Person: León González, María Eugenia De
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First Name
María Eugenia De
Last Name
León González
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Químicas
Department
Química Analítica
Area
Química Analítica
Identifiers
17 results
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 17
Item Unravelling the in vitro and in vivo potential of selenium nanoparticles in Alzheimer’s disease: A bioanalytical review(Talanta, 2023) Vicente Zurdo, David; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia DeAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Current therapies have limited efficacy, prompting the search for novel treatments. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have emerged as promising candidates for AD therapy due to their unique physicochemical properties and potential therapeutic effects. This review provides an overview of SeNPs and their potential application in AD treatment, as well as the main bioanalytical techniques applied in this field. SeNPs possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making them potential candidates to combat the oxidative stress and neuroinflammation associated with AD. Moreover, SeNPs have shown the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing them to target brain regions affected by AD pathology. Various methods for synthesizing SeNPs are explored, including chemical,physical and biological synthesis approaches. Based on the employment of algae, yeast, fungi, and plants, green methods offer a promising and biocompatible alternative for SeNPs production. In vitro studies have demonstrated the potential of SeNPs in reducing beta-amyloid aggregation and inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation, providing evidence of their neuroprotective effects on neuronal cells. In vivo studies using transgenic mousem models and AD-induced symptoms have shown promising results, with SeNPs treatment leading to cognitive improvements and reduced amyloid plaque burden in the hippocampus. Looking ahead, future trends in SeNPs research involve developing innovative brain delivery strategies to enhance their therapeutic potential, exploring alternative animal models to complement traditional mouse studies, and investigating multi-targeted SeNPs formulations to address multiple aspects of AD pathology. Overall, SeNPs represent a promising avenue for AD treatment, and further research in this field may pave the way for effective and much-needed therapeutic interventions for individuals affected by this debilitating disease.Item In vivo quantification of volatile organoselenium compounds released by bacteria exposed to selenium with HS-SPME-GC-MS. Effect of selenite and selenium nanoparticles(Talanta, 2021) Moreno Martín, Gustavo; Sanz Landaluce, Jon; León González, María Eugenia De; Madrid Albarrán, María Yolanda; ElsevierQuantification of volatile organoselenium species released by Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), after their growth in the presence of 1 and 2 mg Se⋅L-1 as both selenite and chitosan modified selenium nanoparticles (Ch-SeNPs), was achieved by the application of a method based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and in-fiber internal standardization, combined with gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This method consisted of an initial extraction of the released volatile organoselenium compounds on the SPME fiber, followed by the extraction of internal standard (IS), deuterated dimethyl sulfide (d6-DMS), on the same fiber before its desorption at the injection port of GC-MS. The results showed that the biotransformation of selenite and Ch-SeNPs into volatile organoselenium compounds was dependent on both the type of bacterial species and the chemical form of selenium (Se) administered. In this sense, E. coli was able to biotransform both selenite and Ch-SeNPs into dimethylselenium (DMSe) and dimethyldiselenium (DMDSe) while S. aureus, biotransformed selenite into DMSe and DMDSe and, Ch-SeNPs only into DMDSe. Additionally, the formation of a volatile mixed sulfur/selenium compound, dimethyl selenenyl sulfide (DMSeS), from Se in nanoparticulated form has been detected for the first time.Item Valorization of prunus seed oils: fatty acids composition and oxidative stability(Molecules, 2023) Rodríguez-Blázquez, Sandra; Gómez Mejía, Esther; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia De; García-Sánchez, Beatriz; Miranda Carreño, RubénPrunus fruit seeds are one of the main types of agri-food waste generated worldwide during the processing of fruits to produce jams, juices and preserves. To valorize this by-product, the aim of this work was the nutritional analysis of peach, apricot, plum and cherry seeds using the official AOAC methods, together with the extraction and characterization of the lipid profile of seed oils using GC-FID, as well as the measurement of the antioxidant activity and oxidative stability using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free-radical scavenging method. Chemometric tools were required for data evaluation and the obtained results indicated that the main component of seeds were oils (30–38%, w). All seed oils were rich in oleic (C18:1n9c) and linoleic (C18:2n6c) acids and presented heart-healthy lipid indexes. Oil antioxidant activity was estimated in the range IC50 = 20–35 mg·mL−1, and high oxidative stability was observed for all evaluated oils during 1–22 storage days, with the plum seed oil being the most antioxidant and stable over time. Oxidative stability was also positively correlated with oleic acid content and negatively correlated with linoleic acid content. Therefore, this research showed that the four Prunus seed oils present interesting healthy characteristics for their use and potential application in the cosmetic and nutraceutical industries.Item Effect of Storage and Drying Treatments on Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Composition of Lemon and Clementine Peel Extracts(Molecules, 2023) Gómez Mejía, Esther; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia De; Madrid Albarrán, María Yolanda; Sacristán Navarro, IvánObtaining polyphenols from horticultural waste is an emerging trend that enables the valorization of resources and the recovery of value-added compounds. However, a pivotal point in the exploitation of these natural extracts is the assessment of their chemical stability. Hence, this study evaluates the effect of temperature storage (20 and −20 ◦C) and drying methods on the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of clementine and lemon peel extracts, applying HPLC-DADMS, spectrophotometric methods, and chemometric tools. Vacuum-drying treatment at 60 ◦C proved to be rather suitable for retaining the highest antioxidant activity and the hesperidin, ferulic, and coumaric contents in clementine peel extracts. Lemon extracts showed an increase in phenolic acids after oven-drying at 40 ◦C, while hesperidin and rutin were sustained better at 60 ◦C. Hydroethanolic extracts stored for 90 days preserved antioxidant activity and showed an increase in the total phenolic and flavonoid contents in lemon peels, unlike in clementine peels. Additionally, more than 50% of the initial concentration was maintained up to 51 days, highlighting a half-life time of 71 days for hesperidin in lemon peels. Temperature was not significant in the preservation of the polyphenols evaluated, except for in rutin and gallic acid, thus, the extracts could be kept at 20 ◦C.Item Evaluation f the transformation of selenite and selenium nanoparticles to seleno-amino acids produced by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by using liquid chromatography -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and single-particle- inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and different sample treatments(Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, 2023) Moreno Martín, Gustavo; Espada-Bernabé, Elena; Gómez Gómez, Beatriz; León González, María Eugenia De; Madrid Albarrán, María YolandaDue to the scarce knowledge about the impact of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on bacterial populations, the main objective of this work was focused on evaluating the transformations of SeNPs and selenite in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). For this purpose, an analytical methodology based on bacteria cell wall disruption, carbamidomethylation, enzymatic hydrolysis and high-performance liquid chromatography couple to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) and HPLC- electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) measurements was developed, the latter for unambiguous identification of selenium species. Once bacteria were cultured in the presence of chitosan modified SeNPs (Ch-SeNPs) and selenite at 0, 1 and 2 mg L 1 Se for 24 h, an enzymatic disruption of the bacterial cell wall using lysozym followed by enzymatic hydrolysis with protease was applied. The use of lysozyme to extract selenium speciesprovided a better efficiency in the total selenium content (higher than 96%), compared to a mechanical disruption of the bacterial cell wall. Analysis of the extracts by anionic exchange HPLC-ICP-MS showed a strong influence of incubation time with protease (24, 48 and 72 h) on selenium chromatographic profile. The results showed that selenocysteine (SeCys) was the only Se species identified in both bacteria representing an 80% of total selenium accumulated. The confirmation of the identity of this Se species was carried out after performing a carbamidomethylation process, prior to enzymatic hydrolysis, and analyzing the extract by reversed phase HPLCESI- MS/MS. These analyses confirmed the presence of SeCys, and no relevant differences were found between the metabolic pathway of both forms of selenium. Moreover, the growth of both bacterial species in the presence of selenite resulted in the formation of biogenic SeNPs. Characterization by TEM before and after their separation from the culture medium showed spherical and monodispersed nanoparticles with an average size (155 ± 19) nm and (172 ± 20) nm for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Analysis by spICP-MS showed no significant differences in size with respect to TEM after considering the ionization efficiency of Se.Item Diruthenium complexes as pH-responsive delivery systems: a quantitative assessment(INORGANIC CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS, 2023) Coloma Manjón-Cabeza, Isabel; Cortijo Montes, Miguel; Mancheño Real, María José; León González, María Eugenia De; Gutierrez, Crisanto; Desvoyes, Bénédicte; Santiago Herrero; Herrero Domínguez, Santiago; ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRYThe controlled release of biologically active species from diruthenium compounds is crucial for the development of selective drug delivery systems based on such complexes, which in addition display antineoplastic properties by themselves. In the present work, we analyse in detail the kinetics of the pH-triggered release of the auxin-related hormones 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate) and NAA (1-naphthaleneacetate) from the metal–metal bonded tris(formamidinato) Ru25+ complexes [Ru2Cl(μ-DPhF)3(μ-2,4-D)](Ru2,4-D), [Ru2Cl(μ-DPhF)3(μ-NAA)] (RuNAA), [Ru2Cl(μ-DAniF)3(μ-2,4-D)] (Ru’2,4-D) and [Ru2Cl(μ-DAniF)3(μ-NAA)] (Ru’NAA) (DPhF = N,N’-diphenylformamidinate, DAniF = N,N’-bis(p-methoxy)phenylformamidinate). Moreover, the synthesis and complete characterisation of [Ru2Cl(μ-DAniF)3(μ-IAA)] (Ru’IAA, IAA = indole-3-acetate), Ru’2,4-D and Ru’NAA, including the crystal structure of the two latter ones, is reported. The release of auxins is studied through a fluorimetric quantitative assay, which allows determining the influence of different formamidinate ancillary ligands and the nature of the outgoing auxin ligand in the release process. Chemometrics is employed to evaluate the statistical significance of the variables. The release of auxins is slower at physiological pH and occurs faster at slightly acidic pH values. Compounds containing DPhF ancillary ligands and NAA outgoing ligand present a slower dissociation of the auxin, which is not complete in the first 24 h. The release rate is also correlated with the bond distance O1(auxin)–Ru1(hexacoordinated). A mechanism of the substitution reaction is tentatively proposed based on these findings. Overall, these results pave the way towards new systems for the controlled delivery of antineoplastic drugs under mild-acidic conditions like those surrounding solid tumours.Item Bioactive polyphenols from Ranunculus macrophyllus Desf. Roots: quantification, identification and antioxidant activity(South African Journal of Botany, 2020) Deghima, Amirouche; Righi, Nadjat; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia De; Gómez Mejía, Esther; Madrid Albarrán, María Yolanda; Baali, Faiza; Bedjou, FatihaRanunculus macrophyllus Desf. is an Algerian medicinal plant whose roots are used in traditional medicine to cure feminine infertility and other diseases, however there are no studies regarding its phytochemistry and biological activities. The aim of this work is to study the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of different solvents fractions from the roots of Ranunculus macrophyllus Desf. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods were used to study the phytochemical composition; while antiradical, iron chelating ability, reducing power and lipid peroxidation were studied in-vitro. The ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest values of total phenolic compounds (271.0 ± 0.2 µg GAE/mg dry extract (d.e), flavonols (24 ± 5 µg RE/ mg d.e) and condensed tannins (129 ± 10 µg CE/mg d.e), while the hexane fraction contained the highest amount of triterpenoids (91 ± 7 µg UAE/mg d.e). The highest radical scavenging ability was recorded for the ethyl acetate fraction against DPPH (IC50 = 3.7 ± 0.1 µg/mL) and ABTS (IC50 = 81 ± 3 µg/mL) whereas the hexane fraction had the best hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging (IC50 = 380 ± 4 µg/mL). The ethyl acetate fraction had the best total antioxidant capacity (TAC = 361 ± 1 µAAE/ mg extract) and reducing power (310 ± 2 µAAE/mg extract). The β-carotene bleaching was inhibited at high rate even after 24 h by the ethyl acetate fraction (81.0 ± 0.5 %). All activities were correlated with the polyphenolic content of the fractions. Capillary LC-DAD and LC-MS/MS analysis of ethyl acetate fraction revealed high amounts of gallic acid (9.3 ± 0.6 mg/g d.e), dihydroxybenzoic acid (8.1 ± 0.2 mg/g d.e) and hesperidin (5.9 ± 0.6 mg/g d.e). With such high amounts of polyphenols and strong antioxidant activity Ranunculus macrophyllus Desf. roots could have a potential use in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.Item Valorization of defatted cherry seed residues from Liquor processing by matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction: a sustainable strategy for production of phenolic-rich extracts with antioxidant potential(Antioxidants, 2023) Rodríguez-Blázquez, Sandra; Fernández-Ávila, Lorena; Gómez Mejía, Esther; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia De; Miranda Carreño, RubénThe integrated valorization of food chain waste is one of the most promising alternatives in the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. Thus, an efficient solid-phase matrix dispersion extraction method, using experimental factorial design and response surface methodology, has been developed and optimized for the recovery of polyphenols from defatted cherry seeds obtained after cherry liquor manufacture and subsequent fatty acid extraction, evaluating the effect of each processing step on the composition and phenolic content of sweet cherry residues. The phenolic extracts before fermentation showed the highest content of total polyphenols (TPC) and flavonoids (TFC) (3 ± 1 mg QE·g−1 and 1.37 ± 0.08 mg GAE·g−1, respectively), while the highest antioxidant capacity was obtained in the defatted seed extracts after both fermentation and distillation. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) was used to determine the phenolic profile. Dihydroxybenzoic acid, neochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and quercetin were the main phenolics found, showing differences in concentration between the stages of liquor production. The results underline the prospective of cherry by-products for obtaining phenol-rich bioactive extracts for possible use in different industrial sectors, offering a feasible solution for the cascade valorization of cherry agri-food waste.Item Neuroprotective activity of selenium nanoparticles against the effect of amino acid enantiomers in Alzheimer’s disease(ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 2022) Vicente Zurdo, David; Sandra Rodríguez-Blázquez; Gómez Mejía, Esther; Rosales Conrado, Noelia; León González, María Eugenia De; Madrid Albarrán, María YolandaAlzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, is characterized by extracellular accumulation of amyloid-beta protein (Aβ), which is believed to be the very starting event of AD neurodegeneration. In this work, D-Phe, D-Ala, and D-Glu amino acids, which are the non-occurring enantiomeric form in the human body, and also D-Asp and DL-SeMet, have proved to be amyloidogenic regarding Aβ42 aggregation in TEM studies. These amyloidogenic amino acid enantiomers also widened Aβ42 fibrils up to 437% regarding Aβ42 alone, suggesting that Aβ42 aggregation is enantiomerically dependent. To inhibit enantiomeric-induced amyloid aggregation, selenium nanoparticles stabilized with chitosan (Ch-SeNPs) were successfully synthesized and employed. Thus, Ch-SeNPs reduced and even completely inhibited Aβ42 aggregation produced in the presence of some amino acid enantiomers. In addition, through UV–Vis spectroscopy and fluorescence studies, it was deduced that Ch-SeNPs were able to interact differently with amino acids depending on their enantiomeric form. On the other hand, antioxidant properties of amino acid enantiomers were evaluated by DPPH and TBARS assays, with Tyr enantiomers being the only ones showing antioxidant effect. All spectroscopic data were statistically analysed through experimental design and response surface analysis, showing that the interaction between the Ch-SeNPs and the amino acids studied was enantioselective and allowing, in some cases, to establish the concentration ratios in which this interaction is maximum.Item Insights into the accumulation and transformation of Ch-SeNPs by Raphanus sativus and Brassica juncea: effect on essential elements uptake(Science of the Total Environment, 2020) Moreno Martín, Gustavo; Sanz Landaluce, Jon; León González, María Eugenia De; Madrid Albarrán, María Yolanda; ElsevierSelenium (Se) at very low doses has important functions for humans. Unfortunately, the low levels of Se in soils in various regions of the world have implemented the agronomic biofortification of crops by applying Se-enriched fertilizers (mainly based on selenate). Lately, the use of nanofertilizers is growing in interest as their low size reduces the amount of chemicals and minimizes nutrient losses in comparison with conventional bulk fertilizers. However, the knowledge on their fate and environmental impact is still scarce. This study aims to evaluate the biotransformation of chitosan-modified Se nanoparticles (Ch-SeNPs) as well as their effect on the metabolism of essential metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mo) when applied to hydroponic cultivation of R. sativus and B. juncea. In house-synthesized Ch-SeNPs were characterized in both synthesis and hydroponic culture media by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The composition of one-tenth strength Hoagland's solution did not affect the size, shape and concentration in number of particles per mL of Ch-SeNPs. The plants were grown inside a box at 25 °C during the months of May–July in 2018. After a week of treatment with Ch-SeNPs, plants were harvested and divided into roots and aerial part. The biotransformation of Ch-SeNPs was evaluated through a process of enzymatic hydrolysis and subsequent analysis by HPLC-ICP-MS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The results confirmed the transformation of Ch-SeNPs to seleno-amino acids: Selenomethionine (SeMet), Semethylselenocysteine (SeMetSeCys) and ɣ-glutamyl-Se-MetSeCys. Moreover, Multiple-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that, regardless the plant species, Ch-SeNPs supplementation affected the absorption of Zn.