Biotechnological Innovations from Ocean: Transpiring Role of Marine Drugs in Management of Chronic Disorders

Marine drugs are abundant in number, comprise of a diverse range of structures with corresponding mechanisms of action, and hold promise for the discovery of new and better treatment approaches for the management of several chronic diseases. There are huge reserves of natural marine biological compounds, as 70 percent of the Earth is covered with oceans, indicating a diversity of chemical entities on the planet. The marine ecosystems are a rich source of bioactive products and have been explored for lead drug molecules that have proven to be novel therapeutic targets. Over the last 70 years, many structurally diverse drug products and their secondary metabolites have been isolated from marine sources. The drugs obtained from marine sources have displayed an exceptional potential in the management of a wide array of diseases, ranging from acute to chronic conditions. A beneficial role of marine drugs in human health has been recently proposed. The current review highlights various marine drugs and their compounds and role in the management of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disorders, which has led to the development of new drug treatment approaches.     

A note on trans-Sasakian manifolds

In this paper, we obtain some sufficient conditions for a 3-dimensional compact trans-Sasakian manifold of type (α, β) to be homothetic to a Sasakian manifold. A characterization of a 3-dimensional cosymplectic manifold is also obtained.     

Biological and catalytic evaluation of Ru(II)‐p‐cymene complexes of Schiff base ligands: Impact of ligand appended moiety on photo‐induced DNA and protein cleavage,cytotoxicity and C‐H activation

Two organometallic Ru(II)‐p‐cymene complexes of the type [Ru(η⁶‐p‐cymene)(L)Cl]PF₆ 1 and 2 , where L is N,N‐bis(4‐isopropylbenzylidene)ethane‐1,2‐diamine (bien, L1 ) or N,N‐bis (pyren‐2‐ylmethylene)ethane‐1,2‐diamine (bpen, L2 ) have been prepared and characterized well. Because of appended pyrenyl groups in coordinated bpen ligand, the complex 2 exhibits higher DNA and protein binding than complex 1 in which isopropylbenzyl groups are incorporated. Interestingly, the luminescent characteristic complex 2 is unique in displaying DNA cleavage after light activation by UVA light at 365 nm through oxygen dependent mechanism. AFM analysis attests the photo‐induced DNA fragmentation ability of complex 2 . Also, the complex 2 cleaves the protein after light exposure in a non‐specific manner suggesting that it can act as a protein photo cleaving agent. In contrast to the trend of DNA and protein interaction of complexes, the complex 1 exhibits cytotoxic activity against human breast carcinoma ( MCF‐7 ) and liver carcinoma ( HepG2 ) with potency higher than that of complex 2 due to enhanced hydrophobicity of isopropyl groups present in p‐cymene and bien ligands. Indeed, complex 2 is inactive against MCF‐7 and HepG2 cancer cell lines even up to 200 μM concentration. The AO/EB staining assay reveals that the complex 1 is able to induce late apoptotic mode of cell death in breast cancer cells, which is further confirmed by inter‐nucleosomal DNA cleavage. Furthermore, the complexes 1 and 2 are evaluated for their catalytic activities and found to be working well for the β‐carboline directed C–H arylation to afford the desired products in good yield (40–47%).     

Development and characterization of hydroquinone-loaded nanofiber for topical delivery: effect of chitosan

Hydroquinone (HQ) loaded polymer solution was electrospun for its topical application. Nanofibers were then investigated in terms of stability, drug release, and antifungal activity. The effect of chitosan (CS) was investigated on the viscosity, stability, drug release, and antifungal activity of the developed formulation. Results indicate a significantly stable HQ-loaded nanofiber formulation. The addition of CS caused hydration of the drug delivery system and enhanced drug release but reduced its stability. HQ-loaded nanofiber mat showed significant antifungal activity, however, there was no inhibition zone in samples containing CS.     

Demonstration of a 1/4-cycle phase shift in the radiation-induced oscillatory magnetoresistance in GaAs/AlGaAs devices

We examine the phase and the period of the radiation-induced oscillatory magnetoresistance in GaAs/AlGaAs devices utilizing in situ magnetic field calibration by electron spin resonance of diphenyl-picryl-hydrazal. The results confirm a f-independent 1/4-cycle phase shift with respect to the hf=j variant Planck's over 2pi omega(c) condition for j>/=1, and they also suggest a small ( approximately 2%) reduction in the effective mass ratio, m(*)/m, with respect to the standard value for GaAs/AlGaAs devices.     

Convenient Preparation of Glycosyl Bromides

Glycosyl bromides were prepared in very good yields by bromination of the corresponding anomeric hydroxyl group using a 1:1 mixture of triphenyl phosphite and bromine as reagent.