Synthesis,Characterization, Structural Description,Micellization Behavior,DNA Binding Study and Antioxidant Activity of 4, 5 and 6-Coordinated Copper(II) and Zinc(II) Complexes

Four mononuclear copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes were synthesized by the reaction of copper and zinc salts with 3,4-dichlorophenylactic acid, 2-bromophenylactic acid, biphenylacetic acid (O-donor ligand) and bipyridine (N-donor ligands) having the general formulae [(L)₂Cu(bp)(H₂O)] ( 1 ), [(BpA)₂Cu(bp)] ( 2 ), [(L)₂Zn(bp)(H₂O)] ( 3 ) and [(L*)₂Zn(bp)] ( 4 ) (L = 3,4-dichlorophenylacetate, L* = 2-bromophenylacetate bp = bipyridine, and BpA = biphenylacetate). Structures of all compounds were characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. FT-IR spectra of all complexes confirmed the binding mode of Cu-O and Zn-O. XRD data revealed that complexes 1 – 3 exhibited distorted octahedral arrangement, whereas complex 4 has a distorted tetrahedral environment. Micellization behavior was examined with anionic surfactant (SDS) by conductance measurement as well as absorption spectral analysis. DNA binding study was assessed through viscosity measurement and UV/Vis spectrophotometry. DPPH free radical scavenging assay was measured by UV/Vis spectrophotometry. The results showed nice biological potential of all the complexes.     

Conceptualization and Synthesis of the First Inosito-Inositol (Decahydroxydecalin,DHD): In silico Binding to β-Amyloid Protein

Previously unknown entities in the form of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-decahydroxydecalins (DHDs) have been conceptualized and the first member of this class, an inosito-inositol, has been synthesized from aromatic hydrocarbon naphthalene following a flexible strategy that is amenable to diversity creation. The DHD accessed here has been subjected to preliminary in silico evaluation with Aβ and may hold some promise in Alzheimer's disease therapeutics.     

Phytochemical screening and in-vitro evaluation of pharmacological activities of peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya fruit

Aqueous, absolute and 80% ethanolic extract of fruit peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya were investigated for their antibacterial activity, measured by disc diffusion method and antioxidant activity, measured by four different methods. Papaya and banana peels were found to contain terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins steroid, phenols, fixed oils and fats. 80% ethanolic extract of banana peel was found to contain highest total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity but in papaya peel, highest TPC and reducing activity was shown by water extract while, TFC and radical scavenging activity was given by 80% ethanolic extract. In banana, water extract showed highest antibacterial activity against tested bacteria while in case of papaya, absolute ethanolic extract showed highest antibacterial activity. The present study revealed that peels of banana and papaya fruits are potentially good source of antioxidant and antibacterial agents.     

Characteristics of fatty acids and essential oil from sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. var. dulce) and bitter fennel fruits (F. vulgare Mill. var. vulgare) growing in Turkey

Oil content in sweet and bitter fennels was obtained 12.22% and 14.41%, respectively. The C(18:1 c6), C(18:2), C(18:1 c9) and C(16:0) acids corresponding to approximately 97% of total oil was recorded as principal fatty acids. The ratios of essential oil from sweet and bitter fennels were found similar (average 3.00%). trans-Anethole, estragole and fenchone were found to be the main constituents in both fennels. The compound with the highest value in the two oil samples was trans-anethole as 95.25% (sweet) and 75.13% (bitter). While estragole was found in bitter fennel oil in a remarkable amount (15.51%), sweet fennel oil contained small amounts of estragole (2.87%). Fenchone was found <1% in sweet and approximately 5% in bitter fennel. p-Anisaldehyde in bitter fennel essential oil, and alpha-pinene and gamma-terpinene in sweet fennel essential oil were not recorded, and these compounds were found very low or <1%.     

Synthesis, ionisation potentials and electron affinities of hexaazatrinaphthylene derivatives

Several hexaazatrinaphthylene derivatives and a tris(thieno)hexaazatriphenylene derivative have been synthesised by reaction of the appropriate diamines with hexaketocyclohexane. The crystal structure of 2,3,8,9,14,15-hexachloro-5,6,11,12,17,18-hexaazatrinaphthylene has been determined by X-ray diffraction; this reveals a molecular structure in good agreement with that predicted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and pi-stacking with an average spacing between adjacent molecular planes of 3.18 A. Solid-state ionisation potentials have been measured by using UV photoelectron spectroscopy and fall in the range of 5.99 to 7.76 eV, whereas solid-state electron affinities, measured using inverse photoelectron spectroscopy, vary in the range -2.65 to -4.59 eV. The most easily reduced example is a tris(thieno)hexaazatriphenylene substituted with bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl groups; DFT calculations suggest that the highly exothermic electron affinity is due both to the replacement of the outermost phenylene rings of hexaazatrinaphthylene with thieno groups and to the presence of electron-withdrawing bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl groups. The rather exothermic electron affinities, the potential for adopting pi-stacked structures and the low intramolecular reorganisation energies obtained by DFT calculations suggest that some of these molecules may be useful electron-transport materials.     

Formation Mechanism of Laser‐Synthesized Iron–Manganese Alloy Nanoparticles,Manganese Oxide Nanosheets and Nanofibers

Laser ablation in liquids (LAL) has emerged as a versatile approach for the synthesis of alloy particles and oxide nanomaterials. However, complex chemical reactions often take place during synthesis due to inevitable atomization and ionization of the target materials and decomposition/hydrolysis of solvent/solution molecules, making it difficult to understand the particle formation mechanisms. In this paper, a possible route for the formation of FeMn alloy nanoparticles as well as MnO_x nanoparticles, ‐sheets, and ‐fibers by LAL is presented. The observed structural, compositional, and morphological variations are clarified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The studies suggest that a reaction between Mn atoms and Fe ions followed by surface oxidation result in nonstoichiometric synthesis of Fe‐rich FeMn@FeMn₂O₄ core–shell alloy particles. Interestingly, a phase transformation from Mn₃O₄ to Mn₂O₃ and finally to Ramsdellite γ‐MnO₂ is accompanied by a morphology change from nanosheets to nanofibers in gradually increasing oxidizing environments. High‐resolution TEM images reveal that the particle‐attachment mechanism dominates the growth of different manganese oxides.     

Scarlet Flax Linum grandiflorum (L.) In Vitro Cultures as a New Source of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Lignans

In vitro cultures of scarlet flax (Linum grandiflorum L.), an important ornamental flax, have been established as a new possible valuable resource of lignans and neolignans for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory applications. The callogenic potential at different concentrations of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and thidiazuron (TDZ), alone or in combinations, was evaluated using both L. grandiflorum hypocotyl and cotyledon explants. A higher callus induction frequency was observed on NAA than TDZ, especially for hypocotyl explants, with a maximum frequency (i.e., 95.2%) on 1.0 mg/L of NAA. The presence of NAA (1.0 mg/L) in conjunction with TDZ tended to increase the frequency of callogenesis relative to TDZ alone, but never reached the values observed with NAA alone, thereby indicating the lack of synergy between these two plant growth regulators (PGRs). Similarly, in terms of biomass, NAA was more effective than TDZ, with a maximum accumulation of biomass registered for medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L of NAA using hypocotyls as initial explants (DW: 13.1 g). However, for biomass, a synergy between the two PGRs was observed, particularly for cotyledon-derived explants and for the lowest concentrations of TDZ. The influence of these two PGRs on callogenesis and biomass is discussed. The HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of lignans (secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and lariciresinol (LARI) and neolignan (dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol [DCA]) naturally accumulated in their glycoside forms. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities performed for both hypocotyl- and cotyledon-derived cultures were also found maximal (DPPH: 89.5%, FRAP 866: µM TEAC, ABTS: 456 µM TEAC) in hypocotyl-derived callus cultures as compared with callus obtained from cotyledon explants. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory activities revealed high inhibition (COX-1: 47.4% and COX-2: 51.1%) for extract of hypocotyl-derived callus cultures at 2.5 mg/L TDZ. The anti-inflammatory action against COX-1 and COX-2 was supported by the IC₅₀ values. This report provides a viable approach for enhanced biomass accumulation and efficient production of (neo)lignans in L. grandiflorum callus cultures.     

Vibronic coupling in organic semiconductors: the case of fused polycyclic benzene-thiophene structures

The nature of vibronic coupling in fused polycyclic benzene-thiophene structures has been studied using an approach that combines high-resolution gas-phase photoelectron spectroscopy measurements with first-principles quantum-mechanical calculations. The results indicate that in general the electron-vibrational coupling is stronger than the hole-vibrational coupling. In acenedithiophenes, the main contributions to the hole-vibrational coupling arise from medium- and high-frequency vibrations. In thienobisbenzothiophenes, however, the interaction of holes with low-frequency vibrations becomes significant and is larger than the corresponding electron-vibrational interaction. This finding is in striking contrast with the characteristic pattern in oligoacenes and acenedithiophenes in which the low-frequency vibrations contribute substantially only to the electron-vibrational coupling. The impact of isomerism has been studied as well.     

Optimization of Neutrino Oscillation Parameters Using Differential Evolution

We show how the traditional grid based method for finding neutrino oscillation parameters m2 and tan 2θ can be combined with an optimization technique,Differential Evolution(DE),to get a significant decrease in computer processing time required to obtain minimal chi-square(χ2) in four different regions of the parameter space.We demonstrate efficiency for the two-neutrinos case.For this,the χ2 function for neutrino oscillations is evaluated for grids with different density of points in standard allowed regions of the parameter space of m2 and tan 2θ using experimental and theoretical total event rates of chlorine(Homestake),Gallex+GNO,SAGE,Superkamiokande,and SNO detectors.We find that using DE in combination with the grid based method with small density of points can produce the results comparable with the one obtained using high density grid,in much lesser computation time.