Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are recalcitrant organic pollutants, which occur widely in the environment. Some of these compounds are carcinogenic and toxic, many studies therefore focus on suitable remediation technologies. It has been shown that composting is an efficient treatment for contaminated solid matrices. Changes in several enzyme activities during co-composting of PAH-contaminated soil were studied in this thesis. The total initial concentration of analyzed PAHs in the soil was 1065 ± 86 µg·g-1 . The chosen activities represented well-known key enzymes involved in the transformation of PAHs or catechol as the central metabolite of PAH microbial degradation. At first, a method for extraction of the selected enzymes from the compost matrix was optimized. This approach was then used for the extraction of the enzymes from compost samples collected at each phase of composting. The activity of manganese peroxidase, laccase, tyrosinase and catechol-2,3-dioxygenase was detected during the cooling and the maturation phase. The only detected activity during the initial mesophilic phase was that of manganese peroxidase. The activities of catechol-1,2- dioxygenase and lignin peroxidase were not detected at all. Despite the fact that PAHs were substantially degraded, no influence of PAHs...

The aim of this work is detailed characterization of pyrolysis oil by advanced analytical separation methods and mass spectrometry. During the pyrolysis process decomposition of complex organic material take place in the presence of high temperatures and the absence of oxygen. Condensable part of vapours and aerosols forms viscous liquid called pyrolysis oil which is a complex mixture of large amount of compounds. In this work samples from microwave pyrolysis of woodchips and sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plant Brno-Modřice were analysed. Samples were provided by Bionic Laboratories company. Samples were separated by column chromatography on activated silica. For detailed characterization of each fraction gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection with time of flight analyser were used. Substances that have been identified can be divided into several groups: alkanes, alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, carboxylic acid and heterocycles.

2-Nitrofluorene is a model representative of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAH) which belongs to a group of mutagens and carcinogens. Interaction of DNA with genotoxic 2-nitrofluorene was monitored by an electrochemical DNA biosensor made of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and low molecular weight DNA from salmon sperm. Techniques used are electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Using the EIS technique, no damage to DNA, which would cause strand breaks in DNA, was observed, whereas using the CV technique, the intercalation of NF to the structure of DNA was observed, leading to the formation of a NF-DNA complex. The intercalation results in a reduction of electroactive sites which can be oxidized. It was verified using the SWV technique, by which a decrease of the peak heights of adenosine and guanosine was observed. Because of the dangerous effect of NF on the structure of DNA, an electroanalytical method for its determination was developed. An applicability of the method was successfully tested on a model sample of sand. For the development of the technique, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used in a mixture of the Britton-Robinson buffer of pH 7.0 and ethanol in a ratio of 7:3 (v/v) and with a periodic...

This PhD thesis provides a commented set of four publications. These publications are focused on capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, and UV/Vis spectrometry used to study complexes of rhenium with aromatic ligands. The methods of mass spectrometry with soft ionization techniques, 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance, and infrared spectrometry were used for structural characterization of the individual complexes. The complexes were synthetized in reactions of the rhenium precursor tetrabutylammonium tetrachlorooxorhenate with the corresponding ligand under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In the course of the research, it was revealed that the prepared complexes (with Re in the oxidation number +V and +VI) are unstable and their oxidation numbers change to another more stable form (Re+VII ). Sub-projects which were successfully implemented during the research were as follows:  Design and successful realization of the process of synthesis of selected rhenium complexes with aromatic ligands 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene, and 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene in reactions with and without air access, and their structural characterization by ESI-MS, APPI- MS, LDI-MS, ESI-MS/MS, NMR, and IR.  ESI-MS SRM and UV/Vis time studies of the behaviour of primary rhenium complexes...

The interaction between three selected representatives of environmental pollutants - naphthalene, anthracene, and 2-aminoanthracene - and DNA was investigated using an electrochemical DNA biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and low molecular weight DNA from salmon sperm (DNA/GCE). The interactions with DNA were monitored using square wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). For naphthalene, there was no DNA damaging interaction observed. In the case of anthracene, the formation of an intercalation complex [DNA-anthracene] was observed. However, its formation does not cause DNA strand breaks. The formation of similar intercalation complex was observed for 2-aminoanthracene [DNA-2-aminoanthracene], where we suppose on the basis of the results obtained that the intercalation of 2-aminoanthracene into the DNA double helix induces a tension and subsequent formation of single-strand breaks, which cause that the fragments of DNA fall away from the electrode surface. The intercalative interaction of DNA with anthracene a 2-aminoanthracene was used in the development of electrochemical methods for determination of these compounds at the GCE and DNA/GCE. At the development of the methods, DC voltammetry (DCV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used....