Synthesis of fluorescent chalcones, photophysical properties, quantitative structure-activity relationship and their biological application.

The development of fluorescent pigments is an area of interest in several research fields due to their high sensitivity. In the current study-eight known and three new N,N-dimethylamino-chalcones (12a-k) were synthesized with good yields using the Claisen-Schmidt reaction. For each molecular system, the photophysical properties, including the maximum absorption wavelength (λ), molar absorption coefficient (ε), maximum excitation wavelength (λ), maximum emission wavelength (λ), Stokes Shift (Δλ), fluorescence quantum yield (Φ), fluorescence lifetime (τ), radiative and non-radiative rate constants (k and k, respectively) were evaluated.

Improving bitter pit prediction by the use of X-ray fluorescence (XRF): A new approach by multivariate classification.

Bitter pit (BP) is one of the most relevant post-harvest disorders for apple industry worldwide, which is often related to calcium (Ca) deficiency at the calyx end of the fruit. Its occurrence takes place along with an imbalance with other minerals, such as potassium (K). Although the K/Ca ratio is considered a valuable indicator of BP, a high variability in the levels of these elements occurs within the fruit, between fruits of the same plant, and between plants and orchards.

Sensitive fluorescent chemosensor for Hg(II) in aqueous solution using 4'-dimethylaminochalcone.

Mercury (Hg) is an element with high toxicity, especially to the nervous system, and fluorescent pigments are used to visualize dynamic processes in living cells. A little explored fluorescent core is chalcone. Herein, we synthesized chalcone (2E)-3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one (8) and assessed its photophysical properties.

Global issues in setting legal limits on soil metal contamination: A case study of Chile.

The establishment of legal limits for soil contamination with trace elements is a global issue that has not yet been resolved. However, the resolution of any global problem begins at the national level. In this vein, we present the case of Chile, the world's leading copper producer, where soil contamination by trace elements in mining areas has been severe.

Determination of ochratoxin A in coffee and tea samples by coupling second-order multivariate calibration and fluorescence spectroscopy.

A new method to quantify the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee and tea samples is proposed based on second-order multivariate calibration and excitation-emission fluorescence matrix (EEFM) data. Experimental conditions were optimized by studying the effect of pH and various organized media on the fluorescence signal of OTA. For each analysed matrix (coffee grains and tea leaves), several sample pretreatments and calibration methods (external or standard addition) and data processing by chemometric models (e.

Total mercury bias in soil analysis by CV-AFS: causes, consequences and a simple solution based on sulfhydryl cotton fiber as a clean-up step.

This study examines the matrix effect over the trueness for determining total mercury (THg) using CV-AFS. We demonstrate that matrix interferences in soils and sediment samples cannot be eliminated by acid digestion and establish the use of sulfhydryl cotton fiber (SCF), a malleable, cheap and easy to synthesize fiber, as a mandatory solution capable to overcome this bias. Using the classic CV-AFS approach, an overestimation bias for THg recovery values of >140% in a certified reference material was reported.

Advanced determination of the spatial gradient of human health risk and ecological risk from exposure to As, Cu, Pb, and Zn in soils near the Ventanas Industrial Complex (Puchuncaví, Chile).

The townships of Puchuncaví and Quintero, on the coast of central Chile, have soils contaminated by atmospheric deposition of sulfur dioxide and trace elements from the nearby Ventanas Industrial Complex. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential human health and ecological risks, by determining the spatial distribution of soil total concentrations arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in these townships. Total concentrations of these elements were determined in 245 topsoil samples, used to generate continuous distribution maps.

Mercury and methylmercury levels in soils associated with coal-fired power plants in central-northern Chile.

Mercury pollution is a worldwide problem, and is associated with a number of natural and anthropogenic processes. The present work, conducted in Chile, a country that has traditionally depended heavily on fossil fuels for power generation, examines total mercury (THg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations in soils across different sites exposed to coal fired power plant emissions. Samples from four selected (Renca, Laguna Verde, Las Ventanas, Huasco) and 1 control (Quintay) sites were analyzed using cold vapour and fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS) for THg determination and chromatographic separation with atomic fluorescence detection (DI-GC-AFS) was followed for speciation analysis.

Critical evaluation of third-order advantage with highly overlapped spectral signals. Determination of fluoroquinolones in fish-farming waters by fluorescence spectroscopy coupled to multivariate calibration.

In this work, the analytical performance of a third-order/four-way calibration is evaluated to model a highly overlapped system, where two spectral dimensions are extremely similar, and the results are then compared with the results of second-order/three-way calibration. The four-way data were obtained during the photodegradation of fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and flumequine) in the form of excitation-emission matrices and modeled by unfolded partial least squares coupled to residual trilinearization (U-PLS-RTL). According to the results, the model obtained with the second-order algorithm (unfolded partial least squares coupled to residual bilinearization: U-PLS-RBL) was unsatisfactory due to high spectral overlap.

Critical evaluation of distillation procedure for the determination of methylmercury in soil samples.

In the present work, the efficiency of distillation process for extracting monomethylmercury (MMHg) from soil samples was studied and optimized using an experimental design methodology. The influence of soil composition on MMHg extraction was evaluated by testing of four soil samples with different geochemical characteristics. Optimization suggested that the acid concentration and the duration of the distillation process were most significant and the most favorable conditions, established as a compromise for the studied soils, were determined to be a 70 min distillation using an 0.

Distribution and pollution assessment of trace elements in marine sediments in the Quintero Bay (Chile).

The aim of this study was to assess the levels of heavy metal pollution in the clay/silt fraction (<63 μm fraction) of marine sediments from Quintero Bay, Chile. For this, sediment samples were collected from 14 sites from the bay and analyzed for major and minor element determination. The metal concentrations found suggest an anthropogenic origin related with Cu, Se, Mo, As, Sb and Pb.

Distribution of trace elements in particle size fractions for contaminated soils by a copper smelting from different zones of the Puchuncaví Valley (Chile).

Metal contents in soil samples are commonly used to evaluate contamination levels. However, the distribution of metals is dependent on particle size. We investigated the distribution of metals in various particle size fractions of the soil from four sites of the Puchuncaví Valley (Central Chile).

Speciation analysis of organotin compounds in human urine by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detection.

A new headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) method followed by gas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detection (GC-PFPD) analysis has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 organotin compounds, including methyl-, butyl-, phenyl- and octyltin derivates, in human urine. The methodology has been validated by the analysis of urine samples fortified with all analytes at different concentration levels, and recovery rates above 87% and relative precisions between 2% and 7% were obtained. Additionally, an experimental-design approach has been used to model the storage stability of organotin compounds in human urine, demonstrating that organotins are highly degraded in this medium, although their stability is satisfactory during the first 4 days of storage at 4 °C and pH=4.