Comparison and correlation of in vitro, in vivo and in silico evaluations of alpha, beta and gamma cyclodextrin complexes of curcumin

In the present study investigated the effect of curcumin (CUR) alpha (α), beta (β) and gamma (γ) cyclodextrin (CD) complexes on its solubility and bioavailability. CUR the active principle of turmeric is a natural antioxidant agent with potent anti-inflammatory activity along with chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive properties. Poor solubility and poor oral bioavailability are the main reasons which preclude CUR use in therapy. Extent of complexation was β-CD complex (82 %) > γ-CD (71 %) > α-CD (65 %). Pulverization method resulted in significant enhancement of CUR (0.002 mg/ml) solubility with CUR α-CD complex (0.364 mg/ml) > CUR β-CD complex (0.186 mg/ml) > CUR γ-CD complex (0.068 mg/ml). Gibbs-free energy and in silico molecular docking studies favour formation of α-CD complex > β-CD complex > γ-CD complex. With reference to CUR, relative bioavailability of CUR α-CD, CUR β-CD and CUR γ-CD complexes were 460, 365 and 99 % respectively. CUR–CD complexes exhibited increased bioavailability with an increase in t_½, tmax, Cmax, AUC, Ka, and MRT; and a decrease in Ke, clearance and Vd values. AUC increase was CUR α-CD complex > CUR β-CD complex > CUR γ-CD complex. Significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between CUR α-CD complex and CUR γ-CD complex by one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s post hoc test for multiple comparison analysis. Correlation observed between in vitro, in vivo and in silico methods indicates potential of in silico and in vitro methods in CD selection.     

Optimization of serotonin imprinted polymers and recognition study from platelet rich plasma

Molecularly imprinted polymers using serotonin as the template molecule was prepared for selective recognition from platelet rich plasma by non-covalent imprinting approach. Four different monomers (methacrylic acid, acrylamide, 4-vinylpyridine and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) and acetonitrile and DMSO as porogen were investigated for the first time by bulk polymerization. The molecularly imprinted polymer which was prepared by acrylamide/methacrylic acid had the largest imprinting factor for serotonin. The affinity and specificity of these polymers were evaluated by equilibrium binding experiments. The effect of polarity of the solvents was examined by polymers binding capacity and imprinting factor. According to the Scatchard analysis the K(d) and Q(max) values were calculated as 1.95 micromoll(-1) and 19.129 micromolg(-1), respectively. The polymer was tested to evaluate serotonin from platelet rich plasma and 70% serotonin recovery was found.     

Microemulsions with CO2 as a solvent

Supercritical CO₂ is considered as a promising alternative for volatile organic solvents currently used in certain industrial processes and products, however, the poor solubilizing power of CO₂ towards polar substances remains a significant barrier to applications. Employing effective surfactants which generate stable dispersions and water/CO₂ microemulsions is accepted as one way to improve the physico-chemical properties of CO₂. This article reviews recent studies on microemulsions in liquid CO₂, as well as the development of CO₂-philic surfactants.     

Prebiotic activity of polysaccharides extracted from Gigantochloa levis (Buluh beting) shoots

Bamboo shoot crude polysaccharides (BSCP) extracted from the shoots of Gigantochloa levis gave about 3.27 ± 0.18% on dry basis and a very minute percentage of protein (0.02 ± 0.01%). The molecular weight of BSCP estimated by gel chromatography was found to be around 7.49 × 103 Da, while the molecular weights of purified fractions (F1 to F5) were around 1550.96, 1471.63, 1685.78, 1691.61 and 1551.67 Da, respectively. The FTIR spectrum of BSCP revealed the possibility that the extract contains β-glucan, which can be considered a valuable compound for the medical and food industries. These relate to the resistance of BSCP towards artificial human gastric juice which is more than 99%. Prebiotic activity tested using BSCP as a carbon source showed significant increase in the growth of B. animalis ATCC 1053, B. longum BB 536 and L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 as compared to the use of FOS. Survivality of S. choleraesuis JCM 6977 was found to be slower in both BSCP and FOS. Study conducted reflects a good sign for the BSCP to be exploited as a promising prebiotic.     

Physicochemical Properties of the Protic Ionic Liquid Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)methylammonium Formate

A protic ionic liquid, bis(2-hydroxyethyl)methylammonium formate, (BHEMF), was synthesized and characterized. The density and surface tension of the protic ionic liquid were determined in the temperature range of 293.15?C343.15?K. The molar volume and surface entropy were estimated from the experimental density and surface tension data, respectively. In terms of Glasser??s theory, the standard molar entropy and lattice energy of the protic ionic liquid were estimated. Using the methods of Kabo and Rebelo, the molar enthalpy vaporization of the protic ionic liquid, $ ^{l} \Updelta^{g}H_{\text{m}}^{0} $ (298.15?K) at 298.15?K and $ ^{l} \Updelta^{g}H_{\text{m}}^{0} $ (T _b), at the hypothetical normal boiling point were estimated, respectively. According to the interstical model, the thermal expansion coefficient of the protic ionic liquid, ??, was calculated and the result is in very good agreement with the experimental value.     

Novel selection schemes for harmony search

Selection is a vital component used in Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) where the fitness value of the solution has influence on the evolution process. Normally, any efficient selection method makes use of the Darwinian principle of natural selection (i.e., survival of the fittest). Harmony search (HS) is a recent EA inspired by musical improvisation process to seek a pleasing harmony. Originally, two selection methods are used in HS: (i) memory consideration selection method where the values of the decision variables are randomly selected from the population (or solutions stored in harmony memory (HM)) to generate a new harmony, and (ii) selecting a new solution in HM whereby a greedy selection is used to update the HM. The memory consideration selection, the focal point of this paper, is not based on natural selection principle which draws heavily on random selection. In this paper, novel selection schemes which replace the random selection scheme in memory consideration are investigated, comprising global-best, fitness-proportional, tournament, linear rank and exponential rank. The proposed selection schemes are individually altered and incorporated in the process of memory consideration and each adoption is realized as a new HS variation. The performance of the proposed HS variations are evaluated and a comparative study is conducted. The experimental results using benchmark functions show that the selection schemes incorporated in memory consideration directly affect the performance of HS algorithm. Finally, a parameter sensitivity analysis of the proposed HS variations is analyzed.     

Graphite epoxy composite electrodes modified with bacterial cells

The modification of a graphite-epoxy composite electrode (GECE) with bacterial cells along with an analytical application are presented. Pseudomonas putida DSM 50026 was used as a biological component and the measurement was based on the respiratory activity of the cells. The optimization of working conditions of resulting biosensor (including pH and temperature) was conducted and the limit of detection was calculated as 7 microM phenol based on the signal to noise ratio. Then the system was applied for xenobiotic detection. Resulting sample signals were found to be very similar with the standard solutions having the same concentration while the recoveries of the spiked samples were close to 100%.     

Particle-yield modification in jetlike azimuthal dihadron correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at √s(NN)=2.76 TeV

The yield of charged particles associated with high-p(t) trigger particles (83 GeV/c on the away side drops to about 60% of that observed in pp collisions, while on the near side a moderate enhancement of 20%-30% is found.