Evaluation of carbonic anhydrase and paraoxonase inhibition activities and molecular docking studies of highly water-soluble sulfonated phthalocyanines

The investigation of carbonic anhydrase and paraoxonase enzyme inhibition properties of water-soluble zinc and gallium phthalocyanine complexes ( 1 and 2 ) are reported for the first time. The binding of p-sulfonylphenoxy moieties to the phthalocyanine structure favors excellent solubilities in water, as well as providing an inhibition effect on carbonic anhydrase (CA) I and II isoenzymes and paraoxonase (PON1) enzyme. According to biological activity results, both complexes inhibited hCA I, hCA II, and PON1. Whereas 1 and 2 showed moderate hCA I and hCA II (off-target cytosolic isoforms) inhibitory activity (Ki values of 26.09 µM and 43.11 µM for hCA I and 30.95 µM and 33.19 µM for hCA II, respectively), they exhibited strong PON1 (associated with high-density lipoprotein [HDL]) inhibitory activity (Ki values of 0.37 µM and 0.27 µM, respectively). The inhibition kinetics were analyzed by Lineweaver–Burk double reciprocal plots. It revealed that 1 and 2 were noncompetitive inhibitors against PON1, hCA I, and hCA II. These complexes can be more advantageous than other synthetic CA and PON inhibitors due to their water solubility. Docking studies were carried out to examine the interactions between hCA I, hCA II, and PON1 inhibitors and metal complexes at a molecular level and to predict binding energies.     

A Long‐Living Bioengineered Neural Tissue Platform to Study Neurodegeneration

The prevalence of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases continues to rise as age demographics in the population shift, inspiring the development of long‐term tissue culture systems with which to study chronic brain disease. Here, it is investigated whether a 3D bioengineered neural tissue model derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can remain stable and functional for multiple years in culture. Silk‐based scaffolds are seeded with neurons and glial cells derived from hiPSCs supplied by human donors who are either healthy or have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Cell retention and markers of stress remain stable for over 2 years. Diseased samples display decreased spontaneous electrical activity and a subset displays sporadic‐like indicators of increased pathological β‐amyloid and tau markers characteristic of Alzheimer's disease with concomitant increases in oxidative stress. It can be concluded that the long‐term stability of the platform is suited to study chronic brain disease including neurodegeneration.     

Sorption and diffusion of water vapour on edible films

Two types of films consisting of sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) as film forming materials and glycerin as plasticizer were prepared, characterized and their water vapour sorption properties were determined. The water sorption isotherms of the films were measured using a magnetic suspension balance. Results show that diffusion of water vapour in NaCMC based film is faster than that in HPC based films, due to the heterogeneous structure and larger pore dimensions of the NaCMC films.     

Substrate binding to cytochromes P450

P450s have attracted tremendous attention owing to not only their involvement in the metabolism of drug molecules and endogenous substrates but also the unusual nature of the reaction they catalyze, namely, the oxidation of unactivated C–H bonds. The binding of substrates to P450s, which is usually viewed as the first step in the catalytic cycle, has been studied extensively via a variety of biochemical and biophysical approaches. These studies were directed towards answering different questions related to P450s, including mechanism of oxidation, substrate properties, unusual substrate oxidation kinetics, function, and active-site features. Some of the substrate binding studies extending over a period of more than 40 years of dedicated work have been summarized in this review and categorized by the techniques employed in the binding studies.

Base Mediated Aromatization of Carbonyl Condensation Products Derived from 2‐(2‐Bromoprop‐2‐enyl)cyclohexanone Derivatives via ‘Intramolecular Unsaturation Transfer’

Alkylbenzenes are synthesized for the first time from aliphatic hydrocarbons via an one pot, transition metal‐free coupling approach under basic conditions. The method consists of two steps: condensation of 2‐bromoprop‐2‐enyl‐ or 2‐propargylcyclohexanone with alcohols, amines, or amino alcohols, followed by base treatment (Scheme 1). Phenolic ethers and N‐phenylated polyalkyl aromatic compounds are shown to be in the scope of the demonstrated reaction (Table). The proposed mechanism suggests that the unsaturation in another part of the molecule (propargyl‐group equivalent) is transferred into the cyclohexane ring to yield a benzene ring through a series of prototropic shifts.     

DSC for evaluating the encapsulation efficiency of lidocaine-loaded liposomes compared to the ultracentrifugation method

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This study reports the investigation of liposomal formulations of lidocaine in the form of a free base (LID). LID was encapsulated into large...     

Transverse migration of a confined polymer driven by an external force

We demonstrate that a polymer confined to a narrow channel migrates towards the center when driven by an external force parallel to the channel walls. This migration results from asymmetric hydrodynamic interactions between polymer segments and the confining walls. A weak pressure-driven flow, applied in the same direction as the external force, enhances the migration. However, when the pressure gradient and the external force act in opposite directions the polymer can migrate towards the boundaries. Nevertheless, for sufficiently strong forces the polymer always migrates towards the center. A dumbbell kinetic theory explains these results qualitatively. A comparison of our results with experimental measurements on DNA suggests that hydrodynamic interactions in polyelectrolytes are only partially screened. We propose new experiments and analysis to investigate the extent of the screening in polyelectrolyte solutions.     

Centralized and decentralized management of groundwater with multiple users

In this work, we investigate two groundwater inventory management schemes with multiple users in a dynamic game-theoretic structure: (i) under the centralized management scheme, users are allowed to pump water from a common aquifer with the supervision of a social planner, and (ii) under the decentralized management scheme, each user is allowed to pump water from a common aquifer making usage decisions individually in a non-cooperative fashion. This work is motivated by the work of Saak and Peterson [14], which considers a model with two identical users sharing a common aquifer over a two-period planning horizon. In our work, the model and results of Saak and Peterson [14] are generalized in several directions. We first build on and extend their work to the case of n non-identical users distributed over a common aquifer region. Furthermore, we consider two different geometric configurations overlying the aquifer, namely, the strip and the ring configurations. In each configuration, general analytical results of the optimal groundwater usage are obtained and numerical examples are discussed for both centralized and decentralized problems.     

Use of multiwalled carbon nanotube disks for the SPE of some heavy metals as 8-hydroxquinoline complexes

A multiwalled carbon nanotube disk was used for the SPE of some toxic heavy metals from environmental samples. Metal ions were adsorbed on the disk as 8-hydroxquinoline complexes, then quantitatively desorbed from the disk by using 10 mL 2 M HNO3. The effects of analytical parameters, including pH, sample volume, and flow rates, on the recoveries of Cd(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Fe(III), Cu(II), and Zn(II) were investigated. The influences of some 1A and 2A group elements and some other ions as concomitant ions on the recoveries of analyte ions were also examined. The LODs of the presented preconcentration-separation system for the analyte ions were found to be in the range of 1.0-5.2 microg/L. In order to validate the procedure, SRM 1577B Bovine Liver, IAEA 336 Lichen, and HR-1 Humber river sediment certified reference materials were analyzed. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of understudy elements in some pharmaceutical samples and natural water samples from different sites in Turkey.