Chemiluminescent fingerprints from airborne particulate matter: A luminol-based assay for the characterization of oxidative potential with kinetical implications.

In this study, a new chemiluminescent method based on the dependence of luminol light emission induced by free radicals in airborne particulate matter (PM) is proposed as a screening assay for the rapid characterization of samples from different sources based on their redox properties. This parameter is considered critical for assessing particulate matter toxicity and its impacts on human health. We propose a cell-free, luminescent assay to evaluate the redox potential of particulate matter directly on the filters employed to collect it.

Unburned Tobacco Cigarette Smoke Alters Rat Ultrastructural Lung Airways and DNA.

Introduction: Recently, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of IQOS Tobacco Heating System as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product based on an electronic heat-not-burn technology that purports to reduce the risk.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed in a whole-body mode to IQOS aerosol for 4 weeks. We performed the chemical characterization of IQOS mainstream and we studied the ultrastructural changes in trachea and lung parenchyma of rats exposed to IQOS stick mainstream and tissue pro-inflammatory markers.

Delta9-THC determination by the EU official method: evaluation of measurement uncertainty and compliance assessment of hemp samples.

Hemp cultivation is living a period of renewed interest worldwide after long years of opposition and abandonment. The European Union (EU) allows and subsidizes the growing of fiber and oilseed cultivars of Cannabis sativa L. with respect to the THC content limit of 0.

Glucocorticoids in Freshwaters: Degradation by Solar Light and Environmental Toxicity of the Photoproducts.

The photodegradation process of seven glucocorticoids (GCs), cortisone (CORT), hydrocortisone (HCORT), betamethasone (BETA), dexamethasone (DEXA), prednisone (PRED), prednisolone (PREDLO) and triamcinolone (TRIAM) was studied in tap and river water at a concentration close to the environmental ones. All drugs underwent sunlight degradation according to a pseudo-first-order decay. The kinetic constants ranged from 0.

The pursuit of good microbiological conditions in domestic softeners: a new improvement.

Effective resin disinfection is mandatory to ensure the microbiological quality of water treated by domestic softeners. The wet and sometimes warm environment inside the softener is ideal for bacteria growth. Our research was focused on the evaluation of the microbial quality of water from softeners sanitized by chlorine solutions or by electrolytic systems.

Sunlight-induced degradation of fluoroquinolones in wastewater effluent: Photoproducts identification and toxicity.

The photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin (CIP), Enrofloxacin (ENR), Danofloxacin (DAN), Marbofloxacin (MAR) and Levofloxacin (LEV), five widely used fluoroquinolones (FQs), was studied in urban WWTP secondary effluent, under solar light. The degradation profiles and the kinetic constants were determined at the micrograms per litre levels (20-50 μg L(-1)). The photo-generated products were identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS).

Competitive amperometric immunosensor based on covalent linking of a protein conjugate to dendrimer-functionalised nanogold substrate for the determination of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene.

A new amperometric immunosensor for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene based on the working principle of competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed and characterised. An electrodeposited nanogold substrate was functionalised by deposition of self-assembled monolayers of 2-aminoethanethiol as linkers for the subsequent immobilisation of polyamidoaminic dendrimers. Our approach makes use of those dendrimers to anchor a trinitrobenzene-ovalbumin conjugate on the electrode surface.

Chemiluminescent ELISA for the BTEX determination in water and soil.

An indirect competitive chemiluminescence enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CL-ELISA) for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and ortho-, meta-, para-xylenes (BTEX) in soil and water was developed. The assay was optimized concerning the coating conjugate concentration, anti-BTEX antiserum dilution, incubation time effect on primary and secondary antibody incubation, and temperature effect on the competitive step and tolerance to different organic solvents. The IC(50) and lower limit of the detection (LDD(90)) values were 4.

Monitoring of environmental pollutants by bioluminescent bacteria.

This review deals with the applications of bioluminescent bacteria to the environmental analyses, published during the years 2000-2007. The ecotoxicological assessment, by bioassays, of the environmental risks and the luminescent approaches are reported. The review includes a brief introduction to the characteristics and applications of bioassays, a description of the characteristics and applications of natural bioluminescent bacteria (BLB), and a collection of the main applications to organic and inorganic pollutants.