Effect of Cationic Lipid Nanoparticle Loaded siRNA with Stearylamine against Chikungunya Virus

Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus (CHIKV). It was reported that NS1 and E2 siRNAs administration demonstrated CHIKV inhibition in in vitro as well as in vivo systems. Cationic lipids are promising for designing safe non-viral vectors and are beneficial in treating chikungunya. In this study, nanodelivery systems (hybrid polymeric/solid lipid nanoparticles) using cationic lipids (stearylamine, C9 lipid, and dioctadecylamine) and polymers (branched PEI-g-PEG -PEG) were prepared, characterized, and complexed with siRNA. The four developed delivery systems (F1, F2, F3, and F4) were assessed for stability and potential toxicities against CHIKV. In comparison to the other nanodelivery systems, F4 containing stearylamine (Octadecylamine; ODA), with an induced optimum cationic charge of 45.7 mV in the range of 152.1 nm, allowed maximum siRNA complexation, better stability, and higher transfection, with strong inhibition against the E2 and NS1 genes of CHIKV. The study concludes that cationic lipid-like ODA with ease of synthesis and characterization showed maximum complexation by structural condensation of siRNA owing to high transfection alone. Synergistic inhibition of CHIKV along with siRNA was demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models. Therefore, ODA-based cationic lipid nanoparticles can be explored as safe, potent, and efficient nonviral vectors overcoming siRNA in vivo complexities against chikungunya.     

Quality Related Safety Evaluation of a South African Traditional Formulation (PHELA®) as Novel Anti-Biofilm Candidate

A South African traditional formulation, PHELA^®, is consumed by the traditional people for severe chest problems with coughing, diarrhea, oral ulcers etc. The present study focused on establishing the anti-infective properties of a safe and standardized poly-herbal formulation through a series of criteria and specifications.     

Palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage and stereoselective alkenylation between cyclopropanol and 1,3-diyne: one-step synthesis of diverse conjugated enynes

The stereoselective synthesis of 1,3-enynes from 1,3-diynes is demonstrated by palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage of cyclopropanol. Exclusive formation of mono-alkenylated adducts was achieved by eliminating the possibility of di-functionalization with high stereoselectivity. Indeed, this protocol worked very well with electronically and sterically diverse substrates. Several studies, including deuterium labeling experiments and intermolecular competitive experiments, were carried out to understand the mechanistic details. The atomic-level mechanism followed in the catalytic process was also validated using DFT calculations, and the rate-controlling states in the catalytic cycle were identified. Furthermore, preliminary mechanistic investigations with radical scavengers revealed the non-involvement of the radical pathway in this transformation.

Palladium-catalyzed tandem activation and functionalization of readily accessible cyclopropanols have been demonstrated to access valuable conjugated enynes from 1,3-diynes with high stereo-selectivity.     

Surface Interaction of Ionic Liquids: Stabilization of Polyethylene Terephthalate-Degrading Enzymes in Solution

The effect of aqueous solutions of selected ionic liquids solutions on Ideonella sakaiensis PETase with bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) substrate were studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations in order to identify the possible effect of ionic liquids on the structure and dynamics of enzymatic Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hydrolysis. The use of specific ionic liquids can potentially enhance the enzymatic hydrolyses of PET where these ionic liquids are known to partially dissolve PET. The aqueous solution of cholinium phosphate were found to have the smallest effect of the structure of PETase, and its interaction with (BHET) as substrate was comparable to that with the pure water. Thus, the cholinium phosphate was identified as possible candidate as ionic liquid co-solvent to study the enzymatic hydrolyses of PET.     

Thermal cycling,DLTS, and PEC studies on LEC gallium arsenide

This paper discusses the growth of gallium arsenide single crystals using the LEC technique. The Semi-insulating gallium arsenide was studied. The defect investigations were made by DLTS and etching studies. The variation of deep level concentration along the wafer was estimated using DLTS. The fabrication and efficiency of the PEC Solar cells are also reported.     

Effect of Electric Field on Dielectric Properties of SnO2 Sb2O3 and their Mixed Thin Films

Thin films of various thicknesses in the MIM structure have been prepared from the the powders of SnO₂, Sb₂O₃ and (SnO₂ + Sb₂O₃) of high purity by the thermal evaporation technique in a vacuum of 10⁻⁵ Torr. Dielectric properties of SnO₂, Sb₂O₃, and their mixed thin films have been studied with ac and dc electric fields and frequency. Capacitance and loss tangent are almost independent on dc voltage upto 1.0 V for SnO₂, 10.0 V for Sb₂O₃ and 2.5 V for mixed films. These capacitors become unstable at 1.0 V for SnO₂ films and 2.5 V for mixed films. For higher film thicknesses the decay in these films starts at higher voltages. Capacitance and loss tangent increases with applied ac voltage in SnO₂, Sb₂O₃, and their mixed films. A comparison of the capacitance values of SnO₂, Sb₂O₃, and their mixed films showed that the capacitance values are less in Sb₂O₃ as compared to SnO₂ films. In mixed films the capacitance is greater than the constituent films. These studies have shown that Sb₂O₃ films are found to be more stable compared to SnO₂ and their mixed films for ac and dc voltages. The results thus obtained on SnO₂, Sb₂O₃, and their films are presented and discussed.     

Facile synthesis of an ambient stable pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion: from serendipity to design

The stability of singly or multiply negatively charged π-conjugated organic compounds is greatly influenced by their electronic delocalization. Herein, we report a strategic methodology for isolation of a mysterious compound. The isolated compounds, a pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion, were highly stable under ambient conditions due to high delocalization of the negative charge over multiple electron deficient C N groups and pyrene π-scaffolds and allowed purification by column chromatography. To our knowledge, this is the first report on TCNE type reductive condensation of malononitrile involving pyrene di- and tetraone and formation of pyrenopyrrole. All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. A UV-vis spectroscopic study shows an intense low energy absorption band with a large absorption coefficient (ε).

An ambient stable pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion have been isolated and characterized, showing a low energy intense absorption band with the absorption coefficient reaching 7.1 × 10⁴ dm³ mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹.     

Synthesis and aggregational behavior of acidic proteinoid

Polypeptide-based acidic proteinoid containing L -glutamic acid and L -aspartic acid in excess and five other neutral and basic amino acids in minor proportions have been synthesized and found that it forms organized aggregates in an aqueous solution. The proteinoid aggregate has been characterized using ¹³C-NMR, IR, and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. The c.m.c. of the proteinoid has been determined by conductometric and pH metric methods. The aggregation studies were carried out at different temperatures and varying ionic strengths of the medium. The phase transition of the proteinoid aggregate has been determined using the fluorescence absorbance method. The aggregation behavior is shown to be dependent on the pH of the solution. This was also supported by conductivity measurements. Using methylene blue as a model drug, the drug delivery property of the proteinoid micelles were studied in acidic (pH 4.5) and neutral (pH 7.4) mediums. Using biphasic model thermochemical parameters, ΔG, ΔH, ΔS, and ΔC_p have been evaluated. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Design and synthesis of interpenetrating polymer networks for second-order nonlinear optics

There has been a tremendous recent interest in the development of second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) polymeric materials for photonic applications. However, a major drawback of second-order NLO polymers that prevents them from being used in device applications is the instability of their electric field induced dipolar alignment. The randomization of the dipole orientation leads to the decay of second-order optical nonlinearities. Numerous efforts have been made to increase the stability of the second-order NLO properties of polymers. The search for new approaches to develop NLO polymers with optimal properties has been an active research area since the past decade. A novel approach, combining the hybrid properties of high glass transition temperatures, extensively extensively crosslinked networks and permanent entanglements, based on interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) is introduced to develop stable second-order NLO materials. Two types of IPN systems are prepared and their properties are investigated. The designing criteria and the rationale for the selection of polymers are discussed. The IPN samples show excellent temporal stability at elevated temperatures. Long-term stability of the optical nonlinearity at 100°C has been observed in these materials. Temporal stability of the NLO properties of these IPNs is synergistically enhanced. Relaxation behavior of the optical nonlinearity of an IPN system has been studied and compared with that of a typical guest/host system. The improved temporal stability of the second-order NLO properties of this IPN system is a result of the combination of the high rigidity of the polymer backbones, crosslinked matrices and permanent entanglements of the polymer networks. A slight modification of the chemical structure resulted in an improvement of the optical quality of the sample.