Quantitative nanostructural and single-molecule force spectroscopy biomolecular analysis of human-saliva-derived exosomes

Exosomes are naturally occurring nanoparticles with unique structure, surface biochemistry, and mechanical characteristics. These distinct nanometer-sized bioparticles are secreted from the surfaces of oral epithelial cells into saliva and are of interest as oral-cancer biomarkers. We use high- resolution AFM to show single-vesicle quantitative differences between exosomes derived from normal and oral cancer patient's saliva. Compared to normal exosomes (circular, 67.4 ± 2.9 nm), our findings indicate that cancer exosome populations are significantly increased in saliva and display irregular morphologies, increased vesicle size (98.3 ± 4.6 nm), and higher intervesicular aggregation. At the single-vesicle level, cancer exosomes exhibit significantly (P < 0.05) increased CD63 surface densities. To our knowledge, it represents the first report detecting single-exosome surface protein variations. Additionally, high-resolution AFM imaging of cancer saliva samples revealed discrete multivesicular bodies with intraluminal exosomes enclosed. We discuss the use of quantitative, nanoscale ultrastructural and surface biomolecular analysis of saliva exosomes at single-vesicle- and single-protein-level sensitivities as a potentially new oral cancer diagnostic.     

Tropical plant extracts as potential antihyperglycemic agents

Preliminary investigations on 14 plant extracts (obtained by ethanolic and aqueous extraction) identified those having high antioxidant and a significant total phenolic content. Antihyperglycemic, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities were also observed. A correlation between the antihyperglycemic activity, total phenolic content and antioxidant (DPPH scavenging) activity was established. To further substantiate these findings, the possibility of tannins binding non-specifically to enzymes and thus contributing to the antihyperglycemic activity was also investigated. Our study clearly indicated that the antihyperglycemic activity observed in the plant extracts was indeed not due to non-specific tannin absorption.     

NO-NSAIDs. Part 3: nitric oxide-releasing prodrugs of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

In continuation of our efforts to discover novel nitric oxide-releasing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NO-NSAIDs) as potentially "Safe NSAIDs," we report herein the design, synthesis and evaluation of 21 new NO-NSAIDs of commonly used NSAIDs such as aspirin, diclofenac, naproxen, flurbiprofen, ketoprofen, sulindac, ibuprofen and indomethacin. These prodrugs have NO-releasing disulfide linker attached to a parent NSAID via linkages such as an ester (compounds 9-16), a double ester (compounds 17-24), an imide (compounds 25-30) or an amide (compounds 31-33). Among these NO-NSAIDs, the ester-containing NO-aspirin (9), NO-diclofenac (10), NO-naproxen (11), and the imide-containing NO-aspirin (25), NO-flurbiprofen (27) and NO-ketoprofen (28) have shown promising oral absorption, anti-inflammatory activity and NO-releasing property, and also protected rats from NSAID-induced gastric damage. NO-aspirin compound 25, on further co-evaluation with aspirin at equimolar doses, exhibited comparable dose-dependent pharmacokinetics, inhibition of gastric mucosal prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) synthesis and analgesic properties to those of aspirin, but retained its gastric-sparing properties even after doubling its oral dose. These promising NO-NSAIDs could therefore represent a new class of potentially "Safe NSAIDs" for the treatment of arthritic pain and inflammation.     

Role of dipole moment of solvents in formation and stabilization of the TICT states in Coumarin 445 under nitrogen laser excitation

In this paper we report the observation of dual Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) from solutions of 7-ethylamino-4-methyl coumarin dye (Coumarin 445) in certain solvents such as n-butyl acetate, dioxane etc. when pumped by high power nitrogen laser. The two ASE bands appear to be from two different excited species (ICT and TICT conformation) one of which is the precursor of the other. The spectral characteristics of dye Coumarin 445 depend upon the solvent environment. The TICT coumarin photoisomers, which form exciplexes with the solvent molecules, have enough gain to produce amplified spontaneous emission even when there is apparently no detectable fluorescence. The behaviour of this dye in the excited state is studied by measuring the small signal gain and variation of the gain slope with temperature in different solvents. It is observed that polarity of the solvent plays a more dominant role in formation and stabilization of TICT states.     

Tunable picosecond energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser using Rhodamine 6G and Thionine dye mixture

The characteristics of Nd:YAG laser pumped energy transfer distributed feedback dye laser (ETDFDL) is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Using theoretical model proposed the behaviour of ETDFDL for dye mixture Rhodamine 6G and Thionine is studied in detail. The characteristics of donor DFDL, the acceptor DFDL, the dependence of their pulse widths and output powers on donor–acceptor concentration and pump power are studied. The output energy of DFDL is measured experimentally at the emission peaks of donor and acceptor dyes for different pump powers and donor–acceptor concentrations. In addition, the tunability of DFDL emission is measured both in donor and acceptor emission ranges.     

Preparation and studies of a new ammonium vanadium bronze, (NH4)xV2O5

A new bronze-type phase of composition (NH₄)_0.40±0.02V₂O₅ is obtained around 230°C during the thermal decomposition of NH₄VO₃ in hydrogen atmosphere. The bronze intermediate is characterized by X-ray diffraction, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and ESR studies. It is found to be isostructural with other known β-type vanadium bronzes of general formula M_xV₂O₅, where M is usually a monovalent metal. Electrical conductivity and magnetic studies indicate the localized character of conduction electrons at V⁺⁴ sites. At high temperatures (>400°C), the bronze undergoes decomposition and subsequent reduction to V₂O₃ in hydrogen atmosphere.     

A novel synthetic route for the synthesis of 4,6‐diaryl‐2‐methyl‐1,3‐benzoxazoles

A new synthetic route was developed for the synthesis of 4,6‐diaryl‐2‐methyl‐l,3‐benzoxazoles and their hydrogenated derivatives. The target compounds were obtained via the Neber rearrangement from 3,5‐diaryl‐2‐cyclohexen‐l‐ones. The formation of the isomers in the dihydro derivatives was explained by the [1,5] sigmatropic shift of hydrogen under thermal condition. DDQ was employed for the dehydrogenation of the dihydro benzoxazoles.     

Multicomponent solid forms of the uric acid reabsorption inhibitor lesinurad and cocrystal polymorphs with urea: DFT simulation and solubility study

Lesinurad (systematic name: 2‐{[5‐bromo‐4‐(4‐cyclopropylnaphthalen‐1‐yl)‐4H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐yl]sulfanyl}acetic acid, C₁₇H₁₄BrN₃O₂S) is a selective uric acid reabsorption inhibitor related to gout, which exhibits poor aqueous solubility. High‐throughput solid‐form screening was performed to screen for new solid forms with improved pharmaceutically relevant properties. During polymorph screening, we obtained two solvates with methanol (CH₃OH) and ethanol (C₂H₅OH). Binary systems with caffeine (systematic name: 3,7‐dihydro‐1,3,7‐trimethyl‐1H‐purine‐2,6‐dione, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂) and nicotinamide (C₆H₆N₂O), polymorphs with urea (CH₄N₂O) and eutectics with similar drugs, like allopurinol and febuxostat, were prepared using the crystal engineering approach. All these novel solid forms were confirmed by XRD, DSC and FT–IR. The crystal structures were solved by single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction. The crystal structures indicate that the lesinurad molecule is highly flexible and the triazole moiety, along with the rotatable thioacetic acid (side chain) and cyclopropane ring, is almost perpendicular to the planar naphthalene moiety. The carboxylic acid–triazole heterosynthon in the drug is interrupted by the presence of methanol and ethanol molecules in their crystal structures and forms intermolecular macrocyclic rings. The caffeine cocrystal maintains the consistency of the acid–triazole heterosynthons as in the drug and, in addition, they are bound by several auxiliary interactions. In the binary system of nicotinamide and urea, the acid–triazole heterosynthon is replaced by an acid–amide synthon. Among the urea cocrystal polymorphs, Form I (P, 1:1) consists of an acid–amide (urea) heterodimer, whereas in Form II (P2₁/c, 2:2), both acid–amide heterosynthons and urea–urea dimers co‐exist. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further support the experimentally observed synthon hierarchies in the cocrystals. Aqueous solubility experiments of lesinurad and its binary solids in pH 5 acetate buffer medium indicate the apparent solubility order lesinurad–urea Form I (43‐fold) > lesinurad–caffeine (20‐fold) > lesinurad–allopurinol (12‐fold) ? lesinurad–nicotinamide (11‐fold) > lesinurad, and this order is correlated with the crystal structures.     

Structure, cytotoxicity, and DNA-cleavage properties of the complex [Cu(II)(pbt)Br2

The reactions of the ligand 2-(2-pyridyl)benzthiazole (pbt) with CuBr 2 and ZnCl 2 in acetonitrile produce the complexes [Cu(pbt)Br 2] ( 1) and [Zn(pbt)Cl 2] ( 3), respectively. When complex 1 is dissolved in DMF, complex 2 is obtained as light-green crystals. The reaction of pbt with CuBr 2 in DMF also yields the complex [Cu(pbt)Br 2(dmf)] ( 2) (dmf = dimethylformamide). Complexes 1- 3 were characterized by X-ray crystallography. Complexes 1 and 3 have distorted tetrahedral coordination environments, and complex 2 is constituted of two slightly different copper centers, both exhibiting distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometries. Complexes 1 and 2 cleave phiX174 phage DNA, both in the presence and the absence of reductant. The free ligand pbt does not show any DNA-cleaving abilities. The poor solubility of complex 3 makes it not applicable for biological tests. The occurrence of DNA breaks in the presence of various radical scavengers suggests that no diffusible radicals are involved in the DNA cleavage by complex 1, as none of the scavengers inhibit the cleavage reaction. The DNA-cleavage products are not religated with the enzyme T4 DNA ligase, which is an additional proof that the cleavage is nonhydrolytic. Most probably the cleaving reaction involves reactive oxygen species, which could not be trapped, leading to an oxidative mechanism. An easy oxidation of Cu (II)(pbt)Br 2 to Cu (III) in DMF and the reduction of the same to Cu (I), under similar electrochemical conditions may lead to the in situ activation of molecular oxygen, resulting in the formation of metal solvated nondiffusible radicals able to prompt the oxidative cleavage of DNA. Complex 1 and the pure ligand exhibit remarkable cytotoxic effects against the cancer cell lines L1210 and A2780 and also against the corresponding cisplatin-resistant mutants of these cell lines.     

Non-enzymatic sensing of hydrogen peroxide using a glassy carbon electrode modified with a composite consisting of chitosan‐encapsulated graphite and platinum nanoparticles

We report on a non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) sensor which makes use of a nanocomposite consisting of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) and chitosan-encapsulated graphite (graphite-CS). The composite was prepared by sonication of pristine graphite in chitosan (CS) in 5 % acetic acid. The PtNP decorated graphite-CS (graphite-CS/PtNPs) composite was prepared by electrodeposition of PtNPs on the graphite-CS modified glassy carbon electrode. The graphite-CS/PtNP composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis and FTIR spectroscopy. The modified electrode displays an enhanced reduction peak current for H₂O₂ when compared with electrodes modified with graphite/PtNPs and PtNPs. The modified electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of H₂O₂, and the amperometric response is linear over the concentration range from 0.25 to 2890 μM. The sensitivity and the detection limit are 0.465 μA?μM￣¹ ? cm￣² and 66 nM, respectively. The sensor shows fast response (3 s) in detecting H₂O₂. It is also highly selective in the presence of potentially interfering compounds, and may therefore be used as a feasible platform for sensing H₂O₂ in real samples.

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Graphical abstract Preparation of graphite-CS/PtNP composite, and its application to electrochemical reduction of H₂O₂.