This diploma thesis deals with the production of herbal drops from Echinacea and the determination of the content of selected active substances. In the theoretical part, the taxonomic classification of echinacea, its botanical characteristics and growing conditions are mentioned. The history of cultivation and uses of this plant are also mentioned. An important chapter of the theoretical part is the chemical composition of the plant and differences in composition between individual cultivars of Echinacea. Methods for obtaining active substances and their determination are also mentioned. The last chapter is devoted to the technology of production of echinacea drops. In the experimental part, the extraction was optimized for dried flowers and roots of E. purpurea. The following extraction system was determined for the flowers: 40% ethanol, time 6 hours, weight to solvent ratio 1:10 and room temperature. For the roots, 20% ethanol and a time of 24 hours, a ratio of 1:10 and room temperature were evaluated as the best conditions. Furthermore, the best extracts were prepared, in which the content of total phenolic substances was set at 0.799-0.839 mg/ml, then the antioxidant activity was determined in the range from 116 to 242 µg T/ml, and finally the analysis of aromatic substances was performed by HS-SPME-GC-MS. Two commercial samples were also tested to compare the prepared extracts.

Biochar is created during the pyrolysis of organic biomass. Once added into the soil, it can improve its features. Biochars made from sewage sludge have various compositions. It is because of the vast difference between entrance materials. Organic pollutants can be absorbed into its surface during the cooling proces sof pyrolysis. If released into the enviroment, these compounds can cause inhibition of plant growth, get into food chains and adversely affect living organisms. Organic pollutans are determined most often by GC/MS after organic solvent extraction.

The aim of this master‘s thesis was to determine the aroma active compounds and monitor the sensory quality of apples. The theoretical part deals with the description, composition and properties of apples, information about the aroma compounds, their determination and possibilities for sensory evaluation of apples is also given. The gas chromatography method combined with the solid-phase microextraction, utilized for the specification of aroma compounds, is described. In the experimental part, the SPME-GC-FID method was applied on selected cultivars of apples specially cultivated against apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), i.e. 24 genotypes and Golden Delicious as the control variety. In total 60 various aroma compounds were identified, 22 alcohols, 12 aldehydes, 11 ketones, 10 esters and 5 organic acids. The number and concentration of compounds identified differed according to the cultivars. Sensory analysis was performed using category ordinal scales and the profile test.

Thesis are aimed to the optimization and validation of the QuEChERS method for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in solid matrices of hydrosphere. The QuEChERS method was also used for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in real samples and for comparison of measured results, time and material costs of the method with currently employed methods: (1) accelerated solvent extraction connected with gel permeation chromatography (ASE/GPC), and (2) ultrasonic extraction connected with solid phase extraction (UZ/SPE). According to the validation criteria, the QuEChERS method is suitable for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in solid matrices of hydrosphere. The QuEChERS technique provides comparable results to ASE/GPC and UZ/SPE. In terms of price and time for sample preparation, the QuEChERS method allows (unlike the methods ASE/GPC and UZ/SPE) fast and inexpensive determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in solid samples of hydrosphere.

The aim of the study was to determine the 13 health risk PAHs (phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, ideno(1,2,3-cd)perylene and coronene; c-PAU highlighted) in the fractions of size-segregated aerosol of the urban air in Ostrava (2012, 2014) and Mlada Boleslav (2013) at low temperatures in winter, and to verify experimentally a sampling artifact, i.e., to quantify PAHs in the gas phase. For the particle size separation high-volume cascade impactor Hi-Vol BGI 900 was used. PAHs were determined by HPLC-FLD/PDA. In Ostrava in 2012 during the winter inversion (up to -25 řC), mean concentration of 13 PAHs in aerosol was 432 ng.m-3 ; in fraction 10 - 1 µm 119 ng.m-3 , 1 - 0,5 µm 185 ng.m-3 , 0,5 - 0,17 µm 91 ng.m-3 , in fraction < 0,17 µm 37 ng.m-3 and in the gaseous phase of min. 40 ng.m-3 . In the most unfavorable day 2. 2. 2012 (-18.6 ř C) reached the 24-hour average of 13 PAHs 890 ng.m-3 , the sum of carcinogenic PAHs 237 ng.m-3 and benzo(a)pyrene 32.3 ng.m-3 . An irregular and different decline of PAHs concentrations after inversion was measured: in fraction 1 - 10 µm 2.8 times, 0.5 - 1 µm 4.2 times, 0.5 - 0.17 µm 4 times and for <0.17 µm up to 7.6 times....

Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa) is a berry fruit with distinctive sensory characteristics and health-promoting properties. Polyphenols are the main bioactive compounds found in aronia including natural pigments – anthocyanins. Bioactive compounds are usually obtained from natural materials by extraction, in this work, two methods of extraction were compared – maceration and PHWE. Based on the total phenolic content, maceration was chosen as a more suitable method and then was optimized with statistical model – Design of Experiment. Optimal conditions were set to temperature of 30 °C, extraction agent 50 % ethanol, solid-solvent ratio 10 g per 50 ml and time of extraction for 30 minutes. Extract obtained under these conditions was characterised by total phenolic content – 1441 ± 90 mg/100 g DW, total anthocyanin content 943 ± 8 mg/100 g DW and antioxidation activity by ABTS 24,78 ± 0,09 molTE/g. In total of 25 volatile compounds were indentified in the optimal extract with content > 0,5 %. Major part created aldehydes and esters, with the main compounds being benzaldehyde (32,25 %) and methyl hexanoate (21,37 %).

This master's thesis deals with the analysis of organic substances, which are present in biochar. Biochar contains a number of organic compounds, that can be toxic and also carcinogenic to living organisms. In order for biochar to be used to improve soil quality or to be used for other applications, its safety must be declared by European or international certifications. Relevant European and international standards have been created for the determination of organic substances, that could be present in biochar. The theoretical part of the thesis was focused on selected organic substances, the process of pyrolysis and thermochemolysis, biochar characterisation and the used analytical methods. The experimental part of the thesis consisted of extraction with toluene and after that the determination of concentration of the 38 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was performed. Qualitative analysis was performed by two-dimensional gas chromatography. Biochar samples were also subjected to thermochemolysis method and then they were analysed on GC-MS again. In both analytical methods, a large number of substances from groups such as PAHs, carboxylic acids, amines, substituted naphthalenes etc. was found, as well as smaller number of eg. polychlorinated biphenyls.

Biomass pyrolysis and gasification techniques count among basic technological procedures for its use as a source of energy. As a side-effect, production of tar can be considered. Tar is a complex mixture of various organic compounds and affects negatively both the environment and the facilities where biomass is processed. Within the scope of this master thesis the analysis of tar samples from different materials was performed. As an appropriate analytical method the gas chromatography combined with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) was chosen. The concentrations of volatile organic compounds known as BTEX, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and phenolic compounds were assessed.

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) represents potentially very suitable way of plant production - micropropagation - of plants in vitro. The process had been studied for more than thirty years and a lot of knowledge has been gained in the field though new ways based on new knowledge leading to improvement and increase of the effectiveness of cultivation protocols are still under focus in the field. Relatively recent discovery of aromatic cytokinins lead to new knowledge on very positive effects on different morphogenetic and physiological processes during both cultivation in vitro or in vivo treatments. This gave origin to the topic of the present thesis, which focused on study of the effect of meta-topolin (mT), aromatic cytokinin, on proliferation phase of SE on structural level of embryogenic lines of Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) Karst. The aim of the thesis is analysis of structural development of embryogenic lines with the use of anatomical preparations and quantitative stereological methods. The material represented three embryogenic lines: 107 and 34C were obtained from the Forestry and Game Management Research Institute from the lab of Dr. Jana Malá and the line AFO 541, which was used as a standard line. To compare the effect of mT with benzylaminopurine (BAP) on proportion of different...

In the first part of the Thesis, a new type of active system for SERS and SERRS of hydrophobic molecules, namely a 3-dimensional (3D) nanosponge aggregate with incorporated hydrophobic molecules has been developed, and tested by fullerene C60 and hydrophobic free- base tetraphenylporfine (H2TPP). The SERS and SERRS (surface enhanced /resonance/ Raman scattering) limits of detection (LODs) of C60 at four excitation wavelengths spanning the visible spectral region were found to be by one order of magnitude lower than in the reference system, which mimics the previously reported ways of utilization of Ag nanosponges as substrates for SERS and SERRS. The superiority of the newly developed sample is attributed to the efficient localization of the hydrophobic molecules into hot spots in 2D fractal aggregates of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). Diprotonation of H2TPP during the procedure using HCl as the preaggregation agent has been eliminated by employment of NaCl. On the other hand, investigation of the mechanism of H2TPP protonation during the former preparation procedure opened a possibility to employ Ag nanosponge aggregate as nanoreactor. In the second part of the Thesis, 2D assemblies of AgNPs were found to be better substrates for SERS of single layer graphene (SLG) than the 3D ones. In particular, the 2D...