An integrated experimental approach, based on inelastic light-scattering techniques, has been here employed for a multilength scale characterization of networking properties of cyclodextrin nanosponges, a new class of cross-linked polymeric materials built up from natural oligosaccharides cyclodextrins. By using Raman and Brillouin scattering experiments, we performed a detailed inspection of the vibrational dynamics of these polymers over a wide frequency window ranging from gigahertz to terahertz, with the aim of providing physical descriptors correlated to the cross-linking degree and elastic properties of the material. The results seem to suggest that the stiffness of cross-linked polymers can be successfully tuned by acting on the type and the relative amount of the cross-linker during the synthesis of a polymer matrix, predicting and controlling their swelling and entrapment properties. The proposed experimental approach is a useful tool for investigating the structural and physicochemical properties of polymeric network systems.

Eight experimental FCC catalysts have been evaluated for cracking high-nitrogen feedstocks. The data obtained from microactivity tests show a decrease in conversion with increasing nitrogen content in feedstock. At constant conversion, an increase in feedstock nitrogen content results in a decrease in gasoline yield, while coke, light hydrocarbons, and hydrogen yields increase. High-zeolite content, as well as the presence of acid sites, high surface area, and a broad pore size distribution in the catalyst matrix, is beneficial in cracking high-nitrogen feedstocks. At constant feed nitrogen content, an increase in catalytic conversion results in a decrease in percent nitrogen recovered in the liquid products. Most of the nitrogen-containing compounds in the liquid product are in the decant oil (355+ °C) and light cycle oil (232-355 °C) fractions.

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The well-known and easily available horseradish peroxidase (HRP) catalyzes the H2O2-dependent oxidative 4-dechlorination of the pollutant 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, which is recalcitrant to many organisms except those producing ligninases. UV-visible spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified the oxidized reaction product as 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone. NMR and IR spectroscopic data further supported the above characterization. Experimental evidence for the elimination of HCl from the substrate was acquired by detecting the decrease in pH of the reaction mixture, and by observing the presence of the beta-chlorocyclopentadienone cation fragment in the mass spectrum of 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone. Consequently, nucleophilic attack by water on the 2,4,6-trichlorocyclohexadienone cation was proposed to give the final product. Our results indicate an oxidative dechlorination pathway catalyzed by HRP for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, similar to that by extracellular lignin peroxidases. The relative catalytic efficiency of HRP seems higher than that of lignin peroxidases. The HRP-H2O2 catalytic system could be utilized in the degradation of polychlorinated phenols for industrial and biotechnological purposes.

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Cyclodextrin‐based nanosponges are designed as new nanostructured material for drug delivery. In vitro and in vivo studies show that nanosponges can increase the effectiveness of anti‐cancer drugs encapsulated within their nanostructure. Reported is a new, cheap glutathione (GSH)‐responsive material easily obtained in high yield through a one‐step synthetic route. Effectiveness of this GSH‐responsive material was proved using several tumor cells and doxorubicin as model anticancer drug. The release of the drug was in according with the GSH content in tumor cells.

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