Ricerc@Sapienza

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) phenols represent a significant part of the intake of antioxidants and bioactive compounds in the Mediterranean diet. In particular, hydroxytyrosol (HTyr), tyrosol (Tyr), and the secoiridoids oleacein and oleocanthal play central roles as anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective and anti-cancer agents. These compounds cannot be easily obtained via chemical synthesis, and their isolation and purification from EVOO is cumbersome. Indeed, both processes involve the use of large volumes of organic solvents, hazardous reagents and several chromatographic steps.

In the last decades, it has become clear that the canonical amino acid repertoire codified by the universal genetic code is not up to the needs of emerging biotechnologies. For this reason, extensive genetic code re‐engineering is essential to expand the scope of ribosomal protein translation, leading to reprogrammed microbial cells equipped with an alternative biochemical alphabet to be exploited as potential factories for biotechnological purposes.

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In the last twenty years, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been extensively studied for their application as organocatalysts in stereoselective synthesis as well as ligands for transition metals-promoted synthetic methodologies. Derived mainly from azolium salts, NHCs have demonstrated exceptional versatility in their generation usually performed by deprotonation or reduction (chemical or electrochemical).

Research in restoration and conservation is directed vs. more sustainable working materials, methods and technologies. Electrophoretic removal, from porous material, of undesired stains due to charged species is theoretically an interesting alternative to chemical cleaning methods, but the lack of specific and comprehensive research work leads to controversial opinions about the efficiency and the needed harmfulness for the treated objects. In this work paper, samples with artificial rust stains were subjected to electrophoretic cleaning treatments in mineral water as electrolyte.

A protocol for the carboxylation of diamines employing quaternary ammonium hydrogen carbonates as C1 source is presented. The approach is used to obtain industrially relevant bis-O-alkyl carbamates with diverse structural features in very high yield, even on gram scale. The quaternary ammonium salts, formally acting as "transporters" of the carboxylating agent, can be recovered after the reaction, and recycled with high efficiency. Regeneration of the hydrogen carbonates on ion-exchange resin grants excellent atom economy in the process.

In this study, we report the density, viscosity, conductivity, and X-ray diffraction profile of the deep eutectic solvent (DES) formed by choline chloride and different dicarboxylic acids (i.e., malonic, oxalic, succinic, or fumaric acid) at room temperature. These compounds have recently found several applications in green chemistry methodologies and consequently require the highest purity standards.

This chapter covers sustainable techniques to perform a market-neutral biomass fractionation developed in laboratories, techniques targeting a substantial incorporation of the green chemistry principles, the paradigmatic shifts, and the role of green solvent technology in designing the future of biorefineries.

A gas-phase investigation of the D-fructose dehydration reaction in the presence of base has been performed by the joint application of mass spectrometric techniques and theoretical calculations. Protonated addition products of D-fructose and base were generated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization using several bases of different proton affinity. The intermediates, products and decomposition channels were investigated by ion trap mass spectrometry.