Comparative Study of Natural Terpenoid Precursors in Reactive Plasmas for Thin Film Deposition

If plasma polymer thin films are to be synthesised from sustainable and natural precursors of chemically heterogeneous composition, it is important to understand the extent to which this composition influences the mechanism of polymerisation. To this end, a well-studied monoterpene alcohol, terpinen-4-ol, has been targeted for a comparative study with the naturally occurring mix of terpenes (viz. Melaleuca alternifolia oil) from which it is commonly distilled. Positive ion mode mass spectra of both terpinen-4-ol and M. alternifolia oil showed a decrease in disparities between the type and abundance of cationic species formed in their respective plasma environments as applied plasma power was increased. Supplementary biological assay revealed the antibacterial action of both terpinen-4-ol and M. alternifolia derived coatings with respect to S. aureus bacteria, whilst cytocompatibility was demonstrated by comparable eukaryotic cell adhesion to both coatings. Elucidating the processes occurring within the reactive plasmas can enhance the economics of plasma polymer deposition by permitting use of the minimum power, time and precursor pre-processing required to control the extent of monomer fragmentation and fabricate a film of the desired thickness and functionality.     

A New Ecological RP-HPLC Method for the Determination of Pitavastatin,Fenofibrate and Their Impurities in a Novel Fixed Dose Combination

Chromatographia - We developed a simple, rapid, ecological RP-HPLC method for the estimation of Pitavastatin (PIT), Fenofibrate (FEN), and their impurities in a novel fixed dose combination. We...     

Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Jet and Gamma Radiation Treatments on Gingivobuccal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Breast Adenocarcinoma Cells

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the conventional treatment modalities of cancer though successful are limited by presence of residual tumor cells, toxic side-effects and treatment resistance, thus raising the need for investigating other novel approaches. Here, we have used a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet and assessed the in vitro efficacy in gingivobuccal squamous cell carcinoma (GB-SCC) – ITOC-03, breast adenocarcinoma—MCF7 and HEK293 cells. Cells lines were subjected to varying doses of ionizing radiation (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 Gy) and CAP jet treatment (0, 60, 180, 240, 300 s). CAP jet treatment showed time dependent increase in H₂O₂ and NO₂^? concentration. Cell viability assay showed potent effect of CAP jet on all three cell lines in comparison to radiation treatment, while helium gas treatment showed minimal inhibitory effect. Irradiated, CAP jet and helium gas treated cells showed loss of nucleic acid features, 788 cm^?1 and 1340 cm^?1 in Raman spectra, indicating DNA damage. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed distinct classification of CAP-treated and control cells, while Principal Component – Linear Discriminant Analysis (PC-LDA) based classification of Raman spectra showed ITOC-03 and HEK293 cells to be sensitive to CAP jet and radiation treatment in comparison to MCF7 cells. Collectively, cell viability assay and Raman spectroscopy have shown potent effect of CAP jet in GB-SCC and breast adenocarcinoma cells.

     

Nano Gd2O3 catalyzed synthesis and anti-oxidant activity of new α-aminophosphonates

A one pot three-component nano Gd₂O₃ catalyzed neat reaction of 2-morpholinoethanamine and dimethylphosphite with various salicylaldehydes under microwave irradiation afforded a series of new α-aminophosphonates in high yields. The synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, (¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P)-NMR, and mass spectral methods. The antioxidant activity of these compounds was evaluated against DPPH, NO, and H₂O₂ methods and found that the compound Dimethyl (2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl) (2-morpholinoethylamino) methylphosphonate (4h) has higher antioxidant activity than the corresponding standards.     

Insights into the Gelating Abilities of Ricinelaidic Acid and its Ammonium Salts: How do Stereochemistry,Charge, and Chain Lengths Control Gelation of a Long‐Chain Alkenoic Acid?

The gelating abilities of ricinelaidic acid (d ‐REA), the trans‐isomer of ricinoleic acid (d ‐RA), and a series of its alkylammonium and alkane‐α,ω‐diammonium salts have been examined in a wide range of organic liquids. The gelation efficiency of the trans acid is much better than that of the cis, although neither is as efficient as is the completely saturated molecular gelator analogue, (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid (d ‐12HSA). The formation of ammonium salts also improves the gelation ability of d ‐REA in high polarity liquids. The gelating properties are highly dependent upon the chain length of the alkyl group of the alkylammonium salts, but not very dependent on the chain length of the alkane‐α,ω‐diammonium salts. Structural insights from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and powder X‐ray diffraction indicate that the absence or presence of unsaturation, the incorporation of (charged) ammonium centers, and the different chain lengths of the alkylammonium salts lead to different packing arrangements and different strengths of H‐bonding interactions within the gel assemblies of the d ‐REA derivatives. Insights into the relationships among the various systematic structural changes to d ‐REA and the properties of their aggregated structures, including the gel states, are provided.     

(R)‐12‐Hydroxystearic Acid Hydrazides as Very Efficient Gelators: Diffusion,Partial Thixotropy,and Self‐Healing in Self‐Standing Gels

The gelation properties of derivatives of N‐alkylated (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid hydrazide (n‐HSAH, n=0, 2, 6, 10; n is the length of an n‐alkyl chain on the terminal nitrogen atom) in a wide variety of liquids is reported. The n‐HSAH compounds were derived from a naturally occurring alkanoic acid, (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid (R‐12HSA), and although they differ from the analogous N‐alkyl (R)‐12‐hydroxystearamides (n‐HSAA) only by the presence of one N?H group, their behavior as gelators is very different. For example, the parent molecule (0‐HSAH) is a supergelator in ethylene glycol, in which it forms self‐standing gels that are self‐healing, partially thixotropic, moldable, and load‐bearing; gels of 0‐HSAA are not self‐standing. 0‐HSAH is structurally the simplest molecular gelator of which we are aware that is capable of forming both self‐standing and partially thixotropic gels. Also, diffusion of the cationic dye erythrosine B and the anionic dye methylene blue in 0‐HSAH/ethylene glycol gel blocks is much slower than the self‐diffusion of ethylene glycol. Polarizing optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and FTIR studies revealed that the self‐assembled fibrillar networks (SAFINs) of the gels are crystalline, and that 0‐HSAH molecules may be arranged in a triclinic subcell with bilayer stacking. The SAFINs are stabilized by strong hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the hydrazide groups of adjacent molecules and a perpendicular hydrogen‐bonding network between the pendent hydroxyl groups of 0‐HSAH. The other n‐HSAH (n=2, 6, 10) molecules appear to be arranged in orthorhombic subcells with monolayers and strong hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the hydrazide group of one gelator molecule and the hydroxyl group of a neighboring one. These results show how small structural modifications of structurally simple gelator molecules can be exploited to form gels with novel properties that can lead potentially to valuable applications, such as in drug delivery.     

Stabilization of Langmuir monolayer of hydrophobic thiocholesterol molecules

The self-assembled monolayer of the thiocholesterol (TCh) exhibits interesting properties that can be used for various technological applications. TCh is predominantly a hydrophobic molecule, and it does not spread at the air–water interface to form a stable Langmuir monolayer. We have stabilized the TCh molecules in the cholesterol (Ch) monolayer. We find the mixed monolayer to be stable upto 0.75 mole fraction of TCh in Ch. The mixed monolayer shows an initial and a final collapse. On compressing the monolayer beyond the initial collapse, the TCh molecules squeeze out irreversibly from the mixed monolayer phase. The calculation of excess area per molecule for the TCh and Ch mixed monolayer system indicates an attractive interaction between the component molecules. Interestingly, the elasticity of the Ch monolayer reduces to less than half, and the monolayer becomes more fluidic due to the presence of even very minute quantity (5%) of TCh.     

Magnesium indium oxide (MgIn2O4) spinel thin films: chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) growth and materials characterizations

MgIn(2)O(4), which has an inverse spinel structure, has been adopted as the transparent material in optoelectronic device fabrication due to its high optical transparency and electrical conductivity. Such a technologically important material was prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique. Precursors prepared for the cationic ratio Mg/In=0.5 were thermally sprayed onto glass substrates at 400 and 450 degrees C. We report herein the preparation and characterization of the films by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive absorption X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD results showed the single phase formation of the material that revealed the presence of Mg(2+) and In(3+) in the inverse spinel-related structure. The FTIR and EDAX results further confirmed that the nanocrystalline films were mainly composed of magnesium, indium, and oxygen, in agreement with XRD analysis. We surmised from the AFM micrographs that the atoms have enough diffusion activation energy to occupy the correct site in the crystal lattice. For the 423-nm-thick magnesium indium oxide films grown at 400 degrees C, the electrical conductivity was 5.63x10(-6) Scm(-1) and the average optical transmittance was 63% in the visible range (400-700 nm). Similar MgIn(2)O(4) films deposited at 450 degrees C have a conductivity value of 1.5x10(-5) Scm(-1) and an average transmittance of 75%. Hall coefficient observations showed n-type electrical conductivity and high electron carrier concentration of 2.7x10(19) cm(-3).     

Synthesis of a new class of bisheterocycles from phenacylsulfonylacetic acid methyl ester

Novel bisheterocycles, 1,2,3‐selenadiazoles, thiadiazoles and 2H‐diazaphospholes in combination with oxadiazoles, thiadiazoles and triazoles were prepared from phenacylsulfonylacetic acid methyl ester.