Electro-chromatography in the study of ions

Summary Change of concentration of electrolyte such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, ammonium chloride and potassium bromide has a marked effect on the direction of migration of Cd. A very cheap set incorporating a number of Durrum'S units suitable for separation of a large number of different types of mixtures of ions has been devised.     

Anti-Obesity Potential of Ponciri Fructus: Effects of Extracts,Fractions and Compounds on Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes

Background: Ponciri Fructus, a crude drug consisting of the dried immature fruits of Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf., is a popular folk medicine used for the treatment of allergy and gastrointestinal disorders in Korea and China. In this study, the anti-adipogenic activity of extracts and isolated compounds were evaluated using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Methods: Dried immature fruits were extracted and fractionated into n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol and water-soluble fractions. The ethanol extract and fractions were tested for anti-adipogenic activity in the 3T3-L1 cell line. The active fractions (n-hexane and EtOAc fractions) were further subjected to chromatographic techniques to isolate and identify active compounds. Furthermore, the isolated compounds were evaluated for their anti-adipogenic activity. Results: Altogether, seven compounds, including two flavonoids, one phytosteroid and four coumarin derivatives, were isolated. Ethanol extract, n-hexane fraction, EtOAc fraction and three isolated compounds (phellopterin, oxypeucedanin and poncirin) showed significant anti-adipogenic activity as observed by reduced lipid deposition in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Further, oxypeucedanin downregulated the key adipogenic markers, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors proteins γ (PPAR-γ), sterol response element binding proteins-1 (SREBP-1), CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins-α (C/EBP-α), adipocyte-specific lipid binding proteins (FABP-4), adipocyte fatty acid binding proteins (aP2), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and leptin. Conclusion: This study indicated that the ethanol extract, hexane fraction and ethyl acetate fraction of P. trifoliata fruits possess strong anti-adipogenic activity, containing the active compounds such as phellopterin, oxypeucedanin and poncirin. Further research is recommended to explore their efficacy and safety in animal and clinical models.     

Elastic constants of sodium chlorate from 77 K to 350 K

The elastic constantsC ₁₁,C ₁₂ andC ₄₄ of sodium chlorate single crystal have been evaluated using 10 MHz ultrasonic pulse echo superposition technique. The values areC ₁₁=4.90,C ₁₂=1.39,C ₄₄=1.17 (× 10¹⁰ N/m ²) at 298 K and 6.15, 2.16, 1.32 (×10¹⁰ N/m ²) at 77 K. The data agree well with the values measured earlier up to 223 K. Brief mention is also made of the low temperature bonding problems in these soft crystals.     

Retention of nisin activity at elevated pH in an organic acid complex and gold nanoparticle composite

Biocompatible organic acids and citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles were interacted with nisin to generate robust antimicrobial agents, which display archetypical nisin activity even at elevated pH.     

MXene-based composite electrodes for efficient electrochemical sensing of glucose by non-enzymatic method

A recently discovered 2D transition titanium metal carbides also called as MXenes (Ti₃C₂T_x)-based nanocomposite was prepared with Cu₂O through wet precipitation technique, and these materials were further developed as the electrode for sensing glucose by chronoamperometry technique. The prepared MXene-Cu₂O (Ti₃C₂T_x-Cu₂O) nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, FE-SEM, EDAX, and Raman spectroscopy. Morphological studies of the composites revealed that the micro-octahedral shape of Cu₂O is distributed on the surface of MXene with size larger than bare Cu₂O. Further, the prepared composite material was fabricated as a sensing probe, and the electrochemical activities were examined by cyclic voltammetric analysis (CV) and chronoamperometric (CA) methods. From the CV and CA investigation, the current response was higher for the composite than the bare material (Cu₂O & MXene) in the presence of glucose. The amperometric investigation of MXene-Cu₂O composite for the detection of glucose shows a broad linear range (0.01–30 mM) with a sensitivity of 11.061/μAmM cm^?2 and a detection limit of 2.83 μM. Further, the fabricated sensor exhibits good selectivity with interfering species like NaCl, fructose, sucrose, urea, ascorbic acid, lactose, short response time, stability, good reproducibility, and compatibility with human serum sample. From the investigation, the prepared MXene-Cu₂O composite is a good candidate for the direct detection of glucose molecules and is also well suitable for clinical diagnosis.     

Synthesis of highly fluorescent and water soluble perylene bisimide

Designed and synthesized a new highly water soluble N,N¹-bis（2-（（5-（（dimethylamino）methyl）furan-2-yl）methylthio）ethyl）-perylene -3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide from 2-（（5-（（dimethylamino）methyl）furan-2-yl）methylthio）ethanamine and perylene-3,4,9,10- tetracarboxylic dianhydride.The compound was characterized by ¹H,¹³C,2D NMR,mass and IR techniques.The compound is highly fluorescent with good solubility in water and other polar solvents.     

A short review on latest developments in catalytic depolymerization of Poly (ethylene terephathalate) wastes

Chemical recycling of plastic wastes is top among the effective management of the solid wastes. Particularly the post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic wastes mainly generated from the disposal of beverage bottles and placed third most produced polymeric waste. However, PET wastes could be chemically recycled using several types of homo-/heterogeneous acid or base catalysts, and an effective recycling process has yet to be achieved. Therefore, the present short review is intended to display recent reports on the depolymerization of PET polymer wastes. The review aimed to cover glycolysis and aminolytic depolymerization using various catalytic systems. There is a wide spectrum of catalytic systems such as metal oxides, ionic liquids, organic bases, nanoparticles, porous materials and microwave-assisted rapid depolymerization methods have been developed toward the yield enhancement of the depolymerized products. Ideologically, the present review would benefit the researchers in familiarizing themselves with the latest developments in this field.     

Role of Solvent in Electron-Phonon Relaxation Dynamics in Core-Shell Au−SiO2 Nanoparticles

Relaxation dynamics of plasmons in Au−SiO₂ core-shell nanoparticles have been followed by femtosecond pump-probe technique. The effect of excitation pump energy and surrounding medium on the time constants associated with the hot electron relaxation has been elucidated. A gradual increase in the electron-phonon relaxation time with pump energy is observed and can be attributed to the higher perturbation of the electron distribution in AuNPs at higher pump energy. Variation in time constants for the electron-phonon relaxation in different solvents is rationalized on the basis of their thermal conductivities, which govern the rate of dissipation of heat of photoexcited electrons in the nanoparticles. On the other hand, phonon-phonon relaxation is found to be much less effective than electron-phonon relaxation for the dissipation of energy of the excited electron and the time constants associated with it remain unaffected by thermal conductivity of the solvent.     

Expression ofAscaris suum malic enzyme in a mutantEscherichia coli allows production of succinic acid from glucose

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The malic enzyme gene ofAscaris suum was cloned into the vector pTRC99a in two forms encoding alternative arnino-termini. The resulting plasmids, pMEAl and...