Abstract‘Algae Service for LIFE’, the project supported by the European Union, seeks to promote best practices in ecological service and the circular economy by implementing innovative complex system of three interlinked elements: i) prototypes for harvesting of cyanobacteria and macroalgae biomass; ii) distant methods for surveying of the blooms and defining hot-spots of algal agglomerations; and iii) restitution of harvesting costs by redesigning of waste algal biomass into valuable products. The current paper describes application of algal biomass part of the project by providing actions in redesigning of harvested waste biomass of cyanobacteria and macroalgae into potential valuable products for sustainable management and recycling of environmental resources. It also highlights the socio-economic aspects of the project and added value of the project for the European Union.

Damask rose is a well-established, abundant source of phytochemicals, as well as economically important essential oil—however, its cultivation is demanding and costly. In this paper, extracts from four raw plant materials—Salvia officinalis, Sambucus nigra, Matricaria chamomilla, Calendula officinalis, known to be rich in phenolic compounds, but also far easier to cultivate—were directly compared to those obtained from Rosa × damascena Mill. By combining diverse extraction methodologies (in a Soxhlet apparatus, ultrawave-assisted and microwave-assisted, using supercritical CO2) and complementary in vitro assays (radical scavenging, iron reducing, Folin–Ciocalteau and Al3+ complexation), it was possible to conveniently approximate and compare the phytochemical portfolios of those diverse plants. By factoring in the crop yields of different species, economically important conclusions can be reached—with pot marigold (C. officinalis) seemingly the most viable substitute for damask rose as a source of phenolics. Fatty acid and microelement analyses were also performed, to further enrich the chemical profiles of plant extracts. The paper also aims to collate and redesign multiple colorimetric assays frequently used while studying plant extracts in vitro, but criticized for their lack of correlation to in vivo activity. We show that they remain a viable tool for direct comparison of extraction methodologies, while highlighting their shortcomings.

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present study that valuable information could be obtained from comparative analysis of series of compounds: complicated enough to include more than one functionality, yet simple enough to allow for differentiation of their individual impact on bulk physicochemical properties. Starting with the abovementioned lysozyme/ionic liquid behaviour discrepancy and wanting to also investigate the structuring effect of anions on the separating organic phase, we decided to synthesize amino acid-linked bis(guanidines), in which the polar moieties are separated by a siloxane bridge. This idea stemmed from a previous study, which revealed an abnormally low water solubility of the prepared 1,3-bis(3-guanidinopropyl)-t etramethyldisiloxane nitrate (parent chloride was fully water-miscible) 17. Addition of amide bonds seemed very attractive, as they often co-exist with guanidine moieties in many polypeptides and are a key ingredient in their higher-than-primary structure. Guanidines, on the other hand, have well-established "chaotropic" properties in their own right 18. Siloxane bridges, though fairly chemically and very thermally resistant, impart a strong tendency for disorganization and non-crystallinity on the molecule, which stems from the extremely low energy barrier for rotation around the Si-O bond 19. This results in most siloxanes presenting as liquids, oils or waxy solids at room temperature (a point of connection with ionic liquids). The apparent crystallinity of the abovementioned nitrate was yet another reason for choosing that particular class of compounds. Apart from the obvious advantage of easily comparable results, one of the drawbacks of articles referring to Hofmeister series as a common denominator is the limitation of studied anions to those with well-established places on that spectrum: phosphate, sulphate, halides, nitrate, perchlorate and thiocyanate. In an effort to find more subtle differences, we expanded our search. For example, while the charge density difference between sulphate and perchlorate explains why these two geometrically similar oxoanions exert significantly different influences on water solutions, we chose chromate and molybdate (same geometry and charge) instead. Azide, an ion very rarely studied in this context, was also included-due to its specific linear geometry (similar to thiocyanate) and significant electronic contribution from the characteristic − N = N + = N − resonance structure. Results and Discussion Design and synthesis. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding between amide moieties determines the