Publications by authors named "R Randazzo"

Article Synopsis
  • Varicocele affects up to 15% of men and is linked to infertility; various surgical and radiological methods exist for treatment, but their effectiveness is uncertain.
  • A study comparing the Ivanissevich surgical technique and sclerotherapy in 94 patients found that sclerotherapy significantly improved sperm concentration, while surgical treatment reduced the number of patients with oligozoospermia.
  • Overall, the study did not determine a clear advantage of one method over the other but highlighted the importance of considering sperm bio-functional parameters in future research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Protonated achiral H TPPS4 spontaneously self-arranges at acids pH and high ionic strength to build mesoscopic J-aggregates that are intrinsically chiral. According to the symmetry rule aggregation leads to a racemate that, however, can be unbalanced by chemical (chiral pollutants) or physical stimuli (as vortexing the solution). Vortexing the title racemate, in principle, might either induce chiral separation or chiral enrichment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chiral porphyrin hetero-aggregates, produced from meso-tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl) porphyrin HT4 and copper(II) meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin CuTPPS by an imprinting effect in the presence of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), are shown herein to serve as templates for the generation of chiral structures during the oxidative conversion of the amino acid to melanin. This remarkable phenomenon is suggested to involve the initial role of L-DOPA and related chiral intermediates like dopachrome as templates for the production of chiral porphyrin aggregates. When the entire chiral pool from DOPA is lost, chiral porphyrin hetero-aggregate would elicit axially chiral oligomer formation from 5,6-dihydroxyindole intermediates in the later stages of melanin synthesis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The hierarchical assembly, in aqueous solution, of a new multi-metalloporphyrin/calixarene aggregate has been accomplished. In this supramolecular system transfer of chirality, from the outermost components to the central porphyrin reporter, takes place as a result of favorable and fully noncovalent long-range electronic communication.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The dispersion of para-nitroaniline (p-NA) in water poses a threat to the environment and human health. Therefore, the development of functional adsorbents to remove this harmful compound is crucial to the implementation of wastewater purification strategies, and electrospun mats represent a versatile and cost-effective class of materials that are useful for this application. In the present study, we tested the ability of some polyethersulfone (PES) nanofibers containing adsorbed porphyrin molecules to remove p-NA from water.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF