μ‐Acetato‐1:2κ2O:O′‐diacetato‐1κ2O,O′;2κO‐bis(di‐2‐pyridylamine)‐1κ2N,N′;2κ2N,N′‐isothiocyanato‐2κN‐dicopper(II)

In the title dinuclear acetate‐bridged complex, [Cu₂(C₂H₃O₂)₃(NCS)(C₁₀H₉N₃)₂], the two Cu atoms are five‐coordinated, with a basal plane consisting of two N atoms of a di‐2‐pyridylamine (dpyam) ligand and two O atoms of two different acetate ligands. The axial positions of these Cu atoms are coordinated to N and O atoms from thio­cyanate and acetate mol­ecules, respectively, leading to a distorted square‐pyramidal geometry with τ values of 0.30 and 0.22. Both Cu^II ions are linked by an acetate group in the equatorial–equatorial positions and have syn–anti bridging configurations. Hydrogen‐bond inter­actions between the amine H atom and the coordinated and uncoordinated O atoms of the acetate anions generate an infinite one‐dimensional chain.     

Effects of Centella asiatica extract on antioxidant status and liver metabolome of rotenone‐treated rats using GC–MS

Centella asiatica has been used as a culinary vegetable or medicinal herb. In this study, the hepatoprotective effect of the standardized extract of C. asiatica (ECa233) in rotenone‐treated rats was examined using a GC–MS‐based metabolomic approach. ECa233 contains >80% triterpenoids with a ratio of madecassoside to asiaticoside of 1.5(±0.5):1. Rats were randomly divided into three groups (with six rats/group): sham negative control, rotenone positive control and the ECa233 test group. Rats in the ECa233 group received 10 mg/kg ECa233 orally for 20 days, followed by 2.5 mg/kg intraperitoneal rotenone injection to induce toxicity before being sacrificed. Metabolomic analysis showed that supplementation of ECa233 protected rat liver against rotenone toxicity. Pipecolinic acid was one of the most important metabolites; its level was decreased in the rotenone group as compared with the control. Supplementation with ECa233 before administration of rotenone raised pipecolinic acid to levels intermediate between controls and rotenone alone. The metabolomics approach also helped discover a possible new genuine epimetabolite in the present work. Antioxidant tests revealed that ECa233 inhibited lipid peroxidation and increased catalase activities in liver tissue.     

Amoxicillin removal from aqueous solutions using hollow fibre supported liquid membrane: kinetic study

Amoxicillin was removed from aqueous solutions using hollow fibre supported liquid membrane system (HFSLM). After evaluation of the influencing variables, the highest permeation coefficient of amoxicillin reached 2.778 × 10^?4 ms^?1 when the length of hollow fibres was 15 cm and the operating time was 60 min. Then, the reaction flux models of extraction and stripping were calculated. Thereafter, the modelling results were compared with the experimental data at standard deviations of 2.07 and 3.19%. In the comparison of carrier and diluent, the best conditions were achieved when Aliquat 336 and 1-Decanol were used. Results showed that amoxicillin extraction and stripping were of first and zero reaction orders; their reaction rate constants were 0.0344 min^?1 and 0.0445 mg/L·min, respectively.     

Polylactic acid/kenaf cellulose biocomposite filaments for melt extrusion based-3D printing

Cellulose - This study fabricated polylactic acid (PLA)/kenaf cellulose fiber biocomposite filaments via melt-extrusion process. Kenaf cellulose fibers (KF) were chemically extracted from locally...     

Three new dinuclear bis-μ-azido-bridged Cu(II) compounds with di-2-pyridylamine as a ligand: Syntheses,X-ray structure and magnetic measurements

Three new dinuclear copper(II) compounds: [Cu₂(dpyam)₂(μ_1,1-N₃)₂(O₂CH)₂] (1), [Cu₂(dpyam)₂(μ_1,1-N₃)₂(O₂CCH₃)₂] (2) and [Cu₂(dpyam)₂(μ_1,1-N₃)₂(O₂CCH₂CH₃)₂] (3) have been synthesized and characterized crystallographically and spectroscopically. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 consist of a dinuclear unit in which both Cu(II) ions are connected through two end-on azido bridges providing a distorted square pyramidal geometry with a CuN₄O chromophore. The Cu?Cu separations are 3.195, 3.200 and 3.247 Å for compounds 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The magnetic properties have been measured in the range from 5 to 300 K and correlated with the molecular structures. All three compounds show a medium to weak ferromagnetic exchange interactions between the Cu(II) ions dominated by the bridging azido ligands, with a singlet-triplet splitting (J) of 63.3, 63.8 and 5.1 cm⁻¹, for compounds 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A large zero-field splitting of about 0.4 cm⁻¹ is observed in the EPR for compounds 1 and 2.     

A polymer surface for antibody detection by using surface plasmon resonance via immobilized antigen

A polymer substrate based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique was developed for detection of specific monoclonal antibody 10B2 (MAb 10B2) against bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli (Aac). The monolayer of Aac antigen was physically immobilized on 95:5 polystryrene – copoly acrylic acid (95PSMA) for detection of antibody. The amount of antigen–antibody binding was found to depend on the surface density of immobilized Aac on the sensor surface and the antibody concentration. The detection limit was 5 μg/ml which was lower than the required concentration during the normal production of the antibody at 10–100 μg/ml. This suggests a possible use of surface for the antibody screening. Moreover, an application in antibody screening was explored by combination of surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPR imaging) and antibody detection assay on the 95PSMA surface. Two antigens of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Aac were used as a model system for antibody screening. The result shows that both antibodies can be distinguished using the immobilized antigens on the 95PSMA surface based SPR imaging technique.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of emodin and its derivatives against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Synthesis of the antibacterial emodin was improved using Friedel-Crafts acylation as a key step leading to 37% overall yield. In addition, 21 analogues were synthesized by structural modification of the hydroxyl and methyl groups, as well as the aromatic ring of emodin. Antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and cytotoxicity against noncancerous Vero cells were evaluated. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) study indicated that the hydroxyl groups and the methyl group in the emodin skeleton were crucial for anti-MRSA activity. Furthermore, the presence of an iodine atom or ethylamino group on the aromatic ring enhanced the anti-MRSA activity with higher selectivity indices, while derivatives containing bromine, chlorine atoms or quaternary ammonium salt were as active as emodin. The quaternary ammonium group on the aromatic ring also led to non-cytotoxicity against Vero cells.     

Adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on polystyrene (PS) and its acid copolymer

The effect of surface polarity on the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on polystyrene (PS), 7% polystyrene-co-maleic anhydride (7%PSMAn) and 50% polystyrene-co-maleic acid (50%PSMA), at pH 7.4, was investigated. Polystyrene represented the non-polar surface while 7%PSMAn and 50%PSMA represented a low and high acid content copolymer. The amount of the adsorbed BSA depended on the amount of the acid content in the copolymer. BSA formed a monolayer with a side-on orientation on the low polarity PS surface, a mixed side-on and end-on orientation on 7%PSMAn and a predominantly side-on orientation on 50%PSMA. The thickness of adsorbed BSA, measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM), varied from 3 nm to 5 nm for the side-on orientation and from 10 nm to 15 nm for the end-on orientation. The average area occupied per BSA molecule was consistent with the proposed orientation, and was 34.8 nm², 27.8 nm² and 18.0 nm² for PS, 7%PSMAn and 50%PSMA, respectively. The adsorption showed a concentration dependency following the Freundlich isotherm, which indicated the interactions among adsorbed BSA molecules on the polymer surface. The adsorption took place as an island-like morphology and started to fuse into a patch-like morphology at higher concentrations before achieving a complete monolayer formation. A non-uniform surface coverage and defects were observed in all cases. It is recommended that for an effective blocking of PS, 7%PSMAn and 50%PSMA, the BSA concentration should be higher than 3 mg/mL.