Publications by authors named "Pedro D Vaz"

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Effective screening strategies for early diagnosis that could improve disease prognosis are lacking. Non-invasive breath analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) is a potential method for earlier LC detection.

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The vibrational dynamics and phase behavior of deep eutectic systems (DES) comprising ammonium salts and urea have been investigated using a combination of computational chemistry with inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and isotopic substitution. The study explores the impact of cation (a)symmetry on the vibrational modes of ammonium salts and urea in eutectic mixtures. By employing deuterated urea in tetraalkylammonium-based DES mixtures, selective observation of the INS spectra of individual components is achieved.

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Article Synopsis
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) show promise for early cancer detection, particularly lung cancer, using non-invasive methods that can be more comfortable than traditional techniques like biopsies and imaging.
  • Recent technological advancements have enabled the use of VOC detection through breath, urine, and skin samples, offering a potential alternative to painful or costly procedures.
  • The study utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the accuracy of lung cancer detection by analyzing the overall profiles of VOCs, rather than focusing solely on specific compounds, highlighting the potential for AI in enhancing early cancer detection in clinical practice.
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Article Synopsis
  • This study looks at how certain forces (called entropic factors) affect special liquids called deep eutectic solvents (DES) using a technique called inelastic neutron scattering (INS).
  • The researchers used a math method (DFT) to understand the vibrations of pure substances, which helps to analyze the INS results for mixtures of compounds.
  • They discovered that the differences in behavior (called deviations from ideality) of a specific mixture (made of [N]Cl and urea) are more influenced by entropy (disorder) instead of heat energy (enthalpy), which is different from most other mixtures studied before.
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In this work, a computational spectroscopy approach was used to provide a complete assignment of the inelastic neutron scattering spectra of three title alkoxysilane derivatives-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS), N-methyl-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (MAPTS), and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The simulated spectra obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations exhibit a remarkable match with the experimental spectra. The description of the experimental band profiles improves as the number of molecules considered in the theoretical model increases, from monomers to trimers.

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This work explores the conformational preferences and the structure-property correlations of poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF), a longer chain analogue of the most well-known biobased polyester from the furan family, poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF). A thorough computational spectroscopic study-including infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy, combined with discrete and periodic density functional theory calculations-allowed the identification of dominant structural motifs in the amorphous and crystalline regions. Discrete calculations and vibrational spectroscopy of semi-crystalline and amorphous samples strongly support the predominance of conformations of the butylene glycol fragment in both the crystalline and amorphous domains.

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In this work, the structural dynamics of the chloromethanes CCl, CHCl and CHCl were evaluated through a computational spectroscopy approach by comparing experimental inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectra with the corresponding simulated spectra obtained from periodic DFT calculations. The overall excellent agreement between experimental and calculated spectra allows a confident assignment of the vibrational features, including not only the molecular fundamental modes but also lattice and combination modes. In particular, an impressive overtone sequence for CHCl is fully described by the simulated INS spectrum.

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The structure and dynamics of crystalline 4-(dimethylamino) benzaldehyde, 4DMAB, are assessed through INS spectroscopy combined with periodic DFT calculations. The excellent agreement between experimental and calculated spectra is the basis for a reliable assignment of INS bands. The external phonon modes of crystalline 4DMAB are quite well described by the simulated spectrum, as well as the modes involving low-frequency molecular vibrations.

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Pigments are compounds of importance to several industries, for instance, the food industry, where they can be used as additives, color intensifiers, and antioxidants. As the current trend around the world is shifting to the use of eco-friendly commodities, demand for natural dyes is increasing. Melanins are pigments that are produced by several microorganisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzes the dynamics of three compounds: 2-methoxybenzaldehyde, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, and 4-ethoxybenzaldehyde using INS spectroscopy and DFT calculations.
  • A tentative crystal structure for 4-ethoxybenzaldehyde is proposed based on its similarity to 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, allowing for meaningful comparisons despite the lack of experimental data.
  • The research identifies specific vibrational modes and calculates torsional barriers for methyl groups, revealing important differences between intramolecular and intermolecular contributions to the energy barriers in these compounds.
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Fish fraud is a problematic issue for the industry. For it to be properly addressed will require the use of accurate, rapid, and cost-effective tools. In this work, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to predict nutritional values (protein, lipids, and moisture) as well as to discriminate between sources (farmed vs.

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is a brown macroalgae used in food and generally considered safe to be consumed, according to EU Directive (EC 258/97). The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of food preparation on of different origins on what concerns its chemical constituents and final bioactivities. The aqueous extract of the seaweeds were obtained at different temperatures, similar to food preparation and then purified by SPE.

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Bacterial nanocellulose (BC)-based composites containing poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA), poly(methacroylcholine chloride) (PMACC) or poly(methacroylcholine hydroxide) (PMACH) were characterized by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectroscopy, combined with DFT (density functional theory) calculations of model systems. A reasonable match between calculated and experimental spectral lines and their intensities was used to support the vibrational assignment of the observed bands and to validate the possible structures. The differences between the spectra of the nanocomposites and the pure precursors indicate that interactions between the components are stronger for the ionic poly(methacrylate) derivatives than for the neutral counterpart.

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The present work emphasizes the value of periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations in the assessment of the vibrational spectra of molecular crystals. Periodic calculations provide a nearly one-to-one match between the calculated and observed bands in the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectrum of crystalline 4-phenylbenzaldehyde, thus validating their assignment and correcting previous reports based on single molecule calculations. The calculations allow the unambiguous assignment of the phenyl torsional mode at ca.

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Nanosized MoO2 can be prepared by different protocols, which yield different morphologies of the nanoparticles. Among their many properties, they can serve as catalysts for styrene oxidation (among other olefins), which is an industrially relevant transformation. In this work, we prepared MoO2 nanosized catalysts by two slightly different hydrothermal protocols using ethylenediamine and either Fe2O3 or hydroquinone.

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This work presents a comprehensive spectroscopic analysis of crystalline isoniazid, one of the main drugs in tuberculosis chemotherapy, using a blend of spectroscopic and computational methods. Mid- and far-infrared, Raman, and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopies, with contribution of isotopic substitution are combined with discrete and periodic DFT quantum chemical calculations. This combined approach successfully reproduces the whole spectral range, allowing a sound assignment of all the vibrational bands.

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Aescin, a natural mixture of saponins occurring in , exhibits important flebotonic properties, being used in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency in legs. The inclusion of aescin into cyclodextrins (CDs) is a technical solution for its incorporation into the textile of stockings, but details of the physicochemistry of these host-guest systems are lacking. This work investigates the inclusion of aescin into the cavities of two native cyclodextrins, β-CD and γ-CD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers are focusing on creating eco-friendly nanomaterials, specifically layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoclusters, that are synthesized in safe water-based solutions.
  • The LDH nanoclusters have a high concentration (98.7 g/L), can stay mixed in solution for over two weeks, and possess unique catalytic properties with an average size of 7.8 nm.
  • These nanoclusters can be used as solid catalysts that are easy to separate from liquid mediums after reactions, making them promising for various applications in sustainable chemistry.
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Styrene oxidation mediated by a Mo-based mesoporous catalyst can yield selectively styrene oxide or benzaldehyde. Kinetic data evidenced that styrene oxide is the initial single-product formed by the catalytic Mo-mediated process. However, after some hours of reaction benzaldehyde yield rises while that of the epoxide decreases concomitantly.

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2-O-Acyl protected-d-ribo-3-uloses reacted with [(ethoxycarbonyl)methylene]triphenylphosphorane in acetonitrile to afford regio- and stereoselectively 2-(Z)-alkenes in 10-60 min under microwave irradiation. This domino reaction is proposed to proceed via tautomerization of 3-ulose to enol, acyl migration, tautomerization to the 3-O-acyl-2-ulose, and Wittig reaction. Alternatively, in chloroform, regioselective 3-olefination of 2-O-pivaloyl-3-uloses gave (E)-alkenes, key precursors for the miharamycins' bicyclic sugar moiety.

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Three new mononuclear oxovanadium(IV) complexes [VO(acac)(R-BIAN)]Cl (BIAN = 1,2-bis{(R-phenyl)imino}acenaphthene, R = H, 1; CH3, 2; Cl, 3) were prepared and characterized. They promoted the catalytic oxidation of olefins such as cyclohexene, cis-cyclooctene, and styrene with both tbhp (tert-butylhydroperoxide) and H2O2, and of enantiopure olefins (S(-)- and R(+)-pinene, and S(-)- and R(+)-limonene) selectively to their epoxides, with tbhp as the oxidant. The TOFs for styrene epoxidation promoted by complex 3 with H2O2 (290 mol mol(-1)V h(-1)) and for cis-cyclooctene epoxidation by 2 with tbhp (248 mol mol(-1)V h(-1)) are particularly good.

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Owing to the recent development of the PM6 and PM6-DH+ semi-empirical methodologies, which belong to the neglect of diatomic differential overlap (NDDO) family, it was decided to carry out a study to assess whether these inexpensive and fast methodologies could be used with confidence to help solve mass spectrometry problems. As such, a report on the feasibility of using semi-empirical calculations to identify probable protonation sites in amino acids is presented. The optimised geometries obtained by the semi-empirical calculations were compared to several structures reported in the literature (obtained through high-level theoretical calculations) and reasonable agreement was found.

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Some antioxidant mechanisms displayed by several phenolic compounds relate with OH bond dissociation energy. One way for its determination, in the gas-phase, relies on acidity measurements. Gas-phase acidities were determined experimentally, applying the kinetic method, for chromanol and four dimethoxyphenols, and theoretically through quantum chemical DFT calculations for chromanol, six dimethoxyphenols and 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenol.

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Intramolecular cyclization via nitrenium ion of 2-phenylpentanoic/2-phenylbutanoic acid esters with a terminal p-azidophenyl group gives direct access to tetrahydronaphthalene lignan esters. The p-azidophenyl-substituted butanoate led to an ethyl spirodienone carboxylate, while its homologue pentanoate gave ethyl 4-(4-aminophenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-1-carboxylate in good yield. In contrast, the m-azidophenyl-substituted esters suffered aromatic nucleophilic addition of trifluoromethanesulfonate.

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Metalloligands of stoichiometry [AuCl(P-N)] have been obtained by the reaction of the heterofunctional phosphines P-N = PPh(2)py, PPh(2)CH(2)CH(2)py, or PPhpy(2) with [AuCl(tht)] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene). Reactions of these metalloligands with several metal compounds have afforded heteropolynuclear species which exhibit luminescent properties. The stoichiometries depend on the molar ratio and the heterometal.

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