Unveiling chemical responses in the kombucha-based fermentation of black tea, banana flower, and grape juice: LC-ESIMS, GNPS, MS-DIAL, and MS-FINDER-assisted chemical characterization.

The lack of studies evaluating the chemical responses of kombucha microorganisms when exposed to plants is notable in the literature. Therefore, this work investigates the chemical behaviour of 7-, 14- and 21 day-fermentation of kombucha derived from three extracts obtained from banana inflorescence, black tea, and grape juice. After the acquisition of UPLC-ESI-MS data, GNPS molecular networking, MS-Dial, and MS-Finder were used to chemically characterize the samples. The microbial chemical responses were enzymatic hydrolysis, oxidation, and biosynthesis. The biosynthesis was different among the kombucha samples. In fermented black tea, gallic and dihydrosinapic acids were found as hydrolysis products alongside a sugar-derived product namely 7-(α-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxyheptanoic acid. The sphingolipids, safingol and cedefingol alongside capryloyl glycine and palmitoyl proline were identified. In fermented grapes, sugar degradation and chemical transformation products were detected together with three cell membrane hopanoids characterized as hydroxybacteriohopanetetrol cyclitol ether, (Δ6 or Δ11)-hydroxybacteriohopanetetrol cyclitol ether, and methyl (Δ6 or Δ11)-hydroxybacteriohopanetetrol cyclitol. The fermented banana blossom showed the presence of methyl (Δ6 or Δ11)-hydroxybacteriohopanetetrol cyclitol together with sphingofungin B, sphinganine and other fatty acid derivatives. Parts of these samples were tested for their inhibition against α-glucosidase and their antioxidant effects. Except for the 14-day fermented extracts, other black tea extracts showed significant inhibition of α-glucosidase ranging from 42.5 to 42.8%. A 14-day fermented extract of the banana blossom infusion showed an inhibition of 29.1%, while grape samples were less active than acarbose. The 21-day fermented black tea extract showed moderate antioxidant properties on a DPPH-based model with an EC50 of 5.29 ± 0.10 µg mL-1, while the other extracts were weakly active (EC50 between 80.76 and 168.12 µg mL-1).

Impact of Drug-Polymer Interaction in Amorphous Solid Dispersion Aiming for the Supersaturation of Poorly Soluble Drug in Biorelevant Medium.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the production method and the polymeric carrier on the ability to generate and maintain the supersaturation of a poorly soluble drug in biorelevant medium. The amorphous solid dispersion of sulfamethoxazole, an antibacterial drug, was produced using two different polymers by spray-drying or hot melt extrusion methods. When Eudragit EPO was used, supersaturation was maintained up to 24 h for both techniques at all drug-polymer proportions. However, when Soluplus was employed in hot melt extrusion, a smaller amount of drug was dissolved when compared to the amorphous drug. The proportion of 3:7 drug-Eudragit EPO (w/w) produced by spray-drying presented a higher amount of drug dissolved in supersaturation studies and it was able to maintain the physical stability under different storage conditions throughout the 90-day evaluation. Supersaturation generation and system stability were found to be related to more effective chemical interaction between the polymer and the drug provided by the production method, as revealed by the 1D ROESY NMR experiment. Investigation of drug-polymer interaction is critical in supersaturating drug delivery systems to avoid crystallization of the drug and to predict the effectiveness of the system. Chemical compounds studied in this article: Sulfamethoxazole (PubChem CID: 4539) and Methacrylate copolymer - Eudragit EPO (PubChem CID: 65358).

Supersaturating drug delivery system of fixed drug combination: sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim.

Background: The drug supersaturation in the intestinal lumen for few hours could result in high bioavailability. The goal of this study was the development of a supersaturating drug delivery system containing sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim at fixed dose combination (sulfamethoxazole:trimethoprim 5:1 w/w). Methods: The amorphous solid dispersions were formed at three different proportions containing 30, 50 and 70% of Eudragit EPO in the formulation. Results: The supersaturation state is formed by the amorphous drugs produced by spray drying technique, and the maintenance of this state is due to the chemical interactions between the drugs and the polymer selected, which was observed in the fluorescence interaction studies realized between the drugs and the polymer. The Formulation containing 70% of the polymer was able to produce and maintain the supersaturated state of both drugs for 24 h. Solid state characterization demonstrated the amorphization of the drugs in the solid dispersion and indicated the hydrogen bond formation responsible for the improvement in the apparent solubility. This formulation presented an improved antibacterial activity when compared to the combination of the drugs. Conclusion: For the first time, a supersaturating drug delivery system was developed to the complementary antibacterial drugs. This ternary formulation is a powerful alternative to improve oral absorption of recognized safety drugs, reducing the dose and consequently the antibiotic resistance emergence.

Synthesis and characterization of cassava starch with maleic acid derivatives by etherification reaction.

Cassava starch was grafted with three different esters by the etherification reaction and its modification was characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR, DSC, SEM, XDR, contact angle and SLS. The samples grafted with diethyl maleate, dipropyl maleate, and dibutyl maleate showed DS values of 2.3, 1.0 and 2.0, respectively, determined from 1H NMR analysis and confirmed by FTIR analysis, with the appearance of bands at 1721, 1550 and 1126cm-1. The FTIR, XRD, SEM and DSC results indicated a change in the intra and intermolecular hydrogen interactions in the grafted starch when compared to native starch. Based on the contact angles, it was observed that the macromolecular starch chain acquired hydrophobic characteristics through the substitution of the hydrogens with di maleate esters. The characteristics acquired by grafted starch allow it to be used for the encapsulation of bioactive molecules for the production of bioactive packages and the production of biodegradable packages.

Magnetic ionic liquids produced by the dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMI.NTf2).

̀This paper reports on the advancement of magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) as stable dispersions of surface-modified γ-Fe(2)O(3), Fe(3)O(4), and CoFe(2)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in a hydrophobic ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl 3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMI.NTf(2)). The MNPs were obtained via coprecipitation and were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements. The surface-modified MNPs (SM-MNPs) were obtained via the silanization of the MNPs with the aid of 1-butyl-3-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]imidazolium chloride (BMSPI.Cl). The SM-MNPs were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy and by magnetic measurements. The FTIR-ATR spectra of the SM-MNPs exhibited characteristic absorptions of the imidazolium and those of the Fe-O-Si-C moieties, confirming the presence of BMSPI.Cl on the MNP surface. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the SM-MNPs were modified by at least one BMSPI.Cl monolayer. The MILs were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and magnetic measurements. The Raman and DSC results indicated an interaction between the SM-MNPs and the IL. This interaction promotes the formation of a supramolecular structure close to the MNP surface that mimics the IL structure and is responsible for the stability of the MIL. Magnetic measurements of the MILs indicated no hysteresis. Superparamagnetic behavior and a saturation magnetization of ~22 emu/g could be inferred from the magnetic measurements of a sample containing 50% w/w γ-Fe(2)O(3) SM-MNP/BMI.NTf(2).

Ionically tagged iron complex-catalyzed epoxidation of olefins in imidazolium-based ionic liquids.

A new ionophilic ligand and a new ionically tagged imidazolium-based iron(III) complex were synthesized and applied in the air oxidation (also hydrogen peroxide) of alkenes in imidazolium-based ionic liquids. At least ten recycling reactions were performed. The epoxidized olefin was obtained in very good yields of 84-91 %. Some important mechanistic insights are also provided based on electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry for the oxidation reaction. These results indicate that oxidations can take place by two different pathways, depending on the reaction condition: a radical or a concerted mechanism. These results contribute towards a better understanding of iron-catalyzed oxidation mechanisms.