pH-responsive interpenetrating network hydrogel beads of poly(acrylamide)-g-carrageenan and sodium alginate for intestinal targeted drug delivery: synthesis, in vitro and in vivo evaluation

In the present work, we synthesized pH-responsive interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel beads of polyacrylamide grafted κ-carrageenan (PAAm-g-CG) and sodium alginate (SA) for targeting ketoprofen to the intestine. The PAAm-g-CG was synthesized by free radical polymerization followed by alkaline hydrolysis under nitrogen gas. The PAAm-g-CG was characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The drug-loaded IPN hydrogel beads were prepared by simple ionotropic gelation/covalent crosslinking method. The amorphous nature of drug in the beads was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction studies. The spherical shape of the beads was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic analysis. The beads exhibited ample pH-responsive behavior in the pulsatile swelling study. The ketoprofen release was significantly increased when pH of the medium was changed from acidic to alkaline. The beads showed maximum of 10% drug release in acidic medium of pH 1.2, and about 90% drug release was recorded in alkaline medium of pH 7.4. Stomach histopathology of albino rats indicated that the prepared beads were able to retard the drug release in stomach leading to the reduced ulceration, hemorrhage and erosion of gastric mucosa.     

Synthesis of flavanones, azaflavanones, and thioflavanones catalyzed by PMA-SiO2 as a mild, efficient, and reusable catalyst

Abstract  

Cyclization of a variety of chalcones to flavanones catalyzed by 1 mol% phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) supported on silica as a mild, efficient, and reusable catalyst was carried out in high yields. PMA-SiO₂ is an efficient, inexpensive, and green catalyst which gave high conversion yields and could be recycled up to three times without significant loss in activity.     

Synthesis and optical properties of Co2+ and Ni2+ ions doped β-BaB2O4 nanopowders

Co²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions doped β-BaB₂O₄ nanopowders have been prepared by co-precipitation method and their structural properties are studied by spectroscopic techniques. Powder XRD data reveals that the crystal structure belongs to monoclinic and the average crystallite size is calculated. Optical absorption spectra data reveal octahedral site symmetry for Co²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions. Crystal field (Dq) and inter-electron repulsion (B and C) parameters are evaluated for Co²⁺ doped β-BaB₂O₄ nanopowders as Dq=960, B=900 and C=3850 cm^?1 and for Ni²⁺ doped β-BaB₂O₄ nanopowders, Dq=900, B=850 and C=3500 cm^?1. FT-IR spectra showed the characteristic vibrational bands related to BO₃ and BO₄ molecules. Photoluminescence spectra contain the emission bands in ultraviolet and blue regions.     

Evolution of weak shocks in one dimensional planar and non-planar gasdynamic flows

Asymptotic decay laws for planar and non-planar shock waves and the first order associated discontinuities that catch up with the shock from behind are obtained using four different approximation methods. The singular surface theory is used to derive a pair of transport equations for the shock strength and the associated first order discontinuity, which represents the effect of precursor disturbances that overtake the shock from behind. The asymptotic behaviour of both the discontinuities is completely analysed. It is noticed that the decay of a first order discontinuity is much faster than the decay of the shock; indeed, if the amplitude of the accompanying discontinuity is small then the shock decays faster as compared to the case when the amplitude of the first order discontinuity is finite (not necessarily small). It is shown that for a weak shock, the precursor disturbance evolves like an acceleration wave at the leading order. We show that the asymptotic decay laws for weak shocks and the accompanying first order discontinuity are exactly the ones obtained by using the theory of non-linear geometrical optics, the theory of simple waves using Riemann invariants, and the theory of relatively undistorted waves. It follows that the relatively undistorted wave approximation is a consequence of the simple wave formalism using Riemann invariants.     

Revealing Active Sites and Reaction Pathways in Methane Non-Oxidative Coupling over Iron-Containing Zeolites

Non-oxidative coupling of methane is a promising route to obtain ethylene directly from natural gas. We synthesized siliceous [Fe]zeolites with MFI and CHA topologies and found that they display high selectivity (>90 % for MFI and >99 % for CHA) to ethylene and ethane among gas-phase products. Deactivated [Fe]zeolites can be regenerated by burning coke in air. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy demonstrates that the isolated Fe³⁺ centers in zeolite framework of fresh catalysts are reduced during the reaction to the active sites, including Fe²⁺ species and Fe (oxy)carbides dispersed in zeolite pores. Photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy results show that methyl radicals are the reaction intermediates formed upon methane activation. Ethane is formed by methyl radical coupling, followed by its dehydrogenation to ethylene. Based on the observation of intermediates including allene, vinylacetylene, 1,3-butadiene, 2-butyne, and cyclopentadiene over [Fe]MFI, a reaction network is proposed leading to polyaromatic species. Such reaction intermediates are not observed over the small-pore [Fe]CHA, where ethylene and ethane are the only gas-phase products.     

Unpaired and sigma bond electrons as H, Cl, and Li Bond Acceptors: an anomalous one-electron blue-shifting chlorine bond

Ab initio, DFT, and AIM theoretical studies on H-, Cl-, and Li-bonded complexes have been carried out with typical lone pair (H2O), pi (C2H4) and sigma (H2) bonded pairs, and unpaired (CH3) electrons as acceptors and HF, ClF, and LiF as donors. Optimization and frequency calculations have been carried out at reasonably high levels (MP2, DFT(B3LYP), and QCISD) with large basis sets up to aug-cc-pVTZ. Not surprisingly, all HF complexes show red shift in stretching frequency and the shift is correlated to the binding energy. However, the FCl...CH3 complex shows a large blue shift (about 200 cm-1), which appears to be the largest blue shift predicted for any weakly bound complex yet. Analysis of the normal modes of the complex indicates that the shift is due to the mixing of modes between donor and acceptor and it is qualitatively different from the blue shifts reported thus far in hydrogen-bonded complexes. For Cl- and Li-bonded complexes, a correlation between frequency shift and binding energy is not found. However, AIM theoretical analysis shows the similarity in all these interactions. The electron density at the bond critical point shows a strong correlation with the binding energy for H-, Cl-, and Li-bonded complexes. This appears to be the first report on a one-electron chlorine bond.