performed using 75-microm carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fiber. Ionic strength, extraction time and temperature, and desorption time were assessed as the most important parameters affecting the HS-SPME procedure and d(4)-furan was used as the internal standard. The linearity range was in the range 0.0075-0.486 ng g(-1); the LOD and LOQ calculated using the signal-to-noise ratio approach were 0.002 and 0.006 ng g(-1), respectively. The inter- and intra-day precisio…
Partitioning study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between water and some selected water-insoluble phases
An investigation on the partitioning of naphthalene and phenanthrene between water and some water-insoluble phases has been carried out by Uv-vis-NIR spectrophotometry. The analysis of the experimental results emphasized the role of intermolecular interactions and structural features of the hosting phases as driving forces of the partitioning of these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The critical comparison of the resulting distribution constants allowed to evaluate the potentials of some extracting phases to set up sensitive analytical methods and/or effective environment remediation technologies.
FT-IR investigation of the state of iron (III) chloride clusters confined in AOT reverse micelles dispersed in carbon tetrachloride
The state of the water-soluble salt iron(III) chloride in AOT reverse micelles dispersed in carbon tetrachloride has been investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy. Interestingly, while the entrapment of a lot of water-soluble inorganic salts in AOT reverse micelles requires preliminarily the presence of significant amounts of water within the micellar core, solubilization of FeCl3 occurs without the need to add water in the micellar solution reaching the very high solubility value, expressed as the maximum salt-to-surfactant molar ratio, of 1.30. The analysis of the spectral features of the investigated samples leads to hypothesize that iron(III) chloride is confined within the reverse micellar c…