Selective recognition of organic pollutants in aqueous solutions with composite imprinted membranes

In this work, thin-layer composite membranes imprinted with desmetryn or ibuprofen were prepared and studied for selective recognition of the template compounds in aqueous solutions. The imprinted membranes were developed using photoinitiated copolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulphonic acid and N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide, in the presence of desmetryn or via copolymerization of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, and trimethylopropane trimethacrylate, in the presence of ibuprofen, followed by deposition of the imprinted layers on the surface of porous microfiltration supports of various chemical nature. Atomic force microscopy was used to study the surface morphological characteristics of the developed membranes. Molecularly recognition properties of imprinted membranes were evaluated by measuring their capability to bind the template molecules from polycomponent aqueous solutions. It was shown that obtained membranes may be used as selective recognising elements of portative differential capacitor sensor device for express monitoring of the target molecules in water. The sensor performance is based on registration of the alteration of dielectric permeability of composite imprinted membrane at selective binding of template molecules, when the analyzed feed solution is filtered through the membrane sample.     

Synthesis and EPR studies of vanadyl tetrakis(selenodiazole)porphyrazine

Tetrakis(selenodiazole)porphyrazine and its vanadyl (VO²⁺) complex have been prepared and characterized by FT-IR, UV–vis, and MALDI-MS. The magnetic properties of the complex have been investigated by EPR spectroscopy.     

Plumbagin,a Naturally Occurring Naphthoquinone: Its Isolation,Spectrophotometric Determination in Roots,Stems, and Leaves in Plumbago Europaea L.

A new method for isolation and spectrophotometric determination of plumbagin is presented. Plumbagin was isolated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and column chromatography (CC) techniques, as an orange tinged yellow long crystalline substances. Plumbagin exhibits two absrop-tion maxima at 410 and 510 nm. Stability of the color, pK_a value, and the effect of pH were studied. Beer's law is obeyed over the range 0.9-45 ppm. The method is applied to the determination of plumbagin in roots, stems, and leaves of Plumbago europaea L. plant.     

Discovery of inhibitors that elucidate the role of UCH-L1 activity in the H1299 lung cancer cell line

Neuronal ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH-L1) has been linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), the progression of certain nonneuronal tumors, and neuropathic pain. Certain lung tumor-derived cell lines express UCH-L1 but it is not expressed in normal lung tissue, suggesting that this enzyme plays a role in tumor progression, either as a trigger or as a response. Small-molecule inhibitors of UCH-L1 would be helpful in distinguishing between these scenarios. By utilizing high-throughput screening (HTS) to find inhibitors and traditional medicinal chemistry to optimize their affinity and specificity, we have identified a class of isatin O-acyl oximes that selectively inhibit UCH-L1 as compared to its systemic isoform, UCH-L3. Three representatives of this class (30, 50, 51) have IC(50) values of 0.80-0.94 micro M for UCH-L1 and 17-25 micro M for UCH-L3. The K(i) of 30 toward UCH-L1 is 0.40 micro M and inhibition is reversible, competitive, and active site directed. Two isatin oxime inhibitors increased proliferation of the H1299 lung tumor cell line but had no effect on a lung tumor line that does not express UCH-L1. Inhibition of UCH-L1 expression in the H1299 cell line using RNAi had a similar proproliferative effect, suggesting that the UCH-L1 enzymatic activity is antiproliferative and that UCH-L1 expression may be a response to tumor growth. The molecular mechanism of this response remains to be determined.     

Epidermal lignin deposition in quinoa cotyledons in response to UV-B radiations

UV-B radiation (280-320 nm) is harmful to living organisms and has detrimental effects on plant growth, development and physiology. In this work we examined some mechanisms involved in plant responses to UV-B radiation. Seedlings of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) were exposed to variable numbers of UV-B radiation doses, and the effect on cotyledons was studied. We analyzed (1) cotyledons anatomy and chloroplasts ultrastructure; (2) peroxidase activity involved in the lignification processes; and (3) content of photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds and carbohydrates. Exposure to two UV-B doses induced an increase in the wall thickness of epidermal cells, which was associated with lignin deposition and higher activity of the peroxidase. The chloroplast ultrastructure showed an appearance typical of plants under shade conditions, likely in response to reduced light penetration into the mesophyll cells due to the screening effect of epidermal lignin deposition. Exposure to UV-B radiation also led to (1) enhancement in the level of phenolics, which may serve a protective function; (2) strong increase in the fructose content, a fact that might be related to higher requirement of erythrose-4P as a substrate for the synthesis of lignin and phenolics; and (3) reduction in the chlorophyll concentration, evidencing alteration in the photosynthetic system. We propose that the observed lignin deposition in epidermal tissues of quinoa is a resistance mechanism against UV-B radiation, which allows growing of this species in Andean highlands.     

Au nanolenses for near-field focusing

We report a novel strategy for the synthesis of Pt@Au nanorings possessing near-field focusing capabilities at the center through which single-particle surface enhanced Raman scattering could be readily observed. We utilized Pt@Au nanorings as a light-absorber; the absorbed light could be focused at the center with the aid of a Au nanoporous structure. We synthesized the Au nanolens structure through a Galvanic exchange process between Au ions and Ag block at the inner domain of the Pt@Au nanoring. For this step, Ag was selectively pre-deposited at the inner domain of the Pt@Au nanorings through electrochemical potential-tuned growth control and different surface energies with regard to the inner and outer boundaries of the nanoring. Then, the central nanoporous architecture was fabricated through the Galvanic exchange of sacrificial Ag with Au ions leading to the resulting Au nanoring with a Au nanoporous structure at the center. We monitored the shape-transformation by observing their corresponding localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) profiles. By varying the rim thickness of the starting Pt@Au nanorings, the inner diameter of the nanolens was accordingly tuned to maximize near-field focusing, which enabled us to obtain the reproducible and light-polarization independent measurements of single-particle SERS. Through theoretical simulation, the near-field electromagnetic field focusing capability was visualized and confirmed through single-particle SERS measurement showing an enhancement factor of 1.9 × 10⁸ to 1.0 × 10⁹.

We synthesized a Au nanolens with electromagnetic near-field focusing capability by integrating a Au nanoporous structure at the center of the Pt@Au nanoring via synthetic steps of eccentric growth of Ag and nanoscale Galvanic exchange reaction.     

Estimation of microscopic, zwitterionic ionization constants, isoelectric point and molecular speciation of organic compounds

Mathematical models based on structure-activity relationships and perturbed molecular orbital theory have been developed to calculate the ionization pK(a)s for a large number of organic molecules. These models include resonance, direct and indirect electrostatic field effects, sigma induction, steric effects, differential solvation and hydrogen bonding. The thermodynamic microscopic ionization constants, pk(i), of molecules with multiple ionization sites and the corresponding complex speciation as a function of pH have been determined using these chemical reactivity models. For a molecule of interest SPARC (SPARC performs automated reasoning in chemistry) calculates all of the microscopic ionization constants and the fraction of each species as a function pH along with the titration (charge) curve. The system has been tested on several biologically and environmentally important compounds.     

Equilibrium geometry and gas‐phase proton affinity of 2‐thiouracil derivatives

The ground‐state geometries of uracil, 6‐hydroxy‐uracil, and 6‐hydroxy‐, 6‐amino‐, 6‐methyl‐, 6‐trifluoro‐, and 6‐phenyl‐2‐thiouracil were optimized at the Hartree–Fock level. The molecular structures were fully optimized using the 6‐31G and 6‐31G* basis sets. The effect of substituents on the geometry and electronic structural features of 2‐thiouracils were examined. The perturbation effects of the OH and NH₂ groups are by far more pronounced on the geometric features and the dipole moment magnitude and direction of 2‐thiouracil. The potential energy per atom criteria was used to compare the relative tightness of binding in the studied series. Proton affinity and deprotonation enthalpy on each of the possible sites in 2‐thiouracil and its derivatives have been calculated at the 6‐31G/MP2 level of theory. The obtained results show that thiouracils behave as bases where they possess a high tendency to abstract protons. Substituents in the 6‐position have the general effect of enhancing the basicity strength of the thiocabonyl site in the order Ph < CH3 ≈ NH2 < OH. The CF3 group has the effect of reducing considerably the basicity strength and enhances the acidity strength at both N1 and N3. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Phytochemical Profile,Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic,and Antioxidant Activities of Fresh and Air-Dried Satureja nabateorum Essential Oils

Satureja nabateorum (Danin and Hedge) Bräuchler is a perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family that was discovered and classified in 1998. This green herb is restricted to the mountains overlooking the Dead Sea, specifically in Jordan’s southwest, the Edom mountains, and the Tubas mountains in Palestine. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of essential oil (EO) of air-dried and fresh S. nabateorum resulted in the identification of 30 and 42 phytochemicals accounting for 99.56 and 98.64% of the EO, respectively. Thymol (46.07 ± 1.1 and 40.64 ± 1.21%) was the major compound, followed by its biosynthetic precursors γ-terpinene (21.15 ± 1.05% and 20.65 ± 1.12%), and p-cymene (15.02 ± 1.02% and 11.51 ± 0.97%), respectively. Microdilution assay was used to evaluate the antimicrobial property of EOs against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), clinical isolate Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 700221) Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 13883), Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 700221), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Candida albicans (ATCC-90028). With a MIC of 0.135 μg/mL, the EOs has the most potent antibacterial action against K. pneumonia. Both EOs display good antifungal efficacy against C. albicans, with a MIC value of 0.75 μg/mL, which was better than that of Fluconazole’s (positive control, MIC = 1.56 μg/mL). The antioxidant capacity of EOs extracted from air-dried and fresh S. nabateorum was determined using the DPPH assay, with IC₅₀ values of 4.78 ± 0.41 and 5.37 ± 0.40 μg/mL, respectively. The tested EOs showed significant cytotoxicity against Hela, HepG2, and COLO-205 cells, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 82 ± 0.98 to 256 ± 1.95 μg/mL. The current work shows there is a possibility to use the S. nabateorum EOs for various applications.