Maria Rosaria Tine

Thermodynamics of binary mixtures containing linear or cyclic alkanones + n-alkanes or + cycloalkanes☆

Abstract Marongiu, B., Pittau, B., Porcedda, S., and Tine, M.R., 1994. Thermodynamics of binary mixtures containing linear or cyclic alkenes + n -alkanes or cyclohexane. Fluid Phase Equilibria 93; 249-276. A head-space technique has been used to determine vapor-phase equilibria for binary mixtures of linear or cyclic mono- and polyalkenes + n-alkanes or + cyclohexane. Excess molar Gibbs energies GE for the mixtures investigated were obtained by a least-squares treatment of the equilibrium results. These data the previously measured excess enthalpies HE and the data available in the literature on GE HE activity coefficients at infinite dilution γi∞ and molar excess enthalpies at infinite dilution hiE,∞ are examined on the basis of the DISQUAC group contribution model. The model provides a fairly consistent description of the phase equilibria and the related excess functions using a unique set of structure-dependent dispersive parameters.

New Insights into the Ageing of Linseed Oil Paint Binder: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analytical Study

This paper presents an analytical investigation of paint reconstructions prepared with linseed oil that have undergone typical 19th century treatments in preparation for painting. The oil was mechanically extracted from the same seed lot, which was then processed by various methods: water washing, heat treatments, and the addition of driers, with and without heat. A modern process lead white (Dutch source, Schoonhoven) and a commercially available vine black were used as pigments. The reconstructions were prepared in 1999, and naturally aged from then onwards. We compared thermogravimetric analysis (TG), which yields macromolecular information, with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and direct exposure mass spectrometry (DEMS), which both provide molecular information. The study enabled us to quantitatively demonstrate, for the first time, that the parameters used to identify drying oils are deeply influenced by the history of the paint. In particular, here we show that the ratio between the relative amounts of palmitic and stearic acid (P/S), which is used as an index for differentiating between drying oils, is extremely dependent on the pigments present and the age of the paint. Moreover the study revealed that neither the P/S parameter nor the ratios between the relative amounts of the various dicarboxylic acids (azelaic over suberic and azelaic over sebacic) can be used to trace the sorts of pre-treatment undergone by the oil investigated in this study. The final results represent an important milestone for the scientific community working in the field, highlighting that further research is still necessary to solve the identification of drying oils in works of art.

VLE and LLE of perfluoroalkane + alkane mixtures

Abstract Vapour–liquid equilibria (VLE) of binary mixtures of n -perfluorohexane plus a n -alkane (C 5 –C 8 ) and of n -hexane plus a n -perfluoroalkane (C 5 –C 8 ) were determined using a head-space gas-chromatographic technique. Excess molar Gibbs energies, G E , for the systems investigated have been obtained by a least-square treatment of equilibrium data. Liquid–liquid equilibria (LLE) were determined by turbidimetry for n -perfluorohexane+ n -C n H 2 n +2 ( n =6–8) mixtures and the observed T – x curves compared with those predicted by the temperature dependence of activity coefficients. All mixtures show strong positive deviations from ideality, which increase with the size of the second component. Solute–solvent and solute–solute interactions have been examined by calculating and discussing solvation Gibbs energies and Kirkwood–Buff integrals. Perfluoroalkanes proved to be inert molecules that interact weakly with themselves as well as with alkanes.

Physico-chemical characterization of protein–pigment interactions in tempera paint reconstructions: casein/cinnabar and albumin/cinnabar

AbstractIn this work, we characterized paint reconstructions using ovalbumin and casein as binders, and cinnabar (HgS) as a pigment, before and after artificial ageing. Egg and casein are common paint binders that were used historically in the technique of tempera painting. Despite extensive research on the identification of proteinaceous binders in paintings, there is a substantial lack of knowledge regarding the ageing pathway of their protein content, and their chemical interaction with inorganic pigments. Thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) were used to reveal the physico-chemical processes involved in the ageing of proteins in paintings. Taken together, the three techniques highlighted that proteins are subject to both cross-linking and hydrolysis upon ageing, and to a lesser extent, to oxidation of the side chains. Mercury–protein interactions were also revealed using a cold vapour generation atomic fluorescence spectrometer mercury-specific detector coupled to SEC. The study clearly showed that HgS forms stable complexes with proteins and acts as a sensitizer in cross-linking, hydrolysis and oxidation. FigureA multi-techinque approach to the study of protein/cinnabar tempera paint recontructions: thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography

Volumetric properties of amphionic molecules in water. Part 2.—Thermal expansibility and compressibility related to the formation of zwitterionic structures

The dependence of the partial molar volumes of a number of α-amino acids, ω-amino acids, dipeptides and diketopiperazines on temperature has been determined at various concentrations and for the temperature range 0–55 °C using an automatic dilatometer; the limiting partial molar expansibilities, Φ°E, have been calculated. Measurements of the sound velocity at 15 MHz and at various concentrations allowed us to determine the compressibility of the solutions at 25 °C and to calculate the limiting partial compressibilities, Φ°K,S, for some of the above mentioned compounds. Finally, by using the known values Φ°E and Φ°K,S together with the partial molar heat capacity of the solute and some physical properties of pure water, the limiting isothermal partial molar compressibilities, Φ°K,T, have been obtained.The values of Φ°E and Φ°K,S and the trends they show when the structure of the amphionic molecule is changed have been analysed by taking into account the features exhibited by Φ°E and Φ°K,S of related charged and non-charged compounds. The dependence on temperature and pressure of the internal and external proton-exchange reaction between a carboxyl and an amino group have been evaluated and compared.

Predicting Physical−Chemical Properties of Compounds from Molecular Structures by Recursive Neural Networks

In this paper, we report on the potential of a recently developed neural network for structures applied to the prediction of physical chemical properties of compounds. The proposed recursive neural network (RecNN) model is able to directly take as input a structured representation of the molecule and to model a direct and adaptive relationship between the molecular structure and target property. Therefore, it combines in a learning system the flexibility and general advantages of a neural network model with the representational power of a structured domain. As a result, a completely new approach to quantitative structure-activity relationship/quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR/QSAR) analysis is obtained. An original representation of the molecular structures has been developed accounting for both the occurrence of specific atoms/groups and the topological relationships among them. Gibbs free energy of solvation in water, Delta(solv)G degrees , has been chosen as a benchmark for the model. The different approaches proposed in the literature for the prediction of this property have been reconsidered from a general perspective. The advantages of RecNN as a suitable tool for the automatization of fundamental parts of the QSPR/QSAR analysis have been highlighted. The RecNN model has been applied to the analysis of the Delta(solv)G degrees in water of 138 monofunctional acyclic organic compounds and tested on an external data set of 33 compounds. As a result of the statistical analysis, we obtained, for the predictive accuracy estimated on the test set, correlation coefficient R = 0.9985, standard deviation S = 0.68 kJ mol(-1), and mean absolute error MAE = 0.46 kJ mol(-1). The inherent ability of RecNN to abstract chemical knowledge through the adaptive learning process has been investigated by principal components analysis of the internal representations computed by the network. It has been found that the model recognizes the chemical compounds on the basis of a nontrivial combination of their chemical structure and target property.

Equilibria and kinetics of the intercalation of Pt-proflavine and proflavine into calf thymus DNA

The interaction of the cis-platinum derivative of proflavine [[PtCl(tmen)(2)][HNC(13)H(7)(NHCH(2)CH(2))(2)]](+) (PRPt) with CT-DNA is investigated by spectrophotometry and T-jump relaxation in 0.11M NaCl, pH 7.0, and 25 degrees C. The DNA-proflavine (PR) system is investigated under the same conditions. Static measurements indicate that base-dye interactions prevail and their analysis reveals that the site size for PRPt (n=2.6) is twice that found for PR (n=1.3). One relaxation effect is observed for the DNA/PR system and two effects for the DNA/PRPt system, the faster of them being similar to that of DNA/PR. The kinetics of the process are discussed in terms of the three-step sequence D+S <= => DS(I) <= => DS(II) <= => DS(III), where PR and the aromatic residues of PRPt intercalate into DNA by the same mechanism. The third step represents the penetration of platinum residues between base-pairs and is associated to remarkable enthalpy and entropy changes. Further mechanistic details are discussed.

Isothermal vapor-liquid equilibria of mixtures containing organic compounds. Part 5: Excess Gibbs energies of dichloromethane or chlorobutane + linear ether or acetal mixtures at 25°C1

Vapor-liquid equilibria for dichloromethane or chlorobutane+a linear mono-, or diether (diethyl ether, dipropyl ether, methyl butyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane,) or an acetal (diethoxymethane), were determined at 25°C by head-space gas chromatographic analysis of the vapor phase directly withdrawn from an equilibration apparatus. Excess Gibbs energies, GE, activity coefficients at infinite dilution, fio as well as free energy of solvation, ΔGo, were evaluated for all the systems. A tentative approach is presented based either on an additivity scheme of surface interactions and scaled particle theory to calculate group contribution to the free energy of solvation.

Kinetic and equilibrium studies on the polyazamacrocycle neotetren: metal–complex formation and DNA interaction

The macrocyclic polyamine 2,5,8,11,14-pentaaza[15]-[15](2,9)[1,10]phenanthrolinophane (neotetren) is studied in its ability to coordinate Cu(ii) even at very low pH values and to interact, as a metal complex, with DNA. The kinetics and equilibria for 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 metal-ligand complexes formation are studied by the stopped-flow method and UV spectrophotometry. Differently protonated complexes are formed, with rate constants much lower than that of water exchange at copper(II) and other Cu(II)/amine systems, this behaviour being ascribed to ring effects and intra-molecular hydrogen bonds. Concerning the DNA/copper(II)-neotetren complexes interaction, analysis of data suggests an intercalative mode of binding. The kinetic results for both DNA/CuL and DNA/Cu(2)L systems agree with the sequence D + S <-->D,S <-->DS where the metal complexes (D) react with the DNA sites (S) leading to fast formation of an externally bound form (D,S) which is converted into an intercalated complex (DS). A very slow process is also detected and ascribed to a conformational change in the polynucleotide secondary structure where the metal centre plays a crucial role. Chromatographic experiments demonstrate that both the investigated Cu(II)/L complexes are able to cleave DNA, but only in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.

A multi-analytical approach to studying binding media in oil paintings

This article presents a multi-analytical approach to investigating the drying, polymerisation and oxidative degradation of linseed oil, which had undergone various treatments known to be undertaken during the nineteenth century in preparation for painting. The oil was mechanically extracted from the same seed lot then processed by different methods: water washing, heat treatments, and the addition of driers, with and without heat. The oil was prepared in 1999 within the framework of the MOLART project. We compared thermogravimetric analysis (TG), which yields macromolecular information, with gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) and direct exposure mass spectrometry (DE-MS), which provide molecular information. This comparison enabled us to elucidate the role of pre-treatment on the composition of the oil. TG and oxygen uptake curves registered at a constant temperature helped us to identify the different physical behaviour of the oil samples, thus highlighting the presence of hydrolysed, oxidised and crosslinked fractions, as a consequence of the different pre-treatments. GC/MS was used to characterise the soluble and non-polymeric fraction of the oil, to calculate the ratios of palmitic to stearic acid (P/S), and azelaic to palmitic acid (A/P), and to further evaluate the effects of oil pre-treatments. DE-MS using chemical ionisation with CH4, enabled us to establish the chemical composition of the oil in different stages of ageing. DE-MS proved to be a useful tool for a simultaneous semi-quantitative characterisation of the free fatty acids, monoglycerids, diglycerides and triglycerides present in each sample. The combination of thermal analysis with GC/MS and DE-MS enabled a model to be developed, which unravelled how oil pre-treatments produce binders with different physical–chemical qualities.