D.C. resistivity of indium doped Mn-Zn ferrites

The d.c. resistivity of indium doped Mn-Zn polycrystalline ferrites has been investigated as a function of composition, temperature, applied voltage and duration of the applied field. The results are compared with earlier works and discussed in light of the present understanding.     

Mössbauer studies in β-AgI single crystals

The Mössbauer effect has been used to study the valence state and the impurity-vacancy dipole formation in single crystal of Co⁵⁷:β-AgI.     

Automated Antibody De Novo Sequencing and Its Utility in Biopharmaceutical Discovery

Applications of antibody de novo sequencing in the biopharmaceutical industry range from the discovery of new antibody drug candidates to identifying reagents for research and determining the primary structure of innovator products for biosimilar development. When murine, phage display, or patient-derived monoclonal antibodies against a target of interest are available, but the cDNA or the original cell line is not, de novo protein sequencing is required to humanize and recombinantly express these antibodies, followed by in vitro and in vivo testing for functional validation. Availability of fully automated software tools for monoclonal antibody de novo sequencing enables efficient and routine analysis. Here, we present a novel method to automatically de novo sequence antibodies using mass spectrometry and the Supernovo software. The robustness of the algorithm is demonstrated through a series of stress tests.

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Recent advances in continuous flow synthesis of heterocycles

In the current scenario, flow chemistry is emerging as a significant technology in the field of organic synthesis. This miniaturized protocol including microreactors facilitates excellent heat transfer, low solvent wastage, lesser reaction time, a safer environment for reagent handling and appreciable yields of desired products. Thus, this “enabling technology” has a great scope in the synthesis and preparation of a variety of heterocycles that require toxic reagents as starting materials. This review discusses the recent advances (2020–2021) in continuous flow strategy for synthesis and derivatization of variety of heterocyclic entities, of different ring size, using different approaches. This also highlights the advantages of different combined techniques like Microwave assisted heating, electrochemical flow cell, LED light source, NMR and FT-IR analysis, etc., that enables utilization of various mechanisms and real-time monitoring of reactions leading to improved results.

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Validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method for determination of trigonelline in herbal extract and pharmaceutical dosage form

A new, simple, sensitive, selective, precise and robust high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for analysis of trigonelline was developed and validated for the determination of trigonelline in herbal extracts and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. Analysis of trigonelline was performed on TLC aluminium plates pre-coated with silica gel 60F-254 as the stationary phase. Linear ascending development was carried out in twin trough glass chamber saturated with mobile phase consisting of n-propanol-methanol-water (4:1:4, v/v/v) at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C). Camag TLC scanner III was used for spectrodensitometric scanning and analysis in absorbance mode at 269 nm. The system was found to give compact spots for trigonelline (R_f value of 0.46 ± 0.02). The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plots showed good linear relationship with r² = 0.9991 ± 0.0002 in the concentration range 100-1200 ng spot⁻¹ with respect to peak area. According to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines the method was validated for precision, recovery, robustness and ruggedness. The limits of detection and quantification were determined. The trigonelline content of herbal extracts quantified and estimated from the formulation was found to be well within limits (±5% of the labeled content of the formulations). Statistical analysis of the data showed that the method is reproducible and selective for the estimation of trigonelline.     

Role of curing conditions and silanization of glass fibers on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced glass fiber epoxy composites

Curing behavior of amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes (ACNT) used as reinforcing agent in epoxy resin has been examined by thermal analysis. Experiments performed as per supplier’s curing conditions showed that modification of the curing schedule influences the thermo-mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Specifically, the glass transition temperature (T_g) of ACNT-reinforced composites increased likely due to the immobility of polymer molecules, held strongly by amino carbon nanotubes. Further, a set of composites were prepared by implementing the experimentally determined optimal curing schedule to examine its effect on the mechanical properties of different GFRP compositions, while focusing primarily on reinforced ACNT and pristine nanotube (PCNT) matrix with silane-treated glass fibers. From the silane treatment of glass fibers in ACNT matrix composition it has been observed that amino silane is much better amongst all the mechanical (tensile and flexural) properties studied. This is because of strong interface between amino silane-treated glass fibers and modified epoxy resin containing uniformly dispersed amino-CNTs. On the other hand, PCNT GFRP composites with epoxy silanes demonstrated enhanced results for the mechanical properties under investigation which may be attributed to the presence of strong covalent bonding between epoxy silane of glass fiber and epoxy–amine matrix.     

Bacterial cell leakage potential of newly synthesized quinazoline derivatives of 1,5-benzodiazepines analogue

Novel quinazoline embellished analogues of 1,5-benzodiazepine ( 6, 9, 13, 17, 21 and 24 ) were synthesized using one-pot domino approach. Structure of the compounds synthesized, were established with the help of IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectral data. Further, antibacterial activity, FE-SEM imaging and cell leakage study was also performed.     

Structural distortion and phase transition studies of Aurivillius type Sr1−xPbxBi2Nb2O9 ferroelectric ceramics

In this paper, effects of lead doping on the lattice response and phase transitions of Sr_1−xPb_xBi₂Nb₂O₉ (x=0.0-0.5 in steps of 0.1) ferroelectric ceramics are reported. It is observed that structure attains more tetragonality with doping of lead up to 40%. Increased orthorhombic distortion is observed for undoped SBN and 50 at.% lead substituted SBN. Phase transitions for all samples were studied using Curie temperature measurements and are explained in terms of lattice response of these ceramics. Sample with x=0.5 shows decreased tetragonal strain and Curie temperature. Relationship of polarization with lattice response is discussed.     

Structural, dielectric and pyroelectric studies of Pb1−XCaXTiO3 thin films

Thin films of Pb_1−xCa_xTiO₃ [x=0.20, 0.24 and 0.28] have been prepared on ITO coated Corning glass substrates by sol gel technique. The perovskite phase of PCT films is formed at 650 °C with a polycrystalline tetragonal structure. The tetragonal factor (c/a) decreases with increasing Ca concentration. Dielectric, pyroelectric and ferroelectric studies have been carried out on these films. The effects of introduction of Ca ion in PbTiO₃ have also been discussed.     

Analysis of a Queueing Model with Batch Markovian Arrival Process and General Distribution for Group Clearance

In this paper we consider a single server queueing model with under general bulk service rule with infinite upper bound on the batch size which we call group clearance. The arrivals occur according to a batch Markovian point process and the services are generally distributed. The customers arriving after the service initiation cannot enter the ongoing service. The service time is independent on the batch size. First, we employ the classical embedded Markov renewal process approach to study the model. Secondly, under the assumption that the services are of phase type, we study the model as a continuous-time Markov chain whose generator has a very special structure. Using matrix-analytic methods we study the model in steady-state and discuss some special cases of the model as well as representative numerical examples covering a wide range of service time distributions such as constant, uniform, Weibull, and phase type.