In Vitro Inhibitory Analysis of Rationally Designed siRNAs against MERS-CoV Replication in Huh7 Cells

MERS-CoV was identified for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2012 in a hospitalized patient. This virus subsequently spread to 27 countries with a total of 939 deaths and 2586 confirmed cases and now has become a serious concern globally. Camels are well known for the transmission of the virus to the human population. In this report, we have discussed the prediction, designing, and evaluation of potential siRNA targeting the ORF1ab gene for the inhibition of MERS-CoV replication. The online software, siDirect 2.0 was used to predict and design the siRNAs, their secondary structure and their target accessibility. ORF1ab gene folding was performed by RNAxs and RNAfold software. A total of twenty-one siRNAs were selected from 462 siRNAs according to their scoring and specificity. siRNAs were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity and antiviral efficacy in Huh7 cell line. No significant cytotoxicity was observed for all siRNAs in Huh7 cells. The in vitro study showed the inhibition of viral replication by three siRNAs. The data generated in this study provide preliminary and encouraging information to evaluate the siRNAs separately as well as in combination against MERS-CoV replication in other cell lines. The prediction of siRNAs using online software resulted in the filtration and selection of potential siRNAs with high accuracy and strength. This computational approach resulted in three effective siRNAs that can be taken further to in vivo animal studies and can be used to develop safe and effective antiviral therapies for other prevalent disease-causing viruses.     

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of 3-nitrophenol at surface of Ti/TiO2 electrode

The widely utilization of phenol and its derivatives such as 3-nitrophenol (3-NP) has led to the worldwide pollution in the environment. In this study, Ti/TiO₂ photoelectrode was prepared with anodic oxidation of Ti foil electrode and then the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of 3-NP was performed via this electrode, comparing with photocatalytic (PC), electrooxidation and direct photolysis by ultraviolet light. A significant photoelectrochemical synergetic effect in 3-NP degradation was observed on the Ti/TiO₂ electrode and rate constant for the PEC process of Ti/TiO₂ electrode was about three times as high as its PC degradation process. 3-NP concentration monitoring was carried out with differential pulse voltammetry. Results showed that PEC degradation has highest effect on concentration decreasing of 3-NP at solution and degraded it about 38 %, while other processes degradation efficiencies were about 4, 7, and 12 % for electrooxidation, direct photolysis and photocatalytic degradation, respectively. Finally, effects of solution pH and applied potential on degradation efficiency were studied and results showed that optimum pH for degradation is equal 4.00 and optimum potential is 1.2 V vs. Ag|AgCl|KCl (3M) reference electrode.     

Water treatment: functional nanomaterials and applications from adsorption to photodegradation

Global efforts for engineering desired materials which are able to treat the water sources still are ongoing in the bench level methods. Considering adsorbent and photocatalytic materials as the main reliable candidates still are encountering with struggles because of many challenges that restrict their large-scale application. This review comprehensively considered the recent advanced materials water treatment methods which involve to magnetic, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene (G), graphene oxide (GO), (Graphene) quantum dots, carbon nanorods, carbon nano-onions, and reduced graphene oxide (RGO), zeolite, silica and clay-based nanomaterials. The adsorption and photocatalytic properties of these nanomaterials introduced them as highly potent option for heavy metal ions and organic dyes removal and photocatalytic degradation. High specific surface area in conjugation with presenting higher kinetics of adsorption and decomposition are the main characteristics of these materials which make them appropriate to treat wastewater even in ultralow concentration of the pollutants. Considering the mechanistic aspects of the adsorption and photocatalytic decomposition process, challenges and opportunities were other subjects that have been highlighted for the discussed nanomaterials. In term of the adsorption approaches, the mechanism of adsorptions and their influence on the maximum adsorption capacity were discussed and also for photocatalyst approach the radical active spices and their role in kinetic and efficiency of the organic pollutant decomposition were provided a deep discussion.     

On the Different Lipolytic Capability of Diverse Organs from Young Adult Guinea Pigs. A Chromatographic Study

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In this study we conducted in-vitro incubation of whole-tissue homogenate of young adult guinea pig heart, kidney, testis, and...     

Increasing the hydrophilicity of star‐shaped amphiphilic co‐networks by using of PEG and dendritic s‐PCL cross‐linkers

New hyperbranched hydrophobic cross‐linkers with peripheral azide groups were synthesized as follows: First, star‐shaped polycaprolactones (sPCL) were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of caprolactone in the presence of pentaerythritol and tin (II) octoate. In the next step, sequential acrylation, Micheal addition, tosylation, and azidation by acryloyl chloride, diethanol amine, tosyl chloride, and sodium azide were respectively exploited to synthesize azide‐functionalized hyperbranched star‐shaped polycaprolactones which were named sPCL‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐azide (sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃) and sPCL‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐azide (sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃). All steps were thoroughly characterized by FT‐IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The GPC analysis showed that the molecular weight of sPCL increased after two azide functionalizations. Amphiphilic hydrogels based on sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃ (M_n = 8130 g/mol) and sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃ (M_n = 10112 g/mol) with linear alkyne‐terminated polyethylene glycols (PEG) (M_n = 2000, 4000, and 6000 g/mol) were synthesized through click coupling between azide and alkyne groups. In both hydrogels, the swelling ratio increased by increasing the molecular weight of PEG. The obtained results showed that the branching of the cross‐linker, significantly affected the swelling ratio of hydrogels. For instance, the swelling ratio of sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃ and PEG‐6000 (Q = 900) was higher than sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃ and PEG‐6000 (Q = 600). Despite the high cross‐linking density of sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐DEA‐N₃–based hydrogels, the amount of released theophylline was higher than sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃–based hydrogels, due to the high content of PEG in these hydrogels.     

Artificial neural network for quantitative determination of total protein in yogurt by infrared spectrometry

A method has been introduced for quantitative determination of protein content in yogurt samples based on the characteristic absorbance of protein in 1800-1500 cm^− 1 spectral region by mid-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometrics. Successive Projection Algorithm (SPA) wavelength selection procedure, coupled with feed forward Back-Propagation Artificial Neural Network (BP-ANN) model was the benefited chemometric technique. Relative Error of Prediction (REP) in BP-ANN and SPA-BP-ANN methods for training set was 7.25 and 3.70 respectively. Considering the complexity of the sample, the ANN model was found to be reliable, while the proposed method is rapid and simple, without any sample preparation step.     

Kinetic Study of the Electro‐Catalytic Oxidation of Acetaldehyde on Copper Electrode

Electrocatalytic oxidation of acetaldehyde was investigated on a copper electrode in alkaline solution. The process of oxidation involved and its kinetics were established by using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques as well as steady state polarization measurements. It has been found that in the course of an anodic potential sweep the electro‐oxidation of acetaldehyde follows the formation of Cu(III) and is catalysed by this species through a mediated electron transfer mechanism. A mechanism based on the electrochemical generation of Cu(III) active sites and their subsequent consumption by the acetaldehyde in question was also investigated.     

Mononuclear copper(II) complexes of bis-triazole-based macrocyclic Schiff base hydrazones: direct synthesis,EPR studies,magnetic and thermal properties

Mononuclear copper(II) complexes of 1,2,4-triazole-based Schiff base macrocyclic hydrazones, III and IV, have been reported. The prepared amorphous complexes have been characterized by spectroscopic methods, electron spray ionization mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis data. Electrochemical studies of the complexes in DMSO show only one quasi-reversible reduction wave at +0.43 V (ΔE = 70 mV) and +0.42 V (ΔE = 310 mV) for III and IV, respectively, which is assigned to the Cu(II) → Cu(I) reduction process. Temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibilities of III and IV has been measured within an interval of 2–290 K. The values of χ_M at 290 K are 1.72 × 10^?3 cm³ mol^?1 and 1.71 × 10^?3 for III and IV, respectively, which increases continuously upon cooling to 2 K. EPR spectra of III and IV in frozen DMSO and DMF were also reported. The trend g_|| > g⊥ > g_e suggests the presence of an unpaired electron in the d_x2?y2 orbital of the Cu(II) in both complexes. Furthermore, spectral and antimicrobial properties of the prepared complexes were also investigated.     

Solution of the Dirac equation with magnetic monopole and pseudoscalar potentials

The Dirac equation in the presence of the Dirac magnetic monopole potential, the Aharonov-Bohm potential, a Coulomb potential and a pseudo-scalar potential, is solved by separation of variables using the spinweighted spherical harmonics. The energy spectrum and the form of the spinor functions are obtained. It is shown that the number j in spin-weighted spherical harmonics must be greater than $\left| q \right| - \tfrac{1} {2}$ .