Analysis of drug interactions with serum proteins and related binding agents by affinity capillary electrophoresis: A review

Biomolecules such as serum proteins can interact with drugs in the body and influence their pharmaceutical effects. Specific and precise methods that analyze these interactions are critical for drug development or monitoring and for diagnostic purposes. Affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) is one technique that can be used to examine the binding between drugs and serum proteins, or other agents found in serum or blood. This article will review the basic principles of ACE, along with related affinity-based capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods, and examine recent developments that have occurred in this field as related to the characterization of drug–protein interactions. An overview will be given of the various formats that can be used in ACE and CE for such work, including the relative advantages or weaknesses of each approach. Various applications of ACE and affinity-based CE methods for the analysis of drug interactions with serum proteins and other binding agents will also be presented. Applications of ACE and related techniques that will be discussed include drug interaction studies with serum agents, chiral drug separations employing serum proteins, and the use of CE in hybrid methods to characterize drug binding with serum proteins.     

Effects of nitrogen composition on the resistivity of reactively sputtered TaN thin films

Nanocrystalline tantalum nitride (TaN) thin films have been deposited by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering technique on Si/SiO₂ (100) substrate with nitrogen flow rate ranging from 0, 3, 5, 7, 9 to 11 standard cubic centimeter per minute (sccm). Structural properties, surface morphology, chemical composition and and resistivity of the TaN films were investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and four‐point probe measurements, respectively. In the XRD spectra, a classical formation sequence of tantalum nitride phases in the order of Ta‐Ta₂N‐TaN‐Ta₄N₅ and decreasing amount of metallic Ta were observed with increasing nitrogen flow. The electrical resistivity of the TaN film was found to increase with increasing N/Ta ratio as a result of the increased electron scattering from interstitial N atoms. In the XPS analysis, two groups of Ta4f doublets relating to different TaN phases were observed in the core level spectra of TaN films. No strong coupling was observed between the Ta4f doublets and the Ta4p and the N1s groups. The appropriate nitrogen flow was believed to be helpful in the bonding and formation of stoichiometric TaN. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dye and its removal from aqueous solution by adsorption: A review

In this review article the authors presented up to-date development on the application of adsorption in the removal of dyes from aqueous solution. This review article provides extensive literature information about dyes, its classification and toxicity, various treatment methods, and dye adsorption characteristics by various adsorbents. One of the objectives of this review article is to organise the scattered available information on various aspects on a wide range of potentially effective adsorbents in the removal of dyes. Therefore, an extensive list of various adsorbents such as natural materials, waste materials from industry, agricultural by-products, and biomass based activated carbon in the removal of various dyes has been compiled here. Dye bearing waste treatment by adsorption using low cost alternative adsorbent is a demanding area as it has double benefits i.e. water treatment and waste management. Further, activated carbon from biomass has the advantage of offering an effected low cost replacement for non-renewable coal based granular activated carbon provided that they have similar or better adsorption on efficiency. The effectiveness of various adsorbents under different physico-chemical process parameters and their comparative adsorption capacity towards dye adsorption has also been presented. This review paper also includes the affective adsorption factors of dye such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, and temperature. The applicability of various adsorption kinetic models and isotherm models for dye removal by wide range of adsorbents is also reported here. Conclusions have been drawn from the literature reviewed and few suggestions for future research are proposed.     

Preparation, spectral and biological investigation of formaldehyde-based ligand containing piperazine moiety and its various polymer metal complexes

A novel tetradentate salicylic acid-formaldehyde ligand containing piperazine moiety (SFP) was synthesized by condensation of salicylic acid, formaldehyde and piperazine in presence of base catalyst, which was subjected for the preparation of coordination polymers with metal ions like manganese(II), cobalt(II), copper(II), nickel(II) and zinc(II). All the synthesized polymeric compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, (1)H NMR and electronic spectral studies. The thermal stability was determined by thermogravimetric analysis and thermal data revealed that all the polymer metal complexes show good thermal stability than their parent ligand. Electronic spectral data and magnetic moment values revealed that polymer metal complexes of Mn(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) show an octahedral geometry while Cu(II) and Zn(II) show distorted octahedral and tetrahedral geometry respectively. The antimicrobial screening of the ligand and coordination polymers was done by using Agar well diffusion method against various bacteria and fungi. It was evident from the data that antibacterial and antifungal activity increased on chelation and all the polymer metal complexes show excellent antimicrobial activity than their parent ligand.     

Synthesis,characterization, dielectric and rectification properties of PANI/Nd2O3:Al2O3 nanocomposites

Polyaniline–Nd₂O₃:Al₂O₃ nanocomposites were prepared by in situ oxidative polymerization method using different weight percentages of oxide powders. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction for molecular and crystal structures. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images show the tubular structure of polyaniline nanocomposite with embedded metal oxides. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites increases with increase in temperature as well as with concentration of Nd₂O₃:Al₂O₃ particles in polyaniline. This is because of the hopping of charge polarons and extended chain length of the nanocomposites as evidenced by the negative thermal coefficient (NTC) characteristic. A high NTC value of 2.67 was found in nanocomposites with 15 wt% of oxide particles. These nanocomposites show low dielectric constant and dielectric loss; the electrical conductivity is higher than 0.3 S/cm as confirmed by Cole–Cole plot that indicates a decrease in both grain resistance and bulk resistance of the nanocomposites. The current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements were also carried out. The carrier mobility μ values of pure polyaniline and nanocomposites were found to be 4.27 × 10^?3 and 1.45 × 10^–2 H.M^?1, respectively. A significant enhancement in carrier mobility was observed in comparison with the literature. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sheath-assisted focusing of microparticles on lab-on-a-chip platforms

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies can take advantage of sheath flows for particle/cell focusing before sensing or sorting. The integration of focusing with other microscale manipulation techniques (e.g., sorting) creates a trade-off between the throughput of the device and its performance. Therefore, exploring the effective parameters for cells/particles focusing enables us to improve the desired output of LOC devices. A common configuration for sheath-assisted focusing is Y junctions, which are parametrically studied in this paper. First, a computational model was developed and validated by comparing it with our experimental results. Using COMSOL Multiphysics modeling, the effects of multiple parameters were studied. These parameters include the sheath flow ratio (sheath flow over total flow), width ratio (width of the sheath inlet over the total width), junction angles, and particle size on the focusing width and the distribution of the particles within the focusing region. Then, the numerical data were used to develop two generalized linear models to predict the focusing width of the particles and the standard deviation of the position of the particles. The results showed that the focusing width is greatly impacted by the sheath flow rate ratio. Further, the standard deviation of the position of the particles, which represents the concentration of the particles, is mostly dependent on the flow rate ratio, width ratio, and particle size. Our results provide a better understanding of how the device geometrical and operational factors affect the position of the particles in the development of high-performance on-chip sensing and sorting of both cells and particles.     

Synthesis,characterization and biological analysis of transition metal complexes with macro cyclic ligands derived from adipic acid,ethylenediamine with diethyloxalate and diethylmalonate

Macro-cyclic ligands from adipic acid, ethylenediamine with diethyloxalate and diethylmalonate and their respective metal complexes of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) with macro cyclic ligands (LO) and (LM) L [N,N′-bis(2-aminoethyl)hexanediamide] were synthesized successfully. These metal complexes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet visible spectrometry, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass Spectrometry, CHNS and thermogravimetric analysis. The elemental analysis confirms the structures for Mn(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes similar to octahedral geometry, Cu(II) complexes as a square planar geometry and Zn(II) complexes in the tetrahedral geometry. The molar conductivities of all the metal complexes were taken in 10^?3 M DMSO, and values of all the metal complexes showed their electrolytic nature which indicates the presence of chloride ions. Thermal analysis supports as the metal complexes are thermally stable. The result of antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms confirms that the metal complexes are potent bactericides and fungicides than the ligand. Metal complexes of LO with Cu(II) and Zn(II) were found to be highly active against S. typhimurium than the complexes of LM.

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Synthesis and characterization of new 13 and 14-membered macrocycles and their transition metal complexes

Two new macrocyclic ligands 1,4,7,9,12-pentaaza-10,11-dioxo-8,9,12,13-bis-(1-oxo-3-thio-2-hydropyrimidine)-trideca-7,13-diene, (L¹) and 1,4,7,9,12-pentaaza-10,12-dioxo-8,9,13,14-bis-(1-oxo-3-thio-2-hydropyrimidine)-tetradeca-7,14-diene, (L²) and their complexes with Cr^III, Mn^II, Fe^III, Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II and Zn^II have been synthesized, and characterized by elemental analysis, i.r., ¹H-n.m.r., e.p.r., u.v.–vis. spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility and conductance measurements. The conductivity measurements suggest that the complexes of divalent metal ions are 1:1 electrolytes whereas the trivalent metal ions are non-electrolytes. On the basis of electronic spectra and magnetic moment measurements the Cr^III and Fe^III complexes are octahedral, while the divalent metal complexes are tetrahedral except for the Ni^II and Cu^II complexes which are proposed to have square planar geometry. All the ligands and their complexes have been screened against gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria E. coli. The results show that they inhibit the growth of bacteria.     

Interaction of manganese(II), iron(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) with acetylhydrazine, formed in situ; first crystal structure of tris(acetylhydrazine) nickel(II) perchlorate

A series of transition metal complexes of the type [M(ah)₃](ClO₄)₂ (1–6) [M = Mn^II, Fe^II, Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II and Zn^II, ah = acetylhydrazine] have been prepared by the reaction of M(ClO₄)₂ · 6H₂O with acetylhydrazine formed in situ by the reaction of hydrazine hydrate and acetylsalicylic acid methyl ester. The chelating behaviour of acetylhydrazine and overall geometry of these complexes have been spectroscopically investigated by means of FT-IR, ¹H-n.m.r. and electronic spectral techniques, as well as by elemental analysis data, molar conductance values and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Single X-ray structure determination of complex (4) revealed three acetylhydrazine ligands coordinated to nickel ion in a bidentate manner maintaining an octahedral environment. In all other complexes too, an octahedral geometry has been proposed on the basis of results obtained by various physico-chemical studies.