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Polyenes, which are represented by carotenes, carotenoids and conjugated polyenals, are some of the most important targets for astrobiology, because they can provide strong evidence of the presence of organic compounds in the most extreme environments, such as on Mars. Raman spectroscopy has been used as the main analytical tool in the identification of such compounds, for the greatest variety of living species, from microorganisms to animals and plants. However, using only the position of the characteristic Raman bands can lead to errors in tentatively identifying chemicals. In this work, we present a series of observations that can provide a more complete and robust way to analyse the Raman spectrum of a polyenal, in which the position, the intensity, the use of various laser lines for excitation, and the combination of more than one pigment can be considered in the complete analysis.

Summary Eosinophils are acidophilic granulocytes that develop in the bone marrow. Although their population contributes only to approximately 1–6% of all leucocytes present in the human blood, they possess a wide range of specific functions. They play a key role in inflammation‐regulating processes, when their numbers can increased to above 5 × 109/l of peripheral blood. Their characteristic feature is the presence of granules containing eosinophil peroxidase (EPO), the release of which can trigger a cascade of events promoting oxidative stress, apoptosis or necrosis, leading finally to cell death. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique to detect EPO, which comprises a chromophore protoporphyrin IX. Another cell structure associated with inflammation processes are lipid bodies (lipid‐rich organelles), also well recognized and imaged using high resolution confocal Raman spectroscopy. In this work, eosinophils isolated from the blood of a human donor were analysed versus their model, EoL‐1 human eosinophilic leukaemia cell line, by Raman spectroscopic imaging. We showed that EPO was present only in primary cells and not found in the cell line. Eosinophils were activated using phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate, which resulted in lipid bodies formation. An effect of cells stimulation was studied and compared for eosinophils and EoL‐1.

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In this investigation the chemistry of the lichens Gondwania regalis, Teloschistes exilis and Xanthoria candelaria (Teloschistaceae) have been recorded by means of Raman spectroscopy. The non‐destructive analysis provided the recognition of parietin and conjugated polyenes, probably belonging to the carotenoid family for all the investigated specimens. Bands at ca. 1370 and 1600 cm−1, respectively, assigned to the ν(C―O) and ν(CO) modes of the phenyl group of the anthraquinone compound, as well the bands at ca. 1005, 1158 and 1527 cm−1, possibly assigned to the β‐carotene in the FT‐Raman spectra, have provided valuable spectroscopy data for the identification of the biomarkers for these lichen pigments. Thus, this is the first report of parietin and carotenoid in T. exilis and X. candelaria tissues even as the parietin anthraquinone for G. regalis tissues, which are effective pigments against free radicals from UV radiation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Herein, an eco-friendly and facile synthesis of the nitrogen-contain non-conjugated polymer dots (NCPD) with optimal blue emission is reported from the biopolymer β-glucan in a peptide-polysaccharide linkage (namely NH2-β-glucan). The...