Thermogravimetric and kinetic methods to date wood finds. First results.

Fresh (larch and fir, in its white and red varieties) and ancient wood samples (dating respectively to the 13th, 15th and 17th centuries) were subjected to thermogravimetric analysis (TG and DTG). The resulting thermogravimetric data were then used to construct archeometric curves for the wood varieties tested. In a preliminary approach, it was attempted to correlate the onset temperature of the thermogravimetric step corresponding to cellulose decomposition with the age (expressed in centuries) of the samples, although the results obtained were anything but brilliant. More encouraging results were obtained by examining the relationship between wood sample age and the value of the (percent cellulose/percent lignin) ratio computed from the thermogravimetric data. Lastly, a procedure for processing data obtained from the TG curves was applied to a kinetic analysis of the processes that take place when wood samples are subjected to a temperature regime with a constant heating rate, obtaining values for the activation energy of the TG step corresponding to the decomposition of cellulose. Also using these data it was attempted to construct archeometric curves, obtaining results that varied quite significantly according to the wood species tested.

Compatibility between active components of a commercial drug.

A thermal and a kinetic analysis on the decomposition processes of a commercial drug named diamplicil (AD), obtained by an antibiotic combination of ampicillin (A) and dicloxacillin (D), have been carried out to find their thermal stability. The DSC/TG curves of this commercial drug were compared with those of its active components and an excipient, the magnesium stearate (M). Kinetic study was carried out using both isothermal and dynamic TG curves. Decomposition mechanisms for both active components and commercial drug tested were not found. The kinetic data obtained by the non-isothermal isoconversional method showed that D component causes a decrease of the kinetic stability of the active A component. Additive magnesium stearate does not decrease the stability of the two components. Moreover, storage time values at room temperature were calculated.