Anti-Cancer Effects of Carnosine—A Dipeptide Molecule

Background: Carnosine is a dipeptide molecule (β-alanyl-l-histidine) with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-glycation, and chelating properties. It is used in exercise physiology as a food supplement to increase performance; however, in vitro evidence suggests that carnosine may exhibit anti-cancer properties. Methods: In this study, we investigated the effect of carnosine on breast, ovarian, colon, and leukemic cancer cell proliferation. We further examined U937 promonocytic, human myeloid leukemia cell phenotype, gene expression, and cytokine secretion to determine if these are linked to carnosine’s anti-proliferative properties. Results: Carnosine (1) inhibits breast, ovarian, colon, and leukemic cancer cell proliferation; (2) upregulates expression of pro-inflammatory molecules; (3) modulates cytokine secretion; and (4) alters U937 differentiation and phenotype. Conclusion: These effects may have implications for a role for carnosine in anti-cancer therapy.     

Composite cathode materials Ag-Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3 for solid oxide fuel cells

Silver-Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ (BSCF) cathodes were prepared in two ways. In the first method, Ag-BSCF composite powder was prepared in ethanol solution, where Ag nanoparticles serving as a component in the preparation of Ag-BSCF composite cathodes had been previously obtained via one-step synthesis in absolute ethanol using a neutral polymer (polyvinylpyrrolidone). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use a Ag sol obtained by the above method for preparation of Ag-BSCF composite powder. Then, a paste containing this powder was screen-printed on a Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 electrolyte and sintered at 1,000 °C. In the second technique, an aqueous solution of AgNO₃ was added to a previously sintered BSCF cathode, which was then sintered again at 800 °C. The oxygen reduction reaction at the quasi-point BSCF cathode on the Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 electrolyte was tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy at different oxygen concentrations in three electrode setup. The continuous decrease of polarization resistance was observed under polarization ?0.5 V at 600 °C. The comparative studies of both obtained composite Ag-BSCF materials were performed in hydrogen-oxygen IT-SOFC involving samaria-doped ceria as an electrolyte and Ni-Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 anode. In both cases, the addition of silver to the cathode caused an increase in current and power density compared with an IT-SOFC built with the same components but involving a monophase BSFC cathode material.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Yarrowia lipolytica</Emphasis> application as a prospective approach for biosynthesis of pyruvic acid from glycerol

With the problems related to chemical methods of pyruvic acid (PA) synthesis, a fast-growing interest has been observed in research aiming at reducing the production cost of PA by applying biotechnological methods. This study aimed to investigate the potential applicability of Yarrowia lipolytica Wratislavia 1.31 yeast strain for valorisation of pure and crude glycerol through the production of industrially desired PA. Conditions required for the effective PA biosynthesis, i.e., pH value, thiamine concentration, agitation, and substrate concentration, were examined in batch and fed-batch cultivation modes. The efficient production of PA occurred under the limitation of thiamine (1 µg L^?1) and was stimulated by moderate pH (4.5) and agitation (800 rev min^?1) of the culture. Under optimal conditions, Y. lipolytica Wratislavia 1.31 was able to produce 85.2 g L^?1 of PA with volumetric productivity of 0.90 g L^?1 h^?1. The yield of PA biosynthesis reached a high level of 1.03 g g^?1. Obtained results confirmed the aptitude of Y. lipolytica yeast to produce high amounts of PA from simple glycerol-containing media. Presented process was very promising and might be considered as an attractive alternative for currently used chemical methods of PA synthesis.     

Electrochemical determination of mesotrione and its degradation products on glassy carbon electrode

A simple, fast and sensitive analytical method was developed for the quantification of herbicide mesotrione (MES) and its degradation products: 4-(methylsulfonyl)-2-nitrobenzoic acid (MNBA) and 2-amino-4-(methylsulfonyl) benzoic acid (AMBA) using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Voltammetric measurements were performed using glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Potential range, pH of the electrolyte and the scan rate were optimised to achieve the lowest detection limits of analytes. The optimal conditions were obtained in a Britton–Robinson (BR) buffer at pH 4.0 for MNBA and at pH 6.0 for MES and AMBA, with the scan rate 0.08 V/s. The potential V for (1) nitro and carbonyl groups of MES, (2) nitro group of MNBA and (3) amino group of AMBA, obtained under optimised conditions, was plotted as a function of a peak current (I). The I(V) dependencies were measured for the following concentration ranges: 0.5–5.0 µM for the nitro group of MES and MNBA, 0.75–5.0 µM and 0.50–8.5 µM for the carbonyl groups of MES, and 0.25–8.5 µM for amino group of AMBA; whereas, the limit of detection was in range 0.07–0.23 µM (20–80 µg/L). The proposed method is the first one that allows the determination of both MES and its degradation products. The practical applicability of these newly developed voltammetric methods was verified by direct determination of MES and its degradation products in model samples of drinking and surface water.     

Crystal and molecular structure of 1-(2-isopropylcarbamoylpropan-2-ylamino) 3-(1-naphthyloxy)propan-2-ol (C20H28N2O3)

The crystal structure of the title compound has been determined with three-dimensional MoK X-ray diffraction data. The space group and unit-cell parameters are:P2₁/c,a=8.610(3) Å,b=13.516(5) Å,c=16.818(5) Å,=94.95(3)° andV=1950.0(7) ų. The structure was solved by direct methods, and refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques toR=0.0608 andR _w=0.0648. The compound is a derivative of the popular-adrenolytic propranolol, and in the propanol part of the side chain shows the typicalgauche conformation.     

Determination of volatile and non-volatile products of milk fermentation processes using capillary zone electrophoresis and solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography

The aim of the investigations was to develop analytical methods for the determination of selected volatile and non-volatile organic compounds numbering among the final products of milk fermentation. The analyzed compounds were as follows: biacetyl and carboxylic acids (formic, acetic, citric, and lactic). The model yogurt was prepared under controlled conditions in our laboratory by addition of the selected bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) to the milk sample. The temperature, time, and stirring were controlled during the fermentation process. Factors considered in SPMPE-GC-FID method development included fiber exposure time, salt addition, temperature of extraction, and temperature of desorption. Various SPME fibers, for example with PDMS, CAR/PDMS, PA, and PDMS/DVB coatings, were tested to obtain the highest recovery of the investigated compounds extracted from yogurt samples. Based on these preliminary experiments, qualitative and quantitative analyses for the determination of biacetyl were performed by SPME-GC-FID. Moreover, a capillary zone electrophoresis method was developed for the determination of carboxylic acids in the yogurt samples. The buffer composition as well as deproteinization by acetonitrile were found to have a crucial effect on the analysis.     

Four‐ and five‐coordinate copper(II) complexes with N‐(4,4‐diphenyl‐5‐oxo‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazol‐2‐yl)glycine

The two title mononuclear compounds are four‐coordinate bis[N‐(5‐oxo‐4,4‐diphenyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazolidin‐2‐ylidene)glycinato]copper(II) dimethylformamide disolvate, [Cu(C₁₇H₁₄N₃O₃)₂]·2C₃H₇NO, (I), and five‐coordinate aquabis[N‐(5‐oxo‐4,4‐diphenyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazolidin‐2‐ylidene)glycinato]copper(II) dimethylformamide disolvate, [Cu(C₁₇H₁₄N₃O₃)₂(H₂O)]·2C₃H₇NO, (II). In (I), the Cu^II ion lies on an inversion centre with one‐half of the complex molecule in the asymmetric unit, while in (II) there are two independent ligand molecules in the asymmetric unit, with the Cu^II ion and coordinated water molecule located on a general position. In both crystal structures, the complex molecules assemble in ribbons via N—H...O hydrogen‐bond networks.     

Detection of binuclear copper-caffeine complexes under electrospray ionization condition

A number of copper salts, Cu(OOCCH(3))(2), Cu(ClO(4))(2), Cu(NO(3))(2), CuCl(2) and CuSO(4) have been tested for their ability to form binuclear copper-caffeine complexes. The electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra of methanol solution containing caffeine and CuCl(2) or CuSO(4) show signals of two copper atom containing ions, so the signals correspond to binuclear complexes: [2Caf + Cu(2)SO(4)](+), [2Caf + Cu(2)](+), [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl](+), [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl(2)](+) and [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl(3)](+). Sulfate and chloride anion are characterized by charge densities higher than those of the carboxylate, nitrate and perchlorate anion. Thus, due to the electrostatic forces, the binuclear complexes containing SO(4)(2-) or Cl(-) can survive the transfer from solution to the gas phase and then can successfully be observed on ESI mass spectra. The ion [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl(3)](+) is present in solution and could be detected when using methanol/chloroform as solvent. The ions [2Caf + Cu(2)](+), [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl](+) and [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl(2)](+) are formed from the [2Caf + Cu(2)Cl(3)](+) ion (by subsequent loss of Cl atoms) on transfer from the solution to the gas phase or in the gas phase. The ion [2Caf + Cu(2)](+) does not contain a bridging agent, thus it is reasonable to assume that it contains a Cu-Cu bond.