Synergy between Plasmonic and Electrocatalytic Activation of Methanol Oxidation on Palladium–Silver Alloy Nanotubes

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation of noble metal nanoparticles has been shown to accelerate and drive photochemical reactions. Here, LSPR excitation is shown to enhance the electrocatalysis of a fuel‐cell‐relevant reaction. The electrocatalyst consists of Pd_xAg alloy nanotubes (NTs), which combine the catalytic activity of Pd toward the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and the visible‐light plasmonic response of Ag. The alloy electrocatalyst exhibits enhanced MOR activity under LSPR excitation with significantly higher current densities and a shift to more positive potentials. The modulation of MOR activity is ascribed primarily to hot holes generated by LSPR excitation of the Pd_xAg NTs.     

A Theoretical Study of LiHe+ n , NaHe+ n , and MgHe+ n Complexes, with n=1, 2, 3, 4

The LiHe⁺ _n , the NaHe⁺ _n , and the MgHe⁺ _n complexes with n=1, 2, 3, 4 were studied using ab initio calculations with the MP2/6-311+G(3df, 3pd) method. The complexes are found to be stable. For the n=1 complexes, previous results were available and the calculations performed are in good agreement with those results. This lends credibility to the results obtained for the complexes with higher n.     

Organic-Free Interzeolite Transformation in the Absence of Common Building Units

Zeolite crystals can be used as seeds or aluminosilicate sources in syntheses to control polymorphs and/or reduce the quantity of organics used as structure-directing agents. A frequently invoked hypothesis for interzeolite transformations is that zeolites share some underlying similarity in structure, most notably in cases pertaining to organic-free syntheses. Herein, we show for the first time that ZSM-5 (MFI) can be directly obtained from USY (FAU) through an interzeolite transformation between parent–daughter structures lacking common building units in the absence of a structure-directing agent and seeds. We show that interzeolite transformation leads to a crystalline product with fewer defects. Our findings also reveal that ZSM-5 is a metastable intermediate that undergoes further transformation to mordenite (MOR) and quartz. The MFI-to-MOR transition is counter to reported trends for which transformations lead to structures with reduced molar volume. Herein, we propose mechanistic arguments that suggest the driving force for interzeolite transformation is more complex than guidelines posited in the literature.     

An extensive study on isosorbide-5-mononitrate acid adducts for quantification in human plasma using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and its application to bioequivalence sample analysis

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for the determination of isosorbide-5-mononitrate (5-ISMN), used in the treatment of angina pectoris, in human plasma is described. The quantification of 5-ISMN was performed via stable acetate adduct formation with a high relative abundance. The plasma filtrate obtained after solid-phase extraction (SPE), using a polymer based, hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (HLB) cartridge, was submitted directly to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation followed by ESI and detection of the resulting ions using triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. There was no significant matrix effect on the analysis. For validation of the method, the recovery of the free analyte response was compared to that obtained from an optimized extraction method. The analyte stability was examined under conditions mimicking the sample storage, handling, and analytical procedures. The extraction procedure yielded extremely clean extracts with a recovery of 95.51% and 93.98% for iossorbide-5-mononitrate and topiramate (internal standard (IS)), respectively. The calibration curves were linear for the dynamic range of 10.0 to 1000.0 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient r > or = 0.9985. The intra-assay and inter-assay precision for the samples at the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) were 9.02 and 13.30%, respectively. The intra-assay accuracies at LLOQ, LQC, MQC and HQC levels varied from 98.13 to 118.15, 102.34 to 105.21, 100.69 to 109.68, and 95.76 to 102.92%, respectively, while the inter-assay accuracies ranged from 93.10 to 118.15, 93.03 to 107.04, 86.97 to 109.68 and 86.18 to 105.85%, respectively, at these levels. The method is rugged and fast with a total run time of 2 min. The method was successfully applied for a bioequivalence study in 24 human subject samples after oral administration of 60 mg extended release (ER) formulations.     

Ammonia Oxidation Enhanced by Photopotential Generated by Plasmonic Excitation of a Bimetallic Electrocatalyst

We study how visible light influences the activity of an electrocatalyst composed of Au and Pt nanoparticles. The bimetallic composition imparts a dual functionality: the Pt component catalyzes the electrochemical oxidation of ammonia to liberate hydrogen and the Au component absorbs visible light by the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances. Under visible-light excitation, this catalyst exhibits enhanced electrochemical ammonia oxidation kinetics, outperforming previously reported electrochemical schemes. We trace the enhancement to a photochemical potential resulting from electron–hole carriers generated in the electrocatalyst by plasmonic excitation. The photopotential responsible for enhanced kinetics scales linearly with the light intensity—a general design principle for eliciting superlative photoelectrochemical performance from catalysts comprised of plasmonic metals or hybrids. We also determine a photochemical conversion coefficient.     

Dysobinin,a tetranortriterpenoid

The planar furan ring in the title compound (6β‐acetoxy­aza­dirone, C₃₀H₃₈O₆) is twisted with respect to the steroid D ring. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H?O hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions.     

Heterocyclic inflammation inhibitors

Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most widely used medicines for relief of pain. These drugs have some side effects, particularly toxicity in the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Various approaches have been used for obtaining safer anti-inflammatory drugs. In this review we have summarized the recent developments in the following areas; (i) mode of action of NSAIDs (ii) Role of COX-1 & COX-2 in inflammation, (iii) Different approaches used to improve gastric tolerance i.e. chemical manipulation, formulation & co-administration, development of non specific (COX-1 & COX-2 inhibitors) and specific (COX-2 inhibitors) inflammation inhibitors, and development of inflammation inhibitors having a mode of action other than COX-1 & COX-2 inhibition. We have also focused on the safety of COX-2 inhibitors and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds and their role as inflammation inhibitors.     

Development and validation of a stability-indicating RP-UPLC method for the quantitative analysis of nabumetone in tablet dosage form

High efficiency and less run time are the basic requirements of high-speed chromatographic separations. To fulfill these requirements, a new separation technique, ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), has shown promising developments. A rapid, specific, sensitive, and precise reverse-phase UPLC method is developed for the determination of nabumetone in tablet dosage form. In this work, a new isocratic chromatographic method is developed. The newly developed method is applicable for assay determination of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. The chromatographic separation is achieved on a Waters Acquity BEH column (100 mm, i.d., 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) within a short runtime of 2 min using a mobile phase of 5 mM ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (25:75, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min at an ambient temperature. Quantification is achieved with photodiode array detection at 230 nm, over the concentration range of 0.05-26 μg/mL. Forced degradation studies are also performed for nabumetone bulk drug samples to demonstrate the stability-indicating power of the UPLC method. Comparison of system performance with conventional high-performance liquid chromatography is made with respect to analysis time, efficiency, and sensitivity. The method is validated according to the ICH guidelines and is applied successfully for the determination of nabumetone in tablets.     

Identification of Druggable Targets for Acinetobacter baumannii Via Subtractive Genomics and Plausible Inhibitors for MurA and MurB

Emergence of the multidrug-resistant pathogens has rendered the current therapies ineffective thereby, resulting in the need for new drugs and drug targets. The accumulating protein sequence data has initiated a drift from classical drug discovery protocols to structure-based drug designing. In the present study, in silico subtractive genomics approach was implemented to find a set of potential drug targets present in an opportunist bacterial pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii). Out of the 43 targets identified, further studies for protein model building and lead-inhibitor identification were carried out on two cell-essential targets, MurA and MurB enzymes (of A. baumannii designated as MurA_Ab and MurB_Ab) involved in the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway of bacteria. The homology model built for each of them was further refined and validated using various available programs like PROCHECK, Errat, ProSA energy plots, etc. Compounds showing activity against MurA and MurB enzymes of other organisms were collected from the literature and were docked into the active site of MurA_Ab and MurB_Ab enzymes. Three inhibitors namely, T6361, carbidopa, and aesculin, showed maximum Glide score, hydrogen bonding interactions with the key amino acid residues of both the enzymes and acceptable ADME properties. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation studies on MurA_Ab–T6361 and MurB_Ab–T6361 complexes suggested that the ligand has a high binding affinity with both the enzymes and the hydrogen bonding with the key residues were stable in the dynamic condition also. Therefore, these ligands have been propsed as dual inhibitors and promising lead compounds for the drug design against MurA_Ab and MurB_Ab enzymes.