Study on the interaction of three structurally related cationic Pt(II) complexes with human serum albumin: importance of binding affinity and denaturing properties

Human serum albumin (HSA) primarily functions as a transport carrier for a vast variety of natural ligands and pharmaceutical drugs. In the present study, three structurally related cationic Pt(II) complexes ([Pt(ppy)(dppe)]CF₃CO₂: 1, Pt(bhq)(dppe)]CF₃CO₂: 2, and [Pt(bhq)(dppf)]CF₃CO₂: 3) were used to evaluate their interaction with HSA under different experimental setups, using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence and circular dichroism techniques. The spectroscopic results suggest that upon binding to HSA, the Pt(II) complexes could effectively induce structural alteration of the protein. The complexes can bind to HSA with the binding affinities of the following order: 3 > 2 > 1. Also, thermodynamic parameters of binding between these complexes and HSA indicated the existence of entropy-driven spontaneous interaction which primarily dominated with the hydrophobic forces. Also, docking simulation study revealed the binding details of these complexes on HSA. Complex 3 with highest binding affinity for HSA indicates lowest denaturing effect on this protein. The low denaturation properties of 3 appear important in the terms of lower susceptibility of this platinum complex for possible development of deleterious side effects.     

Fabrication and Application of a Sensitive and Highly Stable Copper Hexacyanoferrate Modified Carbon Ionic Liquid Paste Electrode for Hydrogen Peroxide and Glucose Detection

A three‐factor mixture design and response surface methodology were employed to find the optimal weight ratio of graphite powder, n‐dodecylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate and paraffin for the fabrication of a copper hexacyanoferrate modified carbon ionic liquid paste electrode (CuHCFe‐CILPE). The fabricated sensor showed electrocatalytic activity towards oxidation and reduction of hydrogen peroxide. It also was observed that the electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen peroxide oxidation was much higher than the electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen peroxide reduction. Glucose oxidase was then successfully immobilized on the surface of the proposed sensor to examine the possibility of using CuHCFe‐CILPE for the biosensor fabrication.     

A manganese oxide with phenol groups as a promising structural model for water oxidizing complex in Photosystem II: a 'golden fish'

We describe here the ability of manganese oxide monosheets to aggregate to form layered structures with 4-aminophenol molecules. These aggregated monosheets could be considered as the first step to synthesize a self-assembled layered hybrid of phenol-manganese ions with phenol and manganese(III) and (IV) as exists in the water oxidizing complex of Photosystem II.     

A class of split-step balanced methods for stiff stochastic differential equations

In this paper we design a class of general split-step balanced methods for solving It? stochastic differential systems with m-dimensional multiplicative noise, in which the drift or deterministic increment function can be taken from any chosen one-step ODE solver. We then give an analysis of their order of strong convergence in a general setting, but for the mean-square stability analysis, we confine our investigation to a special case in which the drift increment function of the methods is replaced by the one from the well known Rosenbrock method. The resulting class of stochastic differential equation (SDE) solvers will have more appropriate and useful mean-square stability properties for SDEs with stiffness in their drift and diffusion parts, compared to some other already reported split-step balanced methods. Finally, numerical results show the effectiveness of these methods.     

Influence of MgO/CeO2 ratio on CO2-oxidative transformation of C2H6 to C2H4 over highly active and stable Cr/MgO(x)–CeO2(100−x) nanocatalysts

Cr/MgO(x)–CeO₂(100?x) nanocatalysts were synthesized by a coprecipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The effect of ceria addition on their physicochemical characteristics was investigated, and the results were correlated with their catalytic performance in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. A decrease in the size of the metal particles was found when adding a suitable content of ceria to the support. Crystalline Cr₂O₃ was not found in the calcined samples, indicating good dispersion of Cr species on the support. All samples showed nanosized particles with uniform morphology, with the best surface morphology for the Cr/MgO(50)–CeO₂(50) sample, on which the particle distribution mainly lay in the range of 40–60 nm. Variation of the amount of Ce in the support led to an enhancement of the Cr⁶⁺/Cr³⁺ ratio, with the highest value for the Cr/MgO(50)–CeO₂(50) sample. This catalyst effectively dehydrogenated ethane to ethylene with CO₂ at 700 °C even after 5 h on-stream, giving 42.76 % ethylene yield.

     

Catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol over ultrasound-assisted synthesized Ni/CeO2–ZrO2 nanocatalyst used in wastewater treatment

Non-noble metal Ni with different loadings was coated on precipitated CeO₂–ZrO₂ support by the sonochemistry method and examined for catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol. The structure of the nanocatalysts was determined by BET, FESEM, XRD, and FTIR analyses. The results showed non-uniform morphology of the nanocatalyst at lower Ni contents changed to homogenous morphology with spherical nano particles at higher Ni contents. While the size of NiO crystals remained constant with rising Ni content, the crystallinity of NiO significantly increased. If the crystallinity of NiO was 100% in 20% wt Ni/CeO₂–ZrO₂, the crystallinity of NiO in 5% wt Ni was found to be 41.13%. The average particle size in Ni(15%)/CeO₂–ZrO₂ was 77 nm in which 85.71% of particle diameters were less than 100 nm. Catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol with different Ni loadings indicated improvement of phenol destruction at higher amounts of active phase. Removal of phenol increased with increasing catalyst loading from 4 to 9.0 g/l but further increase to 10 g/l declined the catalyst reactivity.     

Phase Transition in Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MONDian) Self-Gravitating Systems

We study the statistical mechanics of binary systems under the gravitational interaction of the Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) in three-dimensional space. Considering the binary systems in the microcanonical and canonical ensembles, we show that in the microcanonical systems, unlike the Newtonian gravity, there is a sharp phase transition, with a high-temperature homogeneous phase and a low-temperature clumped binary one. Defining an order parameter in the canonical systems, we find a smoother phase transition and identify the corresponding critical temperature in terms of the physical parameters of the binary system.     

A novel four-component reaction of diethylamine, an aromatic aldehyde and an alkyl isocyanide with dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates in the presence of silica gel: an efficient route for the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of sterically congested alkenes

The 1:1 intermediate generated by the addition of an isocyanide to a dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate is trapped by the iminium ion intermediate that forms from the reaction between an aromatic aldehyde and diethylamine. The reactions were completed in the presence of silica gel powder. The product dialkyl 2-[(alkylamino)carbonyl]-3-[(Z)-1-(diethylamino)-1-arylmethylidene]succinates, were produced in acceptable yields. The reactions are completely regio- and stereoselective.     

A review on heat transfer characteristics of cryogenic heat pipes

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Heat pipes are broadly applied for thermal management of devices with high heat flux. Due to the dependency of their efficient operating range on the...