Recent analyses of atmospheric aerosols from different regions have demonstrated the ubiquitous presence of strong surfactants and evidenced surface tension values, σ, below 40 mN m(-1), suspected to enhance the cloud-forming potential of these aerosols. In this work, this approach was further improved and combined with absolute concentration measurements of aerosol surfactants by colorimetric titration. This analysis was applied to PM2.5 aerosols collected at the Baltic station of Askö, Sweden, from July to October 2010. Strong surfactants were found in all the sampled aerosols, with σ = (32-40) ± 1 mN m(-1) and concentrations of at least 27 ± 6 mM or 104 ± 21 pmol m(-3). The absolute surface tension curves and critical micelle concentrations (CMC) determined for these aerosol surfactants show that (1) surfactants are concentrated enough in atmospheric particles to strongly depress the surface tension until activation, and (2) the surface tension does not follow the Szyszkowski equation during activation but is nearly constant and minimal, which provides new insights on cloud droplet activation. In addition, both the CMCs determined and the correlation (R(2) ∼ 0.7) between aerosol surfactant concentrations and chlorophyll-a seawater concentrations suggest a marine and biological origin for these compounds.

Surfactants account for minor fractions of total organic carbon in the ocean but can significantly influence the production of primary marine aerosol particles (PMA) at the sea surface via modulation of bubble surface tension. During September and October 2016, model PMA (mPMA) were produced from seawater by bursting bubbles at two biologically productive and two oligotrophic stations in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Total concentrations of surfactants extracted from mPMA and seawater were quantified and characterized via measurements of surface tension isotherms and critical micelle concentrations (CMCs). Surfactant CMCs in biologically productive seawater were lower than those in the oligotrophic seawater suggesting that surfactant mixtures in the two regions were chemically distinct. mPMA surfactants were enriched in all regions relative to those in the associated seawater. Surface tension isotherms indicate that mPMA surfactants were weaker than corresponding seawater surfactants. mPMA from biologically productive seawater contained higher concentrations of surfactants than those produced from oligotrophic seawater, supporting the hypothesis that seawater surfactant properties modulate mPMA surfactant concentrations. Diel variability in concentrations of seawater and mPMA surfactants in some regions is consistent with biological and/or photochemical processing. This work demonstrates direct links between surfactants in mPMA and those in the associated seawater.

Predicting the activation of sub-micron particles into cloud droplets in the atmosphere remains a challenge. The importance of surface tension,  (mN/m), in these processes has been evidenced by several works but information on the "surfactants" lowering  for atmospheric particles remains scarce. In this work, PM1 aerosols from urban, coastal and remote regions of Europe (Lyon, France, Rogoznica, Croatia, and Pallas, Finland, respectively) were investigated and found to contain amphiphilic surfactants in concentrations up to 2.8 g m -3 in the air and 1.3 M in the particle volume. In Pallas, correlations with the PM1 chemical composition showed that amphiphilic surfactants were present in the entire range of particle sizes, thus confirming recent works. This implied that they were present in hundreds to thousands particles cm -3 and not only in a few large particles, as it has been hypothesized. Their adsorption isotherms and Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) were also determined. The low CMC obtained (3  10 -5 -9  10 -3 M) imply that surface tension depression should be significant for all the particles containing these compounds, even at activation (Growth Factor = 10). Amphiphilic surfactants are thus likely to enhance the CCN ability of sub-micron atmospheric particles.

Anthocyanins are natural dyes widely used in the food industry, but their chemical stability in beverages can be affected by the presence of additives. In the present paper, the interaction between anthocyanins and ascorbic acid (AA) is more particularly investigated. Ascorbic acid is an ubiquitous component in food products. In this study, the thermal stability at 43 °C and the photolysis stability in air and in an inert atmosphere (N 2 ) of anthocyanins extracted from black carrot (BC), grape juice (GJ), and purple sweet potato (SP) were studied in the presence and absence of ascorbic acid (in citrate buffer at pH 3). Discriminating the main environmental factors (i.e., heat and light) affecting anthocyanin stability is a key point for better understanding the degradation pathways. The stability of the anthocyanins was followed by UV−vis spectrometry. Moreover, to understand the degradation mechanisms in both the presence and absence of ascorbic acid, various techniques such as fluorescence quenching, cyclic voltammetry, and electron-spin-resonance (ESR) spectroscopy were also used to furnish a full coherent picture of the chemical mechanisms associated with the anthocyanin degradation. In addition, molecular orbitals and bond-dissociation energies (BDE) were calculated to extend the investigation. Moreover, the effects of some supplementary stabilizers (chlorogenic acid, sinapic acid, tannic acid, fumaric acid, β-carotene, isoquercitrin, myricitrin, green coffee bean extract, and rosemary extract) and sugars (sucrose, fructose, and glucose) on anthocyanins stability in the presence of ascorbic acid were examined.

Surface-active compounds, or surfactants, present in atmospheric aerosols are expected to play important roles in the formation of liquid water clouds in the Earth's atmosphere, a central process in meteorology, hydrology, and for the climate system. But because specific extraction and characterization of these compounds have been lacking for decades, very little is known on their identity, properties, mode of action and origins, thus preventing the full understanding of cloud formation and its potential links with the Earth's ecosystems.In this paper we present recently developed methods for 1) the targeted extraction of all the surfactants from atmospheric aerosol samples and for the determination of 2) their absolute concentrations in the aerosol phase and 3) their static surface tension curves in water, including their Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC). These methods have been validated with 9 references surfactants, including anionic, cationic and non-ionic ones. Examples of results are presented for surfactants found in fine aerosol particles (diameter <1 μm) collected at a coastal site in Croatia and suggestions for future improvements and other characterizations than those presented are discussed.

Understanding the links between aerosol and cloud and radiative properties remains a large uncertainty in predicting Earth's changing energy budget. Surfactants are observed in ambient atmospheric aerosol particles, and their effect on cloud droplet growth is a mechanism that was, until recently, neglected in model calculations of particle activation and droplet growth. In this study, coarse mode aqueous aerosol particles were created containing the surfactant Igepal CA-630 and NaCl. The evaporation and condensation of these individual aqueous particles were investigated using an aerosol optical trap combined with Raman spectroscopy. For a relative humidity (RH) change from 70% to 80%, droplets containing both Igepal and NaCl at atmospheric concentrations exhibited on average more than 4% larger changes in droplet radii, compared to droplets containing NaCl only. This indicates enhanced water uptake in the presence of surfactants, but this result is unexpected based on the standard calculation of the effect of surfactants, using surface tension reduction and/or hygroscopicity changes, for particles of this size. One implication of these results is that in periods with increasing RH, surfactant-containing aqueous particles may grow larger than similarly sized aqueous NaCl particles without surfactants, thus shifting atmospheric particle size distributions, influencing particle growth, and affecting aerosol loading, visibility, and radiative forcing. EDITOR Ilona Riipinen

Ascorbic acid is widely used in the food industry as a source of vitamin C or as antioxidant. However, it degrades quickly in beverages at acidic pH and can accelerate the degradation of anthocyanins, natural dyes used in beverages, leading to a loss of color. In this work, we investigated the possibility to replace ascorbic acid by ascorbic acid derivatives to prevent its degradation effect on anthocyanins from natural extracts (black carrot, grape juice, and purple sweet potato). For this, the thermal and photolytic stabilities under air and under N 2 of ascorbic acid (as reference) and of some ascorbic acid derivatives (3-O-ethyl-L-ascorbic acid, 2-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate sesquimagnesium salt hydrate, L-ascorbyl 2,6-dibutyrate, glyceryl ascorbate, (+)-5,6-O-isopropylidene-L-ascorbic acid), soluble in aqueous model beverages, were studied alone and in the presence of anthocyanins from the natural extracts in citrate buffer at pH 3. The stability was followed by UV−visible spectrometry. To extend the investigation, some properties of the ascorbic acid derivatives (pK a , oxidation potential, bond dissociation energy, ionization potential) were also determined. Moreover, the addition of chlorogenic acid was examined to further stabilize the mixture of anthocyanins with 2-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid, a promising ascorbic acid derivative.

Citral, a lemon flavor molecule often used in the beverage and fragrance industry, is known to be unstable under light irradiation. Its deterioration is considered to be an important issue for the stabilization of lemon-flavored drinks. The aim of this study is to understand the degradation mechanisms of citral under light irradiation with the variation of three parameters: the solvent (citrate buffer solution at pH 3 vs ethanol), the atmosphere (air vs N2), and the concentration of citral. The photodegradation has been studied using UV–visible spectroscopy after photolysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. To extend the investigation, molecular orbitals and bond dissociation energies have also been calculated. They give an insight into the light absorption properties and the possible cleavage of citral molecular bonds. In addition, UV-light absorption and radical scavenging activities of two additives, potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid, have been studied for the inhibition of the citral photodecomposition by UV-light irradiation. Both theoretical and experimental results highlight a new degradation pathway involving free-radical intermediates in parallel to the already reported cyclization one, which could be prevented by the addition of stabilizers such as ascorbic acid or sorbate.