Biodegradable materials are used in the manufacture of packaging and compostable films and various types of medical products. They have demonstrated a large number of potential practical applications in medicine and particularly in the treatment of various cardiac, vascular, and orthopedic conditions in adults as well in children. In our research, the extrusion-cooking technique was applied to prepare thermoplastic starch (TPS), which was then utilized to obtain environmentally friendly starch-based films. Potato starch was the basic raw material exploited. Polyvinyl alcohol and keratin were used as functional additives in amounts from 0.5 to 3%, while 20% of glycerol was harnessed as a plasticizer. The processing of the thermoplastic starch employed a single screw extruder-cooker with an L/D ratio of 16. The film blowing process was carried out using a film-blowing laboratory line with L/D = 36. FTIR Spectroscopy was applied for the assignment of the prominent functional groups. The results showed that the processing efficiency of thermoplastic starch with functional additives varied depending on the level of polyvinyl alcohol and keratin addition. Moreover, the FTIR data correlated with the changes in the physical properties of the tested films. The analysis of FTIR spectra revealed several changes in the intensity of bands originating from stretching vibrations characteristic of the –OH substituent. The changes observed depended on the presence/lack of the hydrogen bonding occurring upon interactions between the starch molecules and the various additives used. In addition, notable changes were observed in bands assigned to glycoside bonds in the starch.

A novel series of coumarin–thiadiazole hybrids, derived from substituted coumarin-3-carboxylic acids was isolated and fully characterized with the use of a number of spectroscopic techniques and XRD crystallography. Several of the novel compounds showed intensive fluorescence in the visible region, comparable to that of known coumarin-based fluorescence standards. Moreover, the new compounds were tested as potential antineurodegenerative agents via their ability to act as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitors. Compared to the commercial standards, only a few compounds demonstrated moderate AChE and BuChE activities. Moreover, the novel derivatives were tested for their antimicrobial activity against a panel of pathogenic bacterial and fungal species. Their lack of activity and toxicity across a broad range of biochemical assays, together with the exceptional emission of some hybrid molecules, highlights the possible use of a number of the novel hybrids as potential fluorescence standards or fluorescence imaging agents.

A series of coumarin-thiadiazole hybrids and their corresponding Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized with the use of spectroscopic techniques. The results obtained indicate that all the coumarin-thiadiazole hybrids act as bidentate chelators of Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. The complexes isolated differ in their ligand:metal ratio depending on the central metal. In most cases, the Zn(II) complexes are characteristic of a 1:1 ligand:metal ratio, while in the Cu(II) complexes the ligand:metal ratio is 2:1. All compounds were tested as potential antibacterial agents against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacterial strains demonstrating activities notably lower than commercially available antibiotics. The more promising results were obtained from the assessment of antineurodegenerative potency as all compounds showed moderate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity

In this study, the possibility of using ultrasound technology as an alternative to traditional pasteurization and homogenization in ice cream production was presented. Three types of ice cream with different proportions of oleogel (5, 6, and 7%) prepared using tomato seed oil were studied. The fatty acid contents of the oil were analyzed. Using chemical analysis, dry matter, fat, protein, dietary fiber, ash, and pH of the ice cream samples were determined. The physical analysis included analysis of the ice cream samples using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and determination of their first drop time, complete melting time, overrun, viscosity, hardness, and adhesiveness. The structure of the samples was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra were measured using a dedicated QATR-S Single-Reflection ATR ACCESSORY with a diamond prism. With the increase in the proportion of oleogels, the fat and carbohydrate contents, the amount of freezable water, and the overrun of the samples were increased, whereas their viscosity and hardness were decreased. Oleogels were found to be a promising alternative to fat in ice cream rich in unsaturated fatty acids, and the ice cream samples prepared using ultrasound pasteurization showed lower overrun and viscosity and higher hardness.

In recent years, drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant fungal strains have been more frequently isolated in clinical practice. This phenomenon is responsible for difficulties in the treatment of infections. Therefore, the development of new antifungal drugs is an extremely important challenge. Combinations of selected 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with amphotericin B showing strong synergic antifungal interactions are promising candidates for such formulas. In the study, microbiological, cytochemical, and molecular spectroscopy methods were used to investigate the antifungal synergy mechanisms associated with the aforementioned combinations. The present results indicate that two derivatives, i.e., C1 and NTBD, demonstrate strong synergistic interactions with AmB against some Candida species. The ATR-FTIR analysis showed that yeasts treated with the C1 + AmB and NTBD + AmB compositions, compared with those treated with single compounds, exhibited more pronounced abnormalities in the biomolecular content, suggesting that the main mechanism of the synergistic antifungal activity of the compounds is related to a disturbance in cell wall integrity. The analysis of the electron absorption and fluorescence spectra revealed that the biophysical mechanism underlying the observed synergy is associated with disaggregation of AmB molecules induced by the 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives. Such observations suggest the possibility of the successful application of thiadiazole derivatives combined with AmB in the therapy of fungal infections.

An extensive study was undertaken using the petals of cornflower (Centaurea cyanus (Cyani flos)) flowers in yogurt production as a source of dietary fiber and antioxidant compounds, and as a natural dye, taking into account a 21-d refrigerated storage period. An additional aim of the study was to use cornflower petals in natural form rather than an extract. Four forms of cornflower petals: fresh, dried, frozen, and freeze-dried, were tested. In terms of physicochemical properties, including the content of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds, and antioxidant status, the freeze-dried form proved most beneficial. Two variants of yogurts were made, i.e., without the addition of cornflower petals (control) and with cornflower. The yogurts were stored for 21 d and analyzed every 7 d (at 0, 7, 14 and 21 d). In total 4 forms of petals of cornflower flowers, 3 batches of bulk cow milk and 288 yogurt samples were covered by research. Freeze-dried cornflower petals added to yogurt contributed to a significant increase in the content of total protein (by approx. 4%), fiber (form 0.00 to 0.56 g/100 g), and selected bioactive compounds, including amino acids (by approx. 2% in total), vitamin C (over 3-fold), and phenolic (by approx. 16% in total) and mineral (on average by 8%) compounds, as well antioxidant activity. The presence of antioxidant compounds not only in the processed milk (sulfur amino acids, whey proteins (especially β-lactoglobulin), vitamins A, E, and C, or β-carotene) but also in the petals (sulfur amino acids, vitamin C, and phenolic compounds) contributed to a significant increase in the antioxidant activity of fresh yogurt with cornflower (day "0" of storage), i.e., FRAP - by 18%, DPPH - 50%, and ABTS - 60%, in comparison with the control yogurt. Significant changes in the content of selected bioactive compounds occurred during 21-d storage, which effected on the antioxidant activity, i.e., increased of FRAP and ABTS by 20%. In addition, FTIR infrared spectra were taken for the yogurts. The spectroscopic analyses showed mainly changes in the intensity of vibrations characteristic of this type of product, associated with polysaccharide structures, as well as vibrations associated with protein structures contained in dietary fiber. The regions with the most pronounced changes in the intensity of the bands were ~3300, 1640, 1550, 1240, and noticeable at ~1030 cm^-1. The maxima also correspond to the vibrations of C = O groups, amide bands, and the polysaccharide fraction, as well as stretching vibrations of the hydroxylic group. The analyses conducted using FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated that the product was highly stable during the refrigerated storage, as reflected in particular by the vibrations in the spectral region below 1000 cm^-3.