Palm Raceme as a Promising Biomass Precursor for Activated Carbon to Promote Lipase Activity with the Aid of Eutectic Solvents

This study concerns the role of activated carbon (AC) from palm raceme as a support material for the enhancement of lipase-catalyzed reactions in an aqueous solution, with deep eutectic solvent (DES) as a co-solvent. The effects of carbonization temperature, impregnation ratio, and carbonization time on lipase activity were studied. The activities of Amano lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (AML) and lipase from the porcine pancreas (PPL) were used to investigate the optimum conditions for AC preparation. The results showed that AC has more interaction with PPL and effectively provides greater enzymatic activity compared with AML. The optimum treatment conditions of AC samples that yield the highest enzymatic activity were 0.5 (NaOH (g)/palm raceme (g)), 150 min, and a carbonization temperature of 400 °C. DES was prepared from alanine/sodium hydroxide and used with AC for the further enhancement of enzymatic activity. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the activity of PPL was enhanced with the immobilization of AC in a DES medium.     

Theragnostic Applications of Mammal and Plant-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Latest Findings,Current Technologies,and Prospects

The way cells communicate is not fully understood. However, it is well-known that extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved. Researchers initially thought that EVs were used by cells to remove cellular waste. It is now clear that EVs function as signaling molecules released by cells to communicate with one another, carrying a cargo representing the mother cell. Furthermore, these EVs can be found in all biological fluids, making them the perfect non-invasive diagnostic tool, as their cargo causes functional changes in the cells upon receiving, unlike synthetic drug carriers. EVs last longer in circulation and instigate minor immune responses, making them the perfect drug carrier. This review sheds light on the latest development in EVs isolation, characterization and, application as therapeutic cargo, novel drug loading techniques, and diagnostic tools. We also address the advancement in plant-derived EVs, their characteristics, and applications; since plant-derived EVs only recently gained focus, we listed the latest findings. Although there is much more to learn about, EV is a wide field of research; what scientists have discovered so far is fascinating. This paper is suitable for those new to the field seeking to understand EVs and those already familiar with it but wanting to review the latest findings.     

Euphorbiasteroid Abrogates EGFR and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells to Impart Anticancer Activity

EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways play a prominent role in tumor progression in various human cancers including non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Transactivation and crosstalk between the EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin pathways may contribute to the aggressiveness of cancers. Targeting these oncogenic pathways with small molecules is an attractive approach to counteract various types of cancers. In this study, we demonstrate the effect of euphorbiasteroid (EPBS) on the EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in NSCLC cells. EPBS induced preferential cytotoxicity toward A549 (wildtype EGFR-expressing) cells over PC-9 (mutant EGFR-expressing) cells. EPBS suppressed the expression of EGFR, Wnt3a, β-catenin, and FZD-1, and the reduction in β-catenin levels was found to be mediated through the activation of GSK-3β. EPBS reduced the phosphorylation of GSK-3β^S9 with a parallel increase in β-TrCP and phosphorylation of GSK-3β^Y216. Lithium chloride treatment increased the phosphorylation of GSK-3β^S9 and nuclear localization of β-catenin, whereas EPBS reverted these effects. Forced expression or depletion of EGFR in NSCLC cells increased or decreased the levels of Wnt3a, β-catenin, and FZD-1, respectively. Overall, EPBS abrogates EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin pathways to impart its anticancer activity in NSCLC cells.     

Flow Injection Chemiluminescence Method for Nalbuphine Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulations Using Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) Chloride-diperiodatocuprate(III) Reaction

Asensitive and selective method employing chemiluminescence(CL) coupled with flow injection(FI) is reported for nalbuphine hydrochloride(NAL) assay in pharmaceutical formulations. The enhancement effect of NAL on the CL reaction between tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chloride-diperiodatocuprate(III) {Ru[(bpy)₃]²⁺-Cu(III) complex} in acidic medium is used as analytical measurement. The optimal conditions of the CL reaction were sulfuric acid 1.0×10^-3 mol/L, Ru[(bpy)₃]²⁺ 7.5×10^-5 mol/L, Cu(III)/Ag(III) complexes 4.0×10^-4/5.0×10^-4 mol/L, sample loop volume of 120 μL and flow rate of 2.5 mL/min. The sensitivities of the method in terms of detection(S/N=3) and quantification(S/N=10) limits are 5×10^-4 and 0.001 ppm(1 ppm=1 mg/L), respectively. The linear response of the instrument in the form of CL intensity with respect to NAL concentration is over the range 0.001-15.0 ppm(R²=0.9999) with relative standard deviation from 0.8% to 3.2% and injection throughput of 120 injection/h. The applications of the method include the quantitative analysis of NAL in pharmaceutical injection samples. Variations and the average results of the proposed method are not signi-ficantly different from the results of a reported method by applying F- and paired student t-test. The most likely CL reaction mechanism is written in accordance with spectrophotometric and CL studies.     

Thermal radiation and surface roughness effects on the thermo-magneto-hydrodynamic stability of alumina–copper oxide hybrid nanofluids utilizing the generalized Buongiorno’s nanofluid model

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Sequel to the fact that hybrid nanofluidic systems (e.g. scalable micro-/nanofluidic device) exhibit greater thermal resistance with increasing...     

Hybrid (ND-Co3O4/EG) nanoliquid through a permeable cylinder under homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions and slip effects

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Modeling and computations are performed to study the ND-Co3O4/EG hybrid nanoliquid mixed convective flow past a vertical porous cylinder. The flow...     

A deep learning method for estimating the boiling heat transfer coefficient of porous surfaces

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Owing to the high nucleation site density and relatively robust behavior, sintered coated surfaces are of great interest for thermal management via...     

Numerical simulation of the performance of a novel parabolic solar receiver filled with nanofluid

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The aim of this work is the energy analysis of a novel semicircle-shaped parabolic trough solar collector filled with the water–boehmite alumina...     

A numerical simulation of mixed convective and arbitrarily oblique radiative stagnation point slip flow of a CNT-water MHD nanofluid

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Numerical simulation of a non-linear mathematical model governing an arbitrarily oblique slip flow of a nanofluid, with suspended carbon nanotubes in...