Theoretical study of the effect of radiation on thymine

The possible effects of radiation exposure to DNA are studied by investigations for the thymine residue. Detailed analysis of the various addition and other products is undertaken theoretically, using the semiempirical AM1 procedure. The results agree with the experimental finding that the loss of hydrogen on radiation exposure occurs from the C₅-methyl group and hydroxyl radical addition occurs at C₆, yielding the ‘5-yl’ radical. This radical is nonplanar, the axial conformer being slightly preferred over the equatorial one. In contrast, the other possible radical, the ‘6-yl’ radical, is almost planar. These results are important in understanding the conformational changes in DNA as a consequence of radiation exposure.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of antimalarial activity of new derivatives of 2,4,6-<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>-triazine

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is an important enzyme for de novo synthesis of nucleotides in Plasmodium falciparum and it is essential for cell proliferation. DHFR is a well known antimalarial target for drugs like cycloguanil and pyrimethamine which target its inhibition for their pharmacological actions. However, the clinical efficacies of these antimalarial drugs have been compromising due to multiple mutations occurring in DHFR that lead to drug resistance. In this background, we have designed 22 s -triazine compounds using the best five parameters based 3D-QSAR model built by using genetic function approximation. In-silico designed compounds were further filtered to 6 compounds based upon their ADME properties, docking studies and predicted minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Out of 6 compounds, 3 compounds were synthesized in good yield over 95% and characterized using IR, ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. Parasitemia inhibition assay was used to evaluate the antimalarial activity of s -triazine compounds against 3D7 strain of P. falciparum. All the three compounds (7, 13 and 18) showed 30 times higher potency than cycloguanil (standard drug). It was observed that compound 18 was the most active while the compound 13 was the least active. On the closer inspection of physicochemical properties and SAR, it was observed that the presence of electron donating groups, number of hydrogen bond formation, lipophilicity of ligands and coulson charge of nitrogen atom present in the triazine ring enhances the DHFR inhibition significantly. This study will contribute to further endeavours of more potent DHFR inhibitors.     

Aptamer based voltammetric biosensor for the detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis> antigen MPT64

The authors report an aptaelectrode based on graphene modified iron-oxide chitosan hybrid (CHIT-IO-GR) nanocomposite film deposited on fluorine tin oxide (FTO) for the detection of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis specific antigen MPT64. The biotinylated DNA aptamer sequence specific to the MPT64 was immobilized onto the CHIT-IO-GR/FTO electrode by using streptavidin-biotin interactions. XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM and electrochemical studies were applied to monitor the steps of the fabrication. The aptaelectrode, operated best at typical voltage of 0.44 V, exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.9 fg?mL^?1 within 20 min. The biosensor retained about 80% of its initial activity after 10 uses. The potential application of the aptasensor was established by spike-in studies to obtain recoveries between 83 and 95%.

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Graphical abstract An electrochemical aptaelectrode based on nanocomposite consisting of chitosan (CHIT), iron-oxide nanoparticles (IO) and functionalized graphene (GR) has been fabricated to detect M. tb antigen MPT64 with an LOD of 0.9 fg?mL^?1 within 20 min.

     

Tunable Molecular Logic Gates Designed for Imaging Released Neurotransmitters

Tunable dual‐analyte fluorescent molecular logic gates (ExoSensors) were designed for the purpose of imaging select vesicular primary‐amine neurotransmitters that are released from secretory vesicles upon exocytosis. ExoSensors are based on the coumarin‐3‐aldehyde scaffold and rely on both neurotransmitter binding and the change in environmental pH associated with exocytosis to afford a unique turn‐on fluorescence output. A pH‐functionality was directly integrated into the fluorophore π‐system of the scaffold, thereby allowing for an enhanced fluorescence output upon the release of labeled neurotransmitters. By altering the pH‐sensitive unit with various electron‐donating and ‐withdrawing sulfonamide substituents, we identified a correlation between the pK_a of the pH‐sensitive group and the fluorescence output from the activated fluorophore. In doing so, we achieved a twelvefold fluorescence enhancement upon evaluating the ExoSensors under conditions that mimic exocytosis. ExoSensors are aptly suited to serve as molecular imaging tools that allow for the direct visualization of only the neurotransmitters that are released from secretory vesicles upon exocytosis.