Azole antifungals, including fluconazole, have long been the first-line antifungal agents in the fight against fungal infections. The emergence of drug-resistant strains and the associated increase in mortality from systemic mycoses has prompted the development of new agents based on azoles. We reported a synthesis of novel monoterpene-containing azoles with high antifungal activity and low cytotoxicity. These hybrids demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against all tested fungal strains, with excellent minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against both fluconazole-susceptible and fluconazole-resistant strains of Candida spp. Compounds 10a and 10c with cuminyl and pinenyl fragments demonstrated up to 100 times lower MICs than fluconazole against clinical isolates. The results indicated that the monoterpene-containing azoles had much lower MICs against fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates of Candida parapsilosis than their phenyl-containing counterpart. In addition, the compounds did not exhibit cytotoxicity at active concentrations in the MTT assay, indicating potential for further development as antifungal agents.

Herein, we describe the synthesis of coordination compounds starting from carbohydrazide ((H₂NHN)₂C=O (CHZ)) and the Zn²⁺ salt of dinitramic acid (HDN), which are high-nitrogen substances that exhibit properties similar to those of a burning-rate inhibitor of pyrotechnic compositions. This study demonstrates that these compounds react with glyoxal to furnish adducts of metal–organic macrocyclic cages bearing the elements of carbohydrazide, complexing metals and the HDN anion, depending on the ratio of the starting reactants. The assembled macrocyclic cage has “host–guest” properties and is a safe container for the storage of HDN salts. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the resultant coordination compound, [Zn(chz)₃(N(NO₂)₂)₂]), indicated that the metal–ligand association occurs via the N and O atoms of carbohydrazide. The zinc salt of dinitramic acid, which is enclosed into adducts with a macrocycle, is thermally stable and insensitive to mechanical impacts. The complex zinc salt of dinitramide was shown herein to exhibit inhibitory activity towards the burning rate of pyrotechnic compositions.

Microplastics, defined as particles up to 5 mm in size, present a significant environmental and health concern due to their ubiquity, capacity to accumulate in organisms, and potential to cause toxic effects, inflammation, and endocrine disruption. A major challenge in addressing this issue is the lack of a universal method for sample preparation and analysis across different environmental matrices. This study addresses this gap by applying a custom-developed method for isolating microplastics from freshwater, followed by a comparative analysis of their abundance using three techniques: spectral (μ-FTIR) and thermal (TGA and pyro-GC-MS). The study was conducted on water samples from the Ob River near Novosibirsk, a major industrial center in Siberia. Field processing entailed filtering 20 L water volumes through a polyamide fabric with a nominal 100 µm pore size. Subsequent characterization established that the entire population of detected particles fell within the 100 to 500 µm interval. The results revealed microplastic concentrations of 0–10,000 particles/m³ (μ-FTIR), 6–19 mg/m³ (TGA), and 0.47–2.96 mg/m³ (pyro-GC-MS). Critically, the data showed spatially variable contamination, with higher microplastic levels identified near industrial wastewater discharge stations and urban recreational areas.