Protective effects of cyanidin-3-O-beta-glucopyranoside against UVA-induced oxidative stress in human keratinocytes

Ultraviolet-A (UVA) radiation causes significant oxidative stress because it leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to extensive cellular damage and eventual cell death either by apoptosis or necrosis. We evaluated the protective effects of cyanidin-3-O-beta-glucopyranoside (C-3-G) against UVA-induced apoptosis and DNA fragmentation in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). Treatment of HaCaT cells with C-3-G before UVA irradiation inhibited the formation of apoptotic cells (61%) and DNA fragmentation (54%). We also investigated antioxidant properties of C-3-G in HaCaT cells against ROS formation at apoptotic doses of UVA; C-3-G inhibited hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) release (an indicator of cellular ROS formation) after UVA irradiation. Further confirmation of the potential of C-3-G to counteract UVA-induced ROS formation comes from our demonstration of its ability to enhance the resistance of HaCaT cells to the apoptotic effects of both H2O2 and the superoxide anion (O2*-), two ROS involved in UVA-oxidative stress. Furthermore, in terms of Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Activity, C-3-G treatment led to a greater increase in antioxidant activity in the membrane-enriched fraction than in the cytosol (55% vs 19%). The protective effects against UVA-induced ROS formation can be attributed to the higher membrane levels of C-3-G incorporation. These encouraging in vitro results support further research into C-3-G (and other anthocyanins) as novel agents for skin photoprotection.     

Biosensor based on paraffin/graphite modified with sweet potato tissue for the determination of hydroquinone in cosmetic cream in organic phase

An organic-phase biosensor based on paraffin/graphite modified with sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) tissue as the source of peroxidase was developed and used for determining hydroquinone in cosmetic creams. This enzyme in the presence of hydrogen peroxide catalyses the oxidation of hydroquinone to p-quinone which electrochemical reduction back to hydroquinone was obtained at a peak potential of -0.22 V. The recovery of hydroquinone from two samples ranged from 99.1 to 104.1% and a rectilinear analytical curve for hydroquinone concentration from 7.5x10(-5) to 1.6x10(-3) M (r=0.9991) were obtained. The detection limit was 8.1x10(-6) M and relative standard deviation was <1.0% for a solution containing 7.3x10(-4) M hydroquinone and 1.0x10(-3) M hydrogen peroxide in 0.10 M tetrabutylammonium bromide methanol-phosphate buffer solution (95:5% v/v) (n=10). The results obtained for hydroquinone in cosmetic creams using the proposed biosensor are in close agreement with those obtained using a Pharmacopoeia procedure at the 95% confidence level.     

N-Heterocyclic carbene–carbodiimide (NHC–CDI) betaine adducts: synthesis,characterization, properties,and applications

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are an important class of reactive organic molecules used as ligands, organocatalysts, and σ-donors in a variety of electroneutral ylide or betaine adducts with main-group compounds. An emerging class of betaine adducts made from the reaction of NHCs with carbodiimides (CDIs) form zwitterionic amidinate-like structures with tunable properties based on the highly modular NHC and CDI scaffolds. The adduct stability is controlled by the substituents on the CDI nitrogens, while the NHC substituents greatly affect the configuration of the adduct in the solid state. This Perspective is intended as a primer to these adducts, touching on their history, synthesis, characterization, and general properties. Despite the infancy of the field, NHC–CDI adducts have been applied as amidinate-type ligands for transition metals and nanoparticles, as junctions in zwitterionic polymers, and to stabilize distonic radical cations. These applications and potential future directions are discussed.

N-heterocyclic carbene-carbodiimide betaine adducts are zwitterionic amidinate-like structures with tunable properties that have applications as ligands, junctions in supramolecular polymers, and stabilizers for radical cations.     

A new regularization of equilibrium problems on Hadamard manifolds: applications to theories of desires

In this paper, we introduce a new proximal algorithm for equilibrium problems on a genuine Hadamard manifold, using a new regularization term. We first extend recent existence results by considering pseudomonotone bifunctions and a weaker sufficient condition than the coercivity assumption. Then, we consider the convergence of this proximal-like algorithm which can be applied to genuinely Hadamard manifolds and not only to specific ones, as in the recent literature. A striking point is that our new regularization term have a clear interpretation in a recent “variational rationality” approach of human behavior. It represents the resistance to change aspects of such human dynamics driven by motivation to change aspects. This allows us to give an application to the theories of desires, showing how an agent must escape to a succession of temporary traps to be able to reach, at the end, his desires.

     

Stereodynamics of 9,11-Diphenyl-10-azatetracyclo[6.3.0.0.(4,11)0.(5,9)]undecanes. Highly Restricted Nitrogen Inversion and Isolated Phenyl Rotation. X-ray Crystallographic, Dynamic NMR, and Molecular Mechanics Studies

The (1)H NMR spectra of 10-benzyl-9,11-diphenyl-10-azatetracyclo[6.3.0.0.(4,11)0.(5,9)]undecane (BnPh(2)()) and 10-methyl-9,11-diphenyl-10-azatetracyclo[6.3.0.0.(4,11)0.(5,9)]undecane (MePh(2)()) decoalesce due to slowing inversion at nitrogen and to slowing isolated bridgehead phenyl rotation. The high nitrogen inversion barriers in MePh(2)() (DeltaG() = 12.2 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol at 250 K) and BnPh(2)() (DeltaG() = 10.6 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol at 215 K) are typical of tertiary amines in which at least one C-N-C bond angle is constrained to a small value. Compared to the minuscule rotation barriers about sp(2)-sp(3) carbon-carbon bonds in simple molecular systems, the bridgehead phenyl rotation barriers in MePh(2)() (DeltaG() = 9.8 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol at 210 K) and BnPh(2)() (DeltaG() = 9.8 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol at 210 K) are unusually high. Molecular mechanics calculations (MMX force field) suggest that the origin of the high phenyl rotation barriers lies in the close passage of an o-phenyl proton and a methyl (or benzylmethylene) proton in the transition state. BnPh(2)() crystallized from hexane as white needles in the monoclinic system Pn. Unit cell dimensions are as follows: a = 12.198(1) ?, b = 6.1399(6) ?, c = 14.938(2) ?, beta = 107.470(4) degrees, V = 1067.1(2) ?(3), Z = 2. In the crystal molecular structure, the imine bridge CNC bond angle in BnPh(2)() is constrained to a small value (96 degrees ). The benzylic phenyl group is oriented gauche to the nitrogen lone pair.     

Evaluation of the calibration errors on cooling of a differential scanning calorimeter using different sets of standard metals

The temperature calibration on cooling of thermal analysis instruments is important for the accurate study of the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of semi-crystalline polymers. In previous works, a methodology was proposed for performing the calibration on cooling of differential scanning calorimeters (DSCs) with standard metals, and the calibration errors were checked using transitions of high-purity liquid crystals. In this work, alternative, physically meaningful, procedures for carrying out the calibration on cooling are analyzed and validated. The calibration errors are evaluated also with liquid crystalline transitions, when the calibration is performed with standard metals, in a wide temperature range, and when due account is taken for the need of isothermal corrections to the temperature measurements. It is shown that any pair of standard metals may be used to calibrate on cooling, that the calibration errors increase for wider working temperature ranges and that, providing that certain conditions are fulfilled, both calibration procedures yield similar results.