Iulia Matei

By Cristina Tablet, Iulia Matei and Mihaela Hillebrand

Part of the book: Stoichiometry and Research

By Gabriela Ionita and Iulia Matei

Riboflavin, known as vitamin B2, belongs to the class of water-soluble vitamins with redox, fluorescence, and photosensitizing properties. Riboflavin contains a fragment of 7,8-dimethyl-10-(1′-D-ribityl) isoalloxazine with a system of conjugated double bonds that is are responsible for its photochemical properties. In the presence of light and oxygen, riboflavin generates reactive oxygen species that can be further involved in the oxidation of biological molecules such as amino acids, proteins, nucleotides, and lipids. The chapter focuses on the photochemical application of riboflavin in (1) cross-linking of structural proteins such as collagen and (2) synthesis of hydrogels. The involvement of riboflavin in such processes has already found application in medicine, especially in the treatment of ophthalmic diseases and in tissue engineering.

Part of the book: Biophysical Chemistry

By Ludmila Aricov, Anca Ruxandra Leontieș, Iulia Matei and Gabriela Ioniță

Cyclodextrins are natural cyclic oligosaccharides with a cone shape delimiting a hydrophobic cavity. The rims of cyclodextrins can be functionalized in order to improve their properties. Based on this, cyclodextrins can be linked to polymer chains, which further allows the tuning of the polymer properties. This review describes the methods of polymer functionalization with cyclodextrins and highlights the changes in the physicochemical properties of these materials. This chapter is focused on polymers in solution and in gel states. Cyclodextrin-based polymers are evaluated by various physicochemical methods, such as rheology, calorimetry, and spectroscopy (electron paramagnetic resonance, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), etc.). Both natural and synthetic polymers are considered in this chapter.

Part of the book: Cyclodextrins