Synthesis,antibacterial evaluation and survey on the thermophysical characteristics of novel medically applicable polyamides containing pharmaceutically outstanding triazole moieties

There are many different strategies to decrease the incidence of infection of medical device and food related containers. One way to prevent infection is by modifying the polymers used in making the devices and containers. Incorporation of antimicrobial agents in the bulk material or in formulations of medical devices production has been considered a viable alternative for systemic application of antibiotics. In this article, preparation of a series of triazole containing polymers, poly(triazole-amide-imide)s (PTAI)s and poly(triazole-amide) (PTA)s, and their monomers are reported. These polymers were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents, showed significant thermal properties and also viscosities in the range of 0.55–0.66 dL/g. They have been tested against a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. The results indicated that these novel polymers containing triazole moiety in their repeating units can effectively control Gram-positive and negative pathogens and their physic-chemical properties besides their antibacterial characteristics make them unique candidate for using in the manufacturing of the medical devices.     

Optimization of Photooxidative Removal of Phenazopyridine from Water

The photooxidative removal of analgesic pharmaceutical compound phenazopyridine (PhP) from aqueous solutions by UV/H₂O₂ system with a re-circulated photoreactor was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the effect of operational parameters on the photooxidative removal efficiency. The investigated variables were: the initial PhP and H₂O₂ concentrations, irradiation time, volume of solution and pH. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of quadratic model demonstrated that the described model was highly significant. The predicted values of the photooxidative removal efficiency were found to be in a fair agreement with experimental values (R² = 0.9832, adjusted R² = 0.9716). The model predicted that the optimal reaction conditions for a maximum removal of PhP (>98%) were: initial PhP concentration less than 23 mg L^–1, initial concentration of H₂O₂ higher than 470 mg L^–1, solution volume less than 500 mL, pH close to 2 and irradiation time longer than 6 min.     

Optimization of modification condition of nano-kaoline as an adsorbent for textile dye removal

In this study, adsorption capacity of textile red dye on alkylated kaolin was investigated through batch mode. Accordingly, raw kaolin was alkylated via NaOH treatment. The work was carried out in two steps. At first step, the effect of various alkylation conditions of kaolin on its dye adsorption performance was studied using the model equation designed by 2-level factorial design. Three factors were changed in two level including NaOH solution temperature (45–75°C), mixing time (3–24 h), and NaOH solution concentration (0.1–2 M). The resultant model showed 91% of the variability in data used to fit dye adsorption capacity values. However, the analysis of variance revealed that the fitted model is high significant. Based on the predicting model, the optimal alkylation conditions with desirability factor of 0.911 were obtained at temperature of 75°C, NaOH concentration of 0.1 M and after 24 h mixing. At step two, chemical content, bonds and functional groups of the treated kaolin, which was prepared based on the optimum condition and compared with the raw kaolin via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR). The results show slight reduction in SiO₂ content. Finally, the adsorption capacity of dye on both treated and raw kaolin was investigated.     

Chemical characterization and anti-hemolytic anemia potentials of tin nanoparticles synthesized by a green approach for bioremediation applications

The therapeutic properties of tin nanoparticles have been proved in recent years. One of their probable effects is anti-anemia. In this study, tin nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized in aqueous medium using Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam leaf aqueous extract as the reducing and stabilizing agent. We also assessed the antihemolytic anemia potential of tin nanoparticles (SnNPs) in an animal model of hemolytic anemia. Tin nanoparticles were characterized using many techniques including Fourier transform-infrared and UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). FE-SEM images showed a uniform spherical morphology in size of 18.12 nm for the green synthesized nanoparticles. According to XRD analysis, SnNPs crystal size was17.94 nm. SnNPs had low cell viability dose-dependently against human umbilical vein endothelial cell line. in vivo design, induction of hemolytic anemia was done by phenylhydrazine in 40 mice. Tin nanoparticles significantly (p ≤ 0.01) reduced the weight and volume of liver and spleen and the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased the body weight, anti-inflammatory cytokines concentration, total platelet, WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, eosinophil, monocyte, and basophil counts, and red blood cell parameters compared to the untreated mice. For the biochemical parameters, SnNPs significantly (p ≤ 0.01) increased the concentrations of GPx, CAT, and SOD in serum, liver, and spleen and decreased the concentration of GR in serum, liver, and spleen, and also erythropoietin, ferritin, and ferrous in serum as compared to the anemic mice. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl test showed similar antioxidant activities for SnNPs and butylated hydroxytoluene. The results demonstrate the excellent antihemolytic anemia, hematoprotective, cytotoxicity, and antioxidant potentials of SnNPs compared to other experimental groups.     

Highly porous WO3/CNTs-graphite film as a novel and low-cost positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this study, novel and low-cost tungsten oxide/carbon nanotubes-graphite-polyvinyl chloride (WO3/CNTs-graphite-PVC) film with porous 3D network structure...     

Patient-Specific Network for Personalized Breast Cancer Therapy with Multi-Omics Data

The development of new computational approaches that are able to design the correct personalized drugs is the crucial therapeutic issue in cancer research. However, tumor heterogeneity is the main obstacle to developing patient-specific single drugs or combinations of drugs that already exist in clinics. In this study, we developed a computational approach that integrates copy number alteration, gene expression, and a protein interaction network of 73 basal breast cancer samples. 2509 prognostic genes harboring a copy number alteration were identified using survival analysis, and a protein–protein interaction network considering the direct interactions was created. Each patient was described by a specific combination of seven altered hub proteins that fully characterize the 73 basal breast cancer patients. We suggested the optimal combination therapy for each patient considering drug–protein interactions. Our approach is able to confirm well-known cancer related genes and suggest novel potential drug target genes. In conclusion, we presented a new computational approach in breast cancer to deal with the intra-tumor heterogeneity towards personalized cancer therapy.