Uracil-Appended Fluorescent Sensor for Cu2+ and Hg2+ Ions: Real-Life Utilities Including Recognition of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) in Milk Products and Invisible Ink Applications

A simple uracil-appended fluorescent sensor (1) has been developed by one pot reaction and characterized by using common spectroscopic methods such as UV-vis, Fluorescence, HRMS and FT-IR analyses. Upon addition of various metal ions to the CH₃CN solution of sensor 1, the fluorescence was quenched in the presence of Cu²⁺ / Hg²⁺ ions. The limit of detection for Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ was calculated to be 3.31 and 0.316 µM, respectively. Further, the sensor was applied for real-life applications in the determination of Vitamin B₂ (riboflavin) and its presence in milk products. With the incorporation of different sources of vitamin-B to acetonitrile solution of it, there was discernible fluorescence enhancement only in the presence of vitamin B₂. Also, it has been successfully applied for the detection of Vitamin B₂ (riboflavin) in milk and curd. Moreover, based on the fluorescent color changes, the sensor was utilized for invisible ink applications.

     

First principle investigation into structural growth and magnetic properties in GenCr clusters for n=1–13

The ground state structures and their magnetic properties have been investigated for Ge_nCr clusters (1≤n≤13)$(1\le n\le 13)$ using spin polarized density functional theory. The growth behavior of Ge_nCr clusters for n≤13$n\le 13$ shows preference of Cr atom to stabilize at the exohedral position. The binding energy increases with the increase in cluster size, but shows a small decrease w.r.t. pure Ge_n clusters. Interestingly, the magnetic moment in Cr doped Ge_n is found to be either 4_μB$4{\mathrm{\mu }}_{\mathrm{B}}$ or 6_μB$6{\mathrm{\mu }}_{\mathrm{B}}$ and shows no sign of magnetic quenching in any of the ground state structures and isomers investigated up to n  =13. It is found that the magnetic moment is mainly localized at the Cr atom along with small induced magnetic moment on surrounding Ge atoms. The results are consistent with the available theoretical results for n≤5$n\le 5$.     

16‐(4‐Iso­propyl­benzyl­idene)­androst‐4‐ene‐3,17‐dione

In the title compound, C₂₉H₃₆O₂, the outer cyclohexene ring of the steroid nucleus has a conformation that lies about half‐way between a half‐chair and an envelope, while the central and outer cyclo­hexane rings of the steroid nucleus have slightly distorted chair conformations. The steroidal cyclo­pentane ring adopts a 13β,14α‐half‐chair conformation. The benzyl­idene moiety has an E configuration with respect to the carbonyl group on the cyclo­pentane ring. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the steroid nucleus and the benzyl­idene moiety is 35.54 (9)°. The packing of the mol­ecules is assumed to be dictated mainly by weak intermolecular C—H⋯O interactions.     

Inhibition of Filamentous Thermosensitive Mutant-Z Protein in Bacillus subtilis by Cyanobacterial Bioactive Compounds

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major growing concerns for public health. Conventional antibiotics act on a few predefined targets and, with time, several bacteria have developed resistance against a large number of antibiotics. The WHO has suggested that antibiotic resistance is at a crisis stage and identification of new antibiotics and targets could be the only approach to bridge the gap. Filamentous Temperature Sensitive-Mutant Z (Fts-Z) is one of the promising and less explored antibiotic targets. It is a highly conserved protein and plays a key role in bacterial cell division by introducing a cytokinetic Z-ring formation. In the present article, the potential of over 165 cyanobacterial compounds with reported antibiotic activity against the catalytic core domain in the Fts-Z protein of the Bacillus subtilis was studied. The identified cyanobacterial compounds were screened using the GLIDE module of Maestro v-2019-2 followed by 100-ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Ranking of the potential compound was performed using dock score and MMGBSA based free energy. The study reported that the docking score of aphanorphine (−6.010 Kcalmol⁻¹) and alpha-dimorphecolic acid (ADMA) (−6.574 Kcalmol⁻¹) showed significant role with respect to the reported potential inhibitor PC190723 (−4.135 Kcalmol⁻¹). A 100 ns MD simulation infers that Fts-Z ADMA complex has a stable conformation throughout the progress of the simulation. Both the compounds, i.e., ADMA and Aphanorphine, were further considered for In-vitro validation by performing anti-bacterial studies against B. subtilis by agar well diffusion method. The results obtained through In-vitro studies confirm that ADMA, a small molecule of cyanobacterial origin, is a potential compound with an antibacterial activity that may act by inhibiting the novel target Fts-Z and could be a great drug candidate for antibiotic development.     

Studies on the valence electronic structure of Fe and Ni in Fe x Ni1−x alloys

K _β-to-K _α X-ray intensity ratios of Fe and Ni in pure metals and in Fe _x Ni_1−x alloys (x=0.20, 0.50, 0.58) exhibiting similar crystalline structure have been measured following excitation by 59.54 keV γ-rays from a ²⁴¹Am point source, to understand as to why the properties of permalloy Fe_0.2Ni_0.8 is distinct from other alloy compositions. It is observed that the valence electronic structure of Fe_0.2Ni_0.8 alloy is totally different from other alloys which may be attributed to its special magnetic properties.     

16‐Cyano‐13α‐(5‐methyl‐1,3,4‐oxa­diazol‐2‐yl)‐13,16‐seco‐17‐nor­androst‐5‐en‐3β‐yl acetate

In the title compound, C₂₃H₃₁N₃O₃, the outer cyclo­hexane rings have chair conformations, while the central cyclohexene ring adopts a half‐chair conformation. In the solid state, intra‐ and intermolecular C—H⋯N interactions are observed.     

Electron structure of interstitial hydrogen inα-Zr

The impurity-induced charge density in jellium is calculated by solving the Schr?dinger equation self-consistently. The resulting phase shifts have been used to estimate the value of residual resistivity for dilute Zr-H system, which comes out to be 0.50 μΘ cm/at.%. An alternative form of one-parameter-screened Coulomb potential, which is more suitable than the customary Thomas-Fermi potential, is suggested. The calculated self-energy by using new potential is found close to its value obtained by Darbyet al.     

Axially Chiral Imidodiphosphoric Acid Catalyst for Asymmetric Sulfoxidation Reaction: Insights on Asymmetric Induction

Insights into chiral induction for an asymmetric sulfoxidation reaction involving a single oxygen atom transfer are gained through analyzing the stereocontrolling transition states. The fitting of the substrate into the chiral cavity of a new class of imidodiphosphoric Brønsted acids, as well as weak C H⋅⋅⋅π and C H⋅⋅⋅O noncovalent interactions, are identified as responsible for the observed chiral induction.     

Isolation and Characterization of Exopolysaccharides Produced by the Cyanobacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Limnothrix redekei</Emphasis> PUPCCC 116

Limnothrix redekei PUPCCC 116, a filamentous cyanobacterium, has been identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) of this organism have been isolated and characterized chemically, and its rheological properties were compared with commercial xanthan. The organism produced 304 μg EPS/ml culture in 21 days. The rate of EPS production was maximum (313 μg EPS/mg protein/day) during the initial days of growth, and it decreased to 140 μg EPS/mg protein/day during 18-21 days of growth. Chemical analysis of EPS revealed the presence of glucose/mannose, ribose, rhamnose, and uronic acid. Fourier transformed infrared spectrum of EPS further revealed the presence of methyl and carboxyl groups besides C–N groups indicating the presence of peptidyl moieties. Elemental analysis of EPS showed the presence of 4.97% N. The organism under continuous light produced 102% more EPS compared to when grown under a light/dark cycle of 14/10 h. The rheological properties of EPS were comparable with commercial xanthan gum.