Novel one-pot synthesis of 4H-chromene derivatives using amino functionalized silica gel catalyst

A simple, efficient, and environmentally benign method for the synthesis of 4H-chromene derivatives was developed using well ordered and recoverable amino functionalized silica gel as a base catalyst. The 4H-chromene derivatives were obtained in short time and excellent yield(87%–96%) by three component reaction of aldehydes, malononitrile and cyclic 1,3-diketones in water at 70 8C.     

Expression of Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) Hemagglutinin and Matrix Protein 1 in Pichia pastoris and Evaluation of their Immunogenicity in Mice

The conventional avian influenza vaccines rely on development of neutralizing antibodies against the HA and NA antigens. However, these antigens are highly variable, and hence there is a need for better vaccine candidates which would offer broader protection in animals. The M1 of avian influenza is another major structural protein that has conserved epitopes that are reported to induce CD8+ T cells and can contribute to protection against morbidity and mortality from influenza. Hence in an effort to study the immune response of rM1 either alone or in combination with rHA, the hemagglutinin (HA) and matrix protein (M1) of A/Hatay/2004/H5N1 strain of avian influenza were expressed in Pichia pastoris as his-tagged proteins and purified through Ni-NTA chromatography. The His-tag was removed using TEV protease cleavage site and the immunogenicity of purified rHA and rM1 either alone or in combination was determined in mice. One group of mice was immunized with 5 μg of purified rHA, the other group was immunized with rM1, and a third group of mice were immunized with 5 μg of rHA and rM1. All the animals were boosted twice, once on 28 days postimmunization (dpi) and the second on 42 dpi. The immune response was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. The group of mice immunized with rHA and rM1 together showed significantly higher immune response against rHA and rM1 than mice immunized with either HA or M1 antigens. The addition of rM1 with rHA resulted in increased HI titer in animals immunized with both the antigens. These results suggest that the HA and M1 expressed in P. pastoris can be utilized in combination for the development of faster and cost-effective vaccines for circulating and newer strains of avian influenza and would aid in combating the disease in a pandemic situation, in which production time matters greatly.     

Sodium alginate/HPMC/liquid paraffin emulsified (o/w) gel beads,by factorial design approach; and in vitro analysis

The present study involved development of a novel sodium alginate (SA)/HPMC/light liquid paraffin emulsified (o/w) gel beads containing Diclofenac sodium (DS) as an active pharmaceutical ingredient and its site specific delivery by using hard gelatin capsule fabricated by enteric coated Eudragit L-100 polymer. Emulsified gel beads were formulated by 3-level factorial design, ionic gelatin method. The obtained beads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction and Field emission scanning electron microscope analysis. The variables such as SA (X₁), HPMC (X₂), were optimized for drug loading and in vitro drug release with the help of response surface methodology (RSM). The RSM analysis predicted that SA was significant for both drug loading (p = 0.0005) and drug release (p = 0.0041). HPMC was only significant for drug release (p = 0.0154). The cross-product contribution (2FI) and quadratic model were found to be adequate and statistically accurate with correlation value (R²) of 0.9054 and 0.9450 to predict the drug loading and drug release respectively. An increase in concentration of HPMC and SA decreases the drug loading as well as the drug release. The obtained optimum values of drug loading and DS released were 7.43 % and 85.54 % respectively, which were well in agreement with the predicted value by RSM.     

An efficient synthesis of pyrazole chalcones under solvent free conditions at room temperature

An easy,safe,solvent free and effective method for the synthesis of pyrazole-substituted chalcones has been achieved by grinding pyrazole aldehydes and acetophenones in the presence of activated barium hydroxide(C-200) in high yield within short span of time.All reactions were carried out just by grinding the two reactants in the presence of activated barium hydroxide(C-200). Results are also compared with sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.     

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of 2-amino-4,6-diphenylpyridine-3-carbonitrile using ionic liquid ethylammonium nitrate

Chalcones on condensation with malononitrile and ammonium acetate in the presence of ionic liquid ethylammonium nitrate affords the corresponding 2-amino-4, 6-diphenylpyridine-3-carbonitrile in excellent yield. The ionic liquid is recycled and reused several times.     

Development of Humidity Sensor Using Nanoporous Polycarbonate Membranes

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - In the present work, the effect of temperature and moisture has been studied on nano-porous polycarbonate membranes of size 15, 50, and 80 nm, respectively...     

Stability-Indicating High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Method for Simultaneous Estimation of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Metolazone and Spironolactone

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - This work represents the validation of a stability-indicating thin-layer chromatographic technique for the simultaneous estimation...     

Dynamics of folding in semiflexible filaments

The dynamics of a single semiflexible filament under the action of a compressing force is simulated. We find that the filament folds asymmetrically with a folding length which depends only on the bending stiffness kappa and the applied force f. It is shown that this behavior can be attributed to the exponentially falling tension profile in the filament. While the folding time tau(0) depends on the initial configuration, the distance moved by the terminal point of the filament and the length of the fold scales as tau(1/2) at tau>tau(0) and is independent of the initial configuration.     

Resonantly enhanced off-specular X-ray scattering from polymer/polymer interfaces<Superscript>⋆</Superscript>

We have used measurements of the absolute intensity of diffuse X-ray scattering to extract the interfacial tension of a buried polymer/polymer interface. Diffuse scattering was excited by an X-ray standing wave whose phase was adjusted to have a high intensity at the polymer/polymer interface and simultaneously a node at the polymer/air interface. This method permits the capillary-wave-induced roughness of the interface, and hence the interfacial tension, to be measured independently of the polymer/polymer interdiffusion.     

Real-time evolution of the distribution of nanoparticles in an ultrathin-polymer-film-based waveguide

We report a novel application of an ultrathin-polymer-film-based, resonance-enhanced x-ray waveguide as a real-time nanoprobe for elucidating dilute, yet disordered, gold nanoparticles embedded in the polymer matrix. This nanoprobe promises a sensitivity enhancement of several orders of magnitude, hence revealing in real time the lateral nanoparticle distribution with subnanometer spatial resolution. We observed that the motion of the nanoparticles is strongly anisotropic, with in-plane coalescence taking place more rapidly than out-of-plane diffusion, which can ultimately facilitate the formation of two-dimensional structures.