Studies on the radiolytic stability of N,N,N′,N′-tetra-2-ethylhexyl diglycolamide in n-dodecane solution containing different phase modifiers

The radiolytic stability of a branched diglycolamide extractant, namely N,N,N′,N′-tetra-2-ethylhexyl diglycolamide (T2EHDGA) dissolved in n-dodecane containing several phase modifiers, viz. N,N-dihexyloctanamide (DHOA), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP), 1-decanol and iso-decanol has been investigated. The distribution ratio of Am(III) decreased with increased radiation dose studied up to 1000 kGy. Nevertheless, all the composition of extractants showed satisfactory results up to 500 kGy, beyond which the extractants degraded drastically. The stripping behaviour of Am(III) with 0.2 M HNO₃ was found to be unaffected even with the ligand solution irradiated up to 1000 kGy. Extraction of fission product and structural elements was also investigated using the irradiated solvents and was found to be not significantly affected with increasing absorbed dose with the exception of Mo which showed sharp rise in the distribution coefficient values. Loading of Nd in the organic phase decreased with the irradiated solvent due to degradation of the carrier. The effect of the absorbed dose on physical parameters such as density, viscosity and interfacial tension of the solvents has also been investigated.     

Solvent-free reaction between acenaphthoquinone, various benzils and ammonium acetate: synthesis of 9,10-diaryl-7H-benzo[d,e]imidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolin-7-ones

A simple synthesis of benzo[d,e]imidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolines is described. Heating a mixture of acenaphthoquinone, a benzil, and ammonium acetate under solvent-free conditions afforded 9,10-diaryl-7H-benzo[d,e]imidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolin-7-ones in good to excellent yields.     

Mössbauer spectroscopic study of an iron(III) complex with crown porphyrin

A complex of ⁵⁷Fe with 5-{4-[((4′-hydroxybenzo-15-crown-5)-5′-yl)diazo]phenyl}-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin was studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The presence of signals of two types in the spectra (a doublet and an extended absorption band over a wide velocity range) suggests that the Fe atoms occupy two structurally different positions in this complex. The dependences of the doublet asymmetry on temperature and the angle between the normal to the sample plane and the γ-ray beam were studied. The isomer shift δ of the doublet in the temperature range from 360 to 5 K changes from 0.25 to 0.41 mm/s, while the quadrupole splitting remains virtually unchanged (Δ ≈ 0.65 mm/s). The relaxation-type absorption over a wide velocity range, the relative area of which strongly varies with temperature, can be described by a broad singlet with the following parameters: δ = 0.30–0.44 mm/s and Γ = 2.8–3.38 mm/s. According to the δ values, both signals are due to Fe(III) derivatives.     

Application of polyaniline as an efficient and novel adsorbent for azo dyes removal from textile wastewaters

In this work, application of polyaniline coated onto wood sawdust (PAni/SD) for the removal of methyl orange (MO) as a typical azo dye from aqueous solutions is introduced. The effects of some important parameters such as pH, initial concentration, sorbent dosage, and contact time on the uptake of MO solution were also investigated. In order to get a better comparison, adsorption experiments were also carried out using commercial grade of granulated activated carbon (GAC) and sawdust without coating (SD) at the same time. It was found that PAni/SD can be used to remove azo dyes such as MO from aqueous solutions very efficiently. Experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich models of adsorption. Kinetic parameters for the adsorption of MO dyes for the selected adsorbents are also reported. In order to study the possibility of desorption for frequent application, chemical regeneration of the used adsorbents was also investigated. Desorption or recovery of dye and regeneration of adsorbent (PAni/SD) was found to be quite possible and of high performance. Application of modified sawdust with polyaniline for the removal of azo dye is very promising for textile wastewater treatment.     

Contrasting effect of gold nanoparticles and nanorods with different surface modifications on the structure and activity of bovine serum albumin

Nanoparticles exposed to biofluids become coated with proteins, thus making protein-nanoparticle interactions of particular interest. The consequence on protein conformation and activity depends upon the extent of protein adsorption on the nanoparticle surface. We report the interaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with gold nanostructures, particularly gold nanoparticles (GNP) and gold nanorods (GNR). The difference in the geometry and surface properties of nanoparticles is manifested during complexation in terms of different binding modes, structural changes, thermodynamic parameters, and the activity of proteins. BSA is found to retain native-like structure and properties upon enthalpy-driven BSA-GNP complexation. On the contrary, the entropically favored BSA-GNR complexation leads to substantial loss in protein secondary and tertiary structures with the release of a large amount of bound water, as indicated by isothermal calorimetry (ITC), circular dichroism (CD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopies. The esterase activity assay demonstrated a greater loss in BSA activity after complexation with GNR, whereas the original activity is retained in the presence of GNP. The formation of large assemblies (aggregates) and reduced average lifetime, as evidenced from dynamic light scattering and fluorescence decay measurements, respectively, suggest that GNR induces protein unfolding at its surface. The effect of temperature on the CD spectra of BSA-GNP was found to be similar to that of pristine BSA, whereas BSA-GNR shows distortion in CD spectra at lower wavelengths, strengthening the perception of protein unfolding. High binding constant and entropy change for BSA-GNR complexation determined by ITC are consistent with large surfacial interaction that may lead to protein unfolding. The present work highlights the differential response of a protein depending on the nature of the nanostructure and its surface chemistry, which need to be modulated for controlling the biological responses of nanostructures for their potential biomedical applications.     

Ceric ammonium nitrate-catalyzed azidation of 1,2-anhydro sugars: application in the synthesis of structurally diverse sugar-derived morpholine 1,2,3-triazoles and 1,4-oxazin-2-ones

Azidation of 1,2-anhydro sugars with NaN(3) in CH(3)CN by using a catalytic amount of ceric ammonium nitrate has been accomplished in a regio- and stereoselective manner. Various 1,2-anhydro sugars produced 2-hydroxy-1-azido sugars in good yields which, in turn, were converted to structurally diverse sugar-derived morpholine triazoles and sugar oxazin-2-ones. These sugar derivatives were tested against various commercially available glycosidases, and two of them were found to be active in the micromolar range.     

Some iterative methods for finding fixed points and for solving constrained convex minimization problems

The present paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, we introduce implicit and explicit iterative schemes for finding the fixed point of a nonexpansive mapping defined on the closed convex subset of a real Hilbert space. We establish results on the strong convergence of the sequences generated by the proposed schemes to a fixed point of a nonexpansive mapping. Such a fixed point is also a solution of a variational inequality defined on the set of fixed points. In the second part, we propose implicit and explicit iterative schemes for finding the approximate minimizer of a constrained convex minimization problem and prove that the sequences generated by our schemes converge strongly to a solution of the constrained convex minimization problem. Such a solution is also a solution of a variational inequality defined over the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive mapping. The results of this paper extend and improve several results presented in the literature in the recent past.     

Mapping Polyamide–DNA Interactions in Human Cells Reveals a New Design Strategy for Effective Targeting of Genomic Sites

Targeting the genome with sequence‐specific synthetic molecules is a major goal at the interface of chemistry, biology, and personalized medicine. Pyrrole/imidazole‐based polyamides can be rationally designed to target specific DNA sequences with exquisite precision in vitro; yet, the biological outcomes are often difficult to interpret using current models of binding energetics. To directly identify the binding sites of polyamides across the genome, we designed, synthesized, and tested polyamide derivatives that enabled covalent crosslinking and localization of polyamide–DNA interaction sites in live human cells. Bioinformatic analysis of the data reveals that clustered binding sites, spanning a broad range of affinities, best predict occupancy in cells. In contrast to the prevailing paradigm of targeting single high‐affinity sites, our results point to a new design principle to deploy polyamides and perhaps other synthetic molecules to effectively target desired genomic sites in vivo.     

Measurement of lens protein aggregation in vivo using dynamic light scattering in a guinea pig/UVA model for nuclear cataract

The role of UVA radiation in the formation of human nuclear cataract is not well understood. We have previously shown that exposing guinea pigs for 5 months to a chronic low level of UVA light produces increased lens nuclear light scattering and elevated levels of protein disulfide. Here we have used the technique of dynamic light scattering (DLS) to investigate lens protein aggregation in vivo in the guinea pig/UVA model. DLS size distribution analysis conducted at the same location in the lens nucleus of control and UVA-irradiated animals showed a 28% reduction in intensity of small diameter proteins in experimental lenses compared with controls (P < 0.05). In addition, large diameter proteins in UVA-exposed lens nuclei increased five-fold in intensity compared to controls (P < 0.05). The UVA-induced increase in apparent size of lens nuclear small diameter proteins was three-fold (P < 0.01), and the size of large diameter aggregates was more than four-fold in experimental lenses compared with controls. The diameter of crystallin aggregates in the UVA-irradiated lens nucleus was estimated to be 350 nm, a size able to scatter light. No significant changes in protein size were detected in the anterior cortex of UVA-irradiated lenses. It is presumed that the presence of a UVA chromophore in the guinea pig lens (NADPH bound to zeta crystallin), as well as traces of oxygen, contributed to UVA-induced crystallin aggregation. The results indicate a potentially harmful role for UVA light in the lens nucleus. A similar process of UVA-irradiated protein aggregation may take place in the older human lens nucleus, accelerating the formation of human nuclear cataract.