Ewa Miękoś

The impact of estrogens on aquatic organisms and methods for their determination

ABSTRACT Environmental contamination with substances that exert an adverse influence on the endocrine system of living organisms has been posing a growing concern in recent years. Such compounds are referred to as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). They include a large group of natural and synthetic estrogens which can mimic or even interfere with the binding and action of natural hormones, thus disrupting physiological processes. Numerous reports on the negative effects of estrogens in surface waters have raised concern in the scientific community. The aim of this study was to review the literature on the impact of estrone (E1), 17-β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and synthetic 17-α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) on the reproductive processes of aquatic organisms. The article also discusses the latest trends in analytical chemistry which support accurate, sensitive, and selective determination of steroid hormones in environmental samples. Particular emphasis was placed on the techniques and analytical methods for detecting, determining and concentrating estrogens that have evolved in the past three years. Special emphasis has been placed on innovative solutions for sample purification and enhancement which reduce the consumption of toxic and expensive solvents and introduce novel sorbents, such as molecularly imprinted polymers, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers, and magnetic nanosorbents. These techniques enhance specific interactions between the analyte and the sorbent, which is particularly useful in samples with very low analyte concentrations. The use of separation techniques coupled with various detection methods, including the increasingly popular mass spectrometry technique, for the identification and quantitative analysis of estrogens has been discussed.

The aza-Pudovik reaction accelerated in external constant magnetic field

The aza-Pudovik reaction of N-benzyl aromatic and aliphatic aldimines with dimethyl H-phosphonate was found to be accelerated significantly when carried out in an external magnetic field. Its conversion rates were analyzed and compared with those obtained during the aza-Pudovik reaction carried out under standard conditions. Magnetic acceleration was found to have a similar degree as in that observed in the Kabachnik–Fields reaction. However, the formation of the starting imines was found not to be susceptible to constant magnetic field–no acceleration was observed.

Influence of constant magnetic field on electrodeposition of metals, alloys, conductive polymers, and organic reactions

The paper presents and summarizes some research on constant magnetic field effects in chemistry. Metals and alloys electrodeposited under constant magnetic field have greater thickness and smoother surface with finest grains. Metallic materials deposited under the influence of uniform magnetic field may have stronger corrosion resistance, than those obtained without the presence of magnetic field. Constant magnetic field also causes an increase of the electropolymerization rate and yield of some organic reactions. Our research also shows that the presence of constant magnetic field affects the electrodeposition process of alloys and their morphology to a great extent. The effects of magnetic field on metals, alloys, composites, polymers and other materials are due to the Lorentz force and the magnetohydrodynamic effect. It is possible that the further development of magnetoelectrodeposition will allow for using the constant magnetic field to improve the properties of metal coatings, alloys, polymers, and other materials in the industry.

Application of industrial and biopolymers waste to stabilise the subsoil of road surfaces

Recycling has been the fundamental idea in the development of new technologies during the recent years. Phosphogypsum is a waste material obtained from the process of phosphoric acid production. Its main component is calcium sulphate (65–75 wt%). The other material in such studies is fly ash. They are obtained as waste in power plants where pulverised coal and brown coal are burnt. Its potential for processing and application as a raw material for stabilisation of road surfaces is demonstrated. Another used waste in the studies was a biopolymers waste. These are epoxy resin based wastes and filler in the form of starch or cellulose (20% wt.). The studies indicated that the use of so-called mixing water that had undergone magnetic treatment in constant magnetic field with a magnetic induction of B = 1 T improved some parameters of appropriately selected building composites of different compositions.

Graphene oxide activation with a constant magnetic field

The effect of constant magnetic field strength on activation of sensors modified with graphene oxide monolayers was investigated. The use of constant magnetic field resulted in improved electroanalytical properties of the sensors. It was proven that level of GO activation is clearly related to constant magnetic field strength. Moreover, it was demonstrated that observed phenomenon is stable in time.