Carotenoids and ß-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes: Raman spectroscopy and theoretical investigation.

In the present study, the inclusion processes of ß-carotene, astaxanthin, lycopene, and norbixin (NOR) into the ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) cavity were investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy and quantum mechanics calculations. The Raman ν(1) band assigned to C═C stretching was sensitive to the host-guest interaction and in general undergoes a blue shift (3-13 cm(-1)) after inclusion takes place, which is the consequence of the localization of single and double bonds. This is supported by the molecular modeling prediction, which inclusion complexes show the ν(1) band blue shifted by 1-8 cm(-1). The calculated complexation energies was small for most of derivatives and was found to be -11.1 kcal mol(-1) for inclusion of AST and +0.27 kcal mol(-1) for NOR. The stability order was qualitatively correlated to topological parameters accounting for the opening angle of the chain. This means that after inclusion the guest molecules assume a slightly more extended conformation, which enhances the host-guest contact, improving the interaction energy. The results discussed here clearly demonstrate the matrix effect on the carotenes' spectroscopic profile and should contribute to fully characterize the raw samples.

Raman spectroscopic analysis of real samples: Brazilian bauxite mineralogy.

In this investigation, Raman spectroscopy with 1064 and 632.8 nm excitation was used to investigate real mineral samples of bauxite ore from mines of Northern Brazil, together with Raman mapping and X-rays diffraction. The obtained results show clearly that the use of microRaman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the identification of all the minerals usually found in bauxites: gibbsite, kaolinite, goethite, hematite, anatase and quartz. Bulk samples can also be analysed, and FT-Raman is more adequate due to better signal-to-noise ratio and representativity, although not efficient for kaolinite. The identification of fingerprinting vibrations for all the minerals allows the acquisition of Raman-based chemical maps, potentially powerful tools for process mineralogy applied to bauxite ores.