Supramolecular stabilization of acid tolerant L-arabinose isomerase from Lactobacillus sakei

L-Arabinose isomerase stability is a crucial criterion for the industrial application of this biocatalyst. Noria and NoriaPG are capable of increasing the L-arabinose isomerase stability not only at high temperatures but also at low pH. Such results highlight, for the first time, the use of the Noria series of molecules for protein stabilization and activation.     

Ionic Strength Effect on the Stability of the V(V) + IDA Complex

In this research the interaction of dioxovanadium(V) with iminodiacetic acid has been considered at 25 °C and pH=1.00–2.50 in an ionic strength range of 0.1 to 1.0 mol⋅dm⁻³ of NaClO₄ by UV spectrophotometric and potentiometric techniques. Only one species, VO₂H₂L⁺, was assumed on the basis of two stoichiometric models. The extended Debye-Hückel theory predicts the first order effects in simple electrolyte solutions. Interactions between the reacting species and the ionic medium are taken into account in the specific ion interaction model. Parabolic, specific ion interaction, and extended Debye-Hückel models have been compared and it has been shown that the parabolic model with two coefficients is satisfactory for this complexation reaction. The results have also been compared with the literature values.     

Trichloroacetonitrile as a Source of Positive Chlorine Ion for Trapping Huisgen's Zwitterions

The zwitterionic 1 : 1 intermediates generated by addition of N‐heterocycles to activated acetylenes are trapped by trichloroacetonitrile to afford 1,2‐ or 1,4‐disubstituted N‐heterocycles in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions.     

First detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in shellfish and coastal environments of Morocco

Shiga toxin Escherichia coli (STEC), also called verotoxin-producing E. coli, is a major cause of food-borne illness, capable of causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic–uremic syndrome (HUS). This study was carried out to evaluate the presence of (STEC) and E. coli O157:H7 in shellfish and Mediterranean coastal environments of Morocco. The contamination of shellfish and marine environment with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and E. coli O157:H7, was investigated during 2007 and 2008. A total of 619 samples were analyzed and 151 strains of E. coli were isolated. The presence of the stx1, stx2, and eae genes was tested in E. coli isolates strains using a triplex polymerase chain reaction. STEC was detected in three positives samples (1.9%), corresponding to the serotype O157:H7, the others Shiga toxin-producing E. coli non-O157 were also detected.     

Application of N-thiocyanatosuccinimide as a reagent for the facile conversion of epoxides into thiocyanohydrines

The use of in situ generated N-thiocyanatosuccinimide with NH₄SCN offers an efficient reagent system for the conversion of epoxides into their corresponding thiocyanohydrines in good to high yields.The major advantages of this method are as follows:use of cheap reagent,high regioselectivity,simple availability of reagent,ease of workup of the reaction.     

Global Reactivity of Heterostructure Armchair BC2N‐(4,4) Nanotubes: A Density Functional Theory Investigation

Electronic structures of three types of heterostructure armchair BC₂N nanotube besides armchair (4,4)CNT and (4,4)BNNT were calculated by the B3LYP method of density functional theory. The reactivities of nanotubes were discussed by means of obtained vertical ionization potentials and electron affinity potentials. The corresponding electrophilicity values are well correlated with those obtained from the HOMO and LUMO energies of the nanotubes. The good linear correlation found between ω(I,A) and ω(H,L) allows to confirm the use of the easily available B3LYP/6‐31G(d) HOMO and LUMO energies to obtain reasonable values of the global electrophilicity index of nanotubes at a lower computational cost. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 24:168–173, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.21078     

New exact method for large asymmetric distance-constrained vehicle routing problem

In this paper we revise and modify an old branch-and-bound method for solving the asymmetric distance–constrained vehicle routing problem suggested by Laporte et al. in 1987. Our modification is based on reformulating distance–constrained vehicle routing problem into a travelling salesman problem, and on using assignment problem as a lower bounding procedure. In addition, our algorithm uses the best-first strategy and new tolerance based branching rules. Since our method is fast but memory consuming, it could stop before optimality is proven. Therefore, we introduce the randomness, in case of ties, in choosing the node of the search tree. If an optimal solution is not found, we restart our procedure. As far as we know, the instances that we have solved exactly (up to 1000 customers) are much larger than the instances considered for other vehicle routing problem models from the recent literature. So, despite of its simplicity, this proposed algorithm is capable of solving the largest instances ever solved in the literature. Moreover, this approach is general and may be used for solving other types of vehicle routing problems.     

MRI contrast agent for molecular imaging of the HER2/neu receptor using targeted magnetic nanoparticles

In this study, Trastuzumab modified Magnetic Nanoparticles (TMNs) were prepared as a new contrast agent for detecting HER2 (Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2) expression tumors by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). TMNs were prepared based on iron oxide nanoparticles core and Trastuzumab modified dextran coating. The TMNs core and hydrodynamic size were determined by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. TMNs stability and cytotoxicity were investigated. The ability of TMNs for HER2 detection were evaluated in breast carcinoma cell lines (SKBr3 and MCF7 cells) and tumor-bearing mice by MRI and iron uptake determination. The particles core and hydrodynamic size were 9 ± 2.5 and 41 ± 15 nm (size range: 15?C87 nm), respectively. The molar antibody/nanoparticle ratio was 3.1?C3.5. TMNs were non-toxic to the cells below the 30 ??g (Fe)/mL concentration and good stable up to 8 weeks in PBS buffer. TMNs could detect HER2 oncogenes in the cells surface with imagable contrast by MRI. The invivo study in mice bearing tumors indicated that TMNs possessed a good diagnostic ability as HER2 specific contrast agent by MRI. TMNs were demonstrated to be able to selectively accumulate in the tumor cells, with a proper signal enhancement in MRI T2 images. So, the complex may be considered for further investigations as an MRI contrast agent for detection of HER2 expression tumors in human.     

Investigation of inclusion complex of metformin into selective cyclic peptides as novel drug delivery system: Structure,electronic properties,AIM, and NBO study via DFT

In this study, the density functional theory computational method is used to investigate the encapsulation process of metformin into three types of the cyclic peptides composed of eight serine (CP1), eight glycine (CP2), and four serine‐glycine (CP3) cyclic peptides as a new model in the process of drug delivery in the gas phase. The obtained results using the B3LYP/6‐31++G (d,p) method indicate that the complexes formed are energetically favored. Furthermore, results reveal that the drug encapsulation process is typically chemisorption. The natural bonding orbital analysis shows that the intermolecular interaction of the C2 complex (metformin/CP2) is stronger than the C1 (Metformin/CP1) and C3 (Metformin/CP3) complexes due to greater total charge transfer energy, and the C1 complex is found to be the most favored complex. The theory of atoms in molecule (AIM) method is used to analyze the nature of interactions in different molecular systems. The results show the investigated cyclic peptides as effective carriers of metformin in the nanomedicine field.     

A Catalytic Route to Pyrrole Derivatives via Copper‐catalyzed Multicomponent Reaction

A novel approach for the synthesis of pyrrole derivatives has been reported. The reactions starting from terminal alkynes, carbodiimides, and malononitrile using CuI, DBU, and TBPAc in anhydrous MeCN afforded the functionalized pyrroles in acceptable yields. Alkyl‐, aryl‐, and heteroaromatic terminal alkynes were tolerated. Carbodiimides could be symmetrical and unsymmetrical substrates with aryl or alkyl substituents. The reaction exhibited a good regioselectivity when unsymmetrical carbodiimides were employed.