Thiourea Derivatives,Simple in Structure but Efficient Enzyme Inhibitors and Mercury Sensors

In this study six unsymmetrical thiourea derivatives, 1-isobutyl-3-cyclohexylthiourea (1), 1-tert-butyl-3-cyclohexylthiourea (2), 1-(3-chlorophenyl)-3-cyclohexylthiourea (3), 1-(1,1-dibutyl)-3-phenylthiourea (4), 1-(2-chlorophenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (5) and 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (6) were obtained in the laboratory under aerobic conditions. Compounds 3 and 4 are crystalline and their structure was determined for their single crystal. Compounds 3 is monoclinic system with space group P2₁/n while compound 4 is trigonal, space group R³:H. Compounds (1–6) were tested for their anti-cholinesterase activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase (hereafter abbreviated as, AChE and BChE, respectively). Potentials (all compounds) as sensing probes for determination of deadly toxic metal (mercury) using spectrofluorimetric technique were also investigated. Compound 3 exhibited better enzyme inhibition IC₅₀ values of 50, and 60 µg/mL against AChE and BChE with docking score of −10.01, and −8.04 kJ/mol, respectively. The compound also showed moderate sensitivity during fluorescence studies.     

Photosensitive peptide hydrogels as smart materials for applications

Photosensitive supramolecular peptide hydrogels with the gelators forming by the integration of photosensitive moieties and peptides have been briefly summarized the hydrogelation capabilities, the expressing manner serving as smart materials, and practical applications.     

Dispersion of polymeric-coated–silica aerogel particles in unsaturated polyester composites: Effects on thermal-mechanical properties

The thermal-mechanical properties of unsaturated polyester (UP) composite were enhanced by the dispersion of silica aerogel (SA) with preserved pores. Low-cost SA was prepared from rice husk via the sol-gel process and ambient pressure drying. A new method was proposed to encapsulate the hydrophobic aerogel surface pores with hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film using the fluidized-bed coating process. The dispersion of PVA-coated aerogel with preserved pores in the polyester matrix resulted in an increase of specific compressive strength (44.1?MPa?·?cm³?g^?1), thermal insulation (0.23?W?m^?1?K^?1), and thermal stability (T_onset?=?310°C), but decreased the glass transition temperature (T_g?=?260°C).     

Small Ubiquitin-Like Modifier Protein 3 Enhances the Solubilization of Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 in <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis>

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) fusion technology is widely used in the production of heterologous proteins from prokaryotic system to aid in protein solubilization and refolding. Due to an extensive clinical application of human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (hBMP2) in bone augmentation, total RNA was isolated from human gingival tissue and mature gene was amplified through RT-PCR, cloned (pET21a), sequence analyzed, and submitted to GenBank (Accession no. KF250425). To obtain soluble expression, SUMO3 was tagged at the N-terminus of hBMP2 gene (pET21a/SUMO3-hBMP2), transferred in BL21 codon+, and ~?40% soluble expression was obtained on induction with IPTG. The dimerized hBMP2 was confirmed with Western blot, native PAGE analysis, and purified by fast protein liquid chromatography with 0.5 M NaCl elution. The cleavage of SUMO3 tag from hBMP2 converted it to an insoluble form. Computational 3D structural analysis of the SUMO3-hBMP2 was performed and optimized by molecular dynamic simulation. Protein-protein interaction of SUMO3-hBMP2 with BMP2 receptor was carried out using HADDOCK and inferred stable interaction. The alkaline phosphatase assay of SUMO3-hBMP2 on C2C12 cells showed maximum 200-ng/ml dose-dependent activity. We conclude that SUMO3-tagged hBMP2 is more suited for generation of soluble form of the protein and addition of SUMO3 tag does not affect the functional activity of hBMP2.     

Lipase-catalyzed green synthesis of starch–maleate monoesters and its characterization

The present study reports the green synthesis of starch–maleate (SM) at ambient temperature in solvent-free system using Rhizopus arrhizus lipase as a biocatalyst and maleic acid (MA) as an esterification agent. The synthetic scheme was found to be efficient, economical, and ecofriendly. The newly synthesized SM samples were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopic techniques. The degree of substitution (DS) was found in the range of 0.53–0.62. Moreover, DS was found to be temperature and time-dependent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibited that maleation did not change the crystalline nature of native starch. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that size of SM granules was in the range of 4–18 µm. The activation energy (E_a) of SM formation was calculated to be 42.94 kcal mol^?1 which clearly indicated the effective and rapid interaction of functional groups. Hence, the solvent-free solid-state synthetic methodology proved to be excellent for the synthesis of novel biomaterials with appreciable high DS for drug delivery and sorption of heavy metal ions from water.     

Rho-kinase inhibitors from adlay seeds

Rho-kinase enzymes are one of the most important targets recently identified in our bodies. Several lines of evidence indicate that these enzymes are involved in many diseases and cellular disorders. ROCK inhibitors may have clinical applications for cancer, hypertension, glaucoma, etc. Our study aims to identify the possible involvement of Rho-kinase inhibition to the multiple biological activities of adlay seeds and provide a rationale for their folkloric medicines. Hence, we evaluated Rho-kinase I and II inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract and 28 compounds derived from the seeds. A molecular docking assay was designed to estimate the binding affinity of the tested compounds with the target enzymes. The results of our study suggest a possible involvement of Rho-kinase inhibition to the multiple biological activities of the seeds. Furthermore, the results obtained with the tested compounds revealed some interesting skeletons as a scaffold for design and development of natural Rho-kinase inhibitors.     

On linear combinations of two tripotent, idempotent, and involutive matrices

Let A=c₁A₁+c₂A₂, wherec₁, c₂ are nonzero complex numbers and (A₁,A₂) is a pair of two n×n nonzero matrices. We consider the problem of characterizing all situations where a linear combination of the form A=c₁A₁+c₂A₂ is (i) a tripotent or an involutive matrix when are commuting involutive or commuting tripotent matrices, respectively, (ii) an idempotent matrix when are involutive matrices, and (iii) an involutive matrix when are involutive or idempotent matrices.     

Addition of alkyl radicals to transition-metal-coordinated CO: calculation of the reaction of [Ru(CO)5] and related complexes and relevance to alkane carbonylation

Electronic structure methods have been used to study the transition state and products of the reaction between alkyl radicals and CO coordinated in transition-metal complexes. At the B3LYP DFT level, methyl addition to a carbonyl of [Ru(CO)5] or [Ru(CO)3(dmpe)] is calculated to be about 6 kcal/mol more exothermic than addition to free CO. In contrast, methyl addition to [Mo(CO)6] is 12 kcal/mol less exothermic than addition to CO, while the reaction enthalpy of methyl addition to [Pd(CO)4] is comparable to that of free CO. Related results are obtained at the CCSD-T level and for the reactions of the cyclohexyl radical. The transition state for these reactions is characterized by significant distortion of the geometry of the reactant complex, which include lengthening and bending of the M-CO bond, but with negligible C-C bond formation. Accordingly, the activation energy for addition to coordinated carbonyls is 2-10 kcal/mol greater than that of addition to free CO. Additional calculations were also carried out on representative unsaturated metal carbonyls. The calculated results afford an understanding of the mechanism of previously reported photochemical alkane carbonylation systems utilizing d(8)-ML5 metal carbonyls as cocatalysts. In particular, it is strongly indicated that such systems operate via direct attack by an alkyl radical at a CO ligand, a reaction that has not previously been proposed.