Separation of iron from cobalt in nitrate medium using Cyanex-923 as extractant

We describe an analytical procedure with the use of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for the determination of about 20 elements in solutions of ¹⁷⁷LuCl₃ following the dissolution of the irradiated lutetium nitrate or oxide. The aliquots containing amounts of lutetium ranging from 1 to 100 µg in 1 ml volume were analyzed. It corresponded to the activity of ¹⁷⁷Lu ranging from 5 to 100 mCi. The detection limits of the elements concerned were in the range of 1 to 100 ng·ml^–1. The activity of ¹⁷⁷Lu and other radionuclides was measured using a high-resolution gamma ray spectrometer. The developed procedures are to be used for routine quality control of ¹⁷⁷Lu produced for synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Anticarcinogenic and Antioxidant Action of an Edible Aquatic Flora Jussiaea repens L. Using In Vitro Bioassays and In Vivo Zebrafish Model

Oxidative stress is the major cause of many health conditions, and regular consumption of antioxidants helped to encounter and prevent such oxidative stress-related diseases. Due to safety concerns over long-term uses of synthetic antioxidants, natural antioxidants are more preferred. The purpose of this study is to investigate the antioxidant and anticancer activities of Jussiaea repens L., a wild edible flora found in Manipur, India. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and DNA-nicking assay. The anticancer activity was tested using five cancer lines viz., SKOV3 cells (ovarian), HeLa (cervical), MDA-MB-231 (breast), PANC-1 (pancreatic), and PC3 (prostate). The toxicity, developmental effect, antiproliferative activity was further tested using zebrafish embryos. The methanolic plant extract had higher polyphenol content than flavonoids. The in vitro study demonstrated a promising antioxidant capacity and DNA protection ability of this plant. The extract also showed cytotoxic activity against SKOV3, HeLa, MDA-MB-23, and PANC-1 cancer cell lines. The in vivo studies on zebrafish embryos demonstrated the extract’s ability to suppress the developmental process and elicited more cytotoxicity to cancer cells than developing zebrafish embryos. Moreover, the in vivo studies on zebrafish embryos also indicated the antiproliferative activity of J. repens L. extract.     

Monitoring phagocytic uptake of amyloid β into glial cell lysosomes in real time

Phagocytosis by glial cells is essential to regulate brain function during health and disease. Therapies for Alzheimer''s disease (AD) have primarily focused on targeting antibodies to amyloid β (Aβ) or inhibitng enzymes that make it, and while removal of Aβ by phagocytosis is protective early in AD it remains poorly understood. Impaired phagocytic function of glial cells during later stages of AD likely contributes to worsened disease outcome, but the underlying mechanisms of how this occurs remain unknown. We have developed a human Aβ_1–42 analogue (Aβ^pH) that exhibits green fluorescence upon internalization into the acidic organelles of cells but is non-fluorescent at physiological pH. This allowed us to image, for the first time, glial uptake of Aβ^pH in real time in live animals. We find that microglia phagocytose more Aβ^pH than astrocytes in culture, in brain slices and in vivo. Aβ^pH can be used to investigate the phagocytic mechanisms responsible for removing Aβ from the extracellular space, and thus could become a useful tool to study Aβ clearance at different stages of AD.

Glial cell phagocytosis of pH-dependent amyloid-β, Aβ^pH, in live and fixed cultures, brain tissue sections, retina, cortex and in live animals useful for studying function in health and disease.     

Nuclear analytical techniques for quantification of uranium for its recovery from seawater

Nuclear analytical techniques namely fission track technique using solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) have been standardized and applied for quantification of low uranium concentrations in liquid samples such as feed, elute and brine and solid sorbent samples respectively. The quantification of uranium is required for its recovery study from seawater, which is one of the potential sources of uranium. The uranium concentration of a liquid sample obtained by SSNTD method was compared with the other well established conventional techniques like ICP-MS, ICP-AES, adsorptive stripping voltametry and alpha spectrometry. INAA was applied for uranium concentration determination in the radiation grafted polyamidoxime sorbent samples.     

Oxidative addition of 2,2′-dipyridyl disulfphide to the cluster [Os3(CO)10(MeCN)2]

The cluster [Os₃(CO)₁₀(MeCN)₂] reacts with 2,2′-dipyridyl disulphide (1, pySSpy) to give a range of oxidative addition products which were separated by TLC on silica and crystallization : [Os₃(pyS)₂(CO)₁₀] (2), [Os₃(pyS)₂(CO)₉] (3), [Os₂(pyS)₂(CO)₆] (4) and [Os(pyS)₂(CO)₂] (5), together with some of the hydride [Os₃H(pyS)(CO)₉] (6), which is not an expected oxidative addition product. The X-ray crystal structures of compounds 2, 3, 4 and 6 (compounds 2 and 6 occurring within a single crystal), together with the known structure of compound 5, reveal several modes of pyS bonding : chelating pyS, μ₂-pyS (both sulphur-bonded and nitrogen, sulphur-bonded) and μ₃-pyS.     

Preconcentration and separation of trace amounts of palladium using dithiooxamide functionalized chelating resin followed by its determination using radiotracer technique

The work describes a procedure of preconcentration and separation of trace amounts of Pd(II) by solid phase extraction of the metal ion by dithiooxamide groups incorporated into a matrix of polystyrene-divinylbenzene whereas the determination of palladium has been carried out by radiotracer technique using ¹⁰⁹Pd (T _1/2 = 13.43 hr, E _γ = 311, 647 keV). The experiments were carried out using both batch method and column operation. Parameters such as the amount of resin, effect of pH, equilibration rate, sorption and desorption of metal ions have been studied. The maximum sorption capacity for palladium was found to be 0.10 mmol·g⁻¹ at pH 6.0. The method is rapid, has a good accuracy and can be used routinely.     

Extraction of thorium(IV) by a mixture of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolone and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide

The extraction behavior of Th(IV) from dilute nitric as well as perchloric acid medium using 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolone (PMBP) and its mixture with tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) was investigated. The species of the type Th(X)(PMBP)₃·(HPMBP) and Th(X)(PMBP)₃·(TOPO) were extracted for the binary and ternary extraction systems, respectively, where X=NO₃− or ClO₄−. The presence of 1.25·10⁻⁵M Th carrier in the aqueous phase resulted in the extracted species of the type of Th(PMBP)₄ and Th(PMBP)₄·(TOPO), respectively. The extraction constant (logk _ex ) for the binary species Th(PMBP)₄ was found to be 6.89±0.01 while the overall extraction constant (logK) for the ternary species Th(PMBP)₄·(TOPO) was calculated to be 13.17±0.06.     

Effect of humic acid on the sorption of technetium on hematite colloids using <Superscript>95m</Superscript>Tc and <Superscript>96</Superscript>Tc as tracers

Sorption of technetium on hematite colloids, at varying pH (3–10), has been studied in absence and presence of humic acid using ^95mTc-⁹⁶Tc radiotracers. Technetium was found to be weakly sorbed on hematite at lower pH (<5) values, while no sorption was observed at higher pH values. Humic acid was found to have no effect on the sorption of technetium on hematite under aerobic conditions, while at lower pH values small reduction was observed which was attributed to the reduced zeta potential of the hematite colloids owing to the strong sorption of humic acid.