Characterization of polymeric vesicles of poly(sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate) in water

A polysoap poly(sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate) was synthesized from sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate in water. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined by gel permeation chromatography and static light scattering techniques. Fluorescence probe studies in water have suggested the formation of hydrophobic domains within the same polymer chain. The microenvironment of the hydrophobic domains is highly ordered. The packing of the hydrocarbon chains in the hydrophobic domains formed by intra-chain association increases upon decrease of pH. The transmission electron micrograph revealed large vesicular aggregates in dilute aqueous solution. Temperature-dependent fluorescence anisotropy of the 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene probe demonstrated stability of the vesicles.     

General route to 4a-methylhydrofluorene diterpenoids: total syntheses of (+/-)-taiwaniaquinones d and h, (+/-)-taiwaniaquinol B, (+/-)-dichroanal B, and (+/-)-dichroanone

A general and convergent route for the synthesis of the 4a-methylhydrofluorene diterpenoids has been established through a common hexahydrofluorenone intermediate (10) obtained via Pd(0)-catalyzed reductive cyclization of a substituted 2-(2-bromobenzyl) methylene cyclohexane (13). The strategy has been successfully utilized for the synthesis of (+/-)-taiwaniaquinones D (3) and H (5), (+/-)-taiwaniaquinol B (1), (+/-)-dichroanal B (7), and (+/-)-dichroanone (8).     

Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 over Cu-TiO2 /molecular sieve 5A composite

TiO(2) and different Cu wt% loaded TiO(2) (TC(0.5-5.0)), 10 wt% TC(2.0) supported on molecular sieve 5A (10 wt% TC(2.0)/MS) were prepared by impregnation and solid-state dispersion methods. The photocatalysts prepared were characterized using XRD, SEM, and UV-Vis DRS, TEM, XPS spectroscopy techniques. Photocatalytic reduction of CO(2) in water and alkaline solution are investigated in a batch reactor. The yield of oxalic acid increased notably when TC was supported on molecular sieve. The Cu-TiO(2) supported on molecular sieve catalyst promotes the charge separation that leads to an increase in the selective formation of oxalic acid in addition to methanol, acetic acid and traces of methane. The product formation is due to the high adsorption of CO(2), water and product shape selectivity of the composite photocatalyst. The maximum yield of oxalic acid was found to be 65.6 μg h(-1) g(-1) per cat using 0.2 N NaOH containing solution over 10 wt% TC(2.0)/MS photocatalyst. The difference in the photocatalytic activity is related to its physicochemical properties.     

Microwave-assisted rapid and efficient synthesis of chromene-fused pyrrole derivatives through multicomponent reaction and evaluation of antibacterial activity with molecular docking investigation

The current study aimed to identify a new strategy of FeCl₃ catalyzed multicomponent synthesis of substituted 2H-chromene–fused pyrrole derivatives. A series of chromene-based pyrrole prepared by employing an array of 3-nitro-2H-chromenes, aniline, and acetylacetone in toluene under microwave irradiation. Using FeCl₃ as a prompt catalyst and microwave irradiation to synthesize 2H-chromene–fused pyrrole motifs significantly reduces the reaction time and facilitates to high yields (83%-95%). Structure of all synthesized compounds analyzed by spectroscopic analysis. One-pot reaction, short reaction period, and simple experimental procedure are the fascinating properties associated with this protocol. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the entire series was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Out of all the compounds, 15b and 15h revealed most excellent potency against both the bacterial strains relative to the reference gentamicin. Docking study was employed to determine the possible binding orientation of DNA gyrase with the active sites of chromene-fused pyrrole analog. The docking results show that compounds 15b and 15h have higher binding affinity with energy −8.00 and −8.80 kcal/mol. These results illuminate the mode of binding progression and provide an esteemed pathway for the design and the structural modification of chromene-fused pyrroles as a newly advanced class of antibacterial agent.     

Microwave assisted synthesis,docking and antimalarial evaluation of hybrid PABA-substituted 1,3,5-triazine derivatives

A series of novel PABA-substituted 1,3,5-triazine derivatives were developed via microwave assisted synthesis and subsequently tested for antimalarial activity against chloroquine sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum using chloroquine as standard. Antimalarial screening result showed that synthesized compounds exhibited IC₅₀ in the range of 4.46 to 79.72 μg mL⁻¹. Among the tested compounds, 4c and 4f showed significant antimalarial activity with low binding energies (BE) -172.32 and 160.41 kcal mol⁻¹ via interacting with Arg122 through the involvement of COOH of the phenyl linked to 1,3,5-triazine. In conclusion, these core scaffolds can be used for future antimalarial drug development.     

Mixed micelle formation and solubilization behavior toward polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of binary and ternary cationic-nonionic surfactant mixtures

Water solubility enhancements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), viz., naphthalene, anthracene and pyrene, by micellar solutions at 25 degrees C using two series of surfactants, each involving two cationic and one nonionic surfactant in their single as well as equimolar binary and ternary mixed states, were measured and compared. The first series was composed of three surfactants, benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (C16BzCl), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C16Br), and polyoxyethylene(20)mono-n-hexadecyl ether (Brij-58) with a 16-carbon (C16) hydrophobic chain; the second series consisted of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C12Br), dodecylethyldimethylammonium bromide (C12EBr), and polyoxyethylene(4)mono-n-dodecyl ether (Brij-30) with a 12-carbon (C12) chain. Solubilization capacity has been quantified in terms of the molar solubilization ratio, the micelle-water partition coefficient, the first stepwise association constant between solubilizate monomer and vacant micelle, and the average number of solubilizate molecules per micelle, determined employing spectrophoto-, tensio-, and flourimetric techniques. Cationic surfactants exhibited lesser solubilization capacity than nonionics in each series of surfactants with higher efficiency in the C16 series compared to the C12 series. Increase in hydrophobicity of head groups of cationics by incorporation of ethyl or benzyl groups enhanced their solubilization capacity. The mixing effect of surfactants on mixed micelle formation and solubilization efficiency has been discussed in light of the regular solution approximation (RSA). Cationic-nonionic binary combinations showed better solubilization capacity than pure cationics, nonionics, or cationic-cationic mixtures, which, in general, showed increase with increased hydrophobicity of PAHs. Equimolar cationic-cationic-nonionic ternary surfactant systems showed lower solubilization efficiency than their binary cationic-nonionic counterparts but higher than cationic-cationic ones. In addition, use of RSA has been extended, with fair success, to predict partition coefficients of ternary surfactant systems using data of binary surfactants systems. Mixed surfactants may improve the performance of surfactant-enhanced remediation of soils and sediments by decreasing the applied surfactant level and thus remediation cost.     

New [LNiII2]+ complexes incorporating 2-formyl or 2,6-diformyl-4-methyl phenol as inhibitors of the hydrolysis of the ligand L3-: Ni...Ni ferromagnetic coupling and S=2 ground states

Reaction of the dinucleating ligand H3L (2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-bis[4-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-azabut-3-enyl]-1,3-imidazolidine) with Ni(NO3)(2).6H2O produces the dimer of monomers [Ni(HL1)]2(NO3)(2).4H2O (1.4H2O) following the hydrolysis of H3L. If the reaction occurs in the presence of 2-formylphenol (Hfp) or 2,6-diformyl-4-methylphenol (Hdfp), this hydrolysis is prevented by incorporation of these co-ligands into the structure and stabilization of the new complexes [Ni2L(fp)(H2O)].3H2O (2.3H2O) and [Ni2L(dfp)].4.5H2O (3.4.5H2O), respectively. Complexes 2 and 3 may be considered to be structural models of the active site of urease, where coordination of the carbonyl ligand mimics binding of urea. In complex 2, coordination of terminal water reproduces the binding of this substrate of the enzyme to the active site. In both dinuclear complexes, the NiII ions are coupled ferromagnetically to yield S=2 ground states, whereas complex 1 exhibits weak intradimer antiferromagnetic exchange through hydrogen bonds. The magnetic data can be modeled by using the Van Vleck equation, incorporating intermolecular interactions, or by diagonalization of a spin Hamiltonian that includes single-ion anisotropy.     

Forced convective flow and heat transfer over a?porous plate in a?Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium in presence of?radiation

A mathematical model is presented for analyzing the boundary layer forced convective flow and heat transfer of an incompressible fluid past a plate embedded in a Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium. Thermal radiation term is considered in the energy equation. The similarity solutions for the problem are obtained and the reduced nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically. It is noticed that the boundary layer decreases with an increase in the value of inertial parameter and in this case the temperature profile is found to decrease smoothly within the boundary layer. In case of porous plate, fluid velocity increases whereas non-dimensional temperature decreases for increasing values of suction parameter. The rate of heat transfer increases with the increasing values of Prandtl number. The effect of thermal radiation on temperature field is also analyzed.     

Colloidal,Functional, Piezoelectric BaTiO3-Au Nanohybrid for Wireless Cell Therapy

Ultrasound-assisted reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation from piezoelectric nanomaterial offers unique wireless therapeutic approach in remote places. In the previous work, piezoelectric barium titanate (BaTiO₃) nanorod have been synthesized and used for wireless cell therapy. However, the piezoelectric property of BaTiO₃ nanorod needs further improvement for diverse applications. In this work, it is shown that gold nanoparticle conjugation with BaTiO₃ nanorod (BaTiO₃-Au) can significantly enhance the piezoelectric performance with the piezoelectric constant value of 110 pm V⁻¹. The colloidal BaTiO₃-Au is further functionalized with folate for selective targeting of folate-overexpressed cancer cells and used for wireless cell therapy via intracellular ROS generation under ultrasound exposure. The synthesized colloidal nanohybrid can be used for various therapeutic applications.