Quality Related Safety Evaluation of a South African Traditional Formulation (PHELA®) as Novel Anti-Biofilm Candidate

A South African traditional formulation, PHELA^®, is consumed by the traditional people for severe chest problems with coughing, diarrhea, oral ulcers etc. The present study focused on establishing the anti-infective properties of a safe and standardized poly-herbal formulation through a series of criteria and specifications.     

Nucleation of microcracks during dislocation interactions in a Ti<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al single crystal

Reactions between superdislocations involved in deformation in the basal, prismatic, and type-I and II pyramidal planes in single-crystal Ti₃Al are considered. The types of dislocation interactions are established that result in the formation dislocation barriers (microcrack nuclei). The force and energy conditions for microcracks to arise are found. The interaction between a and 2c + a superdislocations results in microcracks with the plane of opening lying in basal and pyramidal planes; the interaction of 2c + a superdislocations in different pyramidal planes results in the formation of microcracks in prismatic and pyramidal planes; and the interaction of a superdislocations in basal and/or pyramidal planes does not cause the formation of dislocation barriers. The types of microcracks are classified in terms of the orientation of deformation axes of single crystals, and the regions of the stereographic triangle are determined characterized by a preferential type of crack opening.     

Kinetics of Early Decomposition Stages in Diluted bcc Fe–Сu–Ni–Al Alloy: MC+MD Simulation

Physics of the Solid State - A combined approach including the Monte Carlo and molecular-dynamics simulation, decomposition kinetics and segregation formation in the multicomponent low-alloy...     

Essential Amino Acid–Enabled Lead Bromide Perovskite Nanocrystals with High Stability

This work reports the first synthesis of MAPbBr₃ perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) using amino acids as the ligand with excellent optical properties. A variety of amino acids are used to optimize the luminescence properties. A mechanochemical approach has taken lead over conventional colloidal chemistry during synthesis. All morphological and optical studies are performed to characterize the synthesized perovskite nanoparticles. Later, stability studies are investigated through thermogravimetric analysis, temperature‐dependent photoluminescence, time‐dependent X‐ray diffraction, as well as X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In an application, interestingly, these perovskites show high luminescence upon scratching on flexible conducting plates and on plain paper surface. These results suggest that the amino acid–ligated perovskite nanocrystals can be potential materials for optoelectronic application including light‐emitting diodes and imaging.     

On further application of r as a metric for validation of QSAR models

Validation is a crucial aspect for quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model development. External validation is considered, in general, as the most conclusive proof of predictive capacity of a QSAR model. In the absence of truly external data set, external validation is usually performed on test set compounds, which are members of the original data set but not used in model development exercise. In the case of small data sets, QSAR researchers experience problem in model development due to the fact that the developed models may be less reliable on account of the small number of training set compounds and such models may also show poor external predictability because the models may not have captured all necessary features required for the particular structure–activity relationships. The present paper attempts to show that ‘true r_(LOO)’ statistic calculated based on the model derived from the undivided data set with application of variable selection strategy at each cycle of leave‐one‐out (LOO) validation may reflect external validation characteristics of the developed model thus obviating the requirement of splitting of the data set into training and test sets. This approach may be helpful in the case of small data sets as it uses all available data for model development and validation thus making the resulting model more reliable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactivity of triazolyl Schiff bases with Ru(II)-2,2′-bipyridyl: Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization of isomers and their photo-physical properties

The condensation of 3-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazole with benzaldehyde and terephthalaldehyde provides the bidentate and tetradentate Schiff bases 1,2,4-triazolo-3-imino-benzene L¹H and 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazolo-3-imino)benzene L²H₂, respectively. The well characterized Schiff bases were allowed to react with cis-Ru(bpy)₂Cl₂ · 2H₂O. Isomers of the mononuclear complexes Ru(bpy)₂L¹]PF₆ · NH₄PF₆ (1a, N4) and [Ru(bpy)₂L¹]PF₆ · 0.5NH₄PF₆ (1b, N2), and the dinuclear Ru(II) complexes [Ru(bpy)₂L²Ru(bpy)₂](PF₆)₂ · NH₄PF₆ (2a, N4N4), [Ru(bpy)₂L²Ru(bpy)₂](PF₆)₂ · NH₄PF₆ · 2H₂O (2b, N2N2) and [Ru(bpy)₂L²Ru(bpy)₂](PF₆)₃ · NH₄PF₆ (2c, Ru(II)-Ru(III)) were separated by column chromatography and characterized by their elemental analysis, FAB mass and spectral (IR, NMR, UV–Vis) data. The data obtained suggest that the ligands are bound to the metal centre via the N4 and N2 atoms of the triazole moiety along with the N (imine) atom. The complexes display metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) transitions in the visible region from the dπ(Ru^II) → π^∗L transition. Highly intense ligand-based π→π^∗ transitions are observed in the UV region. A dual emission occurs from the N2 and N2N2 isomers.     

Characterization of high level waste for minor actinides by chemical separation and alpha spectrometry

The high level waste (HLW) generated from the reprocessing of the spent fuel of pressurized heavy water reactor has been characterized for the minor actinides. The radiation dose of the waste solution was reduced by radiochemical separation of cesium from HLW by solvent extraction with chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide dissolved in 20% nitrobenzene in xylene. Minor actinides (Np, Pu, Am, Cm) in the high level waste were assayed by alpha spectrometry following radiochemical separation. The gross alpha activity determined by liquid scintillation agrees well (within 10%) with the cumulative quantities of actinides determined by alpha spectrometry.     

Aging effect of diethanolamine derived precursor sol on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films deposited at different annealing temperatures

A diethanolamine stabilized precursor sol has been utilized for studying the effect of sol aging and annealing temperature on key properties of TiO₂ films. X-ray diffraction investigations have shown increased crystallite size in the films as a function of both sol aging and the thermal treatment. Fourier transform infrared studies have elucidated that cleavage of the bond involving diethanolamine and the alkoxide in the films requires high temperature annealing treatment upon the use of aged sol for the deposition of the films. Multiple step chronoamperometry has shown the ion storage capacity of the films increases as a function of sol aging, with the highest extent of Li ion insertion being obtained for films produced from as-prepared and aged sols and subsequently annealed at, 300 and 350 °C, respectively. Films with excellent optical quality were obtained. Ellipsometry revealed that the refractive indices of the films vary from 1.67 to 2.02. The highest thickness obtained in these films was nearly 900 nm. The bandgaps of the films for both direct and indirect transitions decreased as a function of precursor sol’s aging. In addition, although the indirect bandgap values have shown a decrease with increasing annealing temperature, the direct bandgap values reveal a slight increase as a function of annealing temperature.     

Metal Complexes of Singly,Doubly and Triply Linked Porphyrins and Corroles: An Insight into the Physicochemical Properties

Metal complexes of multi-porphyrins and multi-corroles are unique systems that display a host of extremely interesting properties. Availability of free meso and β positions allow formation of different types of directly linked bis-porphyrins giving rise to intriguing optical and electronic properties. While the fields of metalloporphyrin and corroles monomer have seen exponential growth in the last decades, the chemistry of metal complexes of bis-porphyrins and bis-corroles remain rather underexplored. Therefore, the impact of covalent linkages on the optical, electronic, (spectro)electrochemical, magnetic and electrocatalytic activities of metal complexes of bis-porphyrins and -corroles has been summarized in this review article. This article shows that despite the (still) somewhat difficult synthetic access to these molecules, their extremely exciting properties do make a strong case for pursuing research on these classes of compounds.     

Doubling Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Efficiency in Proteins with Extrinsic Thioamide Probes: Implications for Thiomodified Nucleobases

Designing a potential protein–ligand pair is pivotal, not only to track the protein structure dynamics, but also to assist in an atomistic understanding of drug delivery. Herein, the potential of a small model thioamide probe being used to study albumin proteins is reported. By monitoring the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) dynamics with the help of fluorescence spectroscopic techniques, a twofold enhancement in the FRET efficiency of 2-thiopyridone (2TPY), relative to that of its amide analogue, is observed. Molecular dynamics simulations depict the relative position of the free energy minimum to be quite stable in the case of 2TPY through noncovalent interactions with sulfur, which help to enhance the FRET efficiency. Finally, its application is shown by pairing thiouracils with protein. It is found that the site-selective sulfur atom substitution approach and noncovalent interactions with sulfur can substantially enhance the FRET efficiency, which could be a potential avenue to explore in the design of FRET probes to study the structure and dynamics of biomolecules.