Michał Rawski

A Novel Post-Synthesis Modification of CuO-CeO2 Catalysts: Effect on Their Activity for Selective CO Oxidation

Copper oxide nanoparticles were dispersed onto the surface of ceria nanorods, while a post‐synthesis modification was applied to the reference sample using ammonia solutions. The modified catalysts were characterized with a variety of analytical techniques, providing useful information on the effect of the Cu:NH3 ratio, employed in the modification step, on the physicochemical properties. Re‐dispersion of the active copper species under extremely basic conditions promoted the reducibility and the oxygen mobility of the catalyst, thus resulting in a more active and selective catalyst for preferential CO oxidation.

Antimycobacterial action of a new glycolipid-peptide complex obtained from extracellular metabolites of Raoultella ornithinolytica

In this paper, an antimycobacterial component of extracellular metabolites of a gut bacterium Raoultella ornithinolytica from D. veneta earthworms was isolated and its antimycobacterial action was tested using Mycobacterium smegmatis. After incubation with the complex obtained, formation of pores and furrows in cell walls was observed using microscopic techniques. The cells lost their shape, stuck together and formed clusters. Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy analysis showed that, after incubation, the complex was attached to the cell walls of the Mycobacterium. Analyses of the component performed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated high similarity to a bacteriocin nisin, but energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy analysis revealed differences in the elemental composition of this antimicrobial peptide. The component with antimycobacterial activity was identified using mass spectrometry techniques as a glycolipid–peptide complex. As it exhibits no cytotoxicity on normal human fibroblasts, the glycolipid–peptide complex appears to be a promising compound for investigations of its activity against pathogenic mycobacteria.