Comparison of chemical composition and free radical scavenging ability of glycosidically bound and free volatiles from Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ. var. leucodermis)

The results obtained show that Bosnian pine is rich in glycosidically bound volatile compounds with strong free radical scavenging properties. Since volatiles can be released from nonvolatile glycoside precursors, these compounds can be considered as a hidden potential source of antioxidant substances and may contribute to the total free radical scavenging ability of Bosnian pine.     

Chromatographic Resolution,Circular Dichroism Spectra,Absolute Configurations,and Crystal Structures of Bridged Biphenyls,Containing Sulfide,Sulfoxide, and Sulfone Groups in the Bridge

Four chiral 1,1′‐biphenyls with one or two sulfur‐containing bridges in 2,2′‐ or 2,2′‐ and 6,6′‐positions, viz. 1,11‐dimethyl‐5,7‐dihydrodibenzo[c,e]thiepin ( 1 ), its S‐oxide ( 2 ) and S,S‐dioxide ( 3 ), and the doubly bridged 10,12‐dihydro‐4H,6H‐[2]benzothiepino[6,5,4‐def][2]benzothiepin ( 4 ) have been studied by chromatography, CD spectroscopy, X‐ray crystallography, and empirical force‐field and CNDO/S calculations. The structures obtained by force‐field calculations showed good agreement with the crystal structures determined for 2 and 3 . Compounds 2 , 3 , and 4 , but not 1 , could be resolved into enantiomers by chromatography on swollen microcrystalline triacetylcellulose. The barrier for biphenyl inversion in 2 was found to be higher than 167 kJ⋅mol⁻¹ by an attempted thermal racemization. The CD spectra of the enantiomers of 2 – 4 were recorded and resolved into individual bands, and the corresponding rotational strengths were calculated. The transitions showed considerable similarity to those of a 1,1′‐biphenyl with hydrocarbon bridge (cf. 5 ), albeit with bathochromic shifts, which permitted the assignment of the absolute configurations of the enantiomers of 2 – 4 . The assignments were supported by comparison of the experimental CD spectra with spectra calculated by the CNDO/S method. All first‐eluted enantiomers were found to have the (S)‐configuration.     

Comparison of connective tissue invaded by Lewis lung carcinoma to healthy connective tissue by means of micro‐Raman spectroscopy

We have measured the micro‐Raman spectra of mouse tissues invaded by Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC). We have also carried out categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) on the acquired spectra. The results indicate that the tumor tissues can be well discriminated from normal tissues by the first two principal components extracted from the spectra. Furthermore, we have found that the concentrations of nucleic acids and lipids/fatty acids in the tumor are considerably higher than those in the normal tissue, whereas the collagen concentration is lower. These differences can be detected and characterized by Raman images using the 788 cm⁻¹ DNA/RNA band and the 1301 cm⁻¹ lipid/fatty acid band. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monotone numerical schemes for a Dirichlet problem for elliptic operators in divergence form

We consider a second‐order differential operator A( x )=?∑?_ia_ij( x )?_j+ ∑?_j(b_j( x )·)+c( x ) on ?^d, on a bounded domain D with Dirichlet boundary conditions on ?D, under mild assumptions on the coefficients of the diffusion tensor a_ij. The object is to construct monotone numerical schemes to approximate the solution of the problem A( x )u( x )=µ( x ), x ∈D, where µ is a positive Radon measure. We start by briefly mentioning questions of existence and uniqueness introducing function spaces needed to prove convergence results. Then, we define non‐standard stencils on grid‐knots that lead to extended discretization schemes by matrices possessing compartmental structure. We proceed to discretization of elliptic operators, starting with constant diffusion tensor and ending with operators in divergence form. Finally, we discuss W‐convergence in detail, and mention convergence in C and L₁ spaces. We conclude by a numerical example illustrating the schemes and convergence results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of [2‐aryl‐6‐oxo‐6H‐chromeno[6,7‐d]oxazol‐8‐yl]‐acetic acid ethyl esters

A number of coumarino[6,7‐d]oxazoles (nitrogen analogs of psoralens) have been synthesized from (7‐hydroxy‐2‐oxo‐2H‐chromen‐4‐yl) acetic acid ethyl ester 1 . The synthetic route began with the nitration of 1 with nitric acid in acetic acid to give (6‐nitro‐7‐hydroxy‐2‐oxo‐2H‐chromen‐4‐yl) acetic acid ethyl ester 2 ; (3,6‐dinitro‐7‐hydroxy‐2‐oxo‐2H‐chromen‐4‐yl) acetic acid ethyl ester 3 and (3,6,8‐trinitro‐7‐hydroxy‐2‐oxo‐2H‐chromen‐4‐yl) acetic acid ethyl ester 4 . The reduction of 2 was accomplished with tin(II) chloride, tin, and concentrated hydrochloric acid in ethanol giving (6‐amino‐7‐hydroxy‐2‐oxo‐2H‐chromen‐4‐yl) acetic acid ethyl ester 5 . After the condensation of aminocoumarin 5 with aromatic aldehyde in glacial acetic acid medium, followed the dehydrocyclization to coumarino[6,7‐d]oxazoles 7a‐k . The intermediate Schiff's bases 6a‐k have been obtained from 5 with aromatic aldehyde in ethanol. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of the compounds have been evaluated.     

Room‐temperature terahertz emission from ZnSe‐based quantum cascade structures: A simulation study

We identified conditions for room‐temperature operation of terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) where variable barrier heights are used on ZnSe/Zn_1–xMg_x Se material systems. The THz QCL devices are based on three‐level two‐well design schemes. The THz QCL lasers with alternating quantum barriers with different heights were compared with THz QCL laser structures with fixed quantum barrier heights. It is found that the THz QCL device with novel design employing variable barrier heights achieved the terahertz emission of about 1.45 THz at room‐temperature (300 K), and has improved laser performance due to the suppression of thermally activated carrier leakage via higher‐energy parasitic levels. Thus, THz QCL devices employing the design with variable barrier heights may lead to future improvements of the operating temperature and performance of THz QCL lasers. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Lepidium graminifolium L.: Glucosinolate Profile and Antiproliferative Potential of Volatile Isolates

Glucosinolates (GSLs) from Lepidium graminifolium L. were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by their desulfo-counterparts using UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS technique and by their volatile breakdown products-isothiocyanates (ITCs) using GC-MS analysis. Thirteen GSLs were identified with arylaliphatic as the major ones in the following order: 3-hydroxybenzyl GSL (glucolepigramin, 7), benzyl GSL (glucotropaeolin, 9), 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl GSL (11), 3-methoxybenzyl GSL (glucolimnanthin, 12), 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzyl GSL (3,5-dimethoxysinalbin, 8), 4-hydroxybenzyl GSL (glucosinalbin, 6), 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl GSL (10) and 2-phenylethyl GSL (gluconasturtiin, 13). GSL breakdown products obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and CH₂Cl₂ extraction after hydrolysis by myrosinase for 24 h (EXT) as well as benzyl ITC were tested for their cytotoxic activity using MTT assay. Generally, EXT showed noticeable antiproliferative activity against human bladder cancer cell line UM-UC-3 and human glioblastoma cell line LN229, and can be considered as moderately active, while IC₅₀ of benzyl ITC was 12.3 μg/mL, which can be considered as highly active.     

Screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibition and antioxidant activity of selected plants from Croatia

The methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of selected Croatian plants were tested for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and antioxidant activity. Assessment of AChE inhibition was carried out using microplate reader at 1?mg?mL?1. Antioxidant capacities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test and ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP). Total phenol content (TPC) of extracts were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Out of 48 extracts, only methanolic extract of the Salix alba L. cortex exerted modest activity towards AChE, reaching 50.80% inhibition at concentration of 1?mg?mL?1. All the other samples tested had activity below 20%. The same extract performed the best antioxidative activity using DPPH and FRAP method, too. In essence, among all extracts used in the screening, methanolic extracts showed the best antioxidative activity as well as highest TPC.     

Novel coumarin derivatives containing 1,2,4-triazole, 4,5-dicyanoimidazole and purine moieties: synthesis and evaluation of their cytostatic activity

We report here on the synthesis and in vitro anti-tumor effects of a series of novel 1,2,4-triazole (compounds 3-6), 4,5-dicyanoimidazole (compound 7), and purine (compounds 8-13) coumarin derivatives and their acyclic nucleoside analogues 14-18. Structures of novel compounds 3-18 were deduced from their ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR and corresponding mass spectra. Results of anti-proliferative assays performed on a panel of selected human tumor cell lines revealed that compound 6 had moderate cytostatic activity against the HeLa cell line (IC₅₀ = 35 μM), whereas compound 10 showed moderate activity against the HeLa (IC₅₀ = 33 μM), HepG2 (IC₅₀ = 25 μM) and SW620 (IC₅₀ = 35 μM) cell lines. These compounds showed no cytotoxic effects on normal (diploid) human fibroblasts.     

Antitumor efficacy of photodynamic therapy using novel nanoformulations of hypocrellin photosensitizer SL052

Recent preclinical and clinical testing of hypocrellin-based photosensitizer SL052 for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer has shown encouraging results. Further optimization of its formulation for delivery could considerably extend the therapeutic efficiency of this drug. A nanoformulation encapsulating SL052 into biodegradable polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was developed using a single-emulsion solvent evaporation technique and characterized in terms of particle size and loading of the photosensitizing agent. This nanoformulation, SL052-PLGA-nanoparticles (NPs), was compared with recently created nanoformulation based on polyvinylpyrrolidone (SL052-PVP-NPs) and standard liposomal SL052 preparation in terms of efficacy when used for PDT treatment of squamous cell carcinomas SCCVII growing subcutaneously in syngeneic mice. The therapeutic effect of PDT using these three different SL052 formulations was tested for both 1 and 4 h intervals between drug injection and tumor light exposure. The longer time interval produced higher tumor cure rates with all SL052 preparations. With both drug-light intervals, PDT based on SL052-PLGA-NPs produced superior therapeutic benefit compared with the other two SL052 formulations.