Comparative evaluation of amphotericin B binding to the native and modified forms of rice lipid-transfer protein: a possible perspective on improving the drug-binding affinity and specificity

Plant non-specific lipid-transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are small basic proteins which transport phospholipids between different cell membranes. They are classified, based on their molecular weight, into two subfamilies: nsLTP1 (9 kDa) and nsLTP2 (7 kDa). These proteins have received an increasing research interest as efficient drug carriers in drug delivery systems. However, there have been few studies conducted on their drug-binding characteristics. The present study aims to comparatively evaluate binding of amphotericin B (AmB, an antifungal drug) to the native and modified forms of rice nsLTP1 and to assess possible applications in drug delivery methods. The LTP1 was purified and then interaction of AmB with the native and modified forms of protein was investigated with various spectroscopic methods. The results showed that the AmB–LTP binding is associated with quenching of the protein intrinsic fluorescence. Furthermore, as temperature of the medium increased, the stability of the AmB–native LTP complex decreased, whereas the stability of the AmB–modified LTP increased. Analysis of the thermodynamic parameters of the AmB–protein complexes and extrinsic fluorescence data indicated that the lysine modification caused a change in the intermolecular interactions between the protein and AmB as well as in the protein surface hydrophobicity (PSH). Furthermore, Dixon plot showed that AmB inhibits ANS binding especially in the AmB–modified RLTP binding. Findings of the current study highlighted the drug-binding characteristics of the modified form of LTP necessitating further studies to profoundly evaluate the characteristics of its mutant forms.     

Gas Sensing Ability of a Nanostructured Conducting Polypyrrole Film Prepared by Catalytic Electropolymerization on Cu/Au Interdigital Electrodes

Nanostructured conductive polypyrrole has been prepared electrochemically on the surfaces of Cu/Au interdigital electrodes in the presence of Fe(II) as catalyst and ClO₄^? as anion dopant by using constant potential amperometry and cyclic voltammetry. The morphology of the conducting films was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, indicating a dependence from the processing technique. The synthesized polymer was used to investigate the properties of the gas sensing ability. The effect of the catalyst concentration on the oxidation mechanism of pyrrole was discussed. The PPy‐ClO₄ gas sensors had demonstrated fast response time and high sensitivity to VOCs.     

Synthesis and Spectral Characterization of Some Complexes Derived From N-Benzoyl-N′-Carboxylmethylthiopropylidine Thiourea (Bcmt)

Abstract

New metal complexes derived from the reaction of N-benzoyl-N′-carboxyl methylthiopropylidine thiourea (BCMT) with Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Fe(III) chloride and/or acetate salts have been synthesized and characterized using elemental analyses, molar conductance, spectral (IR, UV-Vis., mass, ¹H NMR), thermal (TGA, DTG), and magnetic measurements. The IR results showed the modes of coordination in case of mononuclear and binuclear metal complexes. Different types of geometries are suggested on the basis of the spectral and the magnetic data. Also, the ligand field parameters for the metal complexes were calculated. The amounts of the solvents as well as the mechanism of decomposition were proposed using thermal measurements. The results of biological activity of the ligand give us the promise to be effective in tumors treatment.     

On Operator-Valued Semicircular Random Variables

In this paper, we discuss some special properties of operator-valued semicircular random variables including representation of the Cauchy transform of a compactly supported probability measure in terms of their operator-valued Cauchy transforms and existence of nonzero discrete part of their associated distributions.     

Direct limits of Cohen–Macaulay rings

Let A be a direct limit of a direct system of Cohen–Macaulay rings. In this paper, we describe the Cohen–Macaulay property of A. Our results indicate that A is not necessarily Cohen–Macaulay. We show A is Cohen–Macaulay under various assumptions. As an application, we study Cohen–Macaulayness of non-affine normal semigroup rings.     

Investigation of Oil–Asphaltene Slurry Rheological Behavior

The presence of asphaltene means additional difficulties related to transport and processing due to the increased crude oil viscosity caused by the asphaltene. For a better knowledge of the flow properties of asphaltene containing crude oils, it is necessary to understand how asphaltene affects the rheological properties. The aim of this article is to provide information on such rheological properties of oil–asphaltene slurry systems. The results of rheological experiments show that the non-Newtonian flow curves can be approximated by the Bingham plastic model to determine the apparent viscosity and the yield stress as a function of asphaltene concentration and temperature. An explanation is also provided for the observed behavior.     

Solid phase extraction of heavy metal ions based on a novel functionalized magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube composite with the aid of experimental design methodology

We report that magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with 8-aminoquinoline can be applied to the preconcentration of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) ions. The parameters affecting preconcentration were optimized by a Box-Behnken design through response surface methodology. Three variables (extraction time, magnetic sorbent amount, and pH value) were selected as the main factors affecting sorption, and four variables (type, volume and concentration of the eluent; elution time) were selected for optimizing elution. Following sorption and elution, the ions were quantified by FAAS. The LODs are 0.09, 0.72, and 1.0 ng mL^?1 for Cd(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) ions, respectively. The relative standard deviations are <5.1 % for five separate batch determinations at 30 ng mL^?1 level of Cd(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) ions. The sorption capacities (in mg g^?1) of this new sorbent are 201 for Cd(II), 150 for Pb(II), and 172 Ni(II). The composite was successfully applied to the rapid extraction of trace quantities of heavy metal ions in fish, sediment, soil, and water samples.

高效可回收催化剂In(OTf)_3用于无溶剂条件下Pechmann缩合反应(英文)

In(OTf)3 plays the role of a Lewis acid catalyst in the Pechmann condensation of phenols with β-ketoesters under solvent-free conditions to give coumarin derivatives. This novel and inexpensive method has advantages such as short reaction time, excellent product yields, and avoids the use of organic solvents in agreement with green chemistry principles. Catalyst loadings can be as low as 1 mol% to give high yields of the corresponding coumarins at 80 °C. The catalyst can be recovered after the reaction, and reused with only a slight decrease in the yield.     

Effect of conductive fillers on the cyclic stress-strain and nano-scale free volume properties of silicone rubber

The effect of carbon black(CB) and graphite(G) powders on the macroscopic and nano-scale free volume properties of silicone rubber based on poly(di-methylsiloxane)(PDMS) was studied through thermal and cyclic mechanical measurements, as well as with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy(PALS). The melting temperature of the composites(Tm) and the endothermic enthalpy of melting(?Hm) were estimated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). Tm and the degree of crystallinity(χc) of PDMS composites were found to decrease with increasing the CB content. This can be explained due to the increase in physical cross-linking which results in a decrease in the crystallite thickness. Besides, χc was found to be dependent on the filler type. Cyclic stress-strain behavior of PDMS loaded with different contents of filler has been studied. Mullins ratio(RM) was found to be dependent on the filler type and content. It was found that, RM increases with increasing the filler content due to the increase in physical cross-linking which results in a decrease in the size of free volume, as observed through a decrease of the o-Ps lifetime τ3 measured by PALS. Moreover, the hysteresis in PDMS-CB composites was more pronounced than in PDMS-G composites. Furthermore, a correlation was established between the free volume Vf and the mechanical properties of PDMS composites containing different fillers. A negative correlation was observed between Vf and RM.