The Use of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) to Cross‐link Penicillinase for the Fabrication of a Penicillin Potentiometric Biosensor

Chemically cross‐linked PVA films are permeable matrices for the fabrication of biosensors. PVA provides an attractive immobilisation method as it preserves the enzymatic activity. Penicillinase (P’nase) was cross‐linked with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). The optimum conditions for the of BSA‐PVA‐P’nase film were: 2.5 % w/v PVA, 0.006 % w/v BSA, 2.4 mM penicillin (Pen) and 16 U/mL P’nase. The minimum detectable concentration was 1.7 µM. The linear concentration range obtained for the BSA‐PVA film was 7.5–283 µM. The BSA‐PVA P’nase biosensor detected penicillin in amoxycillin with an average percentage recovery of 97±12 %. Higher penicillin concentrations (10–20 ppm) were detected more successfully than lower concentrations (≤5 ppm). These results indicate that further work is required to enable the successful detection of lower penicillin concentrations such as 5 ppm.     

Efficient barrier properties of mechanically enhanced agro-extracted cellulosic biocomposites

The objective of this work was to prepare the mechanically stable hydrophobic biocomposites by incorporating the cellulose fibers into the polymer matrices for their applications in biomedical and food packaging. Herein, two different types of biocomposites were prepared by mixing polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) with the agro-extracted cellulose, separately at 170 °C. The influence of the cellulose fibers on the thermal, mechanical, and barrier properties of polymer matrices (PLA and PHB) was observed. With an increase in the cellulose content in PLA and PHB, the tensile strength of the biocomposite materials significantly improved with the enhancement of 24.45% and 32.08%, respectively, compared with the pure PLA and PHB. Furthermore, a decrease of 74.16% and 73.49% in the water vapor transmission rate and oxygen transmission rate, respectively, was observed for cellulose/PHB biocomposites. This study highlights that adding cellulose fibers significantly improves the mechanical and the barrier properties of PLA and PHB, suggesting their biocomposites for use in biodegradable polymer industries.     

A Narrative Review on the Phytochemistry,Pharmacology and Therapeutic Potentials of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau Leaves as an Alternative Source of Future Medicine

The application of natural products and supplements has expanded tremendously over the past few decades. Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans), which is affiliated to the Acanthaceae family, has recently caught the interest of researchers from the countries of subtropical Asia due to its medicinal uses in alternative treatment for skin infection conditions due to insect bites, microorganism infections and cancer, as well as for health well-being. A number of bioactive compounds from this plant’s extract, namely phenolic compounds, sulphur containing compounds, sulphur containing glycosides compounds, terpens-tripenoids, terpens-phytosterols and chlorophyll-related compounds possess high antioxidant activities. This literature search yielded about one hundred articles which were then further documented, including the valuable data and findings obtained from all accessible electronic searches and library databases. The promising pharmacological activities from C. nutans leaves extract, including antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-venom, analgesic and anti-nociceptive properties were meticulously dissected. Moreover, the authors also discuss a few of the pharmacological aspect of C. nutans leaves extracts against anti-hyperlipidemia, vasorelaxation and renoprotective activities, which are seldom available from the previously discussed review papers. From the aspect of toxicological studies, controversial findings have been reported in both in-vitro and in-vivo experiments. Thus, further investigations on their phytochemical compounds and their mode of action showing pharmacological activities are required to fully grasp both traditional usage and their suitability for future drugs development. Data related to therapeutic activity and the constituents of C. nutans leaves were searched by using the search engines Google scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct, and accepting literature reported between 2010 to present. On the whole, this review paper compiles all the available contemporary data from this subtropical herb on its phytochemistry and pharmacological activities with a view towards garnering further interest in exploring its use in cardiovascular and renal diseases.     

汞(II)与牛血红蛋白相互作用的研究

本文采用紫外光谱(UV/VIS)、荧光光谱和圆二色谱等方法,对汞(II)与牛血红蛋白(BHb)的相互作用进行了研究。结果表明:Hg2 处理导致BHb紫外吸收的增加,出现LMCT带,并随Hg2 浓度的增加LMCT带强度显著增强。BHb分子中Soret带的吸收随着Hg2 作用时间的增加而持续降低,表明Hg2 使部分血红素辅基从BHb中脱离出来。蛋白内源荧光光谱显示,Hg2 与BHb的结合会影响蛋白质的三级结构和四级结构。远紫外圆二色谱表明,Hg2 处理会导致BHb蛋白的α-螺旋含量减少。     

Synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted pyrazines and quinoxalines by Heck cross-coupling reactions of 2,3-dichloropyrazine and 2,3-dichloroquinoxaline. Influence of the temperature on the product distribution

Heck cross-coupling reactions of 2,3-dichloropyrazine provide a convenient approach to 2,3-dialkenyl-, 2-alkenyl-3-alkyl-, and 2,3-dialkylpyrazines depending on the reaction conditions.     

Armatans A and B,New Antimicrobial Isoflavans from Colutea armata

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Armatans A (1) and B (2), new isoflavans, have been isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the MeOH extract of Colutea armata Hemsl. & Lace, along with...     

Event detection occurrence for planar piece-wise affine hybrid systems

Many switched circuits are made of linear components switched by a simple logic unit. In this paper, we use a generic planar Piece-wise Affine Hybrid System (PWAHS) to model this kind of circuit. Usually, simulations are run by analytical methods (adapted to a specific simple model) or by numerical simulations that can miss some events’ occurrences. We propose a generic planar method to simulate PWAHSs with periodic and state dependent events. Using analytical expressions, our approach can reach arbitrary accuracy in event detections without any loss. As a result, we have implemented our method in Scilab and Matlab toolboxes.     

Stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-strictifolione and (6R)-6-[(4R,6R)-4,6-dihydroxy-10-phenyldec-1-enyl]-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one by Prins reaction and olefin cross-metathesis

Prins and olefin cross-metathesis reactions were used as the key steps for the stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-strictifolione and (6R)-6-[(4R,6R)-4,6-dihydroxy-10-phenyldec-1-enyl]-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one. Removal of MOM protecting groups under neutral conditions using CeCl₃·7H₂O is an attractive addition to the present strategy.     

An In Vitro Study of the Interaction of Copper(II) Salicylates with Genomic DNA Using Gel Electrophoresis and Gel Permeation Chromatography

This papers describes the in vitro interaction of copper(II) acetylsalicylate and copper(II) salicylate with genomic DNA isolated from human blood. The two drug substances were found to bind to DNA after incubation with whole blood over night. Bonding was confirmed by detection of separated DNA electrophoresis bands for copper, copper(II) acetylsalicylate, copper(II) salicylate, acetylsalicylic acid and salicylic acid. Drug–DNA interactions were observed during electrophoresis in the form of fragmentation by formation of two bands when compared to controls. Gel permeation chromatography parameters also confirmed the occurrence of fragmentation. The use of gel permeation chromatography parameters as a measure of fragmentation of DNA is discussed. The fragmentation of genomic DNA after incubation with copper(II) acetylsalicylate and copper(II) salicylate suggested that these drug substances might be responsible for cytotoxicity in vivo.