Variation in antioxidant attributes at three ripening stages of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit from different geographical regions of Pakistan

The present investigation was carried out to appraise the levels of total phenols and vitamin C as well as antioxidant potential at three different ripening stages (un-ripe, semi-ripe and fully-ripe) of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit collected from three different geographical regions of Pakistan (Islamabad, Faisalabad and Bhakkar). The antioxidant potential of guava fruit extracts was assessed by means of different in-vitro antioxidant assays, namely inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system, reducing power and radical scavenging capability. Overall, fruit at the un-ripe stage (G1) exhibited the highest levels of TPC, TFC, reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity, followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and fully-ripe (G3) stages. On the other hand, vitamin C content increased as the fruit maturity progressed, with highest value seen at the fully-ripe stage (G3) followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and un-ripe stage (G1). The concentration of vitamin C in fruits varied as: Faisalabad (136.4-247.9 mg 100 g?1), Islamabad (89.7-149.7 mg 100 g?1) and Bhakkar (73.1-129.5 mg 100 g?1). The results showed that different stages of maturation and geographical locations had profound effects on the antioxidant activity and vitamin C contents of guava fruit.     

Radiological and elemental analysis of well cuttings from Rajian oil field,Potohar Basin,Pakistan

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A study was undertaken to assess the trace elemental concentrations and changes in these elemental concentrations with well depth of Well-09 of...     

Identification of novel thiourea-stilbene-triazine conjugates as persuasive lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors

A library of novel thiourea-based symmetrical stilbene-triazines ( 5a-i ) was synthesized in an effort to develop new protein tyrosine phosphatase LYP inhibitors. The versatile nature of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine allows considerable scope for derivatization and hence exploration of structure activity relationships. A convenient and versatile three-step synthetic approach involved the successive replacement of the two chloro groups of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine by a variety of substituents for structural modification. The newly synthesized derivatives were subjected to tyrosine phosphatase LYP inhibition studies. The results for the in vitro bioassays were promising with the identification of compound 5k and 5l having a 4-methyl and 4-methoxy substituent on phenyl ring, as the lead and selective candidate for LYP inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 2.1 ± 0.05 μM and 28 ± 3.3 μM, respectively. Moreover, docking studies were carried out to determine the possible interaction sites of thiourea-based stilbene-triazine compounds with Lymphoid Tyrosine Phosphatase. Results of docking computations further ascertained the inhibitory potential of compound 5k and 5l . The results indicated that the compound 5k may serve as a structural model for the design of most potent LYP inhibitors.     

Novel Stilbene-triazine Symmetrical Optical Brighteners: Synthesis and Applications

A series of new high light fastness, hot pressing fastness optical brighteners was efficiently synthesized by a three-step approach involving the successive replacement of the three chloro groups of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine under different conditions of temperature and pH. Thus, 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine was treated with different anilines and the resulting dichlorotriazinyl intermediates (3a-I) were further condensed with 4,4-diaminostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid to afford bis-monochlorotriazine (5a-I) followed by nucleophilic substitution with ethanolamine to furnish the final hybrid brighteners (7a-I). All of the newly synthesized compounds were characterized by Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR), UV-visible absorption, NMR spectroscopy and the elemental analyses. The synthesized optical brighteners were also assessed for their efficacy as fluorescent brightening agents.     

Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Catharanthus roseus and Its Cytotoxicity Effect on Vero Cell Lines

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a chronic and sometimes fatal condition which affects people all over the world. Nanotherapeutics have shown tremendous potential to combat chronic diseases—including DM2—as they enhance the overall impact of drugs on biological systems. Greenly synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Catharanthus roseus methanolic extract (C. AgNPs) were examined primarily for their cytotoxic and antidiabetic effects. Methods: Characterization of C. AgNPs was performed by UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The C. AgNPs were trialed on Vero cell line and afterwards on an animal model (rats). Results: The C. AgNPs showed standard structural and functional characterization as revealed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The zetapotential analysis indicated stability while EDX analysis confirmed the formation of composite capping with Ag metal. The cytotoxic effect (IC50) of C. AgNPs on Vero cell lines was found to be 568 g/mL. The animal model analyses further revealed a significant difference in water intake, food intake, body weight, urine volume, and urine sugar of tested rats after treatment with aqueous extract of C. AgNPs. Moreover, five groups of rats including control and diabetic groups (NC1, PC2, DG1, DG2, and DG3) were investigated for their blood glucose and glycemic control analysis. Conclusions: The C. AgNPs exhibited positive potential on the Vero cell line as well as on experimental rats. The lipid profile in all the diabetic groups (DG1-3) were significantly increased compared with both of the control groups (p < 0.05). The present study revealed the significance of C. AgNPs in nanotherapeutics.     

Thermal performance of micro-polymers containing nano-solid structures during transport phenomenon

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The inclusion of solid nano-structures in the liquid changes its rheology and hence its thermal performance. This article considers the impact of...     

High-Speed Cylindrical Collapse of Type-I Matter

In this paper, the cylindrical symmetric gravitational collapse with anisotropic pressure has been investigated using high-speed approximation scheme. The collapsing speed of the fluid is assumed to be very large. To see the effects of pressure, we have used the equations $ \sqrt{p_{R}/\rho}=k$ and $\sqrt{p_{T}/\rho}=w$ of states for radial pressure and tangential pressure, respectively. It is observed that if the ratios of both pressures, that is, tangential and radial pressures, to energy density are bounded from below by some positive value, there arise two possibilities depending on whether 1?+?k ²???2 w ²?>?0 or 1?+?k ²???2w ²?<?0. For 1?+?k ²???2 w ²?>?0, the high-speed approximation scheme fails, while for 1?+?k ²???2 w ²?<?0, the high-speed approximation works. For vanishing w and k, the high-speed scheme does not break down, and, as a result, a naked singularity forms in this case. For p _T ?=?p _R ?=?p, all the results reduce to the perfect fluid case obtained by Nakao and Morisawa (Prog Theor Phys 113:73, 2005).     

Ce(III) immobilised on aminated epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix — “green” and efficient catalyst for transamidation of carboxamides

The present study reports the preparation and characterisation of Ce(III) immobilised on an aminated epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix (CAEA) as a “green” catalyst. The catalyst was synthesised by the reaction of the epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix with ammonia solution, which was then treated with Ce(NO₃)₃ · 6H₂O. The catalyst (CAEA) was characterised by FT-IR, far IR, CHN, XRD, TGA, and ICP techniques. CAEA is shown to be an effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the transamidation of carboxamides with amines under solvent-free conditions. The catalyst was successfully applied to the synthesis of a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic amides. High efficiency, mild reaction conditions, easy work-up, simple separation and also reusability are important advantages of this catalyst.