Impact of inorganic mercury on carotenoids in freshwater algae: Insights from single-cell resonance Raman spectroscopy.

The influence of inorganic mercury (Hg(II)) exposure on photosynthetic microorganisms and their pigments remains understudied. Here, we employed resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy to investigate the responses of two freshwater phytoplankton species, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana to Hg(II) exposure. We selectively recorded the spectral RR signature of carotenoids in intact cells exposed to concentrations of 10 nM and 100 nM of Hg(II), representative for contaminated environment and unexposed control cells.

Calcium Acetate Drug Produced from Invasive Gastropod Shells: Green Process Control Assisted by Raman Technology.

The highly demanded calcium acetate (Ca(CHCOO)) for biomedicine and various industries constantly requires green and low-cost methods of synthesis. In the present work, a sustainable approach to produce Ca(CHCOO) is reported as a proof of concept, processing for the first time as a starting material the worldwide highly abundant shells, which is a neglected biogenic waste with high economical potential due to the rich mineral and organic pigmentary content. A green synthesis involving an eco-friendly acetic acid has been optimized at room temperature, without any additional energy consumption, and the resulting saturated Ca(CHCOO) solution was further slowly evaporated in three stages to obtain white Ca(CHCOO) crystalline powder, without impurity traces.