Preparation and characterization of cyclodextrin inclusion complex of naringenin and critical comparison with phospholipid complexation for improving solubility and dissolution

Naringenin, a flavonoid specific to citrus fruits shows a variety of therapeutic effects like anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antitumour effects. But it is associated with some limitations like poor water solubility, poor dissolution, lower half-life, and rapid clearance from the body. With the aim of improving amorphous nature, water solubility, and dissolution profile of naringenin and its complexes were prepared with β-cyclodextrin in three different molar ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) by solvent evaporation method. These complexes were characterized for solubility, drug content, chemical interaction (using FTIR), phase transition behavior (using DSC), crystallinity (using XRPD), surface morphology (using SEM), and in vitro dissolution study. The results were also critically compared with the results obtained from naringenin-phospholipid complexes (from author’s previous study). The prepared complexes showed high drug content (ranging from 69.53 to 84.38 %) and about two fold improvement in water solubility (from 41.81 to 76.31 μg mL^?1 in the complex with 1:3 ratio). SEM of the complexes showed irregular and rough surface morphology. FTIR, DSC, and XRPD data confirmed the formation of the complex. Unlike the free naringenin which showed a total of only 48.78 % drug release at the end of 60 min, the complex showed 98.0–100 % in dissolution study. Thus it was concluded that the β-cyclodextrin of naringenin may be of potential use for improving bioavailability of poorly soluble phytoconstituents/herbal drugs. On critical comparison with the phospholipid complex of naringenin both the techniques were found almost equally effective in improving the solubility and the dissolution performance of naringenin in the complex form.     

Regulation of vincamine biosynthesis and associated growth promoting effects through abiotic elicitation,cyclooxygenase inhibition,and precursor feeding of bioreactor grown Vinca minor hairy roots

Hydroxylase/acetyltransferase elicitors and cyclooxygenase inhibitor along with various precursors from primary shikimate and secoiridoid pools have been fortified to vincamine less hairy root clone of Vinca minor to determine the regulatory factors associated with vincamine biosynthesis. Growth kinetic studies revealed that acetyltransferase elicitor acetic anhydride and terpenoid precursor loganin significantly reduce the growth either supplemented alone or in combination (GI?=?140.6?±?18.5 to 246.7?±?24.3), while shikimate and tryptophan trigger biomass accumulation (GI?=?440.2?±?31.5 to 540.5?±?40.3). Loganin also downregulates total alkaloid biosynthesis. Maximum flux towards vincamine production (0.017?±?0.001 % dry wt.) was obtained when 20-day-old hairy roots were fortified with secologanin (10 mg/l) along with tryptophan (100 mg/l), naproxen (8.4 mg/l), hydrogen peroxide (20 μg/l), and acetic anhydride (32.4 mg/l). This was supported by RT PCR (qPCR) analysis where 2- and 3-fold increase in tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC; RQ?=?2.0?±?0.09) and strictosidine synthase (STR; RQ?=?3.3?±?0.36) activity, respectively, was recorded. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) for growth kinetics, total alkaloid content, and gene expression studies favored highly significant data (P?<?0.05–0.01). Above treated hairy roots were also up-scaled in a 5-l stirred-tank bioreactor where a 40-day cycle yielded 8-fold increase in fresh root mass.     

Comparative computational appraisal of supercritical CO2-based natural circulation loop: effect of heat-exchanger and isothermal wall

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Natural circulation loop (NCL) is a geometrically simple heat transfer device in which fluid flow occurs due to density gradient of loop fluid, induced...     

High Na+ Mobility in rGO Wrapped High Aspect Ratio 1D SbSe Nano Structure Renders Better Electrochemical Na+ Battery Performance

We chose to understand the cyclic instability and rate instability issues in the promising class of Na⁺ conversion and alloying anodes with Sb₂Se₃ as a typical example. We employ a synthetic strategy that ensures efficient rGO (reduced graphene oxide) wrapping over Sb₂Se₃ material. By utilization of the minimum weight of additive (5 wt.% of rGO), we achieved a commendable performance with a reversible capacity of 550 mAh g⁻¹ at a specific current of 100 mA g⁻¹ and an impressive rate performance with 100 % capacity retention after high current cycling involving a 2 Ag⁻¹ intermediate current step. The electrochemical galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) has been employed for the first time to draw a rationale between the enhanced performance and the increased mobility in the rGO wrapped composite (Sb₂Se₃-rGO) compared to bare Sb₂Se₃. GITT analysis reveals higher Na⁺ diffusion coefficients (approx. 30 fold higher) in the case of Sb₂Se₃-rGO as compared to bare Sb₂Se₃ throughout the operating voltage window. For Sb₂Se₃-rGO the diffusion coefficients in the range of 8.0×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ to 2.2×10⁻¹² cm² s⁻¹ were observed, while in case of bare Sb₂Se₃ the diffusion coefficients in the range of 1.6×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ to 9.4×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ were observed.     

Antioxidant,Antibacterial and Dyeing Potential of Crude Pigment Extract of Gonatophragmium triuniae and Its Chemical Characterization

Filamentous fungi synthesize natural products as an ecological function. In this study, an interesting indigenous fungus producing orange pigment exogenously was investigated in detail as it possesses additional attributes along with colouring properties. An interesting fungus was isolated from a dicot plant, Maytenus rothiana. After a detailed study, the fungal isolate turned out to be a species of Gonatophragmium belonging to the family Acrospermaceae. Based on the morphological, cultural, and sequence-based phylogenetic analysis, the identity of this fungus was confirmed as Gonatophragmium triuniae. Although this fungus grows moderately, it produces good amounts of pigment on an agar medium. The fermented crude extract isolated from G. triuniae has shown antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ value of 0.99 mg/mL and antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (with MIC of 3.91 μg/mL against Bacillus subtilis, and 15.6 μg/mL and 31.25 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus, respectively). Dyeing of cotton fabric mordanted with FeSO₄ using crude pigment was found to be satisfactory based on visual observation, suggesting its possible use in the textile industry. The orange pigment was purified from the crude extract by preparative HP-TLC. In addition, UV-Vis, FTIR, HRMS and NMR (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR), COSY, and DEPT analyses revealed the orange pigment to be “1,2-dimethoxy-3H-phenoxazin-3-one” (C₁₄H₁₁NO₄, m/z 257). To our understanding, the present study is the first comprehensive report on Gonatophragmium triuniae as a potential pigment producer, reporting “1,2-dimethoxy-3H-phenoxazin-3-one” as the main pigment from the crude hexane extract. Moreover, this is the first study reporting antioxidant, antibacterial, and dyeing potential of crude extract of G. triuniae, suggesting possible potential applications of pigments and other bioactive secondary metabolites of the G. triuniae in textile and pharmaceutical industry.     

Restoration optimization strategy for multifiber optical networks

Resource optimization is a very important issue related with restoration in optical networks. In the proactive restoration, backup lightpaths are established along with the primary light paths. In this paper, we have proposed a strategy for resource optimization, which works with proactive restoration. The performance of the proposed strategy is evaluated by applying on the sample network.     

Sulfuric acid-functionalized mesoporous benzene-silica with a molecular-scale periodicity in the walls

Novel sulfuric acid-functionalized mesoporous benzene-silicas with a molecular-scale periodicity in the walls were derived from the mesoporous benzene-silica possessing mercaptopropyl groups by the oxidative transformation of -SH into -SO3H.     

Electro-optic detection of femtosecond electromagnetic pulses by use of poled polymers

We report the generation and coherent detection of freely propagating ultrashort baseband electromagnetic pulses. Using optical rectification in ?110? GaAs for wideband emission and electro-optic sampling in a poled polymer for wideband detection, we demonstrate spectral sensitivity that extends from the far infrared (lambda~100 mum) to ~33 THz(lambda = 9 mum) . Over a band of nearly 20 THz, a relatively flat frequency response is observed. We discuss issues that limit the response bandwidth.     

Mössbauer Study of La1−x Ca x Mn1−y 57Fe y O3 with x=0,0.25; y=0.01

Temperature dependent Mössbauer measurements are done on the samples of La_1–x Ca _x Mn_1–y ⁵⁷Fe _y O₃ with x=0 and 0.25, and y=0.01. With decreasing temperature, the specimen with x=0.25 shows a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition around 175 K. In the specimen x=0.0, the temperature dependence of both the center shift () and the recoilless fraction (f) can be fitted very well with the Debye theory with a _D=320±50 K. But for the specimens with x=0.25, f and show distinct deviations from the Debye behavior in the temperature range in which the resistivity shows a sharp decrease. Dips observed in both the f and around the transition temperature suggest that the Jahn–Teller distortion observed in these systems is dynamic in nature.