Synthesis, Characterization, and Antibacterial Activity of Complexes of (1S,2S)-N,N-1,2-Diphenylethylene-bis-(5-imino-1-phenyl-1,3-hexanedione)

Summary.  The synthesis and characterization of homobimetallic complexes of VO(IV), Cr(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) with the chiral Schiff base (1S,2S)-N,N-1,2-Diphenylethylene-bis-(5-imino-1-phenyl-1,3-hexa-nedione) is reported. The metal ions occupy both compartments of the ligand; water molecules fill the coordination spheres to provide an octahedral environment around the central atoms. The antibacterial activity of both mono- and bimetallic complexes against a number of Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria has been tested and is discussed. Received March 28, 2000. Accepted May 26, 2000     

Ring-opening reactions of oxetanes: A review of methodology development and synthetic applications

Ring-opening reactions of oxetanes yield important functionalized products depending upon the nature of nucleophiles as well as substitution pattern on the oxetane ring. Ring opening of oxetanes can be carried out under a variety of reaction conditions. In this review article, an up-to-date overview of major synthetic methodologies involved in the ring opening of oxetanes as well as their synthetic applications has been presented.     

Influence of thyroid volume reduction on absorbed dose in ~(131)I therapy studied by using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation

A simulation study has been performed to quantify the effect of volume reduction on the thyroid absorbed dose per decay and to investigate the variation of energy deposition per decay due to β- and γ-activity of ~(131)I with volume/mass of thyroid,for water,ICRP- and ICRU-soft tissue taken as thyroid material.A Monte Carlo model of the thyroid,in the Geant4 radiation transport simulation toolkit was constructed to compute the β- and γ-absorbed dose in the simulated thyroid phantom for various values of its volume.The effect of the size and shape of the thyroid on energy deposition per decay has also been studied by using spherical,ellipsoidal and cylindrical models for the thyroid and varying its volume in 1-25 cm~3 range.The relative differences of Geant4 results for different models with each other and MCNP results he well below 1.870%.The maximum relative difference among the Geant4estimated results for water with ICRP and ICRU soft tissues is not more than 0.225%.S-values for ellipsoidal,spherical and cylindrical thyroid models were estimated and the relative difference with published results lies within3.095%.The absorbed fraction values for beta particles show a good agreement with published values within 2.105%deviation.The Geant4 based simulation results of absorbed fractions for gammas again show a good agreement with the corresponding MCNP and EGS4 results(±6.667%) but have 29.032%higher values than that of MIRD calculated values.Consistent with previous studies,the reduction of the thyroid volume is found to have a substantial effect on the absorbed dose.Geant4 simulations confirm dose dependence on the volume/mass of thyroid in agreement with MCNP and EGS4 computed values but are substantially diiferent from MIRD8 data.Therefore,inclusion of size/mass dependence is indicated for ~(131)I radiotherapy of the thyroid.     

Methanolic Extract of Piper sarmentosum Attenuates Obesity and Hyperlipidemia in Fructose-Induced Metabolic Syndrome Rats

Obesity and hyperlipidemia are metabolic dysregulations that arise from poor lifestyle and unhealthy dietary intakes. These co-morbidity conditions are risk factors for vascular diseases. Piper sarmentosum (PS) is a nutritious plant that has been shown to pose various phytochemicals and pharmacological actions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of PS on obesity and hyperlipidemia in an animal model. Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups. The groups were as follows: UG—Untreated group; CTRL—control; FDW—olive oil + 20% fructose; FDW-PS—PS (125 mg/kg) + 20% fructose; FDW-NGN—naringin (100 mg/kg) + 20% fructose. Fructose drinking water was administered daily for 12 weeks ad libitum to induce metabolic abnormality. Treatment was administered at week 8 for four weeks via oral gavage. The rats were sacrificed with anesthesia at the end of the experimental period. Blood, liver, and visceral fat were collected for further analysis. The consumption of 20% fructose water by Wistar rats for eight weeks displayed a tremendous increment in body weight, fat mass, percentage fat, LDL, TG, TC, HMG-CoA reductase, leptin, and reduced the levels of HDL and adiponectin as well as adipocyte hypertrophy. Following the treatment period, FDW-PS and FDW-NGN showed a significant reduction in body weight, fat mass, percentage fat, LDL, TG, TC, HMG-CoA reductase, and leptin with an increment in the levels of HDL and adiponectin compared to the FDW group. FDW-PS and FDW-NGN also showed adipocyte hypotrophy compared to the FDW group. In conclusion, oral administration of 125 mg/kg PS methanolic extract to fructose-induced obese rats led to significant amelioration of obesity and hyperlipidemia through suppressing the adipocytes and inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. PS has the potential to be used as an alternative or adjunct therapy for obesity and hyperlipidemia.     

Antifungal activity of compounds isolated from Aspergillus niger and their molecular docking studies with tomatinase

Abstract

Using a dual culture antagonism assay, Aspergillus niger exhibited 51.5?±?1.1% growth inhibition against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, the wilt pathogen of tomato. For enhanced production of antifungal metabolites, nutrient optimization was performed and in vitro well-diffusion antifungal assays demonstrated that crude extract obtained from GPYB culture showed a maximum zone of inhibition (8.8?±?0.4?mm) against the wilt pathogen, which is corroborated by the comparative LCMS profiles of the extracts from all three media i.e. GPYB, YEB and PDB. Two known compounds, Asperazine (m/z 665 [M?+?H]⁺) and Nigerone (m/z 571 [M?+?H]⁺), were isolated from A. niger and their antifungal activity is reported here for the first time. In MIC experiments, Asperazine and Nigerone inhibited the pathogen at 60 and 80?µg·mL^?1 respectively. Molecular docking studies of Nigerone and Asperazine with F. oxysporum tomatinase showed five and six binding interactions respectively.     

Photo-switchable azobenzene-functionalized block copolymers from atom transfer radical polymerizations

Diblock copolymers composed of monomers of tert-butyl acrylate and a side-chain azobenzenecontaining monomer, 4-[(E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl prop-2-enoate were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization technique. Experimental strategy involved synthesis of block of tert-butyl acrylate macroinitiator followed by addition of second block of azobenzene-containing monomer to prepare desired block-copolymer. GPC analysis indicated narrow molecular weight distributions with degree of polymerization found in good agreement with targeted value. Prepared block copolymers of varying chain lengths can potentially be used to obtain morphologies that can find useful applications for biomedical applications including intriguing photo-switchable drug delivery systems.     

Imidazol-1-yl-acetic acid as a novel green bifunctional organocatalyst for the synthesis of 1, 8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-free conditions

Imidazol-1-yl-acetic acid is introduced as a new, efficient and recyclable green bifunctional organocatalyst for the synthesis of 1,8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-free conditions. This catalyst is water soluble and can be separated from the products by simple filtration. The filtrate can be evaporated to dryness and recrystallized from cool methanol to give the recovered catalyst. This organocatalyst was used for the synthesis of 1,8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-flee conditions and recycled up to 8 consecutive runs without any losing of its efficiency.