Microwave-assisted synthesis of water-soluble styrylpyridine dye-capped zinc oxide nanoparticles for antibacterial applications

ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using a microwave method, whose surface was modified with {4-[(E)-2-(furan-2-yl)ethenyl]pyridin-1-ium-1-yl}acetate as a capping agent (1 and 3%). Their structural properties were investigated using FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDS, and UV–visible spectroscopy. XRD confirmed the Wurtzite structure for all compounds, a size of 30.6 nm for uncapped and 22.9 nm for 3% dye-capped nanoparticles were calculated from Scherer's equation. Hexagonal wurtzite shape of nanoparticles can be clearly seen in the SEM images. The DFT calculations were carried out using quantum espresso. These dye-capped ZnO nanoparticles were proved to be potential antibacterial agents, the minimum concentrations of dye-capped ZnO nanoparticles that inhibit the growth of bacteria are 1.5 mg/mL for Escherichia coli and 0.78 mg/mL for Bacillus subtilis, which are much lower than those of uncapped ZnO. The bioactivity data suggest these organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles emerged as a new class of antibacterial agents.     

A convenient and mild one pot synthesis of cyclopentenone derivatives

Developed a convenient and mild one pot synthesis of cyclopentenone derivatives using 1-acetyl-1-cyclohexene and wide range of aldehydes. Aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes with electron donating and withdrawing groups were conveniently converted to the corresponding cyclopentenone derivatives.     

Novel affinity chromatography method for the efficient purification of recombinant Binder of SPerm homolog proteins

In mammalian species, a family of proteins named the Binder of SPerm proteins, which are expressed in the male reproductive tract, have been shown to play a role in epididymal sperm maturation and sperm capacitation. Recently, one homolog from human and two homologs from mouse were characterized. In order to further investigate the biochemical activity of these proteins, efficient purification procedures are required to isolate the proteins. Since these proteins are produced in very minute quantities, we exploited the high capacity of Escherichia coli to produce larger quantities of recombinant proteins that were subsequently purified using affinity chromatography on a diethylaminoethyl‐Sephadex A‐25 column. Binder of SPerm proteins have been shown to interact with pseudo‐choline groups such as diethylaminoethyl through affinity rather than ionic interactions. The aim of the current study was to develop a novel method for purifying these recombinant proteins, produced in Escherichia coli cells. Diethylaminoethyl is positively charged and is a weak anion exchanger, but binder of sperm proteins interacts with affinity to this resin. This study presents a new, rapid, and cost‐effective purification method that provides with an exceptional purity level, which can be used to study their roles in mammalian fertilization.     

Synthesis of spiro[indolo-1,5-benzodiazepines] from 3-acetyl coumarins for use as possible antianxiety agents

3-Acetyl coumarins (1) when allowed react with isatin (2) gave corresponding 3-(3′-hydroxy-2′-oxo indolo) acetyl coumarins (3), which on dehydration afforded the correspondingα,β-unsaturated ketones (4). Cyclocondensation of (4) with substitutedo-phenylene diamines resulted in novel 3-coumarinyl spiro[indolo-1,5-benzodiazepines] (5). Structures of all the compounds have been established on the basis of their IR, NMR and mass spectral data and have been screened for their antimicrobial activity and antianxiety activity in mice     

Microwave-assisted rapid extracellular synthesis of stable bio-functionalized silver nanoparticles from guava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Psidium guajava</Emphasis>) leaf extract

Our research interest centers on microwave-assisted rapid extracellular synthesis of bio-functionalized silver nanoparticles of 26 ± 5 nm from guava (Psidium guajava) leaf extract with control over dimension and composition. The reaction occurs very rapidly as the formation of spherical nanoparticles almost completed within 90 s. The probable pathway of the biosynthesis is suggested. Appearance, crystalline nature, size and shape of nanoparticles are understood by UV–vis (UV–vis spectroscopy), FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) techniques. Microwave-assisted route is selected for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles to carry out the reaction fast, suppress the enzymatic action and to keep the process environmentally clean and green.     

Experimental Investigation into the Mechanical Behavior of Textile Composites with Various Fiber Reinforcement Architectures

Mechanics of Composite Materials - The role of fiber reinforcement architecture in adjusting the mechanical properties of glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy composite materials is studied. Fibrous...     

Overcrowding estimates for zeroes of Planar and Hyperbolic Gaussian analytic functions

We consider the point process of zeroes of certain Gaussian analytic functions and find the asymptotics for the probability that there are more than m points of the process in a fixed disk of radius r, as . For the planar Gaussian analytic function, , we show that this probability is asymptotic to . For the hyperbolic Gaussian analytic functions, , we show that this probability decays like .In the planar case, we also consider the problem posed by Mikhail Sodin² on moderate and very large deviations in a disk of radius r, as . We partially solve the problem by showing that there is a qualitative change in the asymptotics of the probability as we move from the large deviation regime to the moderate.Research supported by NSF grant #DMS-0104073 and NSF-FRG grant #DMS-0244479.     

Synthesis of Novel 4‐Substituted Coumarins,Docking Studies,and DHODH Inhibitory Activity

Coumarins are the important class of naturally occurring heterocyclic compounds. Activities like antioxidant, antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, and anticancer have been reported for coumarin derivatives. Present work details the synthesis of substituted coumarin‐4‐pyrrolones as well as coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acids and their DHODH inhibitory activity, which is a dual target for malaria and cancer. Coumarin‐4‐acetic acids ( 2a – c ) were coupled with different methyl esters of α‐amino acids ( 3 ) giving rise to corresponding coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acid methyl esters ( 4a – o ), which on hydrolysis under basic condition underwent cyclization forming substituted dihydropyrrole‐2‐ones ( 5a – i ), dihydroindolizine‐3‐ones ( 5j – l ), and dihydropyrrolizin‐3‐one ( 5m – o ). Acidic hydrolysis of the compounds ( 4a – o ) yielded corresponding coumarin‐4‐acetyl amino acids ( 6a – f ). The docking study was performed with the protein 4IGH (obtained from PDB) using Surflex–Dock module. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for DHODH inhibitory activity using Brequinar as the standard. Compound 6b showed remarkable inhibition compared with the standard, and the other compounds with terminal COOH showed moderate inhibition.     

Mesoporous Foam TiO2 Nanomaterials for Effective Hydrogen Production

Hydrolysis of TiCl₄ in a diether‐functionalized imidazolium ionic liquid (IL), namely 1‐methyl‐3‐[2‐(2‐methoxy(ethoxy)ethyl]imidazolium methane sulfonate (M(MEE)I ? CH₃SO₃), results in a heterostructured organic/inorganic and sponge‐like porous TiO₂ material. The thermal treatment (300 °C) followed by calcination (500 °C) affords highly porous TiO₂. The characterization of the obtained samples (with and without IL, before and after calcination) by XRD, SEM, and TEM reveals TiO₂ anatase crystalline phases and irregular‐shaped particles with different porous structures. These hierarchical‐structured mesoporous TiO₂ nanomaterials were employed as efficient photocatalysts in the water‐splitting process, yielding up to 1304 μmol g^?1 on hydrogen production.     

Self-image (autoidolon) techniques for the realisation of optical computing type operations

Self-images of a number of spatially periodic (e.g., gratings) and quasiperiodic (e.g., halftone picture) objects have been systematically studied. These studies indicate that self-imaging techniques could be useful in optical computing type operations. It is also established that the Rayleigh relation in the context of self-imaging is quantitatively in error.