Assessment of terrestrial radionuclides in the sandy soil from Guliakhali beach area of Chattogram,Bangladesh

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A study was conducted to assess the concentrations of primordial radionuclides in fifteen sandy soil samples collected from a newly discovered...     

New ceramides from Platytaenia multicaule

Phytochemical investigation of Platytaenia multicaule resulted in the isolation of two new ceramides, N-triacontylpentadecanamide and 1,3,4-trihydroxy-2,dodecanoylamino-(24E)-unacotenene, along with two known compounds, beta-sitosterol and beta-sitosterol glycoside. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was based primarily on 1D and 2D NMR analyses, including COSY, NOESY, HMQC, and HMBC correlations.     

First natural urease inhibitor from Euphorbia decipiens

Three new diterpene esters with a myrsinol-type skeleton have been isolated from Euphorbia decipiens BOISS. & BUHSE. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was based primarily on two-dimensional (2D)-NMR techniques including correlation spectroscopy (COSY), heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments. Compounds 1 and 3 are active against prolyl endopeptidase and compound 2 showed inhibitory activity against urease enzyme.     

Triterpenoid saponin from the bark of Guaiacum officinale L

A new triterpenoid saponin, guaianin R (1) was isolated from the n-BuOH extract of bark of Guaiacum officinale L. It was characterized as akebonic acid-3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside]-28-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-ester. The structure was established with the help of a comparative study of 1D and 2D 1H- 13C NMR methods. A number of other saponins were isolated and reported from the same species.     

Selective and sequential adsorption of bovine serum albumin and lysozyme from a binary mixture on nanosized magnetic particles

Magnetic particles about 10 nm in size were prepared by chemical precipitation under nitrogen and used for the selective and sequential adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (pI = 4.7) and lysozyme (LSZ) (pI = 1.1) under different conditions, such as pH and initial protein concentration. The separation ratio of BSA over LSZ at pH 4.6 is about 5, which is about 1.5 times the separation ratio of LSZ over BSA at pH 11.0. Only 10% of the preadsorbed BSA could be displaced by the sequential adsorption of LSZ at pH 11.0. On the other hand, 60% of the preadsorbed LSZ was desorbed due to the sequential adsorption of BSA at pH 4.6. Over 50% desorption of BSA or LSZ could be achieved either by 0.5 M Na(2)HPO(4) or 0.5 M NaH(2)PO(4) after 2 h. Over 80% of the enzymatic activity of LSZ was preserved when it was desorbed from magnetic particles.     

Preparation,Characterization, and Pharmacological Investigation of Withaferin-A Loaded Nanosponges for Cancer Therapy; In Vitro,In Vivo and Molecular Docking Studies

The rapidly growing global burden of cancer poses a major challenge to public health and demands a robust approach to access promising anticancer therapeutics. In parallel, nanotechnology approaches with various pharmacological properties offer efficacious clinical outcomes. The use of new artificial variants of nanosponges (NS) as a transporter of chemotherapeutic drugs to target cells has emerged as a very promising tool. Therefore, in this research, ethylcellulose (EC) NS were prepared using the ultrasonication assisted-emulsion solvent evaporation technique. Withaferin-A (WFA), an active ingredient in Withania somnifera, has been implanted into the nanospongic framework with enhanced anticancer properties. Inside the polymeric structure, WFA was efficiently entrapped (85 ± 11%). The drug (WFA) was found to be stable within polymeric nanosponges, as demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. The WFA-NS had a diameter of 117 ± 4 nm and zeta potential of −39.02 ± 5.71 mV with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.419 ± 0.073. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the porous surface texture of WFA-NS. In vitro anticancer activity (SRB assay) results showed that WFA–NS exhibited almost twice the anticancer efficacy against MCF-7 cells (IC₅₀ = 1.57 ± 0.091 µM), as quantified by flow cytometry and comet tests. Moreover, fluorescence microscopy with DAPI staining and analysis of DNA fragmentation revealed apoptosis as a mechanism of cancer cell death. The anticancer activity of WFA-NS was further determined in vivo and results were compared to cisplatin. The anticancer activity of WFA-NS was further investigated in vivo, and the data were consistent to those obtained with cisplatin. At Day 10, WFA-NS (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced tumour volume to 72 ± 6%, which was comparable to cisplatin (10 mg/kg), which reduced tumour volume to 78 ± 8%. Finally, the outcomes of molecular modeling (in silico) also suggested that WFA established a stable connection with nanosponges, generating persistent hydrophobic contacts (polar and nonpolar) and helping with the attractive delayed-release features of the formulation. Collectively, all the findings support the use of WFA in nanosponges as a prototype for cancer treatment, and opened up new avenues for increasing the efficacy of natural product-derived medications.     

Drawing behavior and characteristics of laser‐drawn polypropylene fibers

Drawing behavior, flow drawing, and neck drawing, was studied for isotacticpolypropylene fibers in CO₂ laser drawing system, and the fiber structure and the mechanical properties of drawn fibers were analyzed. For a certain laser power, flow drawing of polypropylene (PP) was possible up to draw ratio (DR) 19.5. Though the drawing stress was very low, the flow‐drawn PP fiber exhibited oriented crystal structure and improved mechanical properties. On the other hand, neck‐drawing was accomplished from DR 4 to 12, with significant increase in drawing stress that enhanced the development of fiber structure and mechanical properties. Unlike PET, the drawing stress depends not only on the DR, but on irradiated laser power also. The 10–12 times neck‐drawn fibers were highly fibrillated. The fibers having tensile strength 910 MPa, initial modulus 11 GPa, and dynamic modulus 14 GPa were obtained by single‐step laser drawing system. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 398–408, 2006     

Four- and five-coordinate copper(II) complexes containing mixed ligands

New copper(II) complexes of general formula, Cu(ONS)B (ONS = the di-negatively charged Schiff base, S-benzyl-β-N-(2-hydroxyphenyl) methylendithiocarbazate; B = pyridine, 2,2′-dipyridyl or 1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterised by magnetic and spectroscopic measurements. The complex, Cu(ONS)py is four-coordinate and square-planar. Magnetic and spectroscopic data support a five-coordinate, presumably, a trigonal-bipyramidal structure for the [Cu(ONS)dipy] and (Cu(ONS)phen] complexes     

Study of ion–solvent interactions and activation energy of LiBr in DMSO,H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O and DMSO–H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O mixtures at various temperatures

The Jones–Dole B coefficients of the electrolyte Lithium bromide (LiBr), reference salts tetra butyl ammonium tetra phenyl borate (BU₄NBPh₄), tetra butyl ammonium bromide (BU₄NBr), and potassium chloride (KCl) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), water, and DMSO–water mixtures were obtained at different temperatures range from 25 to 45 °C For this, the relative viscosities were measured for Lithium bromide (LiBr) and reference salts in DMSO, water, and DMSO–water mixtures at above-mentioned temperatures. The B coefficients of these electrolytes were behaved as structure makers in DMSO, while in H₂O and DMSO–H₂O mixtures, the B-coefficient values were less positive showing the weak structure-making effect. Ionic viscosity B coefficients allow us to assess the behavior of ions in the solvent mixtures. In this study it was observed that all the values of ionic B coefficient of (Li⁺) were positive and small showing the weak structure-making effects. It was also observed that Br⁻ ions maintain negative B coefficient values in all DMSO–H₂O mixtures, except in 60% DMSO mole fraction. From this it can be concluded that Br⁻ ion behaved as a structure breaker in water and in all DMSO–H₂O mixtures except in 60% DMSO mole fraction mixtures. The low B _± values of alkali metal ions and Br⁻ ions in water are due to the breakdown of the tetrahedral structural of water and the formation of strongly structured solvated ion. It is also observed that the values of the energy of activation of the flow for LiBr are greater in DMSO–water mixtures and in pure water than in DMSO. This may be due the presence of a network of hydrogen bonds which cause the hindrance in the flow of the solution of LiBr in DMSO–water mixtures and in pure water than in DMSO.