The coexistence of leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and neoplasia in endemic areas has been extensively documented. The use of common drugs in the treatment of these pathologies invites us to search for new molecules with these characteristics. In this research, we report 16 synthetic chalcone derivatives that were investigated for leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities as well as for antiproliferative potential on eight human cancers and two nontumor cell lines. The final compounds 8–23 were obtained using the classical base-catalyzed Claisen–Schmidt condensation. The most potent compounds as parasiticidal were found to be 22 and 23, while compounds 18 and 22 showed the best antiproliferative activity and therapeutic index against CCRF-CEM, K562, A549, and U2OS cancer cell lines and non-toxic VERO, BMDM, MRC-5, and BJ cells. In the case of K562 and the corresponding drug-resistant K562-TAX cell lines, the antiproliferative activity has shown a more significant difference for compound 19 having 10.3 times higher activity against the K562-TAX than K562 cell line. Flow cytometry analysis using K562 and A549 cell lines cultured with compounds 18 and 22 confirmed the induction of apoptosis in treated cells after 24 h. Based on the structural analysis, these chalcones represent new compounds potentially useful for Leishmania, Trypanosoma cruzi, and some cancer treatments.

The MAP process involved placing acid-pretreated biomass (CPH) in a domestic microwave oven at 600 W for 15 min. This was followed by a doping process with iron salts (+2, +3) to obtain BCCPH-Fe. Characterization of BCCPH-Fe was carried out using surface analysis (BET), TGA analysis and FTIR. Subsequently, the photodegradation process was performed using three different light sources (solar, UV 254 nm and UV 356 nm), with tartrazine as the adsorbate. The effect of pH on photodegradation was studied, and the percentage of degradation was evaluated through equilibrium and kinetic studies. The amount of BCCPH-Fe, tartrazine concentration, and exposure time to the light source were also evaluated. The best conditions for the photodegradation process were: light source was 254 nm, pH of 5, 1 g of BCCPH-Fe over 100 mL of tartrazine, 25 ppm tartrazine concentration, and 40 h exposure time. Under these conditions, a 93.45% removal of tartrazine was achieved. The experimental data of the adsorption equilibrium best fit the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model, while the adsorption kinetics best fit the pseudo-first-order model. The apparent kinetic constant was 0.04053 [h⁻¹], and the correlation coefficient was 0.98667. In conclusion, photodegradation using BCCPH-Fe can be an effective method for the removal of tartrazine from wastewater, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional methods.

Nostoc sp. is a cyanobacterium identified in several localities of Ecuador, and it exhibits significant potential in the pharmaceutical, food, and environmental sectors, which urges the exploration of its possible applications in the country. Macrocolonies of Nostoc sp. were collected at different seasons, and the content of metals, sulfur, and biochemical composition was analyzed according to altitude and geographic position. The results showed that the average carbohydrate content corresponds to 30.34% dry biomass, 27.38% ash, 25.33% protein, 7.66% crude fiber, and 0.71% fat. Regarding the content of metals and elements, it was found that Aluminum presented the highest value of 2049.23 mg/kg, followed by 1786.74 mg/kg, 1364.08 mg/kg, and 443.12 mg/kg of Fe, Mg, and S, respectively, and with the lowest for Cu, Ni, Pb, and Cd of 7.34 mg/kg, 5.62 mg/kg, 3.99 mg/kg and 0.74 mg/kg; respectively; with the following descending order: Al>Fe>Mg>S>Cu>Ni>Pb>Cd at all sites sampled and regardless of altitude and period of rain or drought. Consequently, its potential to adsorb these elements from the environment is preliminarily demonstrated, showing that it could be used in applications for bioremediation of contaminated soils and waters or be an essential bioindicator of environmental pollution.

The present study focuses on the kinetics of the Knoevenagel condensation reaction between 7-methoxy-1-tetralone (1) and glyoxylic acid (2), catalyzed by potassium tert-butoxide in tert-butanol as a solvent, using a batch-type system under nitrogen atmosphere. The objective of this study was to synthesize the product (E)-2-(7-methoxy-1-oxo-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2(1H)-ylidene) acetic acid (3). The reaction was conducted under controlled temperature conditions (65 °C, 75 °C and 85 °C), considering five specified time intervals to monitor its progress by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The kinetic data obtained was analyzed through three different mathematical methods: integral, differential, and nonlinear regression method, in order to determine the most suitable kinetic model. Applying the power law, the findings indicated that the pseudo-second order model, which was estimated via nonlinear regression, showed the best fit with the experimental data, characterized by minimal discrepancy between the calculated and observed values. The kinetic constants (k) obtained at temperatures of 65 °C, 75 °C and 85 °C were 0.89, 1.77 and 3.42 mL mmol⁻¹ min⁻¹, respectively. The pre-exponential factor (A) was calculated to be 2.194 × 10¹⁰ mL mmol⁻¹ min⁻¹, and the activation energy (Ea) was determined to be 67.22 kJ mol⁻¹. The product yield at these temperatures was 17.01%, 81.40% and 72.59%, respectively. The final product was characterized by GC-MS, FTIR, and UV-Vis. In conclusion, the kinetic study of the reaction was able to determine the optimal Knoevenagel condensation reaction conditions between (3) and (2) catalyzed by potassium tert-butoxide, and to facilitate understanding of the mechanism involved.

La emisión de gases vehiculares y de material particulado en el aire de las ciudades afectan la calidad del aire y la salud de las personas, situación ligada a las actividades antropogénicas como el transporte vehicular, la actividad industrial y el microclima de cada ciudad. En tal sentido, se determinó la cantidad de gases de combustión y el material particulado producido por automóviles que llegan a dos parqueaderos del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito (DMQ). La recolección de muestras fue realizada empleando un analizador de gases móvil T. El estudio se realizó durante 21 días del año 2017 en dos parqueaderos de automóviles ubicados en el mercado Comité del Pueblo (Sector Centro) y en el mercado San Francisco (Sector Norte) de la ciudad de Quito (Total= 42 días). Los resultados indican que el sector centro presentó valores elevados de los gases SO2, NOx y O3, mientras que en el sector norte se observaron valores altos en NO2, CO2, O3 y CO. Las concentraciones de Ozono (O3), resultaron elevadas en el Sector Centro (112,07 µg/m3), muy cerca del límite máximo permisible establecido, así como las de NOx también se encuentra cerca del límite máximo permisible por la OMS (400 µg/m3). Los datos revelan que a pesar de tener valores significativos de concentración bastante cercanos entre los dos sectores para ciertos gases como el NOx y NO2, también existen grandes diferencias entre los valores obtenidos para O3, CO y NO2. Con relación al material particulado, los valores en ambos sitios fueron similares, observando valores elevados para PM2,5.