Antimicrobial activity of aniline‐formaldehyde resin modified by adding piperazine moiety and its metal polychelates

Aniline‐formaldehyde resin modified by adding piperazine (AFP) was prepared in alkaline medium, and its metal polychelates have also been prepared with Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) metal ions. The synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental, spectral (UV–Vis, IR, ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and magnetic moment measurements. The percentage of metal in all of the polychelates was found to be consistent with 1:1 (metal/resin) stoichiometry. The thermal behaviors of these coordination polymers were studied by TGA in a nitrogen atmosphere up to 750°C. The TGA results revealed that all the metal polychelates had higher thermal‐resistance property compared to the common resin (AFP). The magnetic moment measurements and UV–Vis spectra confirmed the geometry of the central metal ion in all the polychelates. All the synthesized metal polychelates showed excellent antibacterial activities against the selected bacteria. The antibacterial activities were determined using the shaking flask method, where 25 mg/ml concentrations of each compound were tested against 10⁵ CFU/ml bacteria solutions. The number of viable bacteria was calculated by using the spread plate method, where 100 µl of the incubated antibacterial agent in bacteria solutions was spread on agar plates, and the number of bacteria was counted after 24 hr of incubation period at 37°C. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New insights into polylactide biodegradation from molecular ecological techniques

Molecular ecological techniques for direct identification of microbes involved in PLA degradation under aerobic composting conditions are described. Gene sequences from genera Paecilomyces, Thermomonospora, and Thermopolyspora were most abundant in the compost samples. Members of these phylogenetic lineages are therefore likely to play an important role in PLA degradation. The use of molecular ecological techniques to design cultivation strategies may also provide a new tool for identification and investigation of biodegradation mechanisms and for future development of efficient biological treatment or recycling processes for PLA and other biodegradable polymers.     

Temperature Ramp Strategy for Regulating Oxygen Vacancies in NiCo2O4 Nanoneedles Towards Enhanced Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Oxide-based systems often suffer from higher overpotentials compared to transition metal sulfides and phosphides for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Interestingly, the generation of oxygen vacancy/defect has been seen as the strategy for further activating transition metal oxides (NiCo₂O₄ as a model system) for an electrochemical water-splitting process. Herein, we employ the temperature ramp strategy (ambient air calcination) for the generation of oxygen vacancies in NiCo₂O₄ (NCO) towards the tuning of electrocatalytic enhancements. The NiCo₂O₄ synthesized at temperature ramp rates of 2 °C/min (NCO-2), 5 °C/min (NCO-5), and 10 °C/ min (NCO-10) depicts contrasting structural features and varying Ni : Co : O surface composition. The decrease in the crystallite size and converse trend in the particle strain were observed from NCO-2 to NCO-10. Interestingly, the surface Ni : Co : O ratios of 1 : 0.78 : 3.6, 1 : 0.81 : 3.3, and 1 : 0.69 : 2.8 for NCO-2, NCO-5, and NCO-10, respectively, were observed. The reduced relative oxygen ratio in the latter implies the generation of an ample amount of oxygen vacancy defects. HER performance depicts a consistent trend with enhanced oxygen defect concentration with the overpotential requirement of 700, 647, and 597 mV for NCO-2, NCO-5, and NCO-10, respectively, for the generation of a cathodic current of 25 mA cm⁻². The same trend in an electrocatalytic enhancement is observed for other cathodic currents.     

Chaos control and synchronization of fractional order delay‐varying computer virus propagation model

In the present article, the authors have studied the dynamical behavior of delay‐varying computer virus propagation (CVP) model with fractional order derivative, and it is found that the chaotic attractor exists in the considered fractional order system. In order to eliminate the chaotic behavior of fractional order delay‐varying CVP model, feedback controlmethod is used. This article also dealswith the synchronization between controlled and chaotic delay‐varying CVPmodel via active controlmethod. The fractional derivative is described in the Caputo sense. Numerical simulation results are carried out by means of Adams‐Boshforth‐Moultonmethod with the help ofMATLAB, and the results are successfully depicted through graphs .Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of MoS2 modified screen-printed electrodes for highly sensitive detection of bovine serum albumin

The present work reports the application of a new molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂)-based electrochemical platform for highly sensitive quantitation of an iron-binding protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). The gold screen-printed electrodes were modified with MoS₂ nanoflakes, followed by bioconjugation with anti-BSA antibodies. Using the above bioelectrode, cyclic voltammetric analysis was carried out in the presence of a Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ redox probe which exhibited a linear response of peak current with varying concentrations of BSA up to 10 ng/mL (with a detection limit of 0.006 ng/mL). This study is novel in that it shows a considerable enhancement of signal during electrochemical sensing of a protein.     

Novel Ferrocenyl Linked Pyrazoline Analogs as Potent Antiamoebic Agents

Some novel ferrocenyl linked pyrazoline analogs were synthesized, well characterized, and evaluated for in vitro antiamoebic activity against HM1 : IMSS strain of Entamoeba histolytica. Most of the compounds exhibited higher antiamoebic activity with the IC₅₀ value in the range of 0.12–1.20 μM, than the reference drug metronidazole, (IC₅₀ value of 1.78 μM). Compound 9 showed the most promising antiamoebic activity (IC₅₀ = 0.12 μM), concluding that these compounds hold immense potential to be employed as new antiamoebic agents. Also, being novel, they can be a solution to the increasing resistance that has posed a major problem globally.     

Metal-ion directed synthesis of binuclear octaazamacrocyclic complexes of manganese(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) and their physico-chemical studies

A novel series of 16-membered binuclear complexes of octaazatetraimine ligand, [M = Mn^II, Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II and Zn^II; X = Cl or NO₃] have been synthesized by metal template condensation reactions of o-phenylenediamine with N,N′-diacetylhydrazine in 1:1:1 molar ratio in methanol. The proposed stoichiometry and the bonding of the macrocyclic moiety to metal ions along with the overall stereochemistry have been derived from the results of elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility, conductivity data and the spectral data revealed from FT-IR, , ESI mass, UV–visible studies. An octahedral geometry has been envisaged for Mn^II, Co^II, and Ni^II complexes while a slight distortion in octahedral geometry has been noticed for Cu^II complexes. The low conductivity data of all the complexes suggest their non-ionic nature.     

Preparation and characterization of wool fiber reinforced nonwoven alginate hydrogel for wound dressing

Wound healing is a complex process which requires an appropriate environment for quick healing. Recently, biodegradable hydrogel-based wound dressings have been seen to have high potential owing to their biodegradability and hydrated molecular structure. In this work, a novel biodegradable composite of sodium alginate hydrogel with wool needle-punched nonwoven fabric was produced for wound dressing by sol–gel technique. The wool nonwoven was dipped in the sodium alginate-water solution and then soaked in calcium chloride solution which resulted in hydrogel formation. FTIR analysis and SEM images confirm the presence of alginate hydrogel inside the needle-punched wool nonwoven fabric. The wound exudate absorbing capacity of hydrogel based wool nonwoven was increased 30 times as compared to pure wool nonwoven. Moreover, the tensile strength and moisture management properties of hydrogel based nonwoven were also enhanced. The unique combination of alginate hydrogel with biocompatible wool nonwoven fabric provides moist environment and can help in cell proliferation during wound healing process.

     

In vitro binding studies of organotin(IV) complexes of 1,2-bis(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)ethane-1,2-diol with CT-DNA and nucleotides (5′-GMP and 5′-TMP): Effect of the ancillary ligand on the binding propensity

The chiral benzimidazole ligand, 1,2-Bis(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)ethane-1,2-diol, L, exhibiting coordination mode with an oxygen atom of alcohol group directed towards the metal ion and another -OH group with different molecular axis directed away from the metal center was utilized as a building block for organotin complexes [C₁₈H₁₉N₄O₂SnCl], [C₂₈H₂₃N₄O₂SnCl] and [C₅₂H₄₂N₄O₂Sn₂] (1-3). Complexes 1 and 3 exhibit a pentacoordinate geometry while the complex 2 reveals hexacoordinated environment around the Sn(IV) metal ions as evidenced by ¹¹⁹Sn NMR studies. The DNA binding ability of benzimidazole ligand and their organotin(IV) complexes 1-3 were examined by employing different biophysical methods. The absorption titration of the complexes with CT-DNA reveal significant hyperchromic effect together with strong bathochromic shift of 4-5 nm which infer substantial binding of the complexes with CT-DNA. The intrinsic binding constant K_b values of the complexes 1-3 were found to be 2.16 ± 0.04 × 10⁴, 3.47 ± 0.04 × 10⁴ and 4.60 ± 0.04 × 10³ M⁻¹, respectively, suggesting pronounced binding of complex 2 with DNA double helix. The mechanism of binding of the complexes was further ascertained by the interaction studies of these complexes with nucleotides (5′-GMP and 5′-TMP) using absorption spectroscopy suggesting a clear preference for 5′-GMP binding which was further authenticated by NMR (¹H and ³¹P NMR) studies.