Diplomová práce se zabývá roubováním maleinanhydridu a anhydridu kyseliny itakonové na kyselinu poly(mléčnou) (PLA). U modifikované kyseliny poly(mléčné) byla sledována závislost konverze monomerů na různých molárních poměrech monomer/iniciátor při teplotách 180°C a 200°C. Množství naroubovaného monomeru bylo stanovováno acidobazickou titrací a pomocí FT-IR spektroskopií. Vliv stupně naroubování na krystalinitu modifikované PLA byl zjišťován pomocí diferenční kompenzační kalorimetrie, DSC. Degradace PLA byla orientačně pozorována pomocí indexu toku taveniny, MFI.

This diploma thesis deals with copper(II) ions diffusion in the humic hydrogels. The hydrogels were prepared from several samples of humic acids using different method and their isolation conditions from the original matrix. A selective blocking of functional groups (COOH, OH) was performed in the selected samples of humic acids. These reactive groups were selectively blocked using methylation agent trimethylsilyl-diazomethane. The success of performed methylation and functional groups blocking was verified using a FT-IR spectroscopy. There was carried out the set of diffusion experiments. The experimental arrangement was selected to enable an instantaneous planar source met-hod for data processing. The basis of this method was to determine the copper(II) ions con-centration distribution in the hydrogels. The method consists of slicing of the hydrogels after the diffusion experiments, extraction of the copper ions in the solution and determina-tion of concentration in the extracts from individual slices using UV-VIS spectroscopy. Based on the experimental data the effective diffusion coefficients were determined. The resulting values include both the effect of hydrogels structure and the effect of the reaction between Cu(II) ions and humic acids. There were prepared gels with defined portion of blocked functional groups for selected samples, which allowed to investigate the effect of reactivity on the copper ions diffusion without the significant changes in the gel structure (porosity). The blocking of functional groups reflected in a lower values of diffusion coefficients in comparison to the gels prepared from unmodified humic acids as follows. There was also confirmed the effect of humic acids isolation procedure and their properties on the diffusivity.

This diploma thesis deals with the study of non-energy use of lignite. The main objective was to find an optimal recipe for the preparation of liquid and semi-solid (paste) hydrocolloids from the South Moravian lignite using the planetary mill and select the suitable dispersion medium with emphasis on possible use in agriculture. The used solutions were 10, 20 a 40 % w/w solutions of urea; 5, 10 a 15 % w/w solutions of citric acid; 1, 5 a 10 % w/w solutions of potassium chloride and deionized water. The best weight ratio for the preparation of lignite hydrocolloids is 1 part of lignite and 2 parts of the solution. The next part of this work is the isolation of humic acid from lignite hydrocolloids. The weight of isolated humic acids and amount of ash were compared to the used lignite hydrocolloids. Rheological behavior, particle size distribution, stability and thermal stablity of prepared lignite hydrocolloids were investigated. Correlation microscopy was used for determining elemental composition of selected location in the sample of lignite hydrocolloid.

This diploma thesis is focused on foliar fertilization. It is nowadays one of the most widespread types of application of commercial fertilizers. Concern of this thesis is the study of plant cuticles as a thin layer on the leaves. These thin membranes are responsible for regulation of water transport and nutrients. Further function of plant cuticles is the mechanical protection of the outer part of the plant. Plant cuticles were characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy, classical optical microscopy and profilometry. The main aim of this thesis is the optimization and verification of experimental methodology aimed to the transport of commercial humic product through plant cuticles by simple diffusion techniques. The results obtained by presented diffusion techniques of humic product through plant cuticles were correlated with the same diffusion experiments through synthetic membranes with defined pore size and density. The study on transport of commercial humic product was realized in hydrogel medium by two different diffusion methods – non-stationary diffusion technique and diffusion couple. The important part of this diploma thesis is the characterization of supported hydrogel matrix by rheology tests, mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanned electron microscopy. Conclusions of this diploma thesis could be used for improving of efficiency of foliar fertilization.

This thesis is focused on determination of fatty acids in processed and/or processed cheese analogues using gas chromatography with FID detection. Characterization of fatty acids, various methods for lipid extraction and the possibilities of determination of fatty acids are described in the theoretical part. Simple and rapid method for the determination of fatty acids in natural and/or processed cheese was optimized and validated in the experimental part. The modified Folch method (by mixture of chloroform - methanol) was selected for lipid extraction from the samples. The standard method (ISO 5509), using a methanol solution of potassium hydroxide, was selected for lipid esterification. Type of the stationary phase and parameters of the column, flow of carrier gas, temperature of the injector, injection technique, temperature of the detector and temperature program were optimized. Calibration curves were constructed from five calibration points (in the concentration range of 0.01 - 60 g.ml-1), all correlation coefficients R2 were higher than 0,99. The limits of detection and quantification of individual fatty acids ranged from 0.002 - 6 g.ml-1. The repeatability of the method was good, all the relative standard deviations of the peaks were below 9 %. The optimized and validated method was applied to selected samples of processed cheese analogues. In total five types of analogues containing different kinds of fat (butter, apricot, linseed, black currant and grape seed oils) were analyzed. In samples 34 fatty acids were identified based on a comparison of retention times of standards.

Tato práce představuje pilotní studii testující souvislosti mezi biologickými vlastnostmi a strukturou huminových kyselin extrahovaných z původního a modifikovaného jihomoravského lignitu, důl Mír, Mikulčice. V první části práce byly testovány metody vhodné ke zvýšení výtěžku huminových kyselin extrahovaných z lignitu. Oxidace lignitu v plynné fázi nepřinesla uspokojivé zvýšení výtěžku a byla instrumentálně poměrně náročná. Dále proto byla zkoumána jen oxidace v kapalné fázi a modifikace nízkomolekulárními organickými kyselinami. Modifikace organickými kyselinami byla inspirována procesy podporujícími biologické funkce v rizosféře, t.j. kořenový systém vylučuje exudáty způsobující změny v supramolekulové struktuře okolní organické hmoty čímž zlepšuje její mobilitu a prostupnost buněčnými stěnami. Primární struktura huminových kyselin připravených v této práci byla zkoumána prostřednictvím elementární analýzy a spektrálních metod (13C CPMAS NMR, EPR a UV-VIS spektroskopie). Navzdory tomu, že primární struktura vykazovala jen malé rozdíly, měření biologické aktivity a genotoxického potenciálu prokázalo, že huminové kyseliny a jejich humáty získané z lignitu s rozdílnou předúpravou vykazují odlišnou bioaktivitu. Proto byla dále zkoumána supramolekulární struktura vzorků ve zředěných roztocích, a to prostřednictvím vysokoúčinné vylučovací chromatografie, měření ultrazvukové rychlosti a hustoty. Testovány byly dva různé protionty – draselný a amonný. Získané výsledky potvrdily předpoklad, že pozorované změny v kvalitě humátů jsou závislé na protiiontu, koncentraci humátu v roztoku a také na metodě předúpravy původního lignitu. Obě zvolené metody předúpravy lignitu prokázaly svůj potenciál produkovat huminové kyseliny s rozmanitými biologickými vlastnostmi, aplikovatelné v zemědělství, životním prostředí a potenciálně i ve farmakologii.

The aim of this master’s thesis is perform basic analyses of samples ketchups. The theoretical part describes the basic characteristics of tomato, tomatoes processing and production of puree and ketchup. Then there are described analytical methods which were used for analysing the selected parameters in ketchups. The experimental part deals with the determination of pH, total solids, organic acids, saccharides, macroelements and lycopene in ketchups. Citrate and acetate were analysed by IC. The amount of acetate in ketchups was about 5 times greater than the amount of citrate. Glucose, fructose and sucrose were analysed by HPLC. Glucose and fructose were determined in all samples but sucrose not. The ICP-OES method was used to determine four elements. Magnesium was the least represented element and sodium was the most represented element in the analysis. The amount of sodium was recalculated on the amount of salt. Lycopene was analysed by UV-VIS spectrometry. Its amount in ketchups is influenced by the variety of used tomatoes and plenty of other factors.

Proposed doctoral thesis deals with microbial production of biopolymers (polysaccharides and polyesters) using renewableble inexpensive resources as carbon and nitrogen source. At first, production of extracellular metabolites, mainly pullulan and poly-L-malic acid, by polymorphic microorganism Aureobasisium pullulans was studied. Further part of thesis was focused on production of bacterial biopolyesters polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). PHA are produced in the form of intracellular granules by various bacteria species. During the study of PHA production, sythesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and technologically significant copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) was investigated as well with regard to waste substrate utilization in biorafinery concept. Spent coffee ground seemed to be applicable waste in biorefinery proces. One of the coffee wastes used for PHA production was spent coffee ground hydrolysate which was converted to PHA by Burkholderia cepacia. Moreover, copolymer of 3HB and 3HV was accumulated when SCGH was used as a sole carbon source, no precursor had to be added. Another coffee waste, which was utillized by Cupriavidus necator H16, is represented by oil extracted from spent coffee grounds. Hydrolysis proces of waste substrates had to be optimized, to reach the highest possible saccharide concentration. Due to the hydrolysis process several toxic compounds can be formed, hence, influence of hydrolysis procesings on polyphenols content in hydrolysates was monitored. Waste substrates were also tested as potentional complex nitrogen source for PHA production. Hydrolysates of cheese whey and chicken feather were used as inexpensive complex nitrogen source for PHA production by C. necator, when waste frying oil was used as a carbon substrate. The finnal part of the thesis is dealing with possibilities how the PHA can be processed into atractive aplication forms. Liposomes with partial content of PHB had been prepared, moreover, for improving of antioxidant activity and antimicrobial effect the waste coffee oil was added. Micro-fibrous PHB materials were prepared for the purposes of water filtration. Higher filtration effectivity was observed when composite PHB fibrous material containing active charcoal or metal oxides was used. Important part of thesis is represented by study of degradation processes of prepared PHA-based aplication forms. Various microorganisms were tested on PHA depolymerases production. Biodegradability of PHA materials was tested in of composting conditions by standard composting test IS/ISO 20200. Changes in mechanical properties of polyurethan, where polyol was partialy replaced by PHB, were tested depending on the exposure of composting condition.

The diploma thesis deals with the monitoring of oxidative stability of products, oils and butter, from nut fruits. The theoretical part concentrates on the topic of nut fruits, their properties, compositions which are closely related to the effects on the human health and the possibilities of technological processing. The lipid storage process, especially the most frequently occurring autooxidation reactions are described, followed by experimental part of the thesis. The changes in coconut, walnut, peanut oils and peanut butter samples are monitored during storage at 4 ° C and 20 ° C by determining the acid value, the peroxide value and the fatty acid composition by the GC-FID method. The lowest oxidation stability showed walnut oil due to the highest content of unstable polyunsaturated fatty acids – up to 88,7 %. During storage at 20 ° C there was a statistically significant increase in the content of primary oxidation products, determined as peroxide value PV = 2,55 ± 0,12 µgROOHg-1. An increase was also observed in samples of peanut butter, but it was mainly due to higher water activity, which is important for chemical reactions. The durability of this product after opening mentioned on the product label correlates with their low stability

The main objective of this thesis is to judge the barrier properties of hydrogels. It was examined in total six kinds of agarose hydrogels, of which five kinds of gels was enriched with humic acids isolated from various sources. Humic acids were selected from IHSS standards, specifically Leonardite, Elliott Soil, Suwannee River, Pahokee Peat and Nordic Lake. Using UV-VIS spectrometry, copper ion concentrations were used to serve as a diffusion solution. Results of diffusion coefficients were evaluated by several diffusion methods. The method of diffusion in the plane of the board and three possible diffusion solutions of the constant source were used.