C60-fullerene bound silica for the preconcentration and the fractionation of multiphosphorylated peptides

Phosphorylation of proteins is an important cellular regulatory process. The analysis of protein phosphorylation is challenging due to the high dynamic range and low abundance natures of phosphorylated species. Mass spectrometry (MS) of phosphopeptides obtained from tryptic protein digests is the method-of-choice for characterization of phosphorylated proteins. However, determination of phosphopeptides by MS represents a major challenge, especially in the presence of unmodified peptides. Due to lower ionization efficiency of phosphopeptides, as well as the fact that the stoichiometry of phosphorylation is often present at low relative abundance, efficient enrichment of the phosphorylated peptides prior to MS analysis is therefore of high demand. In addition, successful identification of peptides with different phosphorylation grades still remains challenging.     

Unveiling Natural and Semisynthetic Acylated Flavonoids: Chemistry and Biological Actions in the Context of Molecular Docking

Acylated flavonoids are widely distributed natural metabolites in medicinal plants and foods with several health attributes. A large diversity of chemical structures of acylated flavonoids with interesting biological effects was reported from several plant species. Of these, 123 compounds with potential antimicrobial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, analgesic, and anti-complementary effects were selected from several databases including SCI-Finder, Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and others. Some selected reported biologically active flavonoids were docked in the active binding sites of some natural enzymes, namely acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, α-amylase, α-glucosidase, aldose reductase, and HIV integrase, in an attempt to underline the key interactions that might be responsible for their biological activities.     

Multifaced Assessment of Antioxidant Power,Phytochemical Metabolomics,In-Vitro Biological Potential and In-Silico Studies of Neurada procumbens L.: An Important Medicinal Plant

This work was undertaken to explore the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and enzyme-inhibiting properties of Neurada procumbens L. extracts/fractions of varying polarity (methanol extract and its fractions including n-hexane, chloroform, n-butanol, and aqueous fractions). A preliminary phytochemical study of all extracts/fractions, HPLC-PDA polyphenolic quantification, and GC-MS analysis of the n-hexane fraction were used to identify the phytochemical makeup. Antioxidant (DPPH), enzyme inhibition (against xanthine oxidase, carbonic anhydrase, and urease enzymes), and antibacterial activities against seven bacterial strains were performed for biological investigation. The GC-MS analysis revealed the tentative identification of 22 distinct phytochemicals in the n-hexane fraction, the majority of which belonged to the phenol, flavonoid, sesquiterpenoid, terpene, fatty acid, sterol, and triterpenoid classes of secondary metabolites. HPLC-PDA analysis quantified syringic acid, 3-OH benzoic acid, t-ferullic acid, naringin, and epicatechin in a significant amount. All of the studied extracts/fractions displayed significant antioxidant capability, with methanol extract exhibiting the highest radical-scavenging activity, as measured by an inhibitory percentage of 81.4 ± 0.7 and an IC₅₀ value of 1.3 ± 0.3. For enzyme inhibition experiments, the n-hexane fraction was shown to be highly potent against xanthine oxidase and urease enzymes, with respective IC₅₀ values of 2.3 ± 0.5 and 1.1 ± 0.4 mg/mL. Similarly, the methanol extract demonstrated the strongest activity against the carbonic anhydrase enzyme, with an IC₅₀ value of 2.2 ± 0.4 mg/mL. Moreover, all the studied extracts/fractions presented moderate antibacterial potential against seven bacterial strains. Molecular docking of the five molecules β-amyrin, campesterol, ergosta-4,6,22-trien-3β-ol, stigmasterol, and caryophyllene revealed the interaction of these ligands with the investigated enzyme (xanthine oxidase). The results of the present study suggested that the N. procumbens plant may be evaluated as a possible source of bioactive compounds with multifunctional therapeutic applications.     

Comparative Study of Larvicidal Activity of Spinel Co3O4 Nanorods and Entomopathogenic Metarhizium brunneum Conidia against Culex pipiens

Herein, we report the synthesis of spinel cobalt oxide nanorods (Co₃O₄ NRs) by a modified co-precipitation approach and examine their larvicidal activity against Culex pipiens. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared Co₃O₄ NRs were emphasized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that Co₃O₄ nanostructures have a face-centered spinel cubic crystal structure with a mean crystallite size of 38 nm. These nanostructures have a rod like shape with a mean diameter of 30 nm and an average length of 60 nm. The TGA measurements revealed the high stability of the formed spinel cubic structure at 400 °C. The optical behavior indicates the direct transition of electrons through an optical band gap in the range of 2.92–3.08 eV. These unique chemical and physical properties of Co₃O₄ NRs enabled them to be employed as a strong agent for killing the C. pipiens. A comparison study was employed between the as-prepared Co₃O₄ and the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum as a control agent of C. pipiens larvae. The results revealed that the as-prepared nanorods have higher mortality against C. pipiens larvae compared with the well-known M. brunneum.     

Dual Topoisomerase I/II Inhibition-Induced Apoptosis and Necro-Apoptosis in Cancer Cells by a Novel Ciprofloxacin Derivative via RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL Activation

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are synthetic broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents that have been recently repurposed to anticancer candidates. Designing new derivatives of FQs with different moieties to target DNA topoisomerases could improve their anticancer efficacy. The present study aimed to synthesize a novel ciprofloxacin derivative, examine its anticancer activity against HepG2 and A549 cancer cells, and investigate the possible molecular mechanism underlying this activity by examining its ability to inhibit the topo I/II activity and to induce the apoptotic and necro-apoptotic pathways. Molecular docking, cell viability, cell migration, colony formation, cell cycle, Annexin V, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, ELISA, and western blotting assays were utilized. Molecular docking results showed that this novel ciprofloxacin derivative exerted dual topo I and topo II binding and inhibition. It significantly inhibited the proliferation of A549 and HepG2 cancer cells and decreased their cell migration and colony formation abilities. In addition, it significantly increased the % of apoptotic cells, caused cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, and elevated the LDH release levels in both cancer cells. Furthermore, it increased the expression of cleaved caspase 3, RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL proteins. This novel ciprofloxacin derivative exerted substantial dual inhibition of topo I/II enzyme activities, showed antiproliferative activity, suppressed the cell migration and colony formation abilities for A549 and HepG2 cancer cells and activated the apoptotic pathway. In addition, it initiated another backup deadly pathway, necro-apoptosis, through the activation of the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL pathway.     

Endogenous Synthesis of Tetrahydroisoquinoline Derivatives from Dietary Factors: Neurotoxicity Assessment on a 3D Neurosphere Culture

Tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) alkaloids and their derivatives have a structural similarity to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a well-known neurotoxin. THIQs seem to present a broad range of actions in the brain, critically dependent on their catechol moieties and metabolism. These properties make it reasonable to assume that an acute or chronic exposure to some THIQs might lead to neurodegenerative diseases including essential tremor (ET). We developed a method to search for precursor carbonyl compounds produced during the Maillard reaction in overcooked meats to study their reactivity with endogenous amines and identify the reaction products. Then, we predicted in silico their pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties toward the central nervous system. Finally, their possible neurological effects on a novel in vitro 3D neurosphere model were assessed. The obtained data indicate that meat is an alkaloid precursor, and we identified the alkaloid 1-benzyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-6,7-diol (1-benz-6,7-diol THIQ) as the condensation product of phenylacetaldehyde with dopamine; in silico study of 1-benz-6,7-diol-THIQ reveals modulation of dopamine receptor D1 and D2; and in vitro study of 1-benz-6,7-diol-THIQ for cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induction does not show any difference after 24 h contact for all tested concentrations. To conclude, our in vitro data do not support an eventual neurotoxic effect for 1-benz-6,7-diol-THIQ.     

Synthesis of high added value compounds through catalytic oxidation of 2-phenylethanol: A Kinetic study

An effective procedure was developed to produce high-value added phenolic compounds through the conversion of 2-phenylethanol (2-PhEt) by using acid-activated clays KSF for the hydrogen peroxide. Owing to KSF's ability to catalyze a variety of complex oxidations, it was likely to convert 2-PhEt to hydroxytyrosol (HTY) and tyrosol (TY) derivatives. The analyses of catalytic solution revealed that the optimum conditions, giving a higher concentration of oxidation products such as HTY, were as follows: 2-PhEt concentration 10⁻² mol/L, the hydrogen peroxide concentration 5.05 × 10⁻² and 0.6 g L^–1 of KSF clays . The yield during the conversion reaction into HTY was around 25%. All compounds in the reaction mixture were identified by mass spectrophotometry using a LC-MS apparatus. HTY, TY, meta-tyrosol and ortho-tyrosol were the major compounds. The antioxidant activity was realized by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. In fact, it is revealed that the strongest inhibition percentage (PI = 96) was detected with the increase in the concentration of HTY. The approach proposed in the present work presents an environment friendly method.     

Optimized Degradation of Eosin Dye Through UV-ZnO NPs Catalyzed Reaction

Journal of Fluorescence - The present study is set out to determine the photocatalytic degradation potential of ZnO nanoparticles for effective degradation of Eosin dye. The heterogeneous...     

Coupling Adsorption-Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Maxilon Red

Journal of Fluorescence - The MB and MR removal process by two mechanisms of adsorption using rice straw (absence of UV light) and photodegradation on TiO2 surfaces was investigated. MB and MR...     

Transverse Momentum Distributions of Charged Particles Produced in Deuteron-Carbon Interactions at 4.2A GeV/c

In this work, the behavior of transverse momentum (p_T) and maximum p_T (p_Tmax) distribution of light-flavored hadrons, produced in deuteron-carbon (dC) interactions at 4.2A GeV/c, is presented. We use the data, provided by the Laboratory of High Energy (LHE) with propane bubble chamber of 2 m of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna Russia. The results of the experimental data are compared with the predictions of the cascade model, Dubna version. Three regions in terms of the p_T-distributions trend are observed for all types of particles, where p_T ～ 1 and 1.5 GeV/c are the limiting values for pions and protons, respectively, in the region-III, for which the p_T > 0.375 GeV/c. The protons’ contribution to this region is an order of magnitude more than of the mesons and the distribution of the latter decreases faster than of the former. The model cannot predict the experimental results in the region-III, completely, where the number of particles is less than in the experiment.