Combined Use of NMR, LC-ESIMS and Antifungal Tests for Rapid Detection of Bioactive Lipopeptides Produced by Bacillus

The science and technology interact with the art in several ways. Biotechnological coupled with analytical approaches can play an important role in protecting and preserving cultural heritage for future generations. Many microorganisms influenced by environmental conditions are the main responsible for biological contamination in built heritage. Biocides based on chemical compounds have been used to mitigate this problem. Thus, it is vitally important to develop proper remediation actions based on environmentally innocuous alternative. Bacillus specie is emerging as an optimistic alternative for built heritage treatment due to their capacity to produce secondary metabolites with antagonistic activities against many fungal pathogens. Therefore, the intent of this work was to access a rapid evaluation of antifungal potential of bioactive metabolites produced by Bacillus strains and simultaneously their characterization using spectroscopic (NMR) and chromatographic techniques (LCESI- MS). The high antifungal activity obtained for Bacillus sp. active compounds produced in this study confirms the great potential to suppress biodeteriogenic fungi growth on historical artworks. Additionally, the proposed methodology allowed to access bioactive metabolites produced without need of the laborious total previous isolation and could be used as a viable alternative to be employed for screening and production of new green biocides.

Effect of storage on physical-chemical properties and phenolics of sweet cherry from São Julião region.

Effect of storage on physical-chemical properties and phenolics of sweet cherry from São Julião region. A.C. Agulheiro-Santos1, F. Vieira1, D. Gonzalez2, M. Lozano2, V. Palma1, A.E. Rato1 1Universidade de Évora. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânica (ICAAM). 7000 Évora, Portugal. 2Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas de Extremadura (CICYTEX). Ctra. San Vicente. Finca Santa Engracia. 06071 Badajoz, Spain. Worldwide the consumption of fruit and vegetables is increasing due to the dietary guidelines recommended by nutritionist. Because of their high content on phenols, vitamins, mineral and antioxidants, berry fruits are consumed not only in fresh forms but also as processed and derivative products such as juices, yogurts, jellies and dried fruits. As a high consumed red fruit, sweet cherry has been the focus on some studies, mainly regarding bioactive compounds content. “Sweetheart” cherries from São Julião region (Alentejo, Portugal) from two different production campaigns were kept in different storage conditions in order to evaluate both the environmental and storage effect on some physical-chemical properties and phenolics. Cold conditions - Cold (1 ºC, 95% RH) and modified atmosphere - MA (1 ºC, 95% RH with micro-perforated bags of Pplus®, Sidlaw Packaging, Bristol, UK) were tested. In order to establish the appropriate storage conditions, individual phenolic acids and physical-chemical properties were analysed during two consecutive years. Results show a general decrease on phenolic compounds content between cherries from both years. It is also observed that MA conditions do not affect significantly both phenolics and physical-chemical parameters when compared with Cold conditions. Additionally, it is observed similar behaviour on Cold and MA sweet cherries regarding its pH, total soluble solids content (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and colour and individual phenols during storage time. Concluding, these results show, as expected, changes between cultivars which may be correlated with the environmental conditions on different years. Keywords: sweet cherry, postharvest, phenols, physical-chemical, storage conditions.

Morphological and chemical characterization of tintypes and ambrotypes

The present work was done on two ambrotypes and two tintypes. It aimed evaluate their chemical and physical characteristics, especially their degradation patterns. Moreover, to understand the materials used for their production and cross-check analytical and historical information about the production processes. To do so multi-analytical, non-destructive methods were applied. Technical photography highlighted the surface morphology of the objects and showed the distribution of the protective coatings on their surfaces through UV radiation, which were very different between the four pieces. OM allowed for a detailed observation of the surfaces along with the selection of areas of interest to be analysed with SEM-EDS. SEM-EDS was the technique used most extensively and the one that provided the most insightful results: it allowed to observe the morphology of the image forming particles and the differences between highlights, dark areas and the interfaces between them. Also, elemental point analysis and elemental maps were used to identify the image forming particles as silver and to detect the presence of compounds related to the production, particularly gold used to highlight jewellery, iron as the red pigment and traces of the compounds used in the photographic process containing Ag, I, Na and S . Also, some degradation compounds were analysed containing Ag, Cu, S and Cl. With μ-FT-IR the presence of collodion was confirmed and the source of the protective varnishes was identified, particularly mastic and shellac, in either mixtures of the two or only one. μ-Raman detected the presence of metallic silver and silver chloride on the objects and identified one of the red pigments as Mars red. Finally, μ-XRD showed the presence of metallic silver and silver iodide on both ambrotypes and tintypes and hematite, magnetite and wuestite on the tintypes; RESUMO: O presente estudo foi desenvolvido sobre dois ambrótipos e dois ferrótipos. O propósito consiste em estudar as suas características químicas e físicas, dando particular ênfase aos padrões de degradação. Também é pretendido compreender os materiais usados na sua produção e relacionar esta informação analítca com dados históricos de manuais técnicos contemporâneos à produção dos objectos. Para tal foram utilizadas técnicas multi-analíticas e não destrutivas. O uso da fotografia técnica permitiu uma observação da morfologia das superficies dos objectos e da distribuição das camadas de verniz através da radiação UV, muito diferente entre os quatro. A microscopia óptica proporcionou uma observação detalhada das superfícies assim como a selecção de pontos de interesse para serem analisados com SEM-EDS. SEM-EDS foi a técnica usada mais extensivamente e a que proporcionou os resultados mais detalhados: observação da morofologia das partículas formadoras da imagem e as diferenças entre zonas de altas luzes, baixas luzes e as interfaces entre elas. A análise elemental e os mapas elementares foram usados para detectar prata nas partículas formadoras da imagem e a presença de compostos relacionados com a produção, em particular ouro utilizado para realçar joalharia, ferro no pigmento vermelho e vestígios de compostos utilizados no processo fotográfico incluindo Ag, I, Na e S. Do mesmo modo, alguns compostos de degradação foram analisados contendo Ag, Cu, S e Cl. Com μ-FT-IR a presença de colódio foi confirmada e identificada a origem dos vernizes, mástique e goma-laca, tanto em misturas dos dois como apenas um. Com μ-Raman foi detectada a presença de prata metálica e de cloreto de prata e identificado um dos pigmentos vermelhos como Mars red. Finalmente, μ-DRX revelou a presença de prata metálica e iodeto de prata tanto nos ambrótipos como nos ferrótipos e hematite, magnetite e wuestite nos ferrótipos.