Tyrosinase inhibition kinetic studies of standardized extract of Berberis aristata

The stem bark and wood of Berberis aristata DC (Daruharidra) are one of the principal ingredients of traditional skin lighting and exfoliating scrub preparation in India. The standardised extract of B. aristata was screened to evaluate their in vitro antityrosinase activity and inhibition kinetics. Phytochemical and pharmacological studies were carried out with different solvent fractions of the methanol extract of B. aristata (MEBA). RP-HPLC analysis was used to determine the berberine content in extract and fractions of B. aristata. MEBA showed maximum berberine content. Extract and fractions of B. aristata contain the maximum amount of alkaloids than other constituents. In tyrosinase inhibition assay, MEBA was found to possess highest dose-dependent monophenolase and moderate diphenolase activity. The enzyme kinetic study revealed that MEBA possessed mixed type inhibition of monophenolase activity of tyrosinase. These bioactivities indicate that the MEBA has antihyperpigmentation potential in human skin.     

Structural elucidation of propargylated products of 3-substituted-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiols by NMR techniques

Propargylation of 3-substituted-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiols, which predominantly exist as their thione tautomers, was carried out with the view to synthesize different heterocycles and study their biological activity. Three different products namely, a mono S-propargyl and two S,N-dipropargyl regioisomers, arising from N1/N2 substitution, were isolated and characterized. Unambiguous structural elucidation of the regioisomers of S,N-dipropargyl derivatives was achieved by means of (13)C-(1)H HMBC technique. The proportion of the regioisomers was found to vary with the substituent on the 1,2,4-triazole thiols. No product corresponding to N4 substitution was isolated from any of the reactions carried out.     

Methyl methacrylate-co-itaconic acid (MMA-co-IA) hydrogels for controlled drug delivery

In the present work methyl methacrylate-co-itaconic acid (MMA-co-IA) hydrogels were synthesized by free radical copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and itaconic acid (IA) using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and methylene bisacrylamide (MBAAm) as crosslinkers and benzoyl peroxide as initiator. Selected samples were loaded with model drug lactulose. For the lactulose release, the effect of pH, monomeric compositions, degree of crosslinking were investigated. The release of lactulose was studied for 8 h period in USP phosphate buffer solutions of varying pH 1.2, 5.5, 6.5 and 7.0. The drug release data were fitted into various kinetics models like the zero order, first order, Higuchi and Peppas. The release kinetics of lactulose from MMA/IA hydrogels was found to be best described by the Peppas model. Results showed that drug release increased by increasing IA content in the hydrogels but the effect of changing of crosslinking ratio on drug release was not significant. The surface morphology of MMA/IA drug loaded hydrogel was studied by SEM which revealed uniform distribution of the drug in the hydrogels. In conclusion, it can be said that lactulose can be successfully incorporated into crosslinked MMA/IA hydrogels and its release can be modulated by changing the mole fraction of the acid component in the gels.     

High-Current Capable and Non-Flammable Protic Organic Electrolyte for Rechargeable Zn Batteries

Rechargeable Zinc batteries (RZBs) are considered a potent competitor for next-generation electrochemical devices, due to their multiple advantages. Nevertheless, traditional aqueous electrolytes may cause serious hazards to long-term battery cycling through fast capacity fading and poor Coulombic efficiency (CE), which happens due to complex reaction kinetics in aqueous systems. Herein, we proposed the novel adoption of the protic amide solvent, N-methyl formamide (NMF) as a Zinc battery electrolyte, which possesses a high dielectric constant and high flash point to promote fast kinetics and battery safety simultaneously. Dendrite-free and granular Zn deposition in Zn-NMF electrolyte assures ultra-long lifespan of 2000 h at 2.0 mA cm⁻²/2.0 mAh cm⁻², high CE of 99.57 %, wide electrochemical window (≈3.43 V vs. Zn²⁺/Zn), and outstanding durability up to 10.0 mAh cm⁻². This work sheds light on the efficient performance of the protic non-aqueous electrolyte, which will open new opportunities to promote safe and energy-dense RZBs.     

BODIPY Immobilized MCM-41 Based Multianalyte Sensor: Application in Detection and Removal of Trivalent (Al3+, Cr3+) and Divalent (Cu2+, Hg2+) Metal Ions in Aqueous Media

In the present study, a novel p-phenylcarboxylic acid BODIPY ( L ) immobilized MCM-41 based solid chemosensor material L-propylsilyl@MCM-41 ( MS4 ) was developed to detect multiple metal ions in a pure aqueous medium. The synthesized solid chemosensor material MS4 shows high sensitivity and removal ability towards trivalent (Al³⁺, Cr³⁺) and divalent (Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺) metal ions. The emission intensity of MS4 enhanced multifold selectively in the presence of trivalent (Al³⁺, Cr³⁺) metal ions and shows quenching in the presence of divalent (Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺) metal ions. The limit of detection was calculated to be in the nanomolar range with Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺_, and Hg²⁺ metal ions in the aqueous medium. The spectroscopic and analytical results suggest that MS4 selectively binds with Al³⁺ and Cr³⁺ through −NH functionality and with Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ through −COOH functionality of p-phenylcarboxylic acid BODIPY ( L ). Further, MS4 selectively removes Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, and Hg²⁺ metal ions from the aqueous media with removal efficiency of 97.28 %, 96.34 %, 87.19 %, and 95.63 %, respectively. No noticeable change in the concentration was observed for other metal ions. The recycling potential of MS4 was evaluated using EDTA for up to seven cycles with no significant reduction in sensing capability.     

Modulation of metal displacements in a saddle distorted macrocycle: synthesis, structure, and properties of high-spin Fe(III) porphyrins and implications for the hemoproteins

A rare family of five and six-coordinated high-spin Fe(III) porphyrins incorporating weak axial ligands are synthesized and structurally characterized which demonstrate, for the first time, stepwise metal displacements in a single distorted macrocyclic environment that has generally been seen in many biological systems. The introduction of four nitro groups into the meso-positions of octaethyl porphyrin severely distorts the porphyrin geometry and provides an interesting modulation of the macrocycle properties which enables the facile isolation of "pure" high-spin Fe(III)(tn-OEP)Cl, Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(MeOH)Cl, and Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(H2O)2(+) in excellent yields in a saddle distorted macrocyclic environment that are known to stabilize intermediate spin states. The stepwise out-of-plane displacements of iron are as follows: 0.47 A for Fe(III)(tn-OEP)Cl; 0.09 A for Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(MeOH)Cl, and 0.01 A for Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(H2O)2(+) from the mean plane of the porphyrins. However, in both five and six-coordinated Fe(III) porphyrins, the Fe-Np distances are quite comparable while the porphyrin cores have expanded significantly, virtually to the same extent for the six-coordinate complexes reported here. The large size of the high-spin iron(III) atom in Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(H2O)2(+) is accommodated perfectly with no displacement of the metal. This expansion is accompanied by a significant decrease of the saddle distortion with a clear increase of the ruffling. Furthermore, the Fe atom in Fe(III)(tn-OEP)(MeOH)Cl is not out of plane because of the larger atom size; however, the displacement of the iron depends on both the relative strength of the axial ligands, as well as the nature and extent of the ring deformation. Our characterization demonstrates that increase in ruffling and/or decrease in macrocycle deformation brings the iron atom more into the plane in a distorted macrocyclic environment. Our observations thus suggest that the displacements of iron in proteins are the consequences of nonequivalent axial coordination, as well as protein induced deformations at the heme. The high-spin nature of the complexes reported here is believed to be due to the larger Fe-Np distances which then reduce substantially the interaction between iron d(x2)-y2 and porphyrin a(2u) orbital. The Fe(III)/Fe(II) reduction potential of Fe(III)(tn-OEP)Cl shows a reversible peak at large positive value (0.20 V), and no ring-centered oxidation was observed within the solvent limit (approximately 1.80 V). It is thus easier to reduce Fe(III)(tn-OEP)Cl by almost 700 mV compared to Fe(III)(OEP)Cl while oxidations are very difficult. Furthermore, the addition of 3-Cl-pyridine to Fe(III)(tn-OEP)Cl in air undergoes spontaneous auto reduction to produce the rare air-stable Fe(II)(tn-OEP)(3-Cl-py)2 that shows Fe(II)/Fe(III) oxidation peaks at high positive potential (0.79 V), which is approximately 600 mV more anodic compared to [Fe(II)(tn-OEP)Cl](-). This large anodic shift illustrates the effective removal of metal-centered electron density by the macrocycle when the metal is constrained to reside in the porphyrin plane.     

Self-assembly of cetylpyridinium chloride in water-DMF binary mixtures: a spectroscopic and physicochemical approach

The aggregation behavior of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPyCl) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)-water mixed solvents was investigated using electrical conductivity and spectroscopic techniques. Micellar and thermodynamic parameters (DeltaG(m)(0), DeltaH(m)(0), DeltaS(m)(0) and Delta(m)C(p)(0)) were obtained from the temperature dependence of critical micelle concentrations in various aqueous mixtures of DMF. The differences in the Gibbs energies of micellization of CPyCl between water and binary solvents were determined to evaluate the influence of the cosolvent. The effect of cosolvent on the Krafft temperature (K(T)) and on the aggregation number was also analyzed. Micellar micropolarity was examined spectrophotometrically using two different probes, methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB), and was found to increase with DMF addition, accompanied by an enhanced solvation. The mechanism of docking of surfactant and the probe molecules in the system were obtained by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.     

One Pot Regioselective Synthesis and Antimicrobial Studies of Some Novel Indazolyl–Thiazole Derivatives

2‐Benzylidene‐1‐tetralones, obtained via Claisen condensation of 1‐tetralones with aromatic aldehydes, in one pot condensation with thiosemicarbazide/semicarbazide and α‐haloketones in the presence of trifluoroethanol and conc. HCl gives rise to a series of new substituted‐3,3a,4,5‐tetrahydro‐2H‐benzo[g]indazol‐2yl‐thiazoles. The condensation was also carried out in two steps, and the intermediates 3‐substituted‐3,3a,4,5‐tetrahydro‐2H‐benzo[g]indazole‐2‐carbothioamides/carboxamides, obtained in the first step by the reaction of 2‐bezylidene‐1‐tetralones with thiosemicarbazide/semicarbazide, on reaction with α‐haloketones gives rise to indazolyl–thiazoles. A detailed X‐ray diffractometry of intermediate (3aR)‐3‐phenyl‐3,3a,4,5‐tetrahydro‐2H‐benzo[g]indazole‐2‐carbothioamide were carried out to establish its crystal structure. Further, density functional theory studies on (3aR)‐3‐phenyl‐3,3a,4,5‐tetrahydro‐2H‐benzo[g]indazole‐2‐carbothioamide and its regioisomer were carried out. There is good correlation between the theoretical and experimental spectral data. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the selected compounds were examined, and some are found to exhibit excellent activities.     

Structural Properties of Cubic Sets in Regular LA-semihypergroups

In this article we characterize the regular LA-semihypergroups in terms of $({\in }_{\Gamma },{\in }_{\Gamma }\vee q_{\Delta })$-cubic (left, right, two sided, bi, generalized bi, interior, quasi)-hyperideals of LA-semihypergroups. Meanwhile, some illustrative examples are given to show the rationality of the definitions popularized in the present paper.