New 1,2,3-Triazoles from (R)-Carvone: Synthesis,DFT Mechanistic Study and In Vitro Cytotoxic Evaluation

Aseries of novel 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles were synthesized from an (R)-carvone terminal alkyne derivative via a Cu (I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction using CuSO₄,5H₂O as the copper (II) source and sodium ascorbate as a reducing agent which reduces Cu (II) into Cu (I). All the newly synthesized 1,2,3-triazoles 9a–h were fully identified on the basis of their HRMS and NMR spectral data and then evaluated for their cell growth inhibition potential by MTS assay against HT-1080 fibrosarcoma, A-549 lung carcinoma, and two breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cell lines. Compound 9d showed notable cytotoxic effects against the HT-1080 and MCF-7 cells with IC₅₀ values of 25.77 and 27.89 µM, respectively, while compound 9c displayed significant activity against MCF-7 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 25.03 µM. Density functional calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory were used to confirm the high reactivity of the terminal alkyne as a dipolarophile. Quantum calculations were also used to investigate the mechanism of both the uncatalyzed and copper (I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC). The catalyzed reaction gives complete regioselectivity via a stepwise mechanism streamlining experimental observations. The calculated free-energy barriers 4.33 kcal/mol and 29.35 kcal/mol for the 1,4- and 1,5-regioisomers, respectively, explain the marked regioselectivity of the CuAAC reaction.     

Selectivity Tuning by Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADESs) for Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Cytinus hypocistis—Studies of Antioxidative,Enzyme-Inhibitive Properties and LC-MS Profiles

In the present study, the extracts of Cytinus hypocistis (L.) L using both traditional solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, ethanol, ethanol/water, and water) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) were investigated in terms of their total polyphenolic contents and antioxidant and enzyme-inhibitive properties. The extracts were found to possess total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in the ranges of 26.47–186.13 mg GAE/g and 0.68–12.55 mg RE/g, respectively. Higher total phenolic contents were obtained for NADES extracts. Compositional differences were reported in relation to antioxidant potential studied by several assays (DPPH: 70.19–939.35 mg TE/g, ABTS: 172.56–4026.50 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 97.41–1730.38 mg TE/g, FRAP: 84.11–1534.85 mg TE/g). Application of NADESs (choline chloride—urea 1:2, a so-called Reline) allowed one to obtain the highest number of extracts having antioxidant potential in the radical scavenging and reducing assays. NADES-B (protonated by HCl L-proline-xylitol 5:1) was the only extractant from the studied solvents that isolated a specific fraction without chelating activity. Reline extract exhibited the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibition compared to NADES-B and NADES-C (protonated by H₂SO₄ L-proline-xylitol 5:1) extracts, which showed no inhibition. The NADES extracts were observed to have higher tyrosinase inhibitory properties compared to extracts obtained by traditional organic solvents. Furthermore, the NADES extracts were relatively better inhibitors of the diabetic enzymes. These findings provided an interesting comparison in terms of total polyphenolic content yields, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties (cholinesterase, amylase, glucosidase, and tyrosinase) between traditional solvent extracts and NADES extracts, used as an alternative. While the organic solvents showed better antioxidant activity, the NADES extracts were found to have some other improved properties, such as higher total phenolic content and enzyme-inhibiting properties, suggesting functional prospects for their use in phytonutrient extraction and fractionation. The obtained results could also be used to give a broad overview of the different biological potentials of C. hypocistis.     

Utilization of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Silver Nanoparticles for the Spectrofluorimetric Estimation of Oxymetazoline in Dosage Forms: Application to Aqueous Humor

Journal of Fluorescence - A simple, novel, cost-effective and highly sensitive spectrofluorimetric method was developed for estimation of the nasal decongestant oxymetazoline (OMZ) whether per se...     

New technique for electrostatic charge measurement in gas–solid fluidized beds

Electrostatic charge generation within gas–solid fluidized bed reactors has been a concern to industry for many years. Over the years, numerous methods for measuring this phenomenon within a fluidization column have been proposed. This paper focuses on the design of a new method that minimizes effects such as extra charging due to particle handling and bed hydrodynamic disruption due to the location of the measurement device. In addition, the new method provides the bulk charge of the bed particles rather than a local measurement. The device is flexible and can be adapted to a range of fluidization columns. The new method developed consisted of a Faraday cup placed within the windbox of a fluidization column. The distributor plate was designed in such a way that it can be automatically opened to drop the charged fluidizing particles into the Faraday cup below. The new measurement technique was validated by conducting fluidization experiments in a system consisting of a 0.10 m in diameter carbon steel column with glass beads as the fluidizing particles. The technique was proven to be suitable for measuring the total net electrostatic charges in gas–solid fluidized beds.     

How hot? Systematic convergence of the replica exchange method using multiple reservoirs

We have devised a systematic approach to converge a replica exchange molecular dynamics simulation by dividing the full temperature range into a series of higher temperature reservoirs and a finite number of lower temperature subreplicas. A defined highest temperature reservoir of equilibrium conformations is used to help converge a lower but still hot temperature subreplica, which in turn serves as the high‐temperature reservoir for the next set of lower temperature subreplicas. The process is continued until an optimal temperature reservoir is reached to converge the simulation at the target temperature. This gradual convergence of subreplicas allows for better and faster convergence at the temperature of interest and all intermediate temperatures for thermodynamic analysis, as well as optimizing the use of multiple processors. We illustrate the overall effectiveness of our multiple reservoir replica exchange strategy by comparing sampling and computational efficiency with respect to replica exchange, as well as comparing methods when converging the structural ensemble of the disordered Aβ_21‐30 peptide simulated with explicit water by comparing calculated Rotating Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy intensities to experimentally measured values. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 31: 620–627, 2010     

Simulating fluid-phase equilibria of water from first principles

Efficient Monte Carlo algorithms and a mixed-basis set electronic structure program were used to compute from first principles the vapor-liquid coexistence curve of water. A water representation based on the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr exchange and correlation functionals yields a saturated liquid density of 900 kg/m3 at 323 K and normal boiling and critical temperatures of 350 and 550 K, respectively. An analysis of the structural and electronic properties of the saturated liquid phase shows an increase of the asymmetry of the local hydrogen-bonded structure despite the persistence of a 4-fold coordination and decreases of the molecular dipole moment and of the spread of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital with increasing temperature.     

Encapsulation of Bromothymol Blue into a Polysiloxane Network Matrix in Presence of Surfactants

Bromothymol blue (BTB) pH indicator was encapsulated into polysiloxane network using the sol-gel process. Transparent monolithic disks of entrapped BTB were obtained in the presence of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) or dodecyl dimethyl amino oxide (Genaminox LA, GLA) surfactant. Ultraviolet visible spectra showed that the encapsulated BTB retains its structure in terms of its response to pH. The kinetic studies reveal that there was a faster response to pH in the case of GLA surfactant than in the case of CTAB. It is found that the co-entrapment of cationic surfactant CTAB or zwitterionic surfactant GLA with TEOS has shifted the equilibrium of the BTB to the ionized form due to the electrostatic interaction between the surfactant and the BTB anion and therefore the base form becomes more pronounced (e.g., shift from yellow to red) than that of sol-gel matrix without surfactant.     

Decomposition of Monochloramines of Amino Acids from Water by Surfactant Micelles

Decomposition of monochloramines derived from amino acids were studied in buffer solution pH=7 in the presence of different concentrations of CTAB micelles. The acceleration of decomposition reaction of monochloramines of amino acids in the presence of CTAB micelles is ascribed to the increased reactivity in the micellar pseudophase as compared with that in aqueous phase as inferred from the obtained values of k_m and k_w. From studying the removal efficiency of monochloramines, it was observed that the removal efficiency increases with increasing surfactant concentration, temperature, and the hydrophobicity of side chain of monochloramines of amino acids.     

Fast gradient high performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection for simultaneous determination of seven angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors together with hydrochlorothiazide in pharmaceutical dosage forms and spiked human plasma and urine

The development of a reversed phase liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of seven angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors; five drugs namely benazepril HCl (BZL), enalapril maleate (ENL), fosinopril sodium (FSP), lisinopril (LSP) and ramipril (RMP) and two metabolites captopril disulfide (CPD) and enalaprilat (ENT) together with hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) is described. The method can serve as a substitute for many published papers for the analysis of the targeted compounds with or without hydrochloothiazide in pharmaceutical formulations as well as in spiked human plasma and urine samples. The method utilizes a simple gradient procedure for the separation in a 11 min run time using acetonitrile aqueous ammonia buffer (pH 9) solution and an Extend RP-C18 (25 μm particle size, 4.6 mm × 250 mm, Agilent) HPLC column. The effluent was monitored on a UV detector at 215 nm. The effect of pH, solvent strength and analysis time on the peak shape and quantification were carefully studied in order to optimize the method. Adopting the proposed procedure, the analytes produce well-shaped peaks with good linear relationship over the investigated concentration ranges. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) from standard drug solutions lie in the range of 17-64 and 56-212 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Correlation coefficient values (r) higher than 0.997 were obtained for all the studied drugs in spiked human plasma and urine samples. The intra-day and inter-day precision of the method was evaluated with relative standard deviation values being satisfactory for their purposed analysis. The method was validated with respect to specificity, recovery, accuracy, precision and linearity.     

Antioxidant, anti-lipoxygenase and cytotoxic activity of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) decne polyphenolic constituents

Leptadenia pyrotechnica Forssk is a traditional medicinal herb used for treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this research, the aqueous ethanolic crude extract of Leptadenia pyrotechnica aerial parts, along with its ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water partitioning fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant capacity, polyphenolic content, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The total antioxidant capacity was estimated by the FRAP, DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays.The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest polyphenolic content (252.27 mg gallic acid/g) and the best antioxidant activity (1.2, 0.57, 0.45 mmol ascorbic acid equivalent/g in the FRAP, ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively). Furthermore, the same extract showed appreciable anti-inflammatory via lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity (IC?? = 1.41 μg/mL). Moreover, the ethyl acetate fraction also showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC?? = 43.16 μg/mL) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that this plant may be considered an interesting source of compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties for therapeutic, nutraceutical and functional food applications.