Use of quartz crystal nanobalance to study the binding and stabilization of albumin and doxycycline on a thin layer of hydroxyapatite

This study reports the use of quartz crystal nanobalance (QCN) to study the adsorption of two model molecules namely albumin and doxycycline by hydroxyapatite (HA). The work focuses on the deposition of a stable coating of HA on the quartz crystal, modification of the coating using doxycycline and its subsequent effects on albumin adsorption. The uniformity and thickness of the HA coating has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The functional groups to ascertain the presence of the selected moieties have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the mass of albumin deposited on the surface of the HA coated quartz crystal functionalized with doxycycline shows a substantial increase when compared to the standard HA coated quartz crystal. The adsorbed albumin has also been found to be retained for an enhanced period of time. This surface immobilization of doxycycline and subsequent albumin adsorption seem to be a promising approach to confer biomaterials with antithrombogenic and antibacterial surfaces.     

Hydrogen bond formation to cyclic and acyclic polyethers

Equilibrium constants and enthalpies of hydrogen-bond formation of mcresol to various cyclic (crown) and acyclic polyethers have been determined in benzene solvent. Equilibrium constants indicated no evidence for an operative macrocyclic effect; the relationship between the increasing size of the equilibrium constant and the number of ether oxygens was rationalized with a simple statistical thermodynamic model. Enthalpies of interactions ranged between –19 and –23 kJ-mol^–1. In agreement with PCILO calculations, enthalpies of interaction were essentially independent of the number of oxygen atoms in the ether; no significant difference in enthalpies of interaction between cyclic and acyclic ethers was found.     

Interaction of thermal radiation with laminar natural convection from a horizontal cylinder in air

The heat transfer rates from a horizontal cylindrical surface of an internally heated tube under constant heat flux conditions are evaluated with the aid of integral analysis giving due consideration to both natural convection and thermal radiation to ambient medium of air. It is observed that non-isothermal conditions around the periphery of the tube arise due to the conjugate effects of the three modes of energy transmission viz., conduction, convection and radiation. The theoretical analysis is further validated with the experimental results and the coincidence is found to be very satisfactory.Die Wärmeübertragungsraten einer horizontalen zylindrischen Oberfläche eines innen erwärmten Rohres mit konstantem Wärmestrom sind mit Hilfe von Integralrechnungen berechnet worden, die sich auf die freie Konvektion und thermische Strahlung mit Luft als Umgebungsmedium beziehen. Es ist beobachtet worden, daß nicht-isotherme Bedingungen am Umfang des Rohres aus den drei Energieübertragungsarten Leitung, Konvektion und Strahlung entstehen. Die theoretische Berechnung wurde mit experimentellen Ergebnissen bestätigt und die Koinzidenz stellte sich als sehr zufriedenstellend heraus.     

Spin-polarised DFT study of cobalt-doped gallium clusters

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of small gallium clusters doped with Cobalt have been studied using spin-polarised density functional theory. The binding energy per atom, second-order differences of total energies and fragmentation energies of equilibrium geometries of the host Ga_n+1 and doped Ga_nCo (n = 1–12) clusters are computed. Doped clusters are found to be more stable than pure Ga clusters; Ga₃Co, Ga₅Co and Ga₈Co clusters are exceptionally stable. Doping with Co changes the highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gap, and also affects the magnetic moments of clusters.     

Synthesis and characterization of LSMO manganite-based biocomposite

In this paper we study the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) manganite nanoparticles (NPs) and its biocomposite, obtained by mixing NPs of hydroxyapatite (HA). From the studies of X-ray diffraction and Fourier transmission of infrared spectroscopy it is evident that in the biocomposite sample both the individual phases are distinguishable from each other. The measurements of direct current (DC) magnetization and hysteresis loops reveal that the basic magnetic behaviour of LSMO–HA is similar to that of LSMO; however, the admixture of HA makes the sample magnetically softer. From the investigation of transmission electron microscopy it is observed that such a biocomposite is composed of the NPs of LSMO surrounded by HA particles, which can be found suitable for biomedical applications.     

Isolation and characterization of 4-chlorophenol degrading bacterial strain from pharmaceutical xenobiotic compounds contaminated soil using enrichment technique

4- chlorophenol is available as the fundamental basic compound of numerous manufactured organics. It is produced from various sources like herbicides, wood additives, oil industries, pharmaceutical drugs and so on. It can be removed from the effluent by various ways but most effective method is bioremediation. In present study, aerobic bacterial strain was isolated from soil that was contaminated with pharmaceutical xenobiotic compounds using enrichment technique with 500 ppm of 4-chlorophenol as a sole source of carbon and energy. Colonies were isolated after 24 h of incubation on petri plate by media enrichment with 500 ppm of 4- chlorophenol and serial dilution method. 18 colonies were isolated and examined for their ability to degrade 500 ppm of 4-chlorophenol. The most potent strain, C17 was able to remove nearly ～99.93% of 4-chlorophenol in 24 h, 37 °C temperature and 6.8 pH. Based on morphological, biochemical, nucleotide homology and phylogenetic analysis the strain was found to have maximum similarity (98.98%) with Bacillus timonensis strain 10403023.     

Spectrophotometric Label-Free Determination of Lead Using Thiol-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles

A method for the determination of lead is described using thiol-functionalized gold nanoparticle. The detection method is based on the prevention of thiol-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles by lead. Among six thiols, e.g., 4-mercapto-1-butanol, meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, mercaptosuccinic acid, 6-mercapto-1-hexanol, 4-(methylthio)-1-butanol, 1-propanethiol, four (4-mercapto-1-butanol, 6-mercapto-1-hexanol, 4-(methylthio)-1-butanol and 1-propanethiol) induced the aggregation of the gold nanoparticles which was measured by the change in absorbance at 520 and 650?nm. Prior incubation of the gold nanoparticles with lead decreased the 4-(methylthio)-1-butanol-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles in a dose-dependent manner. A linear inverse relationship between the logarithmic concentration of lead and the ratio of absorbance at 650 to 520 was noted. The method has a dynamic range from 10?nM to 100?µM. However, metals such as mercury and chromium were more effective in comparison with lead in preventing the 4-methylthio-1-butanol-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles. The method can be used for assessing the heavy metal load in water samples.     

Thermodynamic Properties of Ternary Ionic Liquid Mixture Containing a Common Ion: Excess Molar Volumes,Excess Isentropic Compressibilities,Excess Molar Enthalpies and Excess Heat Capacities

In the present investigations, the excess molar volumes, \( V_{ijk}^{\text{E}} \), excess isentropic compressibilities, \( \left( {\kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), and excess heat capacities, \( \left( {C_{p}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), for ternary 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (i) + 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (j) + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (k) mixture at (293.15, 298.15, 303.15 and 308.15) K and excess molar enthalpies, \( \left( {H^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), of the same mixture at 298.15 K have been determined over entire composition range of x _i and x _j . Satisfactorily corrections for the excess properties \( V_{ijk}^{\text{E}} \), \( \left( {\kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), \( \left( {H^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) and \( \left( {C_{p}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) have been obtained by fitting with the Redlich–Kister equation, and ternary adjustable parameters along with standard errors have also been estimated. The \( V_{ijk}^{\text{E}} \), \( \left( {\kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), \( \left( {H^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) and \( \left( {C_{p}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) data have been further analyzed in terms of Graph Theory that deals with the topology of the molecules. It has also been observed that Graph Theory describes well \( V_{ijk}^{\text{E}} \), \( \left( {\kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \), \( \left( {H^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) and \( \left( {C_{p}^{\text{E}} } \right)_{ijk} \) values of the ternary mixture comprised of ionic liquids.     

“Metal-free” synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles via tandem azidation,intramolecular [3+2]-cycloaddition and aromatization of ethyl acrylate derivatives

An efficient “one-pot” method for the synthesis of substituted 1,2,3-triazole derivatives in excellent yields as single regioisomer is reported. The key transformation involves an atom-efficient tandem azidation, intramolecular [3+2]-cycloaddition and aromatization of acrylate derivatives on treatment with NaN₃ in DMF under mild conditions.     

Impact of graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNMs) on the structural and functional conformations of hepcidin peptide

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNMs) are widely used in various industrial and biomedical applications. GBNMs of different compositions, size and shapes are being introduced without thorough toxicity evaluation due to the unavailability of regulatory guidelines. Computational toxicity prediction methods are used by regulatory bodies to quickly assess health hazards caused by newer materials. Due to increasing demand of GBNMs in various size and functional groups in industrial and consumer based applications, rapid and reliable computational toxicity assessment methods are urgently needed. In the present work, we investigate the impact of graphene and graphene oxide nanomaterials on the structural conformations of small hepcidin peptide and compare the materials for their structural and conformational changes. Our molecular dynamics simulation studies revealed conformational changes in hepcidin due to its interaction with GBMNs, which results in a loss of its functional properties. Our results indicate that hepcidin peptide undergo severe structural deformations when superimposed on the graphene sheet in comparison to graphene oxide sheet. These observations suggest that graphene is more toxic than a graphene oxide nanosheet of similar area. Overall, this study indicates that computational methods based on structural deformation, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can be used for the early evaluation of toxicity potential of novel nanomaterials.