Synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles coated with polyvinyl alcohol for hyperthermia application

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - One of the main challenges in hyperthermia treatment is how to improve the heating performance of nanoparticles with high specific loss power (SLP). To...     

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Nitrogen Plasma Jet for Enhancement Germination of Wheat Seeds

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - The possibility to improve the germination characterization of the wheat seeds by cold atmospheric nitrogen plasma jet treatment was report. Spectroscopic...     

Synthesis and anti-hepatitis B virus activity of new pyrimidine peptide nucleic acid analogs

A series of 4-methylsulfanylpyrimidin-2(1H)-one peptide nucleic acid analogs were synthesized and tested for their antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus. Plaque reduction infectivity assay was used to determine the virus count reduction as a result of treatment with tested compounds.     

Quantitative trace analysis of fullerenes in river sediment from Spain and soils from Saudi Arabia

A quantitative method based on ultrasound-assisted toluene extraction followed by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes, N-methylfulleropyrrolidine, [6, 6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester and [6, 6]-thienyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester has been developed. The method was validated using fortified blank river sediments according to the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The method limits of detection ranged from 14 to 290 pg/g, making it suitable for its application in environmental analysis. The method has been applied to investigate fullerene content in 58 soil samples collected from different urban and industrial areas in Saudi Arabia and in river sediment from six different sites in the Llobregat River Basin. In addition, in the case of the Llobregat River, superficial water samples from the same sites of the sediments were collected and analysed using a previous method. In soils from Saudi Arabia, C₆₀-fullerene was the only compound that was detected and quantified in 19 % of samples. In the sediments of the Llobregat River, C₆₀-fullerene was also the only one detected (33 % of the samples), while in river water, C₇₀-fullerene was the most frequent compound, and it was quantified in 67 % of the samples. However, C₆₀-fullerene was present in two of the six samples, but at higher concentrations than C₇₀-fullerene, ranging from 0.9 to 7.8 ng/L.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanoporous silica film via non-surfactant template sol–gel technique

Nanoporous silicon dioxide has received growing interests owing to their peculiar application potentials in conservation and storage energy. Therefore, the development of novel and simple techniques is required for raising these nanoporous materials to industrial level. In this research, we report novel strategy for the synthesis of nanoporous SiO₂ via non-surfactant template sol–gel technique for the first time. The morphology and structure of the as prepared and annealed nanoporous silica films were studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen absorption/desorption technique. The results showed that highly order nanoporous silica film has been obtained at annealing temperature 600 °C with average diameter 5.1 nm and average pore volume 3.6 cm³ g⁻¹.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of tris(2-oxo-1-tert-butylimidazolyl) and tris(2-oxo-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato complexes: a new class of tripodal oxygen donor ligand

A new class of tripodal L(2)X ligands that feature three oxygen donors, namely the tris(2-oxo-1-tert-butylimidazolyl) and tris(2-oxo-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato ligands, [To(Bu(t))] and [To(MeBenz)], has been synthesized via the reactions of NaBH(4) with the respective imidazolone. Structural and spectroscopic studies indicate that both [To(Bu(t))] and [To(MeBenz)] are significantly more sterically demanding but less electron donating than the related [O(3)] donor ligand, [CpCo{P(O)(OEt)(2)}(3)].     

Doxycycline Interferes with Zika Virus Serine Protease and Inhibits Virus Replication in Human Skin Fibroblasts

Zika virus (ZIKV) represents a re-emerging threat to global health due to its association with congenital birth defects. ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease is crucial for virus replication by cleaving viral polyprotein at various junctions to release viral proteins and cause cytotoxic effects in ZIKV-infected cells. This study characterized the inhibitory effects of doxycycline against ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease and viral replication in human skin cells. The in silico data showed that doxycycline binds to the active site of ZIKV protease at a low docking energy (−7.8 Kcal/mol) via four hydrogen bonds with the protease residues TYR1130, SER1135, GLY1151, and ASP83. Doxycycline efficiently inhibited viral NS2B-NS3 protease at average human temperature (37 °C) and human temperature with a high fever during virus infection (40 °C). Interestingly, doxycycline showed a higher inhibitory effect at 40 °C (IC50 = 5.3 µM) compared to 37 °C (9.9 µM). The virus replication was considerably reduced by increasing the concentration of doxycycline. An approximately 50% reduction in virus replication was observed at 20 µM of doxycycline. Treatment with 20 µM of doxycycline reduced the cytopathic effects (CPE), and the 40 µM of doxycycline almost eliminated the CPE of human skin cells. This study showed that doxycycline binds to the ZIKV protease and inhibits its catalytic activity at a low micro-molecular concentration range. Treatment of human skin fibroblast with doxycycline eliminated ZIKV infection and protected the cells against the cytopathic effects of the infection.     

Supramolecular microextraction of cobalt from water samples before its microsampling flame atomic absorption spectrometric detection

The supramolecular solvent system consists of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 1-decanol, that was used as an extraction solvent for a microextraction procedure for the preconcentration and separation of Co(II). The proposed supramolecular-based procedure was combined with microsampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of cobalt at trace levels in water samples. N-Benzoyl-N,N-diisobutylthiourea was used to chelate Co(II) in an aqueous solution. Quantitative extraction efficiency was obtained at pH 6.5. The effects of analytical parameters including pH, amount of ligand, type, ratio and volume of supramolecular solvent, sample volume and interfering ions were investigated for optimisation of the procedure. The proposed supramolecular solvent-based microextraction procedure (Ss-ME) exhibits a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.29 µg L^?1 and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 3.88 µg L^?1. The procedure was validated by addition/recovery tests and by applying TMDA 64.2 and TMDA 53.3 water certified reference materials. The microextraction method was successfully applied for the preconcentration and determination of cobalt in water samples.     

Effect of proton irradiation on the physical properties of PC/PBT blends

Samples from polycarbonate/poly (butylene terephthalate) (PC/PBT) blends film have been irradiated using different fluences (1?×?10¹⁵– 5?×?10¹⁷ H⁺/cm²) of 1?MeV protons at the University of Surrey Ion Beam Center, UK. The structural modi?cations in the proton irradiated samples have been studied as a function of fluence using different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction and UV spectroscopy. The results indicate that the proton irradiation reduces the optical energy gap that could be attributed to the increase in structural disorder of the irradiated samples due to crosslinking. Furthermore, the color intensity ΔE, which is the color difference between the non-irradiated sample and those irradiated with different proton fluences, increased with increasing the proton fluence up to 5?×?10¹⁷ H^+/cm², convoyed by an increase in the red and yellow color components. In addition, the resultant effect of proton irradiation on the thermal properties of the PC/PBT samples has been investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It is found that the PC/PBT decomposes in one weight loss stage. Also, the variation of transition temperatures with proton fluence has been determined using DSC. The PC/PBT thermograms were characterized by the appearance of two endothermic peaks due to the glass transition and melting temperatures. The melting temperature of the polymer, T_m, was investigated to probe the crystalline domains of the polymer, since the proton irradiation destroys the crystalline structure so reducing the melting temperature.     

Synthesis of new 2-pyridinone and thiazole derivatives containing coumarin moiety

Coumarin has shown considerable therapeutic potency because of its versatile biological prosperities. Also, pyridines have been adopted in medicinal chemistry as potent ring. Moreover, several investigations reported the potency of thiazole-containing compounds. So, during this research, new functionalized 2-pyridinone and thiazole derivatives bearing coumarin moiety were aimed to synthesize. Many trials to obtain the 6-amino-2-oxo-pyridine-3,5-dicarbonitriles through the condensation of cyanoacetohydrazone of 3-acetyl coumarin with 2-(arylidene)malononitriles were carried out using different reaction conditions. In all cases, the reaction gave none of the corresponding 2-pyridinone derivatives except the reaction with 2-(benzylidene)-malononitrile afforded product in few yield. Moreover, the reaction of another cyanoacetanilide with the 2-(arylidene)-malononitrile afforded the unexpected arylidene derivatives rather than the expected pyridin-2-one derivatives. Finally, new thiazoles bearing coumarin moiety were synthesized using 3-acetylcoumarin N-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-thiosemicarbazone. Cyclization of thiosemicarbazone derivative with ethyl 2-chloroacetate, chloroacetone or phenacyl bromide afforded in high yields the corresponding derivatives of thiazolidin-4-one, 4-methylthiazole or 4-phenylthiazole, respectively.