A Non-Invasive Hair Test to Determine Vitamin D3 Levels

Vitamin D deficiency is being recognized as a global issue and has been implicated in many health issues. Hence, there is an increased interest in developing sensitive, reproducible, and non-invasive assays to measure Vitamin D levels. This study aimed to apply a sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric assay to hair samples to develop and validate a clinical assay to provide a quarterly average level of vitamin D in one test. Hair samples were collected from 70 male university students/young adults and pulverized/sonicated in methanol/water for 2 h to extract Vitamin D metabolites. A sensitive liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric assay was employed to quantitate vitamin D and metabolites. Of the eight Vitamin D and metabolites screened, only the primary, clinically significant form of vitamin D (25OHD₃) was detected and quantified in hair samples in the range of 17–1541 pg/mg. One-third of the hair samples (21 out of 70) had Vitamin D levels below the LLOD of the assay (10 pg/mg). The mean and standard deviation values for hair (25OHD₃) were 276.7 ± 329.9, respectively. This pilot study reveals the potential of the vitamin D hair test in clinical assays as a complementary test to a vitamin D blood test, which would provide a quarterly average.     

Propolis-Based Nanofiber Patches to Repair Corneal Microbial Keratitis

In this research, polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA)/gelatin (GEL)/propolis (Ps) biocompatible nanofiber patches were fabricated via electrospinning technique. The controlled release of Propolis, surface wettability behaviors, antimicrobial activities against the S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, and biocompatibility properties with the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were investigated in detail. By adding 0.5, 1, and 3 wt.% GEL into the 13 wt.% PVA, the morphological and mechanical results suggested that 13 wt.% PVA/0.5 wt.% GEL patch can be an ideal matrix for 3 and 5 wt.% propolis addition. Morphological results revealed that the diameters of the electrospun nanofiber patches were increased with GEL (from 290 nm to 400 nm) and Ps addition and crosslinking process cause the formation of thicker nanofibers. The tensile strength and elongation at break enhancement were also determined for 13 wt.% PVA/0.5 wt.% GEL/3 wt.% Ps patch. Propolis was released quickly in the first hour and arrived at a plateau. Cell culture and contact angle results confirmed that the 3 wt.% addition of propolis reinforced mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and wettability properties of the patches. The antimicrobial activity demonstrated that propolis loaded patches had antibacterial activity against the S. aureus, but for P. aeruginosa, more studies should be performed.     

Synthesis and spectral characterization of macrocyclic Schiff base by reaction of 2,6-diaminopyridine and 1,4- bis (2-carboxyaldehydephenoxy)butane and its CuII, NiII, PbII, CoIII and LaIII complexes

A new macrocyclic ligand, 1,3,5-triaza-2,4:7,8:15,16-tribenzo-9,15-dioxacycloheptadeca-1,5-diene (L) was synthesized by reaction of 2,6-diaminopyridine with 1,4-bis(2-carboxyaldehydephenoxy)butane. Then, its Cu^II, Ni^II, Pb^II, Co^III and La^III complexes were synthesized by the template effect by reaction of 2,6-diaminopyridine and 1,4-bis (2-carboxyaldehydephenoxy)butane and Cu(NO₃)₂ · 3H₂O, Ni(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O, Pb(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O, La (NO₃)₃ · 6H₂O, respectively. The ligand and its metal complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H- and ¹³C-n.m.r., UV-vis spectra, magnetic susceptibility, thermal gravimetric analysis, conductivity measurements and mass spectra. All complexes are diamagnetic and the Cu^II complex is binuclear. The Co^II complex was oxidised to Co^III.     

Synthesis and Characterization of New Macrocyclic Cu（Ⅱ） Complexes from Various Diamines, Copper（Ⅱ） Nitrate and 1,4-Bis（2-formylphenoxy）butane

Six new macrocyclic complexes were synthesized by a template reaction of 1,4-bis（2-formylphenoxy）butane with diamines and Cu（NO3）2·3H2O and their structures were proposed on the basis of elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, molar conductivity measurements and mass spectra. The metal to ligand molar ratios of the Cu（Ⅱ） complexes were found to be 1 ： 1. The Cu（Ⅱ） complexes are 1 ： 2 electrolytes as shown by their molar conductivities （∧m） in DMF at 10^-3 mol·L^-1. Due to the existence of free ions the Cu（Ⅱ） complexes are electrically conductive. Their configurations were proposed to be probably distorted octahedral.     

Matrix elimination method for the determination of precious metals in ores using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Poly(N-(hydroxymethyl)methacrylamide)-1-allyl-2-thiourea) hydrogels, poly(NHMMA-ATU), were synthesized by gamma radiation using ⁶⁰Co γ source in the ternary mixture of NHMMA-ATU-H₂O. These hydrogels were used for the specific gold, silver, platinum and palladium recovery, pre-concentration and matrix elimination from the solutions containing trace amounts of precious metal ions. Elimination of inorganic matrices such as different transition and heavy metal ions, and anions was performed by adjusting the solution pH to 0.5 that was the selective adsorption pH of the precious metal ions. Desorption of the precious metal ions was performed by using 0.8 M thiourea in 3 M HCl as the most efficient desorbing agent with recovery values more than 95%. In the desorption medium, thiourea effect on the atomic signal was eliminated by selecting proper pyrolysis and atomization temperatures for all precious metal ions. Precision and the accuracy of the results were improved in the graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS) measurements by applying the developed matrix elimination method performing the adsorption at pH 0.5. Pre-concentration factors of the studied precious metal ions were found to be at least 1000-fold. Detection limits of the precious metal ions were found to be less than 10 ng L⁻¹ of the all studied precious metal ions by using the proposed pre-concentration method. Determination of trace levels of the precious metals in the sea-water, anode slime, geological samples and photographic fixer solutions were performed using GFAAS clearly after applying the adsorption-desorption cycle onto the poly(NHMMA-UTU) hydrogels.     

Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of novel mono- and cofacial bisphthalocyanines bridged with four [1a,8b-dihydronaphtho[b]naphthofuro[3,2-d]furan-7,10-diyl] units

Novel mono phthalocyanines and cofacial bisphthalocyanines were synthesized from 4,4′-(1a,8b-dihydronaphtho[b]naphthofuro-[3,2-d]furan-7,10-diyl)bis(oxy)diphthalonitrile 1. The products were characterized by elemental analysis, UV-vis, IR, ¹H NMR and mass spectroscopy. Both the direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac) electrical properties of the product films were investigated as a function of temperature in the frequency range 40-10⁵ Hz. It was observed that the ac response of the films can be represented by the ω^s law. The temperature dependence of dc conductivity showed typical Arrhenius behavior for all compounds.     

Upon the hydrogen-bonding ability of the H4 and H5 protons of the imidazolium cation

The crystal and molecular structures of [Me₂Etim]Cl, [Me₂Etim]₂[CoCl₄], and [Me₂Etim]₂[NiCl₄] ([Me₂Etim]⁺ = 1,2-dimethyl-3-ethylimidazolium cation) all contain evidence that the H4 and H5 protons of the imidazolium cation enter into hydrogen bonds; the implications of this observation for the interactions in room-temperature chloroaluminate(III) ionic liquids are considered.     

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of 9(10H)-acridone bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as antimicrobial agents

In the present study a new acridone derivatives were synthesized. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and C, H, N, S analyses. All newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus viridans and Escherichia coil) and antifungal (Gibberela, Cercospora arachidicola, Physolospora piricola and Fusarium oxysporum) studies. The results revealed that all synthesized compounds have a significant biological activity against the tested microorganisms.     

Anisotropic adsorption of molecular assemblies on crystalline surfaces

Orientational order of surfactant micelles and proteins on crystalline templates has been observed but, given that the template unit cell is significantly smaller than the characteristic size of the adsorbate, this order cannot be attributed to lattice epitaxy. We interpret the template-directed orientation of rodlike molecular assemblies as arising from anisotropic van der Waals interactions between the assembly and crystalline surfaces where the anisotropic van der Waals interaction is calculated using the Lifshitz methodology. Provided the assembly is sufficiently large, substrate anisotropy provides a torque that overcomes rotational Brownian motion near the surface. The probability of a particular orientation is computed by solving a Smoluchowski equation that describes the balance between van der Waals and Brownian torques. Torque aligns both micelles and protein fibrils; the interaction energy is minimized when the assembly lies perpendicular to a symmetry axis of a crystalline substrate. Theoretical predictions agree with experiments for both hemi-cylindrical micelles and protein fibrils adsorbed on graphite.     

Prepared and characterization of new macrocyclic Schiff bases and their binuclear copper complexes

The new five macrocyclic ligands were synthesized by reaction of 2,6-diaminopyridine and various dialdehydes. Then, their copper(II) perchlorate complexes were synthesized by template effect by reaction of 2,6-diaminopyridine, Cu(ClO(4))(2).6H(2)O and aldehydes. The ligands and their complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, (1)H and (13)C NMR, UV-vis spectra, magnetic susceptibility, conductivity measurements, mass spectra. All complexes are diamagnetic and binuclear. The diamagnetic behaviour of the binuclear complexes may be explained by a very strong anti-ferromagnetic interaction in the Cu-Cu pair.