Minimizing Concentration of Sodium Hypochlorite in Root Canal Irrigation by Combination of Ultrasonic Irrigation with Photodynamic Treatment

Concentration of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is positively correlated with its effectiveness in root canal disinfection but negatively correlated with its biocompatibility. The objective of this in vitro study was to compare the bactericidal effects among ultrasonic irrigation with different concentration of NaOCl alone or together with photodynamic treatment (PDT) against Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) in infected root canals. One hundred and twenty bovine root canals contaminated with E. faecalis were randomly distributed into 12 groups treated with different disinfection methods: PDT, ultrasonic irrigation with NaOCl at different concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 2.5% and 5.25%), and ultrasonic irrigation with NaOCl at different concentrations plus PDT. Data of microorganism load were collected before and after disinfection and analyzed by one‐way ANOVA and LSD tests. Significantly enhanced antibacterial effects were noticed in groups treated by PDT plus 2.0% or 2.5% NaOCl irrigation (P < 0.05). No statistical differences existed in bactericidal efficacy among groups of PDT plus ultrasonic irrigation with 2.0%, 2.5% or 5.25% NaOCl, and ultrasonic irrigation with 5.25% NaOCl alone (P > 0.05). Our study confirmed the feasibility to reduce the concentration of NaOCl to a safer level while maintaining its antibacterial efficiency through synergistic effect of PDT with NaOCl ultrasonic irrigation.     

Production of Microbial Cellulose by a Bacterium Isolated from Fruit

This study presents the production of bacterial cellulose (BC) by a bacterium isolated from a rotten fruit and its process optimization. Here, isolation and screening of potent cellulose producers were carried out from different natural sources, viz., soil, rotten fruits, and vegetables and vinegar. A total of 200 bacterial isolates were obtained, which were screened for cellulose production using Hestrin?CSchramm medium. A novel and potent cellulose-producing bacterium was newly isolated from a rotten fruit and identified as Gluconacetobacter sp. F6 through 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics. After optimization of culture conditions, including pH, temperature, agitation, carbon/nitrogen sources, and inducers, the BC production was greatly increased from 0.52 to 4.5?g/l (8.65-fold increase). The optimal culture medium contained 1% (w/v) glucose, 1.5% (w/v) yeast extract, 0.5% (w/v) peptone, 0.27% (w/v) disodium hydrogen phosphate, 0.115% (w/v) citric acid, and 0.4% (w/v) ethanol. BC produced was analyzed for the presence of cellulose fibrils by epiflourescent microscopy using Calcofluor white stain and scanning electron microscopy and confirmed by NMR. There are very scanty reports about the optimization of BC production by bacteria isolated from rotten fruits.     

Macrocystis pyrifera Extract Residual as Nutrient Source for the Production of Sophorolipids Compounds by Marine Yeast Rhodotorula rubra

Seaweed processing generates liquid fraction residual that could be used as a low-cost nutrient source for microbial production of metabolites. The Rhodotorula strain is able to produce antimicrobial compounds known as sophorolipids. Our aim was to evaluate sophorolipid production, with antibacterial activity, by marine Rhodotorula rubra using liquid fraction residual (LFR) from the brown seaweed Macrocystis pyrifera as the nutrient source. LFR having a composition of 32% w/w carbohydrate, 1% w/w lipids, 15% w/w protein and 52% w/w ash. The best culture condition for sophorolipid production was LFR 40% v/v, without yeast extract, artificial seawater 80% v/v at 15 °C by 3 growth days, with the antibacterial activity of 24.4 ± 3.1 % on Escherichia coli and 21.1 ± 3.8 % on Staphylococcus aureus. It was possible to identify mono-acetylated acidic and methyl ester acidic sophorolipid. These compounds possess potential as pathogen controllers for application in the food industry.     

Physical-Mechanical Behavior and Water-Barrier Properties of Biopolymers-Clay Nanocomposites

The preparation and characterization of biodegradable films based on starch-PVA-nanoclay by solvent casting are reported in this study. The films were prepared with a relation of 3:2 of starch:PVA and nanoclay (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% w/v), and glycerol as plasticizer. The nanoclays before being incorporated in the filmogenic solution of starch-PVA were dispersed in two ways: by magnetic stirring and by sonication. The SEM results suggest that the sonication of nanoclay is necessary to reach a good dispersion along the polymeric matrix. FTIR results of films with 1.0 and 1.5% w/v of sonicated nanoclay suggest a strong interaction of hydrogen bond with the polymeric matrix of starch-PVA. However, the properties of WVP, tensile strength, percentage of elongation at break, and Young’s modulus improved to the film with sonicated nanoclay at 0.5% w/v, while in films with 1.0 and 1.5% w/w these properties were even worse than in film without nanoclay. Nanoclay concentrations higher than 1.0 w/v saturate the polymer matrix, affecting the physicochemical properties. Accordingly, the successful incorporation of nanoclays at 0.5% w/v into the matrix starch-PVA suggests that this film is a good candidate for use as biodegradable packaging.     

One-pot synthesis of α-aminophosphonates catalyzed by antimony trichloride adsorbed on alumina

SbCl₃ adsorbed on Al₂O₃ is found to be an efficient and recyclable catalyst in promoting three-component coupling reactions of aldehydes (aromatic and aliphatic), amines (aryl amines, aliphatic amines and esters of S-α-amino acids) and dialkylphosphites to afford the corresponding α-aminophosphonates in high yields. The ethyl ester of S-phenylalanine was observed to yield the corresponding α-aminophosphonate with S,S-diastereoisomer formed in dominance over the S,R-diastereoisomer.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of aliphatic amines using a new fluorigenic reagent: 2,6-dimethylquinoline-4-(N-succinimidyl)-formate

A new amino fluorescence probe, 2,6-dimethylquinoline-4-(N-succinimidyl) formate (DMQF-OSu) has been synthesized. Based on the selective reaction of DMQF-OSu with primary and secondary aliphatic amines to yield strong fluorescence, a new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of total aliphatic amines has been developed. At λ_ex/λ_em=324.4/416 nm, the linear calibration range was 6×10⁻⁸-6×10⁻⁶ mol l⁻¹ with the detection limit (3σ) of 1.94×10⁻¹⁰ mol l⁻¹ for the determination of aliphatic amines in weak basic media. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of aliphatic amines in tap water and lake water with the recoveries of 99-104%. Compared with the reported methods, the method presented here is rapid, simple, sensitive and feasible.     

Microdetermination of secondary aliphatic amines using a copper ion-selective electrode

A simple, accurate, and selective method is described for the microdetermination of aliphatic secondary amines. The method is based on their reaction with carbon disulfide and ammoniacal copper sulfate at 40 °C for 30 min to yield copper dialkyldithiocarbamate. The excess copper is then measured by titration with EDTA or NaDDC using a copper ion-selective electrode. A mean recovery of 98.2% with a standard deviation of 0.8% is obtained for aliphatic secondary amines and their salts having a wide range of pK_a.     

Features and applications of reactions of α,β-unsaturated N-acylbenzotriazoles with amino compounds

Promoted by triethylamine, α,β-unsaturated N-acylbenzotriazoles reacted with amino compounds in a variety of ways. Thus, N-cinnamoylbenzotriazoles reacting with aromatic amines afforded novel addition products β-benzotriazolyl amides 3, which might be normally formed from the alternative but unknown 1,4-addition of benzotriazole to N-cinnamoylamides. The type 3 compounds could also result from the reaction between N-crotonoylbenzotriazole and aliphatic amines. However, normal 1,4-addition could occur between α,β-unsaturated aliphatic N-acylbenzotriazoles and aromatic amines, leading to β-amino N-acylbenzotriazoles 4 in good yields. In addition, exclusive 1,2-addition of aliphatic amines to N-cinnamoylbenzotriazoles gave excellent yields of cinnamides 5. Accordingly, three possible routes were proposed to rationalize the formation of compounds 3-5. Finally, with o-phenylenediamine and o-aminothiophenol as the substrates, the 1,4- and 1,2-addition to α,β-unsaturated N-acylbenzotriazoles could take place concurrently and the corresponding heterocycles 1,5-benzodiazepine-2-one and 1,5-benzothiazepine-4-one were constructed, respectively.     

Gamma-Cyclodextrin Production Using Cyclodextrin Glycosyltransferase from Bacillus clarkii 7364

The production of cyclodextrins (CDs) by cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) from Bacillus clarkii 7364 was studied. Forty-seven percent (w/w) conversion rate to ??-CD was obtained in the process performed by reacting 5 U per gram of starch CGTase with 15?% (w/v) soluble starch in 0.025?M sodium phosphate?CNaOH buffer (pH 12) at 55?°C in the presence of 2?% (w/v) glycyrrhizic acid. Meanwhile, the ratio of ??:??-CD was 89:11, with negligible formation of ??-CD. Under these conditions, there is a significant increase in overall production of CDs and a marked change in product selectivity for ??-CD. The possible mechanisms were discussed upon different product profiles with respect to the size and amount of CDs synthesized at different reaction conditions. The approach described here can be easily applied to an enzymatic process for the production of ??-CD on an industrial scale, and such high selectivity, at high conversions, is especially attractive from a commercial perspective.     

Enhanced Production of Bacterial Cellulose by Using Gluconacetobacter hansenii NCIM 2529 Strain Under Shaking Conditions

Bacterial cellulose (BC), a biopolymer, due to its unique properties is valuable for production of vital products in food, textile, medicine, and agriculture. In the present study, the optimal fermentation conditions for enhanced BC production by Gluconacetobacter hansenii NCIM 2529 were investigated under shaking conditions. The investigation on media components and culture parameters revealed that 2 % (w/v) sucrose as carbon source, 0.5 % (w/v) potassium nitrate as nitrogen source, 0.4 % (w/v) disodium phosphate as phosphate source, 0.04 % (w/v) magnesium sulfate, and 0.8 % (w/v) calcium chloride as trace elements, pH?5.0, temperature 25 °C, and agitation speed 170 rpm with 6 days of fermentation period are optimal for maximum BC production. Production of BC using optimized media components and culture parameters was 1.66 times higher (5.0 g/l) than initial non optimized media (3.0 g/l). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum and comparison with the available literature suggests that the produced component by G. hansenii in the present study is pure bacterial cellulose. The specific action of cellulase out of the investigated hydrolytic enzymes (cellulase, amylase, and protease) further confirmed purity of the produced BC. These findings give insight into conditions necessary for enhanced production of bacterial cellulose, which can be used for a variety of applications.     

Production of a Bioemulsifier with Potential Application in the Food Industry

Biosurfactants are of considerable interest due to their biodegradability, low degree of toxicity, and diverse applications. However, the high production costs involved in the acquisition of biosurfactants underscore the need for optimization of the production process to enable viable application on an industrial scale. The aims of the present study were to select a species of Candida that produces a biosurfactant with the greatest emulsifying potential and to investigate the influence of components of the production medium and cultivation conditions. Candida utilis achieved the lowest surface tension (35.53 mN/m), best emulsification index (73 %), and highest yield (12.52 g/l) in a medium containing waste canola frying oil as the carbon source and ammonium nitrate as the nitrogen source. The best combination of medium components and cultivation conditions was 6 % (w/v) glucose, 6 % (w/v) waste canola frying oil, 0.2 % (w/v) ammonium nitrate, 0.3 % (w/v) yeast extract, 150 rpm, 1 % inoculum (w/v), and 88 h of fermentation. The greatest biosurfactant production and the lowest surface tension were achieved in the first 24 h of production, and the maximum biomass production was recorded at 72 h. The biosurfactant produced from C. utilis under the conditions investigated in the present study has a potential to be a bioemulsifier for application in the food industry.     

Effect of a carboxyl group on the chemiluminescent reaction of tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) with aliphatic amines

The effect of a carboxyl group beside nitrogen of aliphatic amines on the tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III), Ru(bpy)₃³⁺, chemiluminescent reaction was examined. It has been shown that a carboxylate anion promotes the chemiluminescent reaction at a lower pH and then the aliphatic amines with this substituent can be sensitively detected compared with corresponding aliphatic amines without this substituent. Based on this finding, preliminary studies on simultaneous determination of 4-hydroxyproline, N-methylglycine, N-methylalanine, proline, and pipecolic acid in human serum have been performed using isocratic reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrogenerated Ru(bpy)₃³⁺ chemiluminescent detection. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) with the proposed method were 3.0, 12, 2.7, 4.6, and 10 nM for 4-hydroxyproline, N-methylglycine, N-methylalanine, proline, and pipecolic acid, respectively.     

Determination of primary and secondary aliphatic amines with high performance liquid chromatography based on the derivatization using 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene

In this article, the simultaneous determination of primary and secondary aliphatic amines including dimethylamine (DMA), diethylamine and eleven primary aliphatic amines by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection has been achieved using a BODIPY-based fluorescent derivatization reagent, 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene (TMBB-Su). The derivatization reaction of TMBB-Su with aliphatic amines was optimized with orthogonal design experiment and the derivatization reaction proceeded at 15 °C for 25 min. The baseline separation of these derivatives was carried out on a C₈ column with methanol-tetrahydrofuran-50 mM pH 6.50 HAc-NaAc buffer (55/5/40, v/v/v) as a mobile phase. Detected at the excitation and emission of 490 and 510 nm, respectively, the detection limits were obtained in the range of 0.01-0.04 nM (signal-to-noise ratio = 3). The proposed method has been applied to the determination of trace aliphatic amines in viscera samples from mice without complex pretreatment or enrichment method. The recoveries ranged from 95.1% to 106.8%, depending on the samples investigated.     

Determination of photolysis constants of some aliphatic amines in the mixed solvent 80% dimethylsulfoxide/20% water and assessment of titration conditions

The pK_b values of some aliphatic amines in 80% dimethylsulfoxide—20% water are reported. The mixed solvent offers worse titration conditions than water for the determination of these bases. The only advantage of using this solvent for titration of bases is its excellent solvating ability.     

Sulfamic acid catalyzed ring opening of epoxides with amines under solvent-free conditions

Sulfamic acid (SA) catalyses the nucleophilic opening of epoxide rings by amines leading to the efficient synthesis of ß-amino alcohols. The reaction works well with aromatic and aliphatic amines in short reaction times and in the absence of solvent. Exclusive trans stereoselectivity is observed for the ring opening of cyclohexene oxide. This method exhibits excellent regioselectivity for preferential nucleophilic attack at the less hindered position during the reaction with unsymmetrical epoxides.     

Reactions of 1, 5-diketones

N-R-9-R′-Decahydroacridines, which are formed as a result of the reaction of alicyclic 1,5-diketones with primary aliphatic amines, split out a substituent from the nitrogen atom and a hydrogen atom from the 9 position to give 9-R′-sym-octahydroacridines. On the basis of the IR spectra, it was concluded that the N-(Β-hydroxyethyl)-9-R′-decahydroacridines cyclize.     

Structural revision in the reactions of 3-cyanochromones with primary aromatic amines. Improved synthesis of 2-amino-3-(aryliminomethyl)chromones

3-Cyanochromones react with primary aromatic amines to give 2-amino-3-(aryliminomethyl)chromones as the sole products or as their mixtures with Z- and E-3-anilino-2-salicyloylacrylonitriles, depending on the reaction conditions. With aliphatic amines, 2-amino-3-(alkyliminomethyl)chromones are obtained in good yields. The reaction of 3-cyanochromone with o-phenylenediamine is reinvestigated and proof for the product structure and a possible reaction pathway are presented.     

N-Benzyloxycarbonylation of amines in the ionic liquid [TPA][l-Pro] as an efficient reaction medium

An efficient method for the N-benzyloxycarbonylation of amines is described. The reaction of amines with Cbz-Cl in the ionic liquid [TPA][l-Pro] afforded the corresponding N-Cbz derivatives in excellent yields. The method is versatile for the preparation of a wide variety of N-Cbz derivatives of aliphatic and aromatic amines.     

Simultaneous derivatization and air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction of some aliphatic amines in different aqueous samples followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection

The paper presents a new method based on simultaneous derivatization and air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (AALLME) for the extraction and preconcentration of some aliphatic amines prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Primary aliphatic amines are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with butylchloroformate (derivatization agent/extraction solvent) under mild conditions. The mixture of butylchloroformate and aqueous sample solution is rapidly sucked into a 10-mL glass syringe and then is injected into a test tube with conical bottom and the procedure is repeated seven times. After centrifuging the resulted cloudy solution, the derivatized analytes in the sedimented phase are determined by GC-FID. The influence of main factors on the efficiency of derivatization/extraction procedure is studied. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment factors (EFs) for aliphatic amines are obtained in the range of 248–360 and limits of detection (LODs) are between 0.30 and 2.6 μg L⁻¹. The obtained extraction recoveries ranged from 50 to 72% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 4.8% for intra-day (n = 6) and inter-days (n = 4) precision. The method is successfully applied to determine some aliphatic amines in environmental water samples.     

Copper-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling reactions for the synthesis of propargyl amines

When aryl alkynyl carboxylic acids were allowed to react with amines and aldehydes in CH₃CN at 80 °C in the presence of 10 mol % CuI, the desired propargyl amines were formed in good yields. This coupling reaction demonstrated to work across a broad range of reagents including functionalized aryl alkynyl carboxylic acids, aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes, and cyclic and acyclic amines.