N'-(1-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)ethylidene)-2-cyanoacetohydrazide as scaffold for the synthesis of diverse heterocyclic compounds as prospective antitumor and antimicrobial activities

In this article, the main target was to study the antitumor and antimicrobial efficacy of new heterocycles conjugated with biphenyl moiety in-vitro. This was implemented by utilizing N'-(1-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)ethylidene)-2-cyanoacetohydrazide 3 as a material for the synthesis of various heterocyclic compounds. Among of them, some compounds were selected and assayed against two antitumor cell lines as (HepG2) and (HCT-116). Conspicuously, the achieved results showed that compounds 6, 13, and 23 possess significant potency against both cancer cell lines. Particularly, compound 13 exhibited a remarkable efficacy, similar to the standard anticancer drug (doxorubicin), against both cancer cell lines. Noteworthy, compound 13 may serve as a potential anticancer therapeutic drug in the future. On the other hand, In-vitro antifungal and antibacterial activities of selected compounds were assayed and the results indicated that the compound 6 exhibited significant potency against Candida albicans, while compounds 6 and 8 displayed spectacular results for the antibacterial study.     

Fabrication and characterization of boric acid-crosslinked ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol films as potential drug release systems for topical drug delivery

In this study, boric acid (BA) is employed as a crosslinking agent to improve the characteristics of two commonly used polymeric films, ethyl cellulose (EC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), for topical drug delivery applications. The developed films are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM analysis. The results show that the surfaces of the prepared films are even and transparent, except for the BA-modified EC sample. The initial cumulative release for erythromycin (EM) is found to be 0.30 and 0.36 mg/mL for EC and PVA films, which drops to 0.25 and 0.20 mg/mL after BA crosslinking, respectively, after 1 h at 25 °C. Further, the developed formulations are stable for 75 days. Also, the antibacterial activity of the developed formulations is investigated against S. aureus (ATCC® 25923™ and ATCC® 29213™). The obtained data confirm that the application of BA as the crosslinking agent extends the release of EM from EC and PVA polymeric films. The findings of this study suggest that BA-crosslinked EC and PVA films are promising carriers for controlled topical drug delivery applications.     

Conformational Ensemble of Disordered Proteins Probed by Solvent Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement (sPRE)

Characterization of the conformational ensemble of disordered proteins is highly important for understanding protein folding and aggregation mechanisms, but remains a computational and experimental challenge owing to the dynamic nature of these proteins. New observables that can provide unique insights into transient residual structures in disordered proteins are needed. Here using denatured ubiquitin as a model system, NMR solvent paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (sPRE) measurements provide an accurate and highly sensitive probe for detecting low populations of residual structure in a disordered protein. Furthermore, a new ensemble calculation approach based on sPRE restraints in conjunction with residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) is used to define the conformational ensemble of disordered proteins at atomic resolution. The approach presented should be applicable to a wide range of dynamic macromolecules.     

Forsskamide,a new ceramide from aerial parts of Forsskaolea tenacissima Linn.

Although the various folk medicine uses and the biological activity of Forsskaolea tenacissima L., few chemical constituents of this plant have been reported, this provoked us to make our study. Forsskamide, a new ceramide was isolated from aerial parts of F. tenacissima L. (Urticaceae). The chemical structure was established by different spectroscopic methods (¹H, ¹³C-NMR, HMBC, HSQC, ROESY, FAB-MS and HR-FAB-MS). Forsskamide showed a moderate cytotoxic activity by (MTT) method against human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT-116) with IC₅₀ 33.25 μM in comparison with 5-fluorouracil IC₅₀ 26.42 μM. While, it did not show any activity against human hepatocarcinaoma cell line (HepG-2).     

Comparative assessment of the ability of a microwave absorber nanocatalyst in the microwave-assisted biodiesel production process

In this study, a carbon-supported KOH/Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ nanocomposite was fabricated via the microwave combustion method, in which dextrose was used as a carbon source, and its activity in the microwave-assisted transesterification reaction as a microwave absorption material was assessed. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analyses. The results showed that the carbonate and noncarbonate samples had a calcium aluminate (Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃) structure as a support. Different carbon groups were formed during preparation of the carbon-supported KOH/Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ nanocomposite, which improved its surface area and porosity. Although the samples presented similar basicity, the carbonated nanocomposite exhibited twice as much activity as the KOH/Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ nanocatalyst for conversion of canola oil to biodiesel in the microwave-assisted transesterification reaction at 270 W microwave power. The nanocomposite with a larger pore size made active sites easily accessible and exhibited higher catalytic ability where the conversion of 98.8% was obtained under the optimized conditions of 270 W microwave power, methanol/oil molar ratio of 15, 4 wt% of the nanocomposite, and 30 min of reaction time. The carbon-supported nanocatalyst can be reused for at least four times with less reduction in activity. Furthermore, the obtained biodiesel showed that it met the standard values (EN 14214 and ASTM D-6751) with respect to the density, kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, acid number, and flash point.     

Cyclization of pyrazolones: novel synthesis of pyrano,pyrido, pyrimido and spiropyrazole derivatives

Depending on the reaction conditions, two alternative cyclizations are possible for [3?+?3] cyclocondensation of pyrazolone derivative 1a and ethyl cyanoacetate of type pyrano [2,3-c] pyrazol-6(1H)-one 2 and pyrano [2,3-c] pyrazol-4(1H)-one 3. Keeping of enaminic system 3 and benzylidene malononitrile in the presence of catalytic amount of trimethylamine resulted in pyridine cyclization affording pyrazolopyranopyridine derivative 4, not 5. The pyrazolone derivative 6a was obtained as a result of the acid-mediated addition reaction between compound 1a, urea and/or ammonium thiocyanate. In addition, the bispyrazolone of type 6b was obtained from the condensation reaction of urea and pyrazolone derivative. The spiro compound 7 was obtained from the double-addition reaction of pyrazolone to cinnamoyl isothiocyanate. A one-pot three-component condensation of a 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde, pyrazolone 1a, urea and/or thiourea under Biginelli conditions resulted in tetrahydropyrazolo pyrimidine derivatives 8a and 8b, respectively. The acid-mediated reaction of benzaldehyde and pyrazolone derivative 1a in the presence of Ac₂O yielded styrylpyrazole derivative 9. The polyfunctionalized product 9 reacted with hydrazine to furnish pyrazolotriazoloe of type 10. Treatment of styrylpyrazole derivative 9 with aniline furnished the aniline derivative 11 and none of the expected polyheterocyclic derivative 12 was obtained. Compound 9 undergoes pyridine cyclization to produce 13 under the effect of urea. N-phenyl pyrazolone converted into pyrano-dipyrazolone derivative 14. Pyran of type 14 underwent a ring transformation upon treatment with urea and/or thiourea to give the same dipyrazolo pyrimidine derivative 15. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, ESI/LC-MS and elemental analysis.     

Effect of a monomeric sequence on the structure of hydrated Nafion in the sandwich model and solvent dynamics in nano-channels: a molecular dynamic study

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to obtain insight into the structural properties of hydrated Nafion using the sandwich model of the polymer membrane. It is shown that a larger distance between the sulfonate groups of a chain leads to the polymer forming a better inverted micelles structure. Water– and hydronium–polymer interfaces are investigated. Comparing our results with others indicates that, from the perspective of distance, the formation of shells of water and hydronium ions is independent of the model and monomer type, but depends on both if the coordination number is considered. The behaviour of water molecules and hydronium ions is also studied dynamically. Our survey shows that there is an increasing jump in the diffusion coefficient of water at a certain distance between the sulfonate groups of a chain, which then tends to change slightly. Such behaviour is discussed on the basis of density, the available space, as well as the loss of one translational degree of freedom of the water molecules at larger distances. The diffusion coefficient for the hydronium ions was also determined to be much smaller than that for water (by 3.5–6.1 times). The diffusion coefficient of the hydronium ions shows a declining jump at a certain distance between the sulfonate groups of a chain, but the jump is not significant as that for the water molecules.     

Radiation damage in triglycine sulphate due to fast neutron irradiation

Abstract

The change in electrical properties of TGS crystals due to induced defects created by fast neutron irradiation of two different energies (2 and 14 MeV) and different integrated neutron fluxes have been studied in the vicinity of phase transition. It is observed that the electrical conductivity increases with increase of neutron fluence up to 1.7 × 10¹⁰ n · cm^?2 and the values of the relative change of electrical conductivity in case of 2 MeV are higher than that of 14 MeV neutrons at the same neutron fluence (φ)     

WDM and DWDM optical filter based on 2D photonic crystal Thue–Morse structure

This paper describes elaboration of two dimensional photonic crystal structures based on Thue–Morse sequence. Our results establish that the optical properties of these aperiodic multilayer systems can be tailored by adjusting either the radius of some cells of the proposed structure or defect characteristics. We introduce a resonant cavity in the proposed structure to select desirable wavelengths for filtering. Bandwidth of selected wavelengths are about 1 nm and suitable for communication applications. Also, our simulations show that efficiency of the proposed structure is enough. The total footprint of proposed filter is 331.24 μm², therefore it is suitable to be integrated in all optical chips.     

A novel 4-channel demultiplexer based on photonic crystal ring resonators

A 4-channel wavelength division demultiplexer based on photonic crystal structures suitable for WDM communication applications is proposed. In order to improve the wavelength selectivity we introduce four scattering rods above and under the X-shaped ring resonators in the proposed structure. It is shown that the PBG of the structure is tuned for communication systems in both TE and TM modes but the results demonstrated that just the first PBG in TM mode is suitable for WDM applications, so all the simulations will be done in TM mode. The minimum and maximum crosstalk between channels is −23.7 dB and −7.5 dB, respectively. Also, the average channel spacing in this structure is 3 nm.