Electrocatalytic treatment of waste: studies on discoloration of an industrial azo dye effluent

A textile dye effluent containing chiefly reactive azo dyes has been treated electrochemically for discoloration and COD (chemical oxygen demand) reduction at different current densities, flow rates and dilution. Experiments have been carried out in a thin electrochemical reactor under single pass conditions using a dimensionally stable catalytic anode (DSA) and a stainless steel cathode.     

Synthesis of natural triisopentenylated flavanone, euchrenone a2

Euchrenone a₂ (7) isolated from the roots ofEuchresta japonica has been synthesised from 3-prenylphloroacetophenone (1) by other workers. We carried out its cyclodehydrogenation with dichloro dicyano quinone (DDQ) to obtain 6-acetyl-5,7-dihydroxy-2,2-dimethylchromene (2) which was ethoxymethylated in the 7-position to give 6-acetyl-7-ethoxymethoxy-5-hydroxychromene (3). Chalcone condensation of3 and 4-ethoxymethoxy-3-C-prenylbenzaldehyde (4) gave 4,6′-bisethoxymethoxy-2′-hydroxy-6″, 6″-dimethyl-3-C-prenylpyrano (2″, 3″–4,3) chalcone (5) which cyclised with methanolic sodium acetate to give protected 5,4′-bisethoxymethoxy-6″, 6″-dimethyl-3′-C-prenylpyrano (2″, 3″–7,8) flavanone (6). Deprotection of6 with 4% methanolic HCl yielded (7) with melting point and spectral data identical to that of the natural compound.     

Myoglobin/arylhydroxylamine film modified electrode: Direct electrochemistry and electrochemical catalysis

The adsorption processes and electrochemical behavior of 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) adsorbed onto glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) have been investigated in aqueous 0.1 M nitric acid (HNO₃) electrolyte solutions using cyclic voltammetry (CV). 4-NA adsorbs onto GCE surfaces, and upon potential cycling past −0.2 V, is transformed into the arylhydroxylamine (ArHA) derivative which exhibits a well-behaved pH dependent redox couple centered at 0.32 V at pH 1.5. It is noted as arylhydroxylamine modified glassy carbon electrodes (HAGCE). This modified electrode can be readily used as an immobilization matrix to entrap proteins and enzymes. In our studies, myoglobin (Mb) was used as a model protein for investigation. A pair of well-defined reversible redox peaks of Mb (Fe(III)-Fe(II)) was obtained at the Mb/arylhydroxylamine modified glassy carbon electrode (Mb/HAGC) by direct electron transfer between the protein and the GCE. The formal potential (E^0′), the apparent coverage (Γ^*) and the electron-transfer rate constant (k_s) were calculated as −0.317 V, 8.26 × 10⁻¹² mol/cm² and 51 ± 5 s⁻¹, respectively. Dramatically enhanced biocatalytic activity was exemplified at the Mb/HAGC electrode by the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and oxygen (O₂). The Mb/arylhydroxylamine film was also characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicating excellent stability and good biocompatibility of the protein in the arylhydroxylamine modified electrode. This new Mb/HAGC electrode exhibited rapid electrochemical response (2 s) for H₂O₂ and had good stability in physiological condition, showing the potential applicability of the films in the preparation of third generation biosensors or bioreactors based on direct electrochemistry of the proteins.     

New Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) homoleptic complexes with 6-chloro-5-7-dimethyl-4oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes and its heteroleptic complexes with quinoline-8 ol: synthesis,characterization and antimicrobial activity

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In the present study, the synthesis of ligand 6-chloro-5-7-dimethyl-4oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes by three steps from the substituted phenol. The formed...     

Fly ash supported NiO as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of xanthene and its molecular docking study against plasmodium glutathione reductase

A novel fly ash supported NiO (FA–NiO) nanocomposite solid heterogeneous catalyst has been prepared by impregnation of Ni(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O on thermally activated fly ash (FA) support. FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, TEM and BET techniques were employed to characterize the catalyst. The catalytic adeptness of FA–NiO was tested and optimized in xanthene formation. Catalyst gave very high yield and good purity. Stability of the catalyst could be promising as it easily recovered and reused giving a similar yield up to four cycles. FA–NiO is an efficient catalyst providing an environmentally clean process for xanthene formation and for developing a revolutionary way to use the majority of waste fly ash. Further, we have also performed docking simulation between 1ONF and a xanthene molecule to evaluate binding orientation and affinity of the ligand.     

Prebiotic Oligosaccharides: Special Focus on Fructooligosaccharides,Its Biosynthesis and Bioactivity

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important nonprotein-coding genes involved in almost all biological processes during biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. To investigate the miRNA-mediated plant response to drought stress, two drought-tolerant (C-306 and NI-5439) and two drought-sensitive (HUW-468 and WL-711) wheat genotypes were exposed to 25 % PEG 6000 for 1, 12 and 24 h. Temporal expression patterns of 12 drought-responsive miRNAs and their corresponding nine targets were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results showed differential expression of miRNAs and their targets with varying degree of upregulation and downregulation in drought-sensitive genotypes. Likewise, in drought-tolerant wheat genotypes, maximum accumulation of miR393a and miR397a was observed at 1 h of stress. In addition, nearly perfect negative correlation was observed in four miRNA and target pairs (miR164-NAC, miR168a-AGO, miR398-SOD and miR159a-MYB) across all the temporal period studied which could be a major player during drought response in wheat. We, for the first time, validated the presence of miR529a and miR1029 in wheat. These findings gives a clue for temporal and variety-specific differential regulation of miRNAs and their targets in wheat in response to osmotic shock and could help in defining the potential roles of miRNAs in plant adaptation to osmotic stress in future.     

Furfuroxides of lanthanum,praseodymium, neodymium,and samarium

Ln(R)₃, Ln(R)₂(OPrⁱ), and Ln(R)(OPrⁱ)₂ (where Ln = La, Pr, Nd, and Sm; R = deprotonated furfuryl alcohol, RH) were prepared from lanthanide isopropoxide and furfuryl alcohol in 1:3, 1:2 and 1:1 stoichiometric ratios respectively in anhydrous benzene under reflux. Ln(R)₂-(OPrⁱ) and Ln(R)(OPrⁱ)₂ were also obtained at room temperature. The isopropoxy group(s) of these derivatives were replaced by tertiary butoxy group(s) during the alcohol exchange reactions with tertiary butanol. All these derivatives are soluble in benzene except the tertiary butoxy derivatives which are only sparingly soluble. However, they become insoluble on standing. These furfuroxides did not distil at ～300°C/10² torr but decomposed. Isopropoxy/butoxy furfuroxides were characterized by the elemental analysis and also by estimating the liberated isopropanol. The i.r. spectra of Ln(R)₃ clearly supports the presence of furfuroxide groups in these derivatives.