Evaluation of Co/SSZ-13 Zeolite Catalysts Prepared by Solid-Phase Reaction for NO-SCR by Methane

Co/SSZ-13 zeolites were prepared by heating the finely dispersed mixture of NH₄-SSZ-13 and different cobalt salts up to 550 °C. Investigations by thermogravimetry – differential scanning calorimetry – mass spectrometry provided new insight into details of the solid-state reaction. Formation of Co carrying hydrate melt or volatile species was shown to proceed from chloride, nitrate, or acetylacetonate Co precursor salts upon thermal treatment. This phase change allows the transport of the Co species into the zeolite pores. The reaction of the NH₄⁺ or H⁺ zeolite cations and the mobile Co precursors generates vapor or gas products, readily leaving the zeolite pores, and cobalt ions in lattice positions suggesting that solid-state ion-exchange is the prevailing process. The obtained catalysts are of good activity and N₂ selectivity in the CH₄/NO-SCR reaction. The thermal treatment of acetate or formate salts give solid intermediates that are unable to get in contact and react with the cations in the zeolite micropores. These catalysts contain mainly Co-oxide clusters located on the outer surface of the zeolite crystallites and have poor catalytic performance.     

Facile One-Pot Multicomponent Synthesis of Pyrazolo-Thiazole Substituted Pyridines with Potential Anti-Proliferative Activity: Synthesis,In Vitro and In Silico Studies

Pyrazolothiazole-substituted pyridine conjugates are an important class of heterocyclic compounds with an extensive variety of potential applications in the medicinal and pharmacological arenas. Therefore, herein, we describe an efficient and facile approach for the synthesis of novel pyrazolo-thiazolo-pyridine conjugate 4, via multicomponent condensation. The latter compound was utilized as a base for the synthesis of two series of 15 novel pyrazolothiazole-based pyridine conjugates (5–16). The newly synthesized compounds were fully characterized using several spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR and MS) and elemental analyses. The anti-proliferative impact of the new synthesized compounds 5–13 and 16 was in vitro appraised towards three human cancer cell lines: human cervix (HeLa), human lung (NCI-H460) and human prostate (PC-3). Our outcomes regarding the anti-proliferative activities disclosed that all the tested compounds exhibited cytotoxic potential towards all the tested cell lines with IC₅₀ = 17.50–61.05 µM, especially the naphthyridine derivative 7, which exhibited the most cytotoxic potential towards the tested cell lines (IC₅₀ = 14.62–17.50 µM) compared with the etoposide (IC50 = 13.34–17.15 µM). Moreover, an in silico docking simulation study was performed on the newly prepared compounds within topoisomerase II (3QX3), to suggest the binding mode of these compounds as anticancer candidates. The in silico docking results indicate that compound 7 was a promising lead anticancer compound which possesses high binding affinity toward topoisomerase II (3QX3) protein.     

Sorbic acid as friendly curing agent for enhanced properties of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber using gamma radiation

Sorbic acid (SA) is available in the market for low-cost and eco-friendly. It is known for using as a preservative. SA was used as a modifier together with gamma radiation to improve the properties of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM). The effect of SA concentration and gamma irradiation dose on the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of EPDM was investigated. The results indicated that the properties of EPDM rubber blended with SA were improved compared to untreated EPDM sample. The highest improvement was achieved by using SA concentrations of 10 phr (part per hundred part of rubber) a dose of 100 kGy of gamma irradiation. These findings were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).     

In Vivo Investigation of the Ameliorating Effect of Tempol against MIA-Induced Knee Osteoarthritis in Rats: Involvement of TGF-β1/SMAD3/NOX4 Cue

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease characterized by structural, functional, and metabolic deteriorations of the whole joint and periarticular tissues. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the possible effects of tempol on knee OA induced by the chemical chondrotoxic monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) which closely mimics both the pain and structural changes associated with human OA. Rats were administrated oral tempol (100 mg/kg) one week post-MIA injection (3 mg/50 μL saline) at the right knee joints for 21 consecutive days. Tempol improved motor performance and debilitated the MIA-related radiological and histological alterations. Moreover, it subsided the knee joint swelling. Tempol decreased the cartilage degradation-related biomarkers as matrix metalloproteinase-13, bone alkaline phosphatase (bone ALP), and fibulin-3. The superoxide dismutase mimetic effect of tempol was accompanied by decreased NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4), inflammatory mediators, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), over-released transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Tempol decreased the expression of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2). On the molecular level, tempol reduced the phosphorylated protein levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and small mother against decapentaplegic 3 homologs (SMAD3). These findings suggest the promising role of tempol in ameliorating MIA-induced knee OA in rats via collateral suppression of the catabolic signaling cascades including TGF-β1/SMAD3/NOX4, and NOX4/p38MAPK/NF-κB and therefore modulation of oxidative stress, catabolic inflammatory cascades, chondrocyte metabolic homeostasis.     

Two Green Micellar HPLC and Mathematically Assisted UV Spectroscopic Methods for the Simultaneous Determination of Molnupiravir and Favipiravir as a Novel Combined COVID-19 Antiviral Regimen

Following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, a race was initiated to find a successful regimen for postinfections. Among those trials, a recent study declared the efficacy of an antiviral combination of favipiravir (FAV) and molnupiravir (MLP). The combined regimen helped in a successful 60% eradication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the lungs of studied hamster models. Moreover, it prevented viral transmission to cohosted sentinels. Because both medications are orally bioavailable, the coformulation of FAV and MLP can be predicted. The developed study is aimed at developing new green and simple methods for the simultaneous determination of FAV and MLP and then at their application in the study of their dissolution behavior if coformulated together. A green micellar HPLC method was validated using an RP-C18 core-shell column (5 μm, 150 × 4.6 mm) and an isocratic mixed micellar mobile phase composed of 0.1 M SDS, 0.01 M Brij-35, and 0.02 M monobasic potassium phosphate mixture and adjusted to pH 3.1 at 1.0 mL min⁻¹ flow rate. The analytes were detected at 230 nm. The run time was less than five minutes under the optimized chromatographic conditions. Four other multivariate chemometric model methods were developed and validated, namely, classical least square (CLS), principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS-1), and genetic algorithm–partial least squares (GA–PLS-1). The developed models succeeded in resolving the great similarity and overlapping in the FAV and MLP UV spectra unlike the traditional univariate methods. All methods were organic solvent-free, did not require extraction or derivatization steps, and were applied for the construction of the simultaneous dissolution profile for FAV tablets and MLP capsules. The methods revealed that the amount of the simultaneously released cited drugs increases up until reaching a plateau after 15 and 20 min for FAV and MLP, respectively. The greenness was assessed on GAPI and found to be in harmony with green analytical chemistry concepts.     

The Mineral Composition of Date Palm Fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) under Low to High Salinity Irrigation

Adaptability to salinity varies between different varieties of date palm trees. This research aims to explore the long-term impact of different salinity irrigation levels on the mineral content of 13 date palm varieties grown in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Date varieties were grown using three irrigation water salinity levels of 5, 10 and 15 dS m⁻¹. The mineral composition (B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P and Zn) of date palm fruits was determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). High salinity levels showed no effect on the mineral content of Ajwat AlMadinah, Naghal, Barhi, Shagri, Abu Maan, Jabri, Sukkari and Rothan varieties. All date varieties remained good sources of dietary potassium, magnesium, manganese and boron even at high salinity levels. Increased salinity had no effect on the percent Daily Value (%DV) categories of most of the analyzed minerals. While no genotypes showed a general adaptation to different saline environments, Barhi, Ajwat Al Madinah, Khinizi, Maktoumi and Shagri varieties were more stable towards salinity variation. In the UAE, the genotype x saline-environment interaction was found to be high which makes it impossible to attribute the variation in mineral content to a single varietal or salinity effect.     

Evaluation of extraction methods for the simultaneous analysis of simple and macrocyclic trichothecenes

The article is concerned with the simultaneous determination of simple and macrocyclic trichothecenes using high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to UV and mass spectrometric (MS) detection. Emphasis is put on the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure from plant material such as wheat, comparing SPE cartridges packed with different stationary phases based on silica and polymer sorbents. In this coherence a polymeric material on the basis of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-divinylbenzene) (GMA-DVB) is developed with special regard on synthesis procedures to enhance the extraction recovery of trichothecenes in a broad polarity range. Evaluation of extraction techniques showed that the introduced material is competitive with commercially available high quality SPE materials. Percentage recovery is 82% for polar compounds, 89% for medium polar compounds and 98% for lipophilic compounds.     

The development of a catalytic synthesis of münchnones: a simple four-component coupling approach to alpha-amino acid derivatives

A new palladium-catalyzed route to prepare 1,3-oxazolium-5-oxides (i.e., Münchnones) directly from imine, carbon monoxide, and acid chloride building blocks has been developed. This provides a straightforward catalytic synthesis of Münchnones and is amenable to generating a diverse range of products by simple modification of the imine or acid chloride starting materials. Münchnones are vital synthetic intermediates to a variety of heterocyclic and peptide-based molecules. As such, this methodology has been utilized to design a new catalytic synthesis of alpha-amino acid derivatives via a one-pot coupling of imines, carbon monoxide, and acid chloride followed by alcohol. The latter represents the first reported catalytic synthesis of alpha-amino acids directly from imine and carbon monoxide building blocks.     

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis for biomarker discovery

The use of non-invasive methods for detecting biomarkers opens a new era in patient care, since clinical investigators have long been searching for accurate and reproducible measurements of putative biomarkers. There are many factors which make this research challenging, beginning with lack of standardization of sample collection and continuing through the entire analytical procedure. Among the variety of methods so far used for biomarker screening, capillary electrophoresis represents a robust, reliable, and widely used analytical tool. This review will focus on recent applications of CE to the analysis of body fluids and tissues for identification of biomarkers.