Lipid-Based Nanoparticle Formulation of Diallyl Trisulfide Chemosensitizes the Growth Inhibitory Activity of Doxorubicin in Colorectal Cancer Model: A Novel In Vitro,In Vivo and In Silico Analysis

Garlic’s main bioactive organosulfur component, diallyl trisulfide (DATS), has been widely investigated in cancer models. However, DATS is not suitable for clinical use due to its low solubility. The current study seeks to improve DATS bioavailability and assess its chemopreventive and chemosensitizing properties in an AOM-induced colorectal cancer model. The polyethylene glycol coated Distearoylphosphatidylcholine/Cholesterol (DSPC/Chol) comprising DATS-loaded DATSL and doxorubicin (DOXO)-encapsulated DOXL liposomes was prepared and characterized. The changes in the sensitivity of DATS and DOXO by DATSL and DOXL were evaluated in RKO and HT-29 colon cancer cells. The synergistic effect of DATSL and DOXL was studied by cell proliferation assay in the combinations of IC₁₀, IC₂₅, and IC₃₅ of DATSL with the IC₁₀ of DOXL. AOM, DATSL, and DOXL were administered to different groups of mice for a period of 21 weeks. The data exhibited ~93% and ~46% entrapment efficiency of DATSL and DOXL, respectively. The size of sham liposomes was 110.5 nm, whereas DATSL and DOXL were 135.5 nm and 169 nm, respectively. DATSL and DOXL exhibited significant sensitivity in the cell proliferation experiment, lowering their IC₅₀ doses by more than 8- and 14-fold, respectively. However, the DATSL IC₁₀, IC₂₅, and IC₃₅ showed escalating chemosensitivity, and treated the cells in combination with DOXL IC₁₀. Analysis of histopathological, cancer marker enzymes, and antioxidant enzymes revealed that the high dose of DATSL pretreatment and DOXL chemotherapy is highly effective in inhibiting AOM-induced colon cancer promotion. The combination of DATSL and DOXL indicated promise as a colorectal cancer treatment in this study. Intermolecular interactions of DATS and DOXO against numerous cancer targets by molecular docking indicated MMP-9 as the most favourable target for DATS exhibiting binding energy of −4.6 kcal/mol. So far, this is the first research to demonstrate the chemopreventive as well as chemosensitizing potential of DATSL in an animal model of colorectal cancer.     

Enhanced Entanglement and Controlling Quantum Steering in a Laguerre–Gaussian Cavity Optomechanical System with Two Rotating Mirrors

Gaussian quantum steering is a type of quantum correlation in which two entangled states exhibit asymmetry. An efficient theoretical proposal is presented for the control of quantum steering and enhancement of entanglement in a Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) cavity optomechanical system. The system contains two rotating mirrors and a coherently driven optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The numerical results show significantly improved mirror-mirror and mirror-cavity entanglements by controlling the system parameters such as parametric gain, parametric phase, and the frequency of the two rotating mirrors. In addition to bipartite entanglement, our system also exhibits mirror-cavity-mirror tripartite entanglement as well. Another intriguing finding is the control of quantum steering, for which several results were obtained by investigating it for various system parameters. It is shown that the steering directivity is primarily determined by the frequency of two rotating mirrors. Furthermore, for two rotating mirrors, quantum steering is found to be asymmetric both one-way and two-way. Therefore, it can be asserted that the current proposal may help in the understanding of non-local correlations and entanglement verification tasks.     

Molecularly imprinted polymer Based PVC-Membrane-Coated graphite electrode for the determination of metoprolol

A PVC-based membrane containing metoprolol molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) coated directly on graphite electrode for the determination of metoprolol in real samples is reported. This potentiometric sensor was designed by dispersing the MIP particles in dioctylphthalate plasticizer as solvent mediator and then embedded in polyvinyl chloride matrix. The electrode exhibited a near-Nernstian slope of 55.4 ± 1 mV decade^-1 for metoprolol over a wide concentration range between 2.0 × 10^-7-8.0 × 10^-3 M and a detection limit of 1.3 × 10^-7 M. With a response time of about 14 s it could be used for at least 6 months without any divergence in potential. The proposed electrode can be used in the pH range of 3.5-10.5 and can reveal good selectivities for metoprolol over a wide variety of ions. Finally, the designed sensor was successfully applied as an indicator electrode to determine the concentration of metoprolol in tablets, human urine and plasma. The results were compared favorably with those obtained by HPLC method and showed satisfactory agreements with them.     

Solid-Phase Extraction of Metoprolol onto(Methacrylic acid-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate)-based Molecularly Imprinted Polymer and Its Spectrophotometric Determination

A new adsorbent for molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) of metoprolol was synthesized using methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross‐linking agent causing a non‐covalent, bulk, thermal radical‐polymerization. Control polymer (non‐imprinted polymer) was prepared under well defined conditions without the use of metoprolol. The synthesized polymers were characterized by IR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction and thermal analysis techniques. This polymer was used for the rapid extraction and preconcentration of metoprolol from real samples prior to spectrophotometric determination. Extraction efficiency and the influence of flow rates of sample and stripping solutions, pH, type of eluent for elution of metoprolol from polymer, break through volume and limit of detection were studied. The detection limit of the proposed method is 0.4 ng·mL^?1. The method was applied successfully to the recovery and determination of metoprolol in tablets, human urine and plasma samples.     

Nonlinear impulsive Langevin equation with mixed derivatives

In this paper, we consider a nonlocal boundary value problem of nonlinear impulsive Langevin equation with mixed derivatives. Some sufficient conditions are constructed to observe the existence, uniqueness, and generalized Ulam-Hyers-Rassias stability of our proposed model, with the help of Diaz-Margolis' fixed-point approach over generalized complete metric space. We give an example that supports our main result.     

Merging image databases as an example for information integration

Central European Journal of Operations Research - By integrating information we mean pulling information pieces from various sources together with as little loss of information and as little...     

Strangeness production in quark-gluon plasma

In this paper it is shown that the strangeness production in quark-gluon plasma might not serve as an experimental signature for the formation of quark-gluon plasma. Our results are completely based on the computer simulation of the plasma. We have taken into account the full three-dimensional hydrodynamic expansion of the plasma.     

Influence of the Synthesis pH on Sorption Behavior of Mesoporous MCM-41 for Toxic Metal Ions

Two samples of mesoporous MCM‐41 have been prepared in acidic and basic conditions with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template and characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction and N₂ adsorption‐desorption measurement to confirm the ordered mesoporous structure. Sorption of 21 toxic metal ions on these sorbents has been studied and discussed. The results show that distribution coefficient of Ba(II), Fe(III), Th(IV) on the synthesized MCM‐41 in basic condition and Cu(II), Pb(II), Zr(IV) on the synthesized MCM‐41 in acidic condition has been enhanced.     

Quantitative Ion-Exchange TLC of p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid in the Presence of Preservatives

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Rapid separation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid from methyl p-hydroxy-benzoate, ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate, propyl p-hydroxybenzoate,...