Publications by authors named "Romana Sokolova"

New voltammetric and flow amperometric methods for the determination of guaifenesin (GFE) using a perspective screen-printed sensor (SPE) with boron-doped diamond electrode (BDDE) were developed. The electrochemical oxidation of GFE was studied on the surface of the oxygen-terminated BDDE of the sensor. The GFE provided two irreversible anodic signals at a potential of 1.

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The extent to which electrophores covalently bridged by a saturated linker are electrochemically independent was investigated considering the charge/spin duality of the electron and functionality of the electrophore as a spin carrier upon reduction. By combining computational modeling with electrochemical experiments, we investigated the mechanism by which tethered electrophores react together within 4,4'-oligo[n]methylene-bipyridinium assemblies (with n=2 to 5). We show that native dicationic electrophores (redox state Z=+2) are folded prior to electron injection into the system, allowing the emergence of supra-molecular orbitals (supra-MOs) likely to support the process of the reductive σ bond formation giving cyclomers.

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This study aimed to demonstrate the behavior of different complexes using IR spectroelectrochemistry (SEC), a technique that combines IR spectroscopy with electrochemistry. Four different Mn and Re catalysts for electrochemical CO reduction were studied in dry acetonitrile. In the case of Mn(apbpy)(CO)Br (apbpy = 4(4-aminophenyl)-2,2'-bipyridine), SEC suggested that a very slow catalytic reduction of CO also occurs in acetonitrile in the absence of proton donors, but at rather negative potentials.

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Two catecholase-like biomimetic catalysts, namely, two dinuclear copper complexes [Cu(L1)(OH)(HO)(EtOH)][ClO] (C1) and [CuAcO(L1)ClO] (C2) with the 2,6-bis(4-methyl piperazin-1-yl-methyl)-4-formyl-phenoxy ligand (L1) together with the mononuclear complex Cu(ClO)(L2) (C3) containing ligand 1,2-(CHN-6-OCH-2-CHN)CHCH (L2), were synthesized. Their catalytic pathways were investigated and compared. The evaluation of the catalytic activity of compound C1 (and C2, C3) using the Michaelis-Menten model was represented by values of = 272.

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The biological electron transfer reactions play an important role in the bioactivity of drugs; thus, the knowledge of their electrochemical behavior is crucial. The formation of radicals during oxidation or reduction, the presence of short-living intermediates, the determination of reaction mechanisms involving electron and proton transfers, all contribute to the comprehension of drug activities and the determination of their mode of action and their metabolites. In addition, if a drug is encapsulated in the cyclodextrin cavity, its electrochemical properties can change compared to a free drug molecule.

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Natural antioxidants, like phenolic acids, possess a unique chemical space that can protect cellular components from oxidative stress. However, their polar carboxylic acid chemotype reduces full intracellular antioxidant potential due to limited diffusion through biological membranes. Here, we have designed and developed a new generation of hydrophobic turn-on fluorescent antioxidant precursors that upon penetration of the cell membrane, reveal a more polar and more potent antioxidant core and simultaneously become fluorescent allowing their intracellular tracking.

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Article Synopsis
  • A new method for synthesizing quinolinecarbaldehydes at specific carbonyl positions (C5 and C7) is detailed, comparing classical aldehyde synthesis techniques like Reimer-Tiemann and Vilsmeier-Haack.
  • Computational studies provide insights into the selectivity of these chemical reactions, while specific new reactions, including carbene insertion and double formylation, are demonstrated using various quinoline derivatives.
  • The study employs multiple characterization techniques (e.g., MS, NMR) to analyze the properties of produced compounds, revealing how structural differences, especially methylation, affect their electrochemical behavior.
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Molecular-level multielectron handling toward electrical storage is a worthwhile approach to solar energy harvesting. Here, a strategy which uses chemical bonds as electron reservoirs is introduced to demonstrate the new concept of "structronics" (a neologism derived from "structure" and "electronics"). Through this concept, we establish, synthesize, and thoroughly study two multicomponent "super-electrophores": 1,8-dipyridyliumnaphthalene, , and its -bridged cyclophane-like analogue, .

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New approaches to the synthesis of 4,7-dichloro-1,10-phenanthrolines and their corresponding 9-carbazol-9-yl-, 10-phenothiazin-10-yl- and pyrrolidin-1-yl derivatives were developed. Their properties have been characterized by a combination of several techniques: MS, HRMS, GC-MS, electronic absorption spectroscopy and multinuclear NMR in both solution and solid state including N CP/MAS NMR. The structures of 5-fluoro-2,9-dimethyl-4,7-di(pyrrolidin-1-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline (5d), 4,7-di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-9-oxo-9,10-dihydro-1,10-phenanthroline-5-carbonitrile (6a) and 4,7-di(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline-5-carbonitrile () were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements.

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Quercetin is one of the most prominent and widely studied flavonoids. Its oxidation has been previously investigated only indirectly by comparative analyses of structurally analogous compounds, e.g.

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Background: Flavonoids possess a rich polypharmacological profile and their biological role is linked to their oxidation state protecting DNA from oxidative stress damage. However, their bioavailability is hampered due to their poor aqueous solubility. This can be surpassed through encapsulation to supramolecular carriers as cyclodextrin (CD).

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The electrochemical oxidation of the natural antioxidant 2,3-dehydrosilybin (DHS) was investigated in acetonitrile. The spectral changes during two electron and two proton oxidation registered by in situ IR spectroelectrochemistry show that the electron transfer is followed by a subsequent chemical reaction with traces of water. A benzofuranone derivative (BF) is formed by ECEC (electron transfer-chemical reaction-electron transfer-chemical reaction) process at the potential of the first oxidation wave.

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The protective constituents of silymarin, an extract from Silybum marianum fruits, have been extensively studied in terms of their antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. Here, we explore the electron-donor properties of the major silymarin flavonolignans. Silybin (SB), silychristin (SCH), silydianin (SD) and their respective 2,3-dehydroderivatives (DHSB, DHSCH and DHSD) were oxidized electrochemically and their antiradical/antioxidant properties were investigated.

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The oxidation mechanism of selected hydroxyquinoline carboxylic acids such as 8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic acid (1), the two positional isomers 2-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic acid (3) and 2-methyl-5-hydroxyquinoline-6-carboxylic acid (4), as well as other hydroxyquinolines were studied in aprotic environment using cyclic voltammetry, controlled potential electrolysis, in situ UV-vis and IR spectroelectrochemistry, and HPLC-MS/MS techniques. IR spectroelectrochemistry showed that oxidation unexpectedly proceeds together with protonation of the starting compound. We proved that the nitrogen atom in the heterocycle of hydroxyquinolines is protonated during the apparent 0.

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As a part of our objective to build an immunosensor for the detection of the pesticide atrazine (ATZ) in environmental samples, we studied the self-assembling process of the disulfide derivative of the pesticide atrazine on a gold substrate. Atrazine-based self-assembled monolayers were characterized by ellipsometry, scanning tunneling microscopy, polarization-modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. Two different time constants for the adsorption process were observed, depending on the experimental method used.

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Single-molecule conductance in a series of extended viologen molecules was measured at room temperature using a gold-molecule-gold scanning tunneling microscopy break junction arrangement. Conductance values for individual molecules change from 4.8 ± 1.

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This study explains the controversies in the literature concerning the number of electrons involved in the oxidation of quercetin. This stems from inappropriate handling samples, which require strict anaerobic conditions. The redox potential of quercetin strongly depends on the pH and on the presence of dissociation forms in solution.

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The natural flavonoid compounds quercetin (3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) and luteolin (3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) are important bioactive compounds with antioxidative, anti-allergic, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, both are unstable when exposed to atmospheric oxygen, which causes degradation and complicates their analytical determinations. The oxidative change of these flavonoids was observed and followed by UV-visible spectrophotometry, both in aqueous and ethanolic solutions.

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The environmental pollutant 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) and its derivative, 5,9-dimethylDBC (DiMeDBC), produced significant and dose-dependent levels of micronuclei followed by a substantial increase in the frequency of apoptotic cells in the V79MZh3A4 cell line stably expressing the human cytochrome P450 (hCYP) 3A4. In contrast, neither micronuclei nor apoptosis were found in cells exposed to the sarcomagenic carcinogen, N-methylDBC (N-MeDBC). A slight but significant level of gene mutations and DNA adducts detected in V79MZh3A4 cells treated with N-MeDBC, only at the highest concentration (30μM), revealed that this sarcomagenic carcinogen was also metabolized by hCYP3A4.

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Extended viologens represent a group of organic molecules intended to be used as molecular wires in molecular electronic devices. Adsorption properties of a novel series of extended viologen molecules were studied at the mercury electrode|electrolyte interface. These compounds form compact monolayers around the potential of zero charge with a constant differential capacitance value of 2.

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Cytotoxic properties of radiosensitizers are due to the fact that, in the metabolic pathway, these compounds undergo one-electron reduction to generate radical anions. In this study we focused our interest on the electrochemical transfer of the first electron on radiosensitizer Etanidazole (ETN) and, consequently, on the ETN radical-anion formation in the buffered aqueous media. ETN was electrochemically treated in the broad pH range at various scan rates.

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Two pesticides, atrazine and terbutylazine, have very similar chemical structures differing only by iso-propyl and tert-butyl substituents on their 6 amino groups. This minor structural difference causes profound effects in decomposition rates in the environment, leading to a ban of atrazine in the European Union. Here we present a study of adsorption at ideally polarized electrochemical interface in the absence of specifically adsorbed halides.

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