Purification,Crystallization, and Preliminary Crystallographic Studies of Human As(III) S-Adenosylmethionine Methyltransferase (hAS3MT)

Crystallography Reports - Exposure to environmental arsenic is associated with serious of health issues such as cancer, diabetes and developmental delays in infants and children. In human liver,...     

Liquid crystal-gold nanoparticle composite-modified indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates and their electrochemical characterisation

A simple efficient strategy for the simultaneous synthesis and anchoring of liquid crystal (LC)-stabilised gold nanoparticles (NPs) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate is described. A monolayer of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxy silane (MPS) compound was formed on ITO and quality of the monolayer was assessed using electrochemical techniques namely cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Gold NP preparation was carried out on this monolayer-modified substrate (and on bare ITO), in a single-step reaction, simply by drop-casting a solution containing an appropriate amount of chloroauric acid and a LC compound possessing a terminal amino group, on the MPS monolayer-modified substrate and heating (70degree) for 2-3 min.. The LC compound served as a reducing agent as well as a capping ligand. LC-capped NPs were chemically anchored onto the ITO substrate through bonding to thiol moiety of the MPS. The CV and EIS analysis of the MPS monolayer showed a complete blocking behaviour for the electron transfer across the electrode/electrolyte interface confirming the formation of a high-quality dense compact monolayer. On the other hand, upon immobilisation of LC-gold NP composite on self-assembled monolayer-modified ITO substrates, both CV and impedance studies showed a small current indicating the gold NP-mediated electron transfer, thus confirming the successful immobilisation of NPs.     

Phytofabrication of silver nanoparticles from Limonia acidissima leaf extract and their antimicrobial,antioxidant and its anticancer prophecy

Green synthesis of nanoparticles by eco-friendly methods is a recent technique which draws the attention of researchers because of the reward over many conventional chemical methods. The present work focuses on aqueous Limonia acidissima leaf extract in synthesizing silver nanoparticles and its applications in a simple way. The silver nanoparticles formed were characterized by Infrared, Ultra violet-visible, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopic, and atomic force microscopic techniques. The powder X-ray diffraction studies and transmission electron microscopic images reveal that the silver nanoparticles synthesized were approximately 10–40 nm and have a spherical structure. The nanoparticles were assayed for their antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activity. The antimicrobial studies for the silver nanoparticles show a maximum zone of inhibition of 8.8 mm for Bacillus subtilis bacteria and 8.5 mm for Candida albicans fungi at 3 and 1 μg/mL respectively. In-silico ADMET studies reveal that the toxicity, bioactivity, pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness properties of Limonia acidissima leaf extract is good. The molecular docking studies show that the microbial activity is high for Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans showing the coincidence of the in silico and in vitro studies as expected. The free radical scavenging activity of nanoparticles is 80 for 100 μg/mL. The 50% of inhibition of silver nanoparticles against human breast cancer cell lines is 18 μg/mL. It is evident that silver nanoparticles would be helpful in treating cancer cell lines and have great perspectives in the biomedical sector.     

Deformation field of a misfitting inclusion

J.D. Eshelby (1957, 1959) has calculated the deformation field associated with an ellipsoidal inclusion in a state of homogeneous strain within an infinite matrix. Since most real precipitates occur with facets, the strain within such an inclusion is not uniform. Thus, plate precipitates of θ′ in Al-Cu and η in Al-Au have coherent broad faces with mismatches of 1.34 and 4.95 % respect- ively and semicoherent or disordered interfaces at the edges with residual mismatches of about ?4.3 and ?1.00% normal to the broad faces. The deformation field in the matrix around such precipitates has been calculated using Kelvin's (1848) result for the stress field due to a point force. The calculations show the existence of high stresses near the edges of the precipitates where they have an appreciable misfit. Unlike the case of an ellipsoidal inclusion, the stress fields of these precipitates have dilatational components which can affect the diffusion of solute atoms to them and, thus, the kinetics of interface migration. The behavior of alloys containing these precipitates indicates that the moduli of the precipitates are somewhat greater than those of the matrices. The present calculations, based on the assumption that the two moduli are the same, underestimate the actual deformation field in the matrix. In real systems, therefore, the effects of the deformation field on misfit dislocation nucleation and kinetics of interface migration are likely to be somewhat greater in general.     

An Yb(OTf)3‐catalyzed,convergent synthesis of new pyranyl‐ and chromenyl‐substituted quinolines through an eco‐friendly approach

A one‐pot, multicomponent, convergent microwave synthesis of some new pyranyl‐ and chromenyl‐substituted quinolines has been reported. Twenty compounds were prepared by the reaction of 2‐methoxy‐3‐formyl quinoline ( 1a‐d ), malononitrile ( 2 ), and kojic acid ( 4a‐d )/1,3‐cyclohexadione or dimedone ( 6a ‐ h )/α‐ or β‐naphthol ( 8a ‐ d , 8e ‐ h ). The structures were confirmed by infrared (IR), ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR, mass, and single‐crystal X‐ray analyses. On comparison with the use of conventional Lewis acid catalysts and various metal triflates under microwave conditions, the latter contributed to good yields, in specific use of the recyclable Yb(OTf)₃ catalyst attributed to high yields of the desired product. The protocol reported herein is solvent free, cost effective, and eco‐friendly.     

Fluorimetric estimation of U(VI) in the presence of a large excess of Th(IV)

A fluorescence based method has been developed for the determination of trace amounts of uranium in thorium matrix using a mixture of phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), as fluorescence enhancing reagent for uranyl (UO₂ ²⁺) ion fluorescence. Synthetic samples mimicking the composition of ThO₂ fuel were prepared and the concentration of U(VI) was estimated. Satisfactory results are obtained when uranium is present at a concentration of 10 ppm in solid thorium samples with good precision.     

Evaluation of natural gamma radiation and absorbed gamma dose in soil and rocks of Perambalur district (Tamil Nadu,India)

The activity concentrations and absorbed gamma dose of primordial radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were determined employing γ-ray spectrometry in 31 soil samples from the land area earmarked for house construction in Perambalur district and 14 rock samples from quarries that supply stones for the entire district. The soil samples registered relatively a higher mean value of 13.2 Bq kg^?1 for ²³⁸U, 66 Bq kg^?1 for ²³²Th and 340.3 Bq kg^?1 for ⁴⁰K as compared to mean values for rock samples (²³⁸U—8.0 Bq kg^?1; ²³²Th—65.1 Bq kg^?1; ⁴⁰K—199.1 Bq kg^?1). The mean absorbed gamma dose rate for soil (61.4 nGy h^?1) marginally exceeded the prescribed limit of 55 nGy h^?1 while, rocks registered the mean absorbed gamma dose rate of 10.4 nGy h^?1. The mean radium equivalent activity was distinctly higher in soil (130.6 Bq kg^?1) than in rock (20.0 Bq kg^?1). However, these values were lower than the limit (370 Bq kg^?1) set by OECD for building materials. It is evident from the data that the soil and rocks do not pose any radiological risk for house constructions in Perambalur district.     

Gold Catalysis: In Situ EXAFS Study of Homogeneous Oxidative Esterification

Gold complexes were prepared and investigated as catalysts for the oxidative esterification of aldehydes. Stabilisation by pyridine ligands gave good conversions and the in situ extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) study of the reactions indicated that the reaction mixtures contained only mononuclear gold species. Thus, this is the first proof for a homogeneous gold‐catalysed oxidation reaction; the presence of nanoparticles could be excluded experimentally.