In the past twenty years a rapid growing interest in thiols can be seen as a function of the amount of papers and research done on this topic, with the aim of understanding the biosynthesis of the main varietal thiols, as well as the desire to develop methods and ways to increase their concentration in wine. The aim of this research is to evaluate the potentialities of an additive in the form of β-lyase enzyme and the protocol used to utilize it. Two red varieties (Syrah and Touriga Nacional) and four white varieties (Alvarinho, Arinto, Encruzado and Viosinho) were used, grown and processed in Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) in Lisbon, Portugal. To each varietal wine a control wine and a test wine (with enzyme addition) were made and compared for their chromatic characters and sensorial impression. Using the Statistical tools; t-Test, ANOVA, PCA and cluster analysis each treated wine was compared to its control. The results of this dissertation suggest that there are no significant differences between the treated wines and the control either in terms of chromatic characters or sensorial impressions, concluding that there may be loss of thiols to oxidation which requires a change in vinification scale

A series of thiophenols with different ortho-substituents, 2,4-dimethylthiophenol, 2-tert-butyl-4-methylthiophenol, and 2-(1-adamantyl)-4-methylthiophenol, which display varying degrees of steric hindrance on the 2-position, was prepared from the corresponding phenols. Initial deprotonation of the phenols was achieved with NaH in dimethoxyethane, followed by treatment with N,N-dimethylthiocarbamoyl chloride, to obtain the O-arylthiocarbamates. Thermolysis of the latter compounds resulted in rearrangement, which yields the desired S-arylthiocarbamates. Finally, reduction of the S-arylthiocarbamates with LiAlH4 in THF, followed by acidic workup, allowed the isolation of the thiophenols. All products were characterized by spectroscopic techniques, and in the case of some of the thiocarbamates the solid state structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

We have studied the effect of peroxynitrite (ONOO-) on the membrane cytoskeleton of red blood cells and its protection by melatonin. Analysis of the protein fraction of the preparation by SDS-PAGE revealed a dose-dependent (0-600 µM ONOO-) disappearance at pH 7.4 of the main proteins: spectrin, band 3, and actin, with the concomitant formation of high-molecular weight aggregates resistant to reduction by ß-mercaptoethanol (2%) at room temperature for 20 min. These aggregates were not solubilized by 8 M urea. Incubation of the membrane cytoskeleton with ONOO- was characterized by a marked depletion of free sulfhydryl groups (50% at 250 µM ONOO-). However, a lack of effect of ß-mercaptoethanol suggests that, under our conditions, aggregate formation is not mediated only by sulfhydryl oxidation. The lack of a protective effect of the metal chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid confirmed that ONOO--induced oxidative damage does not occur only by a transition metal-dependent mechanism. However, we demonstrated a strong protection against cytoskeletal alterations by desferrioxamine, which has been described as a direct scavenger of the protonated form of peroxynitrite. Desferrioxamine (0.5 mM) also inhibited the loss of tryptophan fluorescence observed when the ghosts were treated with ONOO-. Glutathione, cysteine, and Trolox® (1 mM), but not mannitol (100 mM), were able to protect the proteins against the effect of ONOO- in a dose-dependent manner. Melatonin (0-1 mM) was especially efficient in reducing the loss of spectrin proteins when treated with ONOO- (90% at 500 µM melatonin). Our findings show that the cytoskeleton, and in particular spectrin, is a sensitive target for ONOO-. Specific antioxidants can protect against such alterations, which could seriously impair cell dynamics and generate morphological changes.

New β-amino-substituted porphyrin derivatives bearing carboxy groups were synthesized and their performance as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) was evaluated. The new compounds were obtained in good yields (63–74%) through nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions with 3-sulfanyl- and 4-sulfanylbenzoic acids. Although the electrochemical studies indicated suitable HOMO and LUMO energy levels for use in DSSC, the devices fabricated with these compounds revealed a low power conversion efficiency (PCE) that is primarily due to the low open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) values.