Herein, we present three new binuclear copper(II) complexes containing different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, able to catalyze the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcathecol, a model substrate for catechol oxidase. The ligands and complexes were successful characterized in solid and solution states. The structure of C1 was determined by X-ray crystallography and it contains a [CuII2(L1-µ-phenoxo)(OAc)(H2O)2] unit, with two coppers in a pyramidal square geometry and a large distance of 3.715 Å between the copper(II) centers. All complexes (C1, C2 and C3) were found to be effective catalysts in the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcathecol to its quinone and C1 provided the highest catalytic constants at the three pH values studied. In addition to their potential use as a biomimetic catalyst in catechol oxidation, the interaction of these complexes with deoxyribonucleic acid from calf thymus (CT-DNA) was also studied, and C3 showed the greatest affinity with nucleic acids.

A flow-injection spectrophotometric procedure was developed for screening organophosphorus pesticides. The method is based on the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase immobilized on controlled porous glass beads with acetylcholine chloride as the substrate. Methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos, malathion and dichlorvos have been tested. The analytical peak height for a given acetylcholine chloride concentration correlates linearly with the logarithmic concentration of the pesticides between 1.0 × 10-3 mol L-1 and 1.0 × 10-6 mol L-1. If bromine water is added to the pesticide solution, a dramatic increase is observed in the analytical signal, and correlations with the logarithm of the concentrations are observed from 1.0 × 10-3 to 1.0 × 10-10 mol L-1.