Ricerc@Sapienza

Different acellular assays are currently used for the determination of the oxidative potential (OP) of particular matter (PM). In order to better understand the existing correlations between OP and the PM generated by specific emission sources, dusts generated from seven different sources (urban dust, soil, road dust, brake dust, pellet ash, coke, and desert dust) were chemically characterized and analysed using three OP assays: dithiothreitol (DTT), acid ascorbic (AA) and 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH).

In this work were selected three most important oxidative potential (OP) assays reported in the literature: the dithiothreitol (DTT), the acid ascorbic (AA) and the 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) assays. These assays were applied to different field samples in order to identify the relations between OP values and chemical and dimensional characteristics of particles. The analysis of the soluble and insoluble fractions of dusts deriving from specific emission sources evidenced a very different behavior of the three assays.

Different specialty extra virgin oils, produced by cold-pressing fruits/nuts (olive, pequi, palm, avocado, coconut,
macadamia and Brazil nut) and seeds (grapeseed and canola), and retailed in the Brazilian region of Minas
Gerais, were chemically characterized. Specifically, for each type of oil, the fatty acid composition was elucidated
by GC-FID, the contents of selected polyphenols and squalene were determined respectively by UHPLC-MS
and UHPLC-PDA, whereas minerals were explored by means of ICP-MS. Olive oil was confirmed to have the

The metabolite profiling of extracts from Adansonia digitata L. (baobab) fruit pulp and leaf, and the quantification of their major components, was conducted by means of reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection, coupled to electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS) and high field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.