Currently, there is a growing interest in preparations made from lignin, due to their various useful properties. These include biodegradability, biocompatibility, harmlessness, and a wide range of biological activities. For the first time, the fundamental possibility of using exogenous lignin to protect aquatic plant organisms from the negative effects of copper ions has been demonstrated in this work. Lignin from ledum (Ledum palustre L.) was tested as a chemoprotective agent. Presents the results of a study on the biological activity of isolated lignin on a laboratory culture of duckweed (Lemna minor L.) under the influence of a copper stress factor. During the experiments, we established the values of biomarkers for plant well-being (growth rate, level of damage, frond area, content of malondialdehyde and chlorophyll) and found that water-soluble lignin from ledum was not toxic to plant organisms. Preliminary cultivation of plants in aqueous lignin-containing media increased the total frond area, had a positive effect on growth rate, and reduced the level of damage to duckweed in copper-containing aqueous media. It was concluded that pre-treating duckweed with water-soluble lignin would increase the plant's resistance to copper stress. The data obtained confirm the opinion about the adaptive and protective properties of lignin under the influence of stress factors of various nature.

The paper discusses the challenges associated with utilizing different plant waste materials to create novel sorbents based on cellulose. The work aims to provide new data on the structure and sorption properties of polysaccharide samples in relation to toxicants such as mycotoxin T-2 and radionuclide uranium-238. The research employed X-ray diffraction, FTIR, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, and methods of wood chemistry. The paper presents the results of a study on several polysaccharides, such as cellulose, β-glucan, and lichenin. A new approach for obtaining numerical data from X-ray diffraction patterns was proposed and applied to the analysis of cellulose samples from wheat straw, rye, and oats. Taking cereal celluloses as an example, it was suggested that there might be several types of structurally ordered elements at the supramolecular level. The degree of crystallinity of cellulose samples was calculated. The results show that the degree of crystallinity is 0.23 for wheat cellulose, 0.30 for rye cellulose, and 0.14 for oat cellulose. The study examined the sorption properties of lichenin and cellulose for mycotoxin T-2 under conditions simulating the gastrointestinal tract of mammals. It was found that at pH 2 (as in a stomach), wheat straw absorbs 73

This article presents the results of a sorption capacity investigation of a plant-based sorbent of plant origin when applied to 226Ra ions in aqueous media. The findings indicate that cellulose sorbents, a protein-polysaccharide complex and cellulose from the brown algae Saccharina latissima, demonstrate a high efficiency of binding 226Ra ions, with respective values of 95.2% and 76.6%. The sorption capacity of Cetraria islandica lichenin and Polytrichum commune moss lignin were found to be 74.6 and 86.2%, respectively. Desorption tests were conducted using distilled water, 1M hydrochloric acid, and 1M ammonium acetate. The results indicated that cellulose sorbents (protein-polysaccharide complex and brown algae cellulose) retained the radionuclide the most tightly. The sorption activity of the studied objects is determined by their chemical composition and the specifics of their capillary-porous structure, including the diameter and volume of pores and the specific surface area. These factors influence the complex mechanism of the sorption process of 226Ra ions on the sorbents under study, such as water cellulose, lichenin, and lignin. The findings of this study indicate the potential for utilizing these alternative plants as a source of novel, multifunctional sorption materials for the effective binding of radionuclides.

It has been experimentally established that samples of low-layer graphene, synthesized by carbonization of plant materials (lignin, cellulose, and spruce bark) under conditions of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, are effective sorbents for mycotoxin T-2 under conditions simulating the environment in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, and are capable of irreversibly sorb at least 94.6% of mycotoxin with a sorption capacity of 1 mg of mycotoxins per 1 g of sorbent. Key words: few-layer graphene, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, specific surface area, mycotoxin sorption. Keywords: few-layer graphene, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, specific surface, sorption of mycotoxins.

Orestovia -like plants were dominants in the formation of Devonian coals, among the most ancient in Earth’s history. A complex study of them was conducted, clarifying the possibilities of chemosystematics for Paleozoic fossil plants. The morphology and material composition of plant compressions are described. EPR spectroscopy has shown the presence of paramagnetic properties in the studied compressions, a specific feature of lignins and products of their transformation. The method of pyrolytic chromato-mass spectrometry revealed the aromatic nature of organic matter, structurally similar to lignin and built exclusively from p -coumaric units.

Studies of carbon nanomaterials (CNM) synthesized from lignocellulosic biomass, and natural and technical lignins were carried out. For the first time, we suggested using stems of Sosnovsky hogweed, one of the most aggressive and poisonous invasive plant species, to produce CNM. The influence of the choice of raw materials and synthesis conditions on the sorption and surface-porous characteristics of the samples was evaluated. The main regularities of adsorption processes from aqueous media with a low concentration (0.625 μg/ml) of uranium were established. We found that strong retention of uranium characterizes carbonized biopolymers (CBP) samples, a significant amount of which (67–70%) is not desorbed either by water or aqueous solutions of CH3COONH4 and HCI (1 M). In addition, we found out that the carbon nanomaterials we synthesized can adsorb mycotoxin T-2. The obtained results indicated a high innovative potential of CNM.

The proposed work is in line with current trends in the development of nature-like technologies and is devoted to analyzing the chemical structure and searching for new ways to use lignins for biomedical applications. Lignins are interesting biopolymers of the plant origin whose structural organization is multivariate and largely depends on the biological species of the plant. The objects of the study are lignins isolated from the stems of several species of annual and perennial plants. Characterization of lignins using FTIR, Py–GC/MS, EPR and 13C NMR spectroscopy revealed differences in the chemical structure of these biopolymers. The processes of adsorption/desorption of mycotoxins T-2 and aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) were studied under conditions of in vitro modeling of the digestive system of mammals. The relationship between the parameters of surface-porous structure, chemical structure, and lignin adsorption parameters has been revealed. We have determined that the best adsorbents of mycotoxins are lignins with a high content of active functional groups, namely carboxyl groups and phenolic groups. The highest value of strong adsorption of aflatoxin B2 and mycotoxin T-2 could be characterized by a sample of lignin isolated from walnut wood. The analysis of the totality of data on the adsorption capacity and parameters of the structural organization of lignins at the chemical, macromolecular and morphological levels allows concluding that chemisorption mechanisms play the most important role in the implementation of strong adsorption of mycotoxins. The antioxidant activity of lignins was evaluated. The results of the study of structural–chemical, antioxidant and adsorption properties in relation to various mycotoxins indicate a high biomedical potential of natural lignins.

This paper presents our studies of chemical and topological structure of lignin macromolecules isolated from herbaceous plants of various botanical origins. The elemental, monomeric, and functional composition of biopolymers by 13С-NMR spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, FTIR spectroscopy and Py-GC/MS spectrometry were determined. The antioxidant properties and determined structural-chemical correlations were evaluated. The results of a study of the topological structure of one of the most promising from a biomedical point of view sample of Rhodiola rosea lignin are presented. For the first time, it is proved that this lignin belongs to the class of star-shaped polymers. The geroprotective properties of Rhodiola rosea lignin were studied, and the fact of increasing lifespan of model animal Drosophila melanogaster flies was established. In the first time the effect of lignin from the stems of oats Avena sativa on the cognitive abilities of laboratory mice was studied. The obtained data indicate an improvement in the activity of the brain and central nervous system of model animals with regular preventive administration of lignin.

The proposed literature review is in line with current trends in the development of nature-like technologies and is devoted to the analysis of the chemical structure and the search for new ways to use lignins for biomedical applications. Lignins are unique biopolymers of plant origin, the structural organization of which is multivariate and largely depends on the biological species of the plant. Fundamental structural and chemical studies are increasingly clarifying our understanding of the macromolecules structure of this key plant biopolymer, and the study of various taxonomic origins lignins shows to what extent evolution and natural variability have led to a complication of the chemical structure of macromolecules, including through the inclusion of "unconventional" phenolic monomers. This suggests that lignins contain much more structural units than the three monolignol variants described in lignin chemistry textbooks. As a result, as the analysis of the literature data shows, the very definition of lignin continues to expand and refine. Currently, there is a dramatic increase in interest in lignin-based materials, mainly due to their diverse beneficial properties, such as biodegradability, reactivity, biocompatibility, low toxicity and a wide range of biological activity. One of the main objectives of this article is to identify and discuss the mechanisms of biological action of lignins on living organisms to assess the biomedical potential and substantiate the possibility of their use as innovative drugs of antioxidant, radioprotective and geroprotective action. Finding new ways to use lignins is necessary to meet the challenges of maintaining health and improving the quality and duration of people's lives.

Natural lignins play a key physiological role in plant responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses throughout the life cycle of a plant organism. Radiation influence is a powerful anthropogenic factor that can disrupt the normal functioning of plants, which are forced to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This work was aimed at assessing the effect of radiation factors on the chemical structure of stress lignins from aspen stands that have passed the main stages of ontogeny in radioactively contaminated areas. As a result of our research the chemical composition of stress lignins, the quantitative ratios of guaiacyl, syringyl, and p-coumaric structural units, as well as main types of intermonomer bonds, were determined. Radioactive stress resulted in changing chemical structure of lignins expressed in the increasing quantity of syringyl units and decreasing proportion of guaiacyl and p-coumaric units. In the paper a novel estimation of the quantity of intermonomer ether bonds, substructures of resinol, phenylcoumaran, and dibenzodioxocin was presented. It was determined that radiation stress leads to increasing number of ether bonds and decreasing number of other types of intermonomer bonds. Conclusions about the effect of exogenous radiation factors on the chemical structure of stress lignins were confirmed by the results of correlation analysis of experimental data. The results on the stress lignin structure are relevant from the perspective of plant physiology. For the first time, data on the paramagnetic and antioxidant properties of stress lignins have been obtained, which might result in new ways of practical use of lignins.

A comprehensive study of dispersed Early Carboniferous seeds has been carried out to test the possibilities of using chemosystematics for Paleozoic fossils. This has involved their morphology; the ultrastructure of ion thinned sections and their material. The results of analysis of the FTIR and EPR spectra indicate that the key structural unit of the substance is the phenyl propane structure. The presence of relict lignin ( p ‑coumaric type) was established by structural-chemical analysis using pyrolytic chromatomass-spectrometry. Lignins of this type are unknown in modern plants. The concentration of phenoxyl radicals is 2–3 orders of magnitude higher in the samples than in modern lignins.

It has been experimentally established that samples of low-layer graphene, synthesized by carbonization of plant materials (lignin, cellulose, and spruce bark) under conditions of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, are effective sorbents for mycotoxin T-2 under conditions simulating the environment in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, and are capable of irreversibly sorb at least 94.6% of mycotoxin with a sorption capacity of 1 mg of mycotoxins per 1 g of sorbent. Key words: few-layer graphene, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, specific surface area, mycotoxin sorption.

This article presents the features of macromolecular structure of lignins of wheat and cabbage, as well as the relations of lignin structure with practically important properties. The methods of sedimentation-diffusion analysis and capillary viscometry were used to study the hydrodynamic properties of macromolecules in solutions and to reveal the features of topological structure. Molecular mass of the fractions, radii of macromolecules and hydrodynamic invariants were determined. The analysis of the scaling dependences within the framework of Mark-Kuhn-Houwink equation was performed. The molecular hydrodynamic methods showed that wheat lignin is a linear polymer, whereas cabbage lignin is a chaotically weakly branched polymer. These lignins had a high adsorption capacity for various mycotoxins, including mycotoxin T-2. The influence of conformational properties and topology of macromolecules on the mycotoxin T-2 adsorption-desorption characteristics was established. A significant content of phenolic hydroxyl groups provides the high antioxidant activity of cabbage and wheat lignins. Natural lignins from food crops have a significant biomedical potential for creation of new multifunctional drugs with a wide spectrum of activity.

Organosolv lignins extracted from several medicinal and nurturing plant: stems of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), ledum (Ledum palustre), lavatera (Lavatera) and rye (Secale sp.), as well as from wood of spruce Picea and walnut (Junglas regia), were the objects of the study of chemical structure, surface porosity and adsorption properties. Adsorption-desorption of aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) by lignins was studied for the first time simulating in vitro the conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. It was revealed that the chemisorption mechanisms played the most important role in the adsorption of AFB2 and the contribution of physical effects was not significant. It has been shown that lignins from Jerusalem artichoke and ledum exhibited the highest aflatoxin B2 adsorption properties. It has been proven that lignins are good antioxidants.

The phenomena of U238 sorption/desorption onto 2D carbon nanomaterials prepared by the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) technique from both natural and technical lignins were investigated. Electron microscopy, pyrolytic chromatography–mass spectrometry, Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption were used to study the graphene materials and lignins. The main regularities of the adsorption processes from aqueous media with low concentrations of uranium were established for the first time from structural-chemical investigations, results of studying the surface-porous structure of the samples, and correlation analysis. The obtained results testify that 2D carbon nanomaterials synthesized by the SHS technique possess a high innovative potential.

The possibility of the carbonization of the Sosnowskyi's hogweed (Heracléum sosnówskyi) biomass for obtaining the carbonic nanmaterials was studied. The characteristic of component composition is given and the parameters of the superficially-porous structure of plant biomass are established. The isotherms of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen on the surface are studied and it is shown that they relate to the type II according to the IUPAC classification. The distribution of times according to the sizes is investigated and it is established that the basic portion of the pore space of the vegetable raw material forms the mezopors with an average width 3.5 of nm. The specific surface area according to Brunauer-Emmet-Teller is determined, which composed 16.4 m2/g. Using a method of the carbonization of organic materials under the effect of local extremely high temperatures and oxidizers the synthesis of nanocarbonic powders, which are formed under the conditions of the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS method), was carried out. By the methods of spectral analysis (Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry) and electron microscopy it is shown that from their morphometric parameters the particles of the obtained carbonized product correspond to 2D nanocarbon in the form of grafenic nanoplates. The low-defect planar surface and the presence of the oxygen-containing terminal groups are the characteristic properties of new product. The specific surface area, which composed 179.1 m2/g, is determined. The specific surface area, which composed 179.1 m2/g, is determined. It is established that the micropores introduce the basic contribution to the specific surface area of nanomaterial on the basis of the Sosnowskyi's hogweed biomass.

The data about the chemical structure of the polymers, synthesized by the method of fermentative dehydropolymerization of ferulic acid, and also coniferyl alcohol, are presented. It is established that the polyferulic acids have practically identical element composition, but they differ, according to data of IR- and NMR-13C-spectroscopy, in the quantitative content of phenol and carboxyl groups. A study of their adsorptivity with respect to zearalenone mycotoxin is carried out, and the characteristics of specific surface area and capillary-porous structure are established. The calculations of the correlation relationships between the adsorptivity and the parameters of surface-porous structure and chemical structure of different models indicate to the key role of the mechanisms of chemical adsorption, whereas the contribution of physical phenomena is not essential. It is shown that the polymer, synthesized from the coniferyl alcohol, is characterized by the highest indices of adsorption.

The sorption properties of carbon nanomaterials with different contents of the fraction of detonation nanodiamonds (DND) with respect to 238 U and 232 Th radionuclides were studied. The rates of U and Th adsorption-desorption in aqueous media were established. The correlation relationships between the parameters of the surface structure of samples and their sorption ability were determined. The sorption material with a maximally high DND content was found to have the highest irreversible U and Th adsorption rates.

The technogenic human activities associated with the operation of nuclear power facilities lead to the contamination of natural water bodies and soils with radioactive substances, including heavy radionuclides, such as uranium and thorium. Purification of natural water bodies is a pressing environmental issue. A study of the adsorption capacity for heavy U-238 and Th-232 radionuclides by the samples of new carbon nanomaterials was conducted. Nanocarbon materials was synthesized based on vegetal polymers, such as technical lignin, starch and from lignocellulosic material-the bark. It was established that the investigated samples have different sorption indices in relation to radionuclides, which is determined by their chemical composition, as well as by the surface-capillary properties of carbonized materials. It is shown that the content of mobile and fixed forms of radionuclides on the investigated sorbents are significantly different. High sorption capacity of the carbonated lignin sample with respect to uranium are shown. A sample of nanocarbon materials synthesized based on the lignocellulosic complex of the bark exhibits high sorption properties in relation to thorium. The possibility of using the carbonic nanomaterial as the sorbents of radionuclides is shown.