Curcumin-loaded biocompatible thermoresponsive polymeric nanoparticles for cancer drug delivery

This study aims at the formulation of curcumin with biodegradable thermoresponsive chitosan-g-poly (N-vinylcaprolactam) nanoparticles (TRC-NPs) for cancer drug delivery. The spherical curcumin-loaded nanoparticles of size 220 nm were characterized, and the biological properties were studied using flow cytometry and cytotoxicity by MTT assay. The in vitro drug release was higher at above LCST compared to that at below LCST. TRC-NPs in the concentration range of 100-1000 μg/mL were non-toxic to an array of cell lines. The cellular localization of the curcumin-loaded TRC-NPs was confirmed from green fluorescence inside the cells. The time-dependent curcumin uptake by the cells was quantified by UV spectrophotometer. Curcumin-loaded TRC-NPs showed specific toxicity to cancer cells at above their LCST. Flow cytometric analysis showed increased apoptosis on PC3 compared to L929 by curcumin-loaded TRC-NPs. These results indicate that novel curcumin-loaded TRC-NPs could be a promising candidate for cancer drug delivery.     

Ultrasonic and optical studies on charge transfer complexes of p-chloranil with certain aromatic hydrocarbons in DMSO at 303.15 K

Ultrasonic investigation has been carried out on six ternary systems to establish the complex formation between p-chloranil (acceptor) and six aromatic hydrocarbons (donors), namely, benzene, toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene and mesitylene in DMSO medium at 303.15 K and at atmospheric pressure. Studies were carried out in the concentration range of 0.002 to 0.02 M of acceptor and donor with equimolar concentration of the two components in solution. The trend in the acoustical parameters and magnitude of excess thermo acoustical parameters has been used to identify the existence of strong intermolecular interaction through charge transfer complex formation. The formation of 1:1 complex was also confirmed by UV-Visible spectroscopic method at 303.15 K in these systems. It may be pointed out that the formation constants of the charge transfer complexes determined by Benesi-Hildebrand (spectroscopic) and Kannappan (ultrasonic) methods show similar trend and well establish the influence of structural aspect of the donor aromatic compounds on the stability of charge transfer complexes.     

Quinine and chloroquine differentially perturb heme monomer-dimer equilibrium

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of magnetic susceptibility have been utilized to study the equilibrium between two forms (high-spin monomer vs the antiferromagnetically coupled mu-oxo dimer) of ferriprotoporphyrin(IX) as a function of pH. The pH dependence of this equilibrium is significantly altered by the addition of either chloroquine or quinine. Chloroquine promotes the mu-oxo dimer whereas quinine promotes the monomer.     

Soil applied cobalt alters the nodulation, leg-haemoglobin content and antioxidant status of Glycine max (L.) Merr

The present investigation has been carried out to estimate the effect of cobalt on the nodulation leg-haemoglobin content and antioxidant enzyme activities of soybean plants. The experiments were conducted in earthen pots containing 3 kg of air dried soil. The inner surface of pots was lined with polythene sheet. Soybean plants were raised in soil amended with different concentration of cobalt (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg/kg). The root nodule formation, leg-haemoglobin contents and antioxidant enzyme activities were analysed at 15 days intervals, namely 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after sowing (DAS). There found a significant increase in the total number of root nodules, leg-haemoglobin content and antioxidant enzyme activities at 50 mg/kg cobalt application in the soil in all the sampling days when compared to control. Further increase in the cobalt level (100–250 mg/kg) in the soil decreased root nodules formation as well as leg-haemoglobin content antioxidant enzyme activities of soybean plants in all the sampling days.     

Analysis of vibrational spectra of L-alanylglycine based on density functional theory calculations

FT Raman and IR spectra of the crystallized biologically active molecule, L-alanylglycine (L-Ala-Gly) have been recorded and analyzed. The equilibrium geometry, bonding features and harmonic vibrational frequencies of L-Ala-Gly have been investigated with the help of B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated molecular geometry has been compared with the experimental data. The assignments of the vibrational spectra have been carried out with the help of normal coordinate analysis (NCA) following the scaled quantum mechanical force field methodology (SQMFF). The optimized geometry shows the non-planarity of the peptide group of the molecule. Potential energy surface (PES) scan studies has also been carried out by ab initio calculations with B3LYP/6-311+G** basis set. The red shifting of NH3+ stretching wavenumber indicates the formation of N-H...O hydrogen bonding. The change in electron density (ED) in the sigma* antibonding orbitals and E2 energies have been calculated by natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) using DFT method. The NBO analysis confirms the occurrence of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the molecule.     

Vibrational spectroscopic studies and ab initio calculations of Goniothalamin, a natural product

5,6-Dihydro-6-styryl-2-pyrone (Goniothalamin), is isolated from the leaves of Goniothalamus wightii and identified by spectral analysis and X-ray diffraction studies. FT-IR spectroscopy has also been used to characterize the vibrational bands. The vibrational wavenumbers and corresponding vibrational assignments are examined theoretically using the Gaussian03 set of quantum chemistry codes. Predicted IR and Raman intensities are reported.     

High-rate electrochemical performance and structure elucidation of hydrothermally synthesized nickel zincate nanorods

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - For the first time, nanorods of nickel zincate (NiZnO2) have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method and used in supercapacitor electrode fabrication....     

Electron–phonon coupling and vibrational modes contributing to linear electro‐optic effect of the efficient NLO chromophore 4‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐N‐methyl‐4′‐toluene sulfonate (DAST) from their vibrational spectra

The optimized geometry and structural features of the most prospective electro‐optic crystal 4‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐N‐methyl‐4′‐toluene sulfonate (DAST), and the vibrational spectral investigations have been comprehensively described with the near infrared Fourier transform (NIR FT) Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectra supported by the density functional theoretical (DFT) computations to elucidate the contribution of vibrational modes to the linear electro‐optic (LEO) effect. Mulliken population analysis and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis have also been carried out to analyze the effects of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), intramolecular hydrogen bonding and hyperconjugative interactions on the geometries. The influence of CT interaction between the phenyl ring and the dimethylamino group of the nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore on the endocyclic and exocyclic angles, and the electronic effects such as hyperconjugation and back‐donation on the methyl hydrogen atoms have been examined. The concurrent intense activation of Raman and IR activities of the effective conjugation vibrational coordinate, which significantly contributes to the LEO effect resulting from the strong electron–phonon (e/ph) coupling, has been analyzed in detail. The effects of frontier orbitals, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), transition of electron density (ED) transfer and the influence of planarity in the stilbazolium ring on the first hyperpolarizability are also discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.