Organosilicon(IV) and organotin(IV) complexes as biocides and nematicides: synthetic,spectroscopic and biological studies of N∩N donor sulfonamide imine and its chelates

A brief account is given of the synthesis and stereochemistry and the antibacterial, antifungal, nematicidal and insecticidal behaviour of organosilicon(IV) and organotin(IV) complexes of a biologically potent ligand, 2‐acetylfuransulfaguanidine. The unimolar and bimolar substitution products have been characterized by elemental analyses, conductance measurements, molecular weight determinations, and spectral studies, viz. IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, UV, ²⁹Si NMR and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectra. The data support the binding of the nitrogen atom to the metal atom in R₃M(N^∩N), [R₂M(N^∩N)₂ and R₂M(N^∩N)Cl [(R = Me/Ph and M = Si(IV) and Sn(IV)] types of complex. Based on these studies, with coordination number five and six a trigonal bipyramidal and an octahedral geometry have been proposed for the resulting derivatives. The free ligand (N^∩NH) and its respective metal complexes were tested in vitro against a number of microorganisms to assess their antimicrobial properties. The results are indeed positive. In addition to these studies, the complexes also show good nematicidal and insecticidal properties. The results of these findings have been discussed in detail. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aligned nanogold assisted one step sensing and removal of heavy metal ions

We depict a novel strategy exploiting the chemistry of metal ion adsorption for detection and sequestration of toxic heavy metal from processed water using gold nanoparticles capped with 4-aminothiophenol. The interaction between 4-aminothiophenol capped gold nanoparticles and heavy metal ions was studied as a function of time and concentration using TEM, HRTEM, SEM, EDS, and I-V characterization. Experiments confirmed that pH is one of the crucial controlling parameters. Adsorption capacity was monitored using AAS, UV-vis spectroscopy and I-V measurement. In the absence of any alloy formation between Au and heavy metal ions, the desorption of the heavy metal ions from 4-aminothiophenol capped gold nanoparticles surface by pH modulation serves as a mean of collection of heavy metal ions. Experiments revealed that the concentration of heavy metal ions in processed water after adsorption is below the maximum permissible limit set by the WHO.     

Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system for adefovir dipivoxil: Design, characterization, in vitro and ex vivo evaluation

Adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) is an anti-viral drug having low bioavailability due to low permeability and pH dependent solubility. In this study, self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) of ADV were developed with the objective of increasing its bioavailability by enhancing its intestinal permeability and minimizing the effect of pH. Preliminary screening was carried out to select oil, surfactant and co-surfactant. Ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the area of nanoemulsification. The nanoemulsion system selected from the phase diagram was transformed into solid-SNEDDS (S-SNEDDS) by lyophilization using D-mannitol as cryoprotectant. The formulations were characterized for transmittance, globule size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, cloud point, robustness to dilution, effect of pH and temperature, microscopic properties, in vitro and ex vivo drug release parameters. The liquid SNEDDS (L-SNEDDS) showed mean globule size of 110 ± 10 nm while mean globule size of 150 ± 16 nm was obtained with S-SNEDDS. The formulations were found to be robust to dilution and showed cloud point at 80-85 °C. TEM and SEM studies of nanoemulsion reconstituted from S-SNEDDS demonstrated the spherical shape and size of the globules. Results of DSC and XRD studies confirmed that the drug was incorporated in the S-SNEDDS. No significant difference was observed in the globule size within physiological variations of pH and temperature. The in vitro and ex vivo drug release from ADV SNEDDS was found to be significantly higher in comparison to that from plain drug suspension, irrespective of pH. Thus, SNEDDS were found to be instrumental in reducing the effect of pH variability of ADV and improving the release performance of ADV, indicating their potential to improve the oral bioavailability and thus the therapeutic efficacy of ADV.     

Developing a measure of risk adjusted revenue (RAR) in credit cards market: Implications for customer relationship management

Current models of customer lifetime value (CLV) consider the discounted value of profits that a customer generates over an expected lifetime of relationship with the firm. This practice can be misleading in the financial services markets because it ignores the risk posed by the customer (such as delinquency and default). Specifically, in the credit card market, the correlation between revenue and risk is positive. Therefore, firms need to adjust a customer’s profits for the associated risk before developing a measure of customer lifetime value. We propose a new measure, risk adjusted revenue (RAR), that can incorporate multiple sources of risk and demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed measure in correctly assessing the value of a customer in the credit card market. The model can be extended to compute risk adjusted lifetime value (RALTV). We use the RAR metric to understand the effectiveness of different modes of acquisition, and of retention strategies such as affinity cards and reward cards. We find that both reward- and affinity-cardholders generate higher RAR than non-reward and non-affinity cardholders respectively. The ordering of different modes of acquisition with respect to RAR (in decreasing order) is as follows: Internet, direct mail, telesales, and direct selling.     

Selective Response Studies of Graphene Materials with Forensic Relevant Drugs Through Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - The potency of various synthesized graphene nanocomposites, namely, reduced graphene oxide, silver nanoparticles-reduced graphene oxide and silver...     

On a new unified integral

In the present paper we derive a unified new integral whose integrand contains products of FoxH-function and a general class of polynomials having general arguments. A large number of integrals involving various simpler functions follow as special cases of this integral.     

Domino reactions of alkenyl p-benzoquinones: Access to aryl sulfide derivatives of coumarins

An efficient domino approach has been developed for the synthesis of coumarin aryl sulfides utilizing alkenyl arenes derived electrophilic alkenyl p-benzoquinones through Michael addition of thiols followed by cyclization. The reaction proceeds regioselectively under mild conditions within short reaction time to afford the title products in good to excellent yields. This catalyst-free reaction has good substrate scope.     

Total synthesis of munchiwarin, a triprenylated chalcone from Crotalaria medicagenia

An efficient method is developed for the synthesis of the modified triprenylated chalcone, munchiwarin (1), isolated from the roots of Crotalaria medicagenia. The synthesis of 1 utilizes a Claisen-Schmidt condensation between 2,4-dihydroxy-3,5-C-diprenyl acetophenone and 4-methoxy benzaldehyde in the presence of Ba(OH)2 to yield the unusual chalcone 5 that contains a nine-membered ether ring. Further prenylation of 5 with 1-bromo-3-methylbut-2-ene and its subsequent demethylation with BBr3 gave munchiwarin (1).