Potential Antibacterial Activity of Carvacrol-Loaded Poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) Nanoparticles against Microbial Biofilm

The ability to form biofilms contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of many microbial infections, including a variety of ocular diseases often associated with the biofilm formation on foreign materials. Carvacrol (Car.) is an important component of essential oils and recently has attracted much attention pursuant to its ability to promote microbial biofilm disruption. In the present study Car. has been encapsulated in poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) nanocapsules in order to obtain a suitable drug delivery system that could represent a starting point for developing new therapeutic strategies against biofilm-associated infections, such as improving the drug effect by associating an antimicrobial agent with a biofilm viscoelasticity modifier.     

Development of mathematical models for the treatment of an industrial wastewater by means of biological rotating disc reactors

In this study the extension of the mathematical model proposed by Grieves to experimental results obtained in the treatment of an industrial wastewater is examined. The laboratory-scale unit consists of three stages with seven discs per stage.The following conclusions are drawn: (1) the Grieves's model (originally derived for glucose solutions) is reliable also for an industrial wastewater; (2) within the range of organic loading of 8.7–27.7 g BOD₅ day⁻¹ m⁻², the diffusion of the organic substrate, through the liquid film adhering to the biological film, is the controlling step of the BOD₅ removal kinetics only when the disc rotational speed n is less than 0.6 rev min⁻¹; (3) for higher values of n, as those adopted for full-scale plants, bio-disc apparatus can be designed, with good approximation, by means of the Monod's equation, by considering the bio-disc unit as an idealized perfect mixing activated sludge reactor, whose volume and activated sludge concentration are equal to the volume of the active biological film and organism concentration in the same film.     

Characterisation of volatiles and polyphenols for quality assessment of alcoholic beverages prepared from Corsican Myrtus communis berries

In the present work, the essential oil compositions of Myrtus communis berries from ten Corsican localities were studied and no chemical variability was observed. HS–SPME, GC and GC/MS analysis were carried out for the characterisation of volatile fractions of M. communis berries and two derived commercial alcoholic beverages (liqueur and eau-de-vie). Quantitative variations due to the distillation process were observed between the two beverages. The volatile compositions of Corsican myrtle alcoholic products were characterised by high amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes with α-pinene and 1,8-cineole as major components. The polyphenolic compositions of the berry extract and the liqueur were also established using HPLC–DAD and LC–MS–MS; high concentrations of flavonol glycosides, flavonols and flavanols were reported.