Binding,and thermodynamics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with some coumarin laser dyes and coumarin-based enzyme substrates: a simulation study

This paper addresses modelling the nature of interactions between β-CD and some coumarins including recently reported novel sulphur analogues to form inclusion complexes of appealing medicinal, photochemical and photophysical properties. The binding energy and the total stabilization energy (E^ONIOM) are used to confirm the most favorable inclusion complex structure. Thermodynamic parameters reveal exothermic inclusion reaction in gas phase. Thermal stability of fluorescent enzyme substrate of coumarin nucleus increases in the order: gas?<?cyclohexane?<?water, indicating better stability in water. Furthermore, molecular characteristics such as optimized geometries, MO’s and electrostatic potential energy map surfaces and energies are reported and correlated with some reactivity indices. Our results validated the experimentally available data reported in the literature. Inclusion complexes of β-CD with coumarins should result in improving its laser efficiency in environmentally benign aqueous medium.     

Response surface methodology for modelling and determination of catechin in Pistachio green hull using surfactant-based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by UV–Vis spectrophotometry

A rapid and simple approach for the preconcentration and determination of catechin from pistachio green hull samples has been proposed by surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by UV–Vis spectrophotometry (SADLLME/UV–Vis). This method involved the formation of a catechin complex with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as cationic surfactant, and subsequently, DLLME was applied to extract the catechin–CPC complex into chloroform. Different parameters affected the extraction efficiency were optimized by central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM). In optimum condition, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.4–5 µg mL^??1 of catechin with correlation coefficient of 0.9982. The relative standard deviation based on five replicated analyses of 1 µg mL^??1 catechin was 1.85%. The proposed method was successfully applied for preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of catechin in pistachio hull samples.     

Cyclic peptide nanocapsule as ion carrier for halides: a theoretical survey

In this work, the encapsulations of halide ions including F^?, Cl^?, and Br^? by cyclic peptide nanocapsule as ion carrier (F^?, Cl^?, and Br^? @(Ala4...Ala4)) were investigated using the dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT) employing CAM-B3LYP functional and the 6–311?+?G (d, p) basis set in the gas phase. The electronic binding energy (E_bind), binding enthalpy (H_bind), and binding Gibbs free energy (G_bind) for each anion were calculated and showed that the stability order of the complexes based on their calculated E_bind is F^??>?Cl^??>?Br^? @(Ala4...Ala4). The calculated value of G_bind for F^? @(Ala4...Ala4) was ??29.77 kcal/mol showing the formation of this complex is thermodynamically favorable while the formation of Br^? @(Ala4...Ala4) is 14.35 kcal/mol which shows that the encapsulation of Br^? is not possible. The calculated value of G_bind for Cl^? @(Ala4...Ala4) was ??0.57 kcal/mol which shows that Cl^? ion can be reversibly stored inside the nanocapsule. The NBO analysis was also performed to investigate the charge transfer between two cyclic peptides in the complexes and also between the anion and the nanocapsule. The NBO analysis showed that the strongest hydrogen bonds between two cyclic peptides are in the complex.     

Green and one‐pot surface coating of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles with natural amino acids and biocompatibility investigation

We report the synthesis of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (IONPs) coated with various natural amino acids (AAs) using a one‐pot reaction in an aqueous medium. Several AAs, which contained hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, were selected to study their effects on size, morphology and toxicity of IONPs. Functionalized IONPs were characterized using X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Furthermore, vibrating sample magnetometry analysis shows these nanoparticles have excellent magnetic properties. Cellular toxicity of IONPs was also investigated on HFF2 cell lines. The AA‐coated IONPs are non‐toxic and biocompatible. Natural AA‐coated IONPs show a potential for their development in in vitro and in vivo biomedical fields due to their non‐toxicity, good ζ‐potential and related small size and narrow size distribution.     

Fabrication and application of a new modified electrochemical sensor using nano-silica and a newly synthesized Schiff base for simultaneous determination of Cd,Cu and Hg ions in water and some foodstuff samples

A new chemically modified carbon paste electrode was constructed and used for rapid, simple, accurate, selective and highly sensitive simultaneous determination of cadmium, copper and mercury using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The carbon paste electrode was modified by N,N′-bis(3-(2-thenylidenimino)propyl)piperazine coated silica nanoparticles. Compared with carbon paste electrode, the stripping peak currents had a significant increase at the modified electrode. Under the optimized conditions (deposition potential, −1.100 V vs. Ag/AgCl; deposition time, 60 s; resting time, 10 s; SW frequency, 25 Hz; pulse amplitude, 0.15 V; dc voltage step height, 4.4 mV), the detection limit was 0.3, 0.1 and 0.05 ng mL⁻¹ for the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺, respectively. The complexation reaction of the ligand with several metal cations in methanol was studied and the stability constants of the complexes were obtained. The effects of different cations and anions on the simultaneous determination of metal ions were studied and it was found that the electrode is highly selective for the simultaneous determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺. Furthermore, the present method was applied to the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ in water and some foodstuff samples.     

Theoretical studies on tautomerism of imidazole-2-selenone

The tautomerism of all possible forms of imidazole selenone (ISe1–ISe6), induced by proton transfer was studied theoretically in different environments including gas phase, continuum solvent, and microhydrated environment with one explicit water molecule. The calculations were performed at the MP2 and CAM-B3LYP levels of theory, separately. It was found that the imidazole selenone, in the form of ISe3, is the most stable isomer in both gas phase and solvent. The activation energy for conversion of ISe3 to imidazole selenol (ISe6), as the second stable form, is 41.72 and 43.0 kcal/mol in the gas phase and water, respectively. The infrared spectral frequencies as well as the vibrational frequency shifts were reported and assigned to their corresponding vibrational modes. In addition, the variation of dipole moments and charges on the atoms with change of solvent was studied. The energies of HOMO, LUMO, and HOMO–LUMO gap were calculated in both gas phase and solvent. Specific solvent effects with addition of water molecule near the electrophilic centers of tautomers and the transition states of proton transfer, assisted by water molecule, were investigated. It was found that the water molecule can form different hydrogen bonds with the molecule. Aggregation of the isomers with water molecule does not change the order of stability of isomers, but proton transfer reaction assisted by a water molecule needs less energy than when the proton shifts through the intramolecular process.     

New pyranosyl cembranoid diterpenes from Sarcophyton trocheliophorum

During our continual searching programme for novel bioactive metabolites from Sarcophyton trocheliophorum, collected from Red Sea, we describe herein the isolation and structural elucidation of further two new pyrane-based cembranoid diterpenes: 9-hydroxy-7,8-dehydro-sarcotrocheliol (1) and 8,9-expoy-sarcotrocheliol acetate (2), along with the well-known sarcotrocheliol acetate (3), (+)-sarcophine (4), (+)-sarcophytoxide (5) and (-)-sarcophytoxide (6). The chemical structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹H–¹H COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOE), mass spectra (ESI and HR-ESIMS) and by comparison with related structures. The antimicrobial activities of the reported compounds 1–6 were investigated. According to the molecular docking study of compounds 1–6 using 3D structure of α,β tubulin in complex with taxol (PDB code 1JFF) and epothilone A (PDB code 1TVK), sarcophine (4) displayed the highest affinity towards both crystal structures, followed by 5 and 6, meanwhile pyrane-based cembranoid diterpenes (1–3) showed less affinity.     

Preparation,characterization, and assessment of cytotoxicity,antioxidant, antibacterial,antifungal, and cutaneous wound healing properties of titanium nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam leaves

In recent decades, nanotechnology is growing rapidly owing to its widespread application in science and industry. The aim of the experiment was chemical characterization and evaluation of cytotoxicity, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and cutaneous wound healing activities of titanium nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam leaves (TiNPs@Ziziphora). These nanoparticles were characterized by fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and UV–visible spectroscopy. The synthesized TiNPs@Ziziphora had great cell viability dose‐dependently (Investigating the effect of the plant on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cell line) and revealed this method was nontoxic. Then, 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging test was done to assess the antioxidant properties, which indicated similar antioxidant potentials for TiNPs@Ziziphora and butylated hydroxytoluene. Agar diffusion tests were applied to determine the antibacterial and antifungal characteristics. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC), and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) were specified by macro‐broth dilution assay. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software (Duncan post‐hoc test). TiNPs@Ziziphora indicated higher antibacterial and antifungal effects than all standard antibiotics (p ≤ 0.01). Also, TiNPs@Ziziphora inhibited the growth of all bacteria at 2‐16 mg/ml concentrations and removed them at 2‐32 mg/ml concentrations (p ≤ 0.01). In case of antifungal properties of TiNPs@Ziziphora, they prevented the growth of all fungi at 2‐8 mg/ml concentrations and destroyed them at 2‐16 mg/ml concentrations (p ≤ 0.01). In vivo experiment, after creating the cutaneous wound, the rats were randomly divided into six groups: untreated control, treatment with Eucerin basal ointment, treatment with 3% tetracycline ointment, treatment with 0.2% TiO₂ ointment, treatment with 0.2% Z. clinopodioides ointment, and treatment with 0.2% TiNPs@Ziziphora ointment. These groups were treated for 10 days. For histopathological and biochemical analysis of the healing trend, a 3 × 3 cm section was prepared from all dermal thicknesses at day 10. Use of TiNPs@Ziziphora ointment in the treatment groups substantially reduced (p ≤ 0.01) the wound area, total cells, neutrophil, and lymphocyte and remarkably raised (p ≤ 0.01) the wound contracture, hydroxyl proline, hexosamine, hexuronic acid, fibrocyte, and fibrocytes/fibroblast rate compared to other groups. In conclusion, the results revealed the useful non‐cytotoxic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and cutaneous wound healing effects of TiNPs@Ziziphora.     

A comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of styrene atom transfer radical polymerization

<正>An optimized and high-performance Monte Carlo simulation is developed to take thorough account of four different cases of termination in styrene ATRP.According to the simulation results,the bimolecular termination rate constant sharply drops throughout the polymerization when either chain-length dependency of termination rate constant,gel effect,or both together is applied to the simulation.In addition,as expected,the initiator is quickly decomposed at the early stages of the polymerization.The concentration of the catalyst in lower oxidation state decreases at first and then plateaus at higher conversion;furthermore,the steady concentration of M_t~nY/L in the polymerization is the highest when the chain-length-dependent diffusion-controlled termination rate constant is employed in the simulation.The rates of deactivation and chain end degradation reactions are also smaller in this case.Therefore,the fraction of dormant chains is higher throughout the reaction and consequently the portion of dead polymers decreases.Besides,molecular weight increases linearly with conversion;however,when neither gel effect nor chain-length dependency of termination rate constant is considered,the molecular weight deviates from linearity at the end of the reaction.The peak of chain length distribution shifts toward higher molecular weight too during the reaction.Finally,the molecular weight distribution broadens at higher conversion;however, the chain length distribution of polymers produced under conditions of applying chain-length-dependent diffusion-controlled termination rate constant is narrower.