Zeaxanthin Production by Novel Marine Isolates from Coastal sand of India and its Antioxidant Properties

Zeaxanthin carotenoids are class of commercially important natural products and diverse biomolecules produced by plants and many microorganisms. Bacteria often produce a cocktail of polar and nonpolar carotenoids limiting their industrial applications. Marine members of the family Flavobacteriaceae are known to produce potential carotenoids such as astaxanthin and zeaxanthin. A few bacterial species have been reported for the predominant production zeaxanthin. Here, we report the molecular identification of the zeaxanthin as a major carotenoid produced by two novel bacteria (YUAB-SO-11 and YUAB-SO-45) isolated from sandy beaches of South West Coast of India and the effect of carbon sources on the production of zeaxanthin. The strains were identified based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing as a member of genus Muricauda. The closest relatives of YUAB-SO-11 and YUAB-SO-45 were Muricauda aquimarina (JCM 11811^T) (98.9 %) and Muricauda olearia (JCM 15563^T) (99.2 %), respectively, indicating that both of these strains might represent a novel species. The highest level of zeaxanthin production was achieved (YUAB-SO-11, 1.20?±?0.11 mg g^?1) and (YUAB-SO-45, 1.02?±?0.13 mg g^?1) when cultivated in marine broth supplemented with 2 % NaCl (pH 7) and incubated at 30 °C. Addition of 0.1 M glutamic acid, an intermediate of citric acid cycle, enhanced the zeaxanthin production as 18 and 14 % by the strains YUAB-SO-11 and YUAB-SO-45 respectively. The zeaxanthin showed in vitro nitric oxide scavenging, inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl scavenging activities higher than the commercial zeaxanthin. The results of this study suggest that two novel strains YUAB-SO-11 and YUAB-SO-45 belonging to genus Muricauda produce zeaxanthin as a predominant carotenoid, and higher production of zeaxanthin was achieved on glutamic acid supplementation. The pigment showed good in vitro antioxidant activity, which can be exploited further for commercial applications.     

Green and highly efficient synthesis of 2-arylbenzothiazoles using glycerol without catalyst at ambient temperature

A one-pot and clean synthesis of 2-arylbenzothiazoles via the ambient temperature reaction of 2-aminothiophenols and aromatic aldehydes without catalyst in glycerol as a green solvent has been reported.     

Nucleation, growth and characterization of L-tartaric acid—nicotinamide NLO crystals

The solubility, metastable zone width and nucleation parameters of organic nonlinear optical material L-tartaric acid–nicotinamide (LTN) have been determined. The crystals of LTN are grown by the slow cooling method. The grown crystals are morphologically interpreted. The crystalline powder of the grown crystals has been examined by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The different modes of vibrations present in the crystal are identified by the Fourier infrared spectroscopy analysis. The powder SHG efficiency of LTN is comparable with that of KDP.     

The preparation of novel nanofilled polymer composites using poly(l-lactic acid) and protein fibers

In this communication, we present novel nanofilled polymer composites prepared using a poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) matrix and amyloid fibers. Amyloid fibers are made from protein sources’ and share many of the same material properties as spider silk, but exist at significantly smaller length scales with diameters of 5–10 nm. This work highlights the potential use of amyloid fibers as nanofillers in the development of renewable polymeric materials with tuneable properties. Improvements in the glass transition temperature (T_g), elongation at break and Young’s modulus was measured, while the yield strength of the new materials was not seriously hampered.     

Characterization studies on the additives mixed l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP) crystals

l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP), potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) mixed LAP (LAP:KSCN) and sodium sulfite (Na₂SO₃) mixed LAP (LAP:Na₂SO₃) single crystals were grown by slow cooling technique. The effect of microbial contamination and coloration on the growth solutions was studied. The crystalline powders of the grown crystals were examined by X-ray diffraction and the lattice parameters of the crystals were estimated. From the FTIR spectroscopic analysis, various functional group frequencies associated with the crystals were assigned. Vickers microhardness studies were done on {1 0 0} faces for pure and additives mixed LAP crystals. From the preliminary surface second harmonic generation (SHG) results, it was found that the SHG intensity at (1 0 0) face of LAP:KSCN crystal was much stronger than that of pure LAP.     

Detection of energetic light charged particles by solid state nuclear track detectors

Experiments have been carried out to detect ₂ ³He particles and : rotons having energies up to 10 MeV/nucleon by using Kodak CA80-15, cellulose nitrate plastic track detector. Various etching conditions were tried in order to develop tracks for whole of the energy range considered. Detailed analysis seems to indicate that at high energies, the tracks are mainly produced by “secondaries” (elastically scattered nuclei of C, N, O and H, and other reaction products) while in the low energy region, the slowed down “primaries” play the dominant role. The prolonged etching factors of these detectors for different types of tracks have also been obtained and used to derive their average etchable ranges in the materials concerned.     

Design of passive polarization rotator based on silica photonic crystal fiber

We propose and analyze a novel (to the best of our knowledge) design of a polarization rotator (PR) based on silica photonic crystal fiber. The proposed design has a rectangular core region with a slanted sidewall. The simulation results are obtained using the full vectorial finite difference method as well as the full vectorial finite difference beam propagation method. The numerical results reveal that the suggested PR can provide a nearly 100% polarization conversion ratio with a device length of 3102 μm.     

Synthesis of new chiral 1,3,4-thiadiazole-based di- and tri-arylsulfonamide residues and evaluation of in vitro anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity

A series of new chiral 1,3,4-thiadiazole-based bis-sulfonamides 4a–4w and tri-sulfonamide analogue 5 was synthesized and evaluated as anti-HIV agents. The reaction of chiral amino acids 1 with sulfonyl chlorides 2, followed by subsequent reaction of resultant N-protected amino acids 2a–2f with thiosemicarbazide in the presence of excess phosphorous oxychloride afforded N-(1-(5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)alkyl)-4-arylsulfonamides 3a–3f. Treatment of 2a–2f with substituted sulfonyl chlorides in portions furnished the target bis-sulfonamide analogues 4a–4w in good yields, together with the unexpected 5. The new compounds were assayed against HIV-1 and HIV-2 in MT-4 cells. Compounds 4s were the most active in inhibiting HIV-1 with IC₅₀?=?9.5 μM (SI?=?6.6), suggesting to be a new lead in the development of an antiviral agent. Interestingly, compound 5 exhibited significant cytotoxicity of >?4.09 μM and could be a promising antiproliferative agent.     

Influence of pH on the preparation of dispersed Ag–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposite

In this paper, data concerning the effect of pH on the morphology of Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposite during photodeposition of Ag on TiO₂ nanoparticles is reported. TiO₂ nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel method were coated with Ag by photodeposition from an aqueous solution of AgNO₃ at various pH levels ranging from 1 to 10 in a titania sol, under UV light. The as-prepared nanocomposite particles were characterized by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ adsorption/desorption method at liquid nitrogen temperature (−196 °C) from Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements. It is shown that at a Ag loading of 1.25 wt.% on TiO₂, a high-surface area nanocomposite morphology corresponding to an average of one Ag nanoparticle per titania nanoparticle was achieved. The diameter of the titania crystallites/particles were in the range of 10–20 nm while the size of Ag particles attached to the larger titania particles were 3 ± 1 nm as deduced from crystallite size by XRD and particle size by TEM. Ag recovery by photo harvesting from the solution was nearly 100%. TEM micrographs revealed that Ag-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles showed a sharp increase in the degree of agglomeration for nanocomposites prepared at basic pH values, with a corresponding sharp decrease in BET surface area especially at pH > 9. The BET surface area of the Ag–TiO₂ nanoparticles was nearly constant at around a value of 140 m² g⁻¹ at all pH from 1–8 with an anomalous maximum of 164 m² g⁻¹ when prepared from a sol at pH of 4, and a sharp decrease to 78 m² g⁻¹ at pH of 10.