Optimization of culture conditions of Scenedesmus sp. algae and catalytic performance of a NiFe2O4@SiO2/MgO magnetic nano-catalyst for biodiesel production.

This study aims to optimize the lipid content of Scenedesmus sp. for high-yield biodiesel production. Three factors affecting the culture conditions, namely salinity, nitrogen concentration, and light intensity, were selected and their effects on the maximum lipid content were investigated using the Box Behnken design. The results showed that the maximum lipid content (32.7% of algal dry weight) was obtained in the algal samples cultured under the optimized conditions. A core-shell magnetic nano-catalyst, NiFe2O4@SiO2/MgO, was synthesized and used to produce biodiesel via the transesterification reaction. The nano-catalyst was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), elemental mapping techniques, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Using the Box Behnken design and keeping the temperature constant, the molar ratio of methanol to oil, the amount of catalyst, and the time were optimized to achieve the maximum yield of biodiesel. The maximum yield of biodiesel was 95.3% under the optimal conditions.

Nanophycology, the merging of nanoscience into algal research: A review.

Nanophycology is recognized as one of the most important and widely used interdisciplinary sciences by creating a connection between nanotechnology on the one hand and phycology on the other hand. Algal nanoparticle biosynthesis is a starting point in studies and research related to nanophycology. Nanophycology consists of two parts, nano and phycology, and by taking advantage of the high potential of algae such as high biological safety, easy production, fast growth, and high stability in the phycology part of this science, which is also known as algology, algae nanoparticles synthesis and make this section related to nanotechnology. In this way, algae are known as factories of biological nanomaterials and cause the production of bio-stable nanotechnology and the removal of environmental pollutants released due to nanochemistry. Nanotechnology produced by algae in the science of nanophycology, due to algae's unique physical and chemical properties compared to other biological entities such as plants, fungi, and bacteria, is used in various fields including medicine, biorefining, purification Water, etc. In this review article, the most important goals of the science of nanophycology, including the biosynthesis of algal nanoparticles and the potential of these compounds in various fields of application, have been examined and discussed.

Assessment of land use effect, mapping of human health risks and chemometric analysis of potential toxic elements in topsoils of Aran-o-Bidgol, Iran.

This study examines topsoil contamination in Aran-o-Bidgol urban region of central Iran, with a focus on potentially toxic elements (PTEs). A total of 135 topsoil samples in different land types were characterized, ranging from areas with agricultural farms, desert, industrial and residential activity, and brick kilns. The average concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, Fe, Zn, and Mn were 0.72, 11.41, 14.82, 29.87, 51.13, 106.69, 8741.87, 48.59, and 346.42 mg kg-1, respectively, which all exceed the local background levels. The results reveal that land use significantly affected PTE concentrations. Cr, Co, Mn, and Fe concentrations in soils of residential and brick kiln areas were especially high. In contrast, concentrations of Cu, Ni, and Zn were higher in agricultural and residential areas. Risk assessment analysis showed that the sum of toxic units for PTEs for brick kilns (1.72), residential (1.82), and agricultural (1.79) areas exceeded those of other land types and that Ni and Cr contributed the most to the high toxic risk index values. Both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk indices of PTEs in soils were within an acceptable limit, except for the cancer risk of Ni (3.52E-04) and Cr (3.00E-04) among children. The spatial hazard index and carcinogenic health risk of PTEs showed that samples from the southwestern parts of the study area might pose significant health problems to adults and children. This study demonstrates how combining different techniques can help spatially characterize PTE accumulation and protect populations at risk.

Template-directed synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 derived Zn-Al layered double oxides decorated on the electrochemically anodized nanoporous aluminum substrate for thin film microextraction of chlorophenols followed by determination with high-performance liquid chromatography.

In this work, hierarchical ZIF-8 coated anodized aluminum foil was prepared through in situ template-directed method without addition of any zinc salt. The hierarchical sorbent was synthesized by the formation of the final HZIF-8 on the previously created layered double oxide (LDO) template. The LDO template was created by calcining the firstly in situ prepared desired layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursor coated on the electrochemically anodized porous Al foil in an air atmosphere. The microextraction ability of the extracting device was studied through direct immersion thin film microextraction (DI-TFME). The extracted analytes were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography equipped by UV detector (HPLC-UV). The present strategy was used for the simultaneous extraction and quantification of four selected chlorophenols (CPs) (as model analyte). The variables of the TFME were optimized using response surface methodology (Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design). Under the obtained optimum condition, the prepared film presented acceptable extraction properties including low limits of detection (0.03-0.22 µgL-1), good linear ranges (0.2-200 µgL-1, r2 > 0.9918) and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviation, 3.6 < RSD < 5.8% for one film as inter- and intra-day RSD, 4.8 < RSD < 5.3% for film to film). Moreover, the obtained enrichment factors were in the range of 56-76. The kinetics and adsorption isotherm of the selected analytes adsorption to the prepared sorbent were also investigated. The maximum adsorption capacities of the selected analytes on the prepared sorbent were in the range of 26.4-80.1 mg g-1. The adsorption isotherm obeyed the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Moreover, the adsorption of the selected chlorophenols on the prepared film followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Finally, the HZIF-8 film was utilized for the quantification of selected CPs in different types of water and wastewater samples. The results showed satisfactory relative recoveries (93-102%) and acceptable precisions (3.6 < RSD < 9.2%).

In-situ formation of Zn-Al layered double oxides on electrochemically anodized nanoporous aluminum film as sorbent for chlorophenols extraction from water and wastewater followed by determination using HPLC.

Herein, we present a simple, cost-effective, and robust strategy for the in-situ preparation of Zn-Al layered double oxides-anodized aluminum thin film via a facile hydrothermal method, followed by calcination treatment of the Zn-Al layered double hydroxide in the air atmosphere. The in-situ prepared Zn-Al layered double oxide-anodized aluminum film was implemented as sorbent for thin film microextraction of four selected chlorophenols (4-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol), followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection. The different variables of the thin film microextraction were screened via Plackett-Burman design and then optimized through Box-Behnken design. Under the optimum condition, the method showed good linear ranges (0.2-200 µg/L) with the coefficient of determinations higher than 0.9938. The calculated limit of detections were between 0.07 and 0.56 µg/L. Relative standard deviations of the method for determination of the analytes at 5 µg/L concentration level (n = 3) were ranged from 3.5 to 3.9% (as interday). The enrichment factors were between 39 and 58. This extraction method was demonstrated to be fast, efficient, and convenient. To study the capability of the developed method for real sample analysis, tap, well, river, and two types of wastewater samples were satisfactorily analyzed.

Recent advances and future trends on molecularly imprinted polymer-based fluorescence sensors with luminescent carbon dots.

One of the pressing concerns in analytical chemistry is the construction of selective and sensitive sensors to detect trace analytes in complicated samples. Nowadays, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) that play an important role in most sensing systems are created by molecular imprinting technology (MIT) with tailor-made and synthetic recognition sites, which are complementary in functional groups, size, and shape to the target molecule. Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs), as a new class of carbon-based nanomaterials, have shown simple synthesis, low cost, excellent optical features, great aqueous solubility, and good biocompatibility. Due to the unique properties of recognition specificity, structure predictability, and application universality, the coupling of MIP/CDs with fluorescence detection has attracted great research interest. Accordingly, this review article mainly focuses on the senor designs, sensing mechanisms, and properties of MIP/CDs based fluorescent sensors to various target analytes in most recent years. Finally, we discuss possible future challenges, improvements, and perspectives.

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid-phase microextraction of capecitabine by multi-stimuli responsive molecularly imprinted polymer modified with chitosan nanoparticles followed by HPLC analysis.

An ultrasonic-assisted dispersive solid-phase microextraction was developed by a multi-stimuli responsive molecularly imprinted polymer based on chain transfer agent-modified chitosan nanoparticles for enrichment and separation of trace capecitabine in a real sample. The synthesized particles were carefully characterized and it was found that a uniform pH-sensitive imprinted polymeric shell is obtained on the surface of Fe3O4@chitosan core with enough saturation magnetization (29 emu g-1). Desirable adsorption capacity (91 mg g-1) and high imprinting factor (IF = 3.6) toward capecitabine were exhibited by the Langmuir isotherm model. Under optimized conditions, which were achieved by experimental design, the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 1.9 ng mL-1. The obtained relative mean recoveries of capecitabine using high-performance liquid chromatography were in the range of 93 to 102% in a human plasma sample with RSD less than 5.5%. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of ultrasonic-assisted dispersive solid-phase microextraction by multi-stimuli responsive molecularly imprinted polymer based on chain transfer agent-modified chitosan nanoparticles and high-performance liquid chromatography for enrichment and separation of capecitabine in the real sample.

Improvement of thermal stability and antioxidant activity of anthocyanins of Echium amoenum petal using maltodextrin/modified starch combination as wall material.

To protect anthocyanins of Iranian borage extract (IBE) by encapsulation, maltodextrin (MD)/modified maize starch (MMS) combinations were used at four ratios (MD/MMS: 1/0, 1/0.25, 1/0.5, 1/1, w/w%). The microencapsulated powders with different ratios of wall material presented encapsulation efficacy between 93.1 and 97.4%. FTIR confirmed the cross-linking interaction between extract and MD/MMS wall. Increased thermal stability of extract was also indicated by DSC analysis. The stability of microstructures and crude extract at two conditions (5 and 40 °C) was evaluated by UV and HPLC methods during 60 days. The results of stability showed that encapsulation by treatment 4 (MD/MMS 1:1) improved the stability of anthocyanins 43.8% compared to crude extract. Additionally, microcapsule created in this treatment provided great antioxidant stability. The release in the simulated gastrointestinal tract revealed that the anthocyanins were chiefly retained inside the microparticles in the stomach, and were released in the intestine. The results demonstrated that the microencapsulation with MD and MMS by the spray-drying method can improve the stability, antioxidant and functional characteristics of borage extract, which could be useful in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Three-dimensional Pd/Pt bimetallic nanodendrites on a highly porous copper foam fiber for headspace solid-phase microextraction of BTEX prior to their quantification by GC-FID.

The preparation of bimetallic Pd/Pt nanofoam for use in fiber based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is described. First, a highly porous copper foam was prepared on the surface of an unbreakable copper wire by an electrochemical method. Then, the substrate was covered with metallic Pd and Pt using galvanic replacement of the Cu nanofoam substrate by applying a mixture of Pd(II) and Pt(IV) ions. The procedure provided an efficient route to modify Pd/Pt nanofoams with large specific surface and low loading with expensive noble metals. The fiber was applied to headspace SPME of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) (as the model compounds) in various spiked water and wastewater samples. It was followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). A Plackett-Burman design was performed for screening the experimental factors prior to Box-Behnken design. Compared with the commercial PDMS SPME fiber (100 µm), it had higher extraction efficiency for BTEX. Under the optimum conditions, the method has low limits of detection (0.16-0.35 µg L-1), a wide linear range (1-200 µg L-1), relative standard deviations between 5.8 and 10.5%, and good recoveries (>85% from spiked samples). Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of a three-dimensional Pd/Pt bimetallic nanodendrites supported on a highly porous copper foam fiber for use in headspace solid phase microextraction of BTEX. They were then quantified by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector.

Nanoparticle-templated hierarchically porous polymer/zeolitic imidazolate framework as a solid-phase microextraction coatings.

A two-step ZnO nanoparticle-directed method has been implemented to prepare polymer monolith/zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coatings with hierarchical micro-meso-macroporosity. The polymer/ZIF monolith was prepared on the surface of a stainless steel wire from a polymerization mixture containing dispersed ZnO nanoparticles. The embedded ZnO nanoparticles in the precursor polymer monolith coating were converted on-fiber to submicrometric porous crystals of the prototypical ZIF-8, based on the coordination of Zn(II) with 2-methylimidazole. The polymer/ZIF monolith coating was applied to the headspace SPME of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) from water samples, followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Hierarchically porous polymer/ZIF monolithic coatings showed a superior performance for BTEX extraction in comparison to coatings based on pure macroporous organic polymer monoliths, silicone glue/ZIF-8 coatings or commercial PDMS coatings. Experimental parameters such as desorption temperature, desorption time, salt concentration, temperature effect, equilibrium time and extraction time were investigated. Under the selected experimental conditions, limits of detection of 0.02-0.11 µg L-1, linear ranges of 0.2-200 µg L-1, relative standard deviations of 4.3-8.2%, and a fiber-to-fiber reproducibility of 8.9-9.8% (n = 3) were obtained. Recoveries higher than 88% were obtained for BTEX analysis in tap water, wastewater and landfill leachates.

Optimization of microwave assisted extraction of essential oils from Iranian Rosmarinus officinalis L. using RSM.

In this study, the efficiencies of conventional hydro-distillation and novel microwave hydro-distillation methods in extraction of essential oil from Rosemary officinalis leaves have been compared. In order to attain the best yield and also highest quality of the essential oil in the microwave assisted method, the optimal values of operating parameters such as extraction time, microwave irradiation power and water volume to plant mass ratio were investigated using central composite design under response surface methodology. Optimal conditions for obtaining the maximum extraction yield in the microwave assisted method were predicted as follows: extraction time of 85 min, microwave power of 888 W, and water volume to plant mass ratio of 0.5 ml/g. The extraction yield at these predicted conditions was computed as 0.7756%. The qualities of the obtained essential oils under designed experiments were optimized based on total contents of four major compounds (α-pinene, 1,8-cineole, camphor and verbenone) which determined by gas chromatography equipped with mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The highest essential oil quality (55.87%) was obtained at extraction time of 68 min; microwave irradiation power of 700 W; and water volume to plant mass ratio of zero.

Multicapillary Gas Chromatography-Temperature Modulated Metal Oxide Semiconductor Sensors Array Detector for Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds in Closed Atmosphere Using Gaussian Apodization Factor Analysis.

A unique metal oxide semiconductor sensor (MOS) array detector with eight sensors was designed and fabricated in a PTFE chamber as an interface for coupling with multicapillary gas chromatography. This design consists of eight transfer lines with equal length between the multicapillary columns (MCC) and sensors. The deactivated capillary columns were passed through each transfer line and homemade flow splitter to distribute the same gas flow on each sensor. Using the eight ports flow splitter design helps us to equal the length of carrier gas path and flow for each sensor, minimizing the dead volume of the sensor's chamber and increasing chromatographic resolution. In addition to coupling of MCC to MOS array detector and other considerations in hardware design, modulation of MOS temperature was used to increase sensitivity and selectivity, and data analysis was enhanced with adapted Gaussian apodization factor analysis (GAFA) as a multivariate curve resolution algorithm. Continues air sampling and injecting system (CASI) design provides a fast and easily applied method for continues injection of air sample with no additional sample preparation. The analysis cycle time required for each run is less than 300 s. The high sample load and sharp injection with the fast separation by MCC decrease the peak widths and improve detection limits. This homemade customized instrument is an alternative to other time-consuming and expensive technologies for continuous monitoring of outgassing in air samples.

A multi-walled carbon nanotube-based magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer as a highly selective sorbent for ultrasonic-assisted dispersive solid-phase microextraction of sotalol in biological fluids.

A modified multiwalled carbon nanotube-based magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MWCNT-MMIP) was synthesized and applied for selective extraction and preconcentration of sotalol (SOT) in biological fluid samples by using ultrasonic-assisted dispersive solid-phase microextraction (UA-DSPME). The synthetic particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The screening of UA-DSPME was preliminarily performed by Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and, subsequently, central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM) was used individually for evaluation of the significant factors and their possible interaction effects on the adsorption process. Batch mode adsorption studies were performed to evaluate the adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and selective recognition of MWCNT-MMIPs. The adsorption equilibrium of SOT using MWCNT-MMIPs could be well-defined with the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum adsorption capacity was calculated to be 79.36 mg g-1. Under optimized conditions, the SOT was selectively and effectively extracted in real biological samples and good linearity was obtained with correlation coefficients (R2) over 0.996 and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 0.31 ng mL-1. The average recoveries of the spiked human urine and plasma samples at four concentration levels of SOT ranged from 94.60-102.50 and 97.40-101.60 percent, respectively, and the relative standard deviation was found to be lower than 4.50%. The results illustrated that the proposed MWCNT-MMIPs@UA-DSPME extraction method coupled with HPLC-UV determination could be applied for sensitive and selective analysis of trace SOT in biological fluid samples.

Spectrophotometric determination of synthetic colorants using PSO-GA-ANN.

Four common food colorants, containing tartrazine, sunset yellow, ponceau 4R and methyl orange, are simultaneously quantified without prior chemical separation. In this study, an effective artificial neural network (ANN) method is designed for modeling multicomponent absorbance data with the presence of shifts or changes of peak shapes in spectroscopic analysis. Gradient descent methods such as Levenberg-Marquardt function are usually used to determine the parameters of ANN. However, these methods may provide inappropriate parameters. In this paper, we propose combination of genetic algorithms (GA) and partial swarm optimization (PSO) to optimize parameters of ANN, and then the algorithm is used to process the relationship between the absorbance data and the concentration of analytes. The hybrid algorithm has the benefits of both PSO and GA techniques. The performance of this algorithm is compared to the performance of PSO-ANN, PC-ANN and ANN based Levenberg-Marquardt function. The obtained results revealed that the designed model can accurately determine colorant concentrations in real and synthetic samples. According to the observations, it is clear that the proposed hybrid method is a powerful tool to estimate the concentration of food colorants with a high degree of overlap using nonlinear artificial neural network.

Three-way spectrofluorimetric-assisted multivariate determination of nonylphenol ethoxylate and 2-naphtalene sulfonate in wastewater samples and optimization approach for their photocatalytic degradation by CoTiO3 nanostructure.

This study presents a new strategy for the simultaneous quantification of two industrial contaminants. The excitation-emission fluorescence data matrix combined with a three-way chemometric method, such as parallel factor analysis, was used for the determination of nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE-9) as a nonionic surfactant and 2-naphthalene sulfonate (2-NS) in waste water samples. It is noticeable that this method can resolve overlapping signal into spectral and relative concentration profiles. By spiking the known concentrations of these compounds in the wastewater samples, the accuracy of the proposed methods was validated and recoveries of the spiked values were calculated. High recoveries (i.e. 90-110%) obtained for the waste water samples indicate the present method can be used successfully to determine the analytes concentration in the environmental contaminations. The photocatalytic degradation of NPE-9 and 2-NS in aqueous solution was studied using the CoTiO3 nanoparticles catalyst. It was synthesized by the sol-gel technique. The catalytic activity of the prepared nanoparticles was measured in a batch photoreactor containing appropriate solutions of these compounds with UV irradiation. The photodegradation process of these compounds was optimized by using the central composite design. The CoTiO3 showed high activity for UV-photocatalytic degradation of NPE-9 and 2-NS.

Determination of Very Low Level of Free Formaldehyde in Liquid Detergents and Cosmetic Products Using Photoluminescence Method.

Formaldehyde is commonly used in detergents and cosmetic products as antibacterial agent and preservative. This substance is unfavorable for human health because it is known to be toxic for humans and causes irritation of eyes and skins. The toxicology studies of this compound indicate risk of detergents and cosmetic formulations with a minimum content of 0.05% free formaldehyde. Therefore, determination of formaldehyde as quality control parameter is very important. In this study, a photoluminescence method was achieved by using 2-methyl acetoacetanilide. Also, the Box-Behnken design was applied for optimization of Hantzsch reaction for formaldehyde derivatization. The investigated factors (variables) were temperature, % v/v ethanol, reaction time, ammonium acetate, and 2-methyl acetoacetanilide concentration. The linear range was obtained from 0.33-20 × 10(-7) M (1-60 µg·kg(-1)) and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.12 µg·kg(-1). The proposed method was applied for the analysis of Iranian brands of liquid detergents and cosmetic products. The formaldehyde content of these products was found to be in the range of 0.03-3.88%. Some brands of these products had higher concentration than the maximum allowed concentration of 0.2%. High recoveries (96.15%-104.82%) for the spiked dishwashing liquid and hair shampoo indicate the proposed method is proper for the assessment of formaldehyde in detergents and cosmetic products. The proposed methodology has some advantages compared with the previous methods such as being rapid, without the necessity of applying separation, low cost, and the fact that the derivatization reaction is carried out at room temperature without any heating system.

Investigation of fragrance stability used in the formulation of cosmetic and hygienic products using headspace solid-phase microextraction by nanostructured materials followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry.

A new composite coating of polypyrrole and sodium lauryl ether sulfate was electrochemically prepared on a stainless-steel wire using cyclic voltammetry. The application and performance of the fiber was evaluated for the headspace solid-phase microextraction of a fragrance in aqueous bleach samples followed by gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry to assess the fragrance stability in this kind of household cleaning product. To obtain a stable and efficient composite coating, parameters related to the coating process such as scan rate and numbers of cycles were optimized using a central composite design. In addition, the effects of various parameters on the extraction efficiency of the headspace solid-phase microextraction process such as extraction temperature and time, ionic strength, sample volume, and stirring rate were investigated by experimental design methods using Plackett-Burman and Doehlert designs. The optimum values of 53°C and 28 min for sample temperature and time, respectively, were found through response surface methodology. Results show that the combination of polypyrrole and sodium lauryl ether sulfate in a composite form presents desirable opportunities to produce new materials to study fragrance stability by headspace solid-phase microextraction.

Spatial Eco-Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Surface Soils of Industrial City of Aran-o-Bidgol, Iran.

Heavy metals usually accumulate and migrate in soil environment due to human activities and this in return poses potential ecological and health risks. A total of 135 surface soil samples were collected from Aran-o-Bidgol City, Iran and were analyzed for their Cd, Pb, Ni and Cu concentrations to determine these elements' spatial distribution and potential ecological risks. To this end, interpolation mapping was conducted using Ordinary Kriging. The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, Ni and Cu in the samples were 0.72, 11.41, 29.87 and 14.82 mg kg(-1), respectively, which were all higher than their background values. The spatial variation in the concentration of heavy metals could be attributable to point sources and vehicle emissions. Considering the severity of the potential ecological risks of metals, the descending order of contaminants' concentrations was Cd > Cu > Ni > Pb. The Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI) suggested that approximately 40 % and 59 % of the samples posed high and significantly high potential ecological risks, respectively. Moreover, ecological risk decreased progressively going from southwest to northeast over the under-study area. Considering the background values and RI, this area presented a relatively high level of contamination.

Chemometrics-assisted excitation-emission fluorescence analytical data for rapid and selective determination of optical brighteners in the presence of uncalibrated interferences.

This study describes a novel approach for the simultaneous determination of CBS-X and CXT as widely used optical brighteners in household detergent, by combining the advantage of the high sensitivity of molecular fluorescence, and the selectivity of second-order chemometric methods. The proposed method is assisted by second-order chemometric analyses employing the PARAFAC, SWATLD and APTLD that help us to determine CBS-X and CXT in laundry powders and environmental samples, through the unique decomposition of the three-way data array. Proposed method can provide the extraction of relative concentrations of the analytes, as well as the spectral profiles. This approach achieves the second-order advantage and in principle could be able to overcome the spectral uncalibrated interference problems in the determination of CBS-X and CXT at the ng g(-1) level. By spiking the known concentrations of these compounds to the real samples, the accuracy of the proposed methods was validated and recoveries of the spiked values were calculated. High recoveries (90.00%-113.33%) for the spiked laundry powders and real environmental samples indicate the present method successfully faces this complex challenge without the necessity of applying separation and preconcentration steps in environmental contaminations.

Combination of GC/FID/Mass spectrometry fingerprints and multivariate calibration techniques for recognition of antimicrobial constituents of Myrtus communis L. essential oil.

Myrtus communis L. is an aromatic evergreen shrub and its essential oil possesses known powerful antimicrobial activity. However, the contribution of each component of the plant essential oil in observed antimicrobial ability is unclear. In this study, chemical components of the essential oil samples of the plant were identified qualitatively and quantitatively using GC/FID/Mass spectrometry system, antimicrobial activity of these samples against three microbial strains were evaluated and, these two set of data were correlated using chemometrics methods. Three chemometric methods including principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS) and orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS) were applied for the study. These methods showed similar results, but, OPLS was selected as preferred method due to its predictive and interpretational ability, facility, repeatability and low time-consuming. The results showed that α-pinene, 1,8 cineole, ß-pinene and limonene are the highest contributors in antimicrobial properties of M. communis essential oil. Other researches have reported high antimicrobial activities for the plant essential oils rich in these compounds confirming our findings.