Surface modification for stability of nano-sized silica colloids

The surfaces of commercial 30-nm colloidal silica particles were modified by reacting with functional silanes. The high specific surface area and reactivity of the particles due to the small size make the process susceptible to irreversible aggregation not found previously with larger particles. This study compares surface charge results from different reaction conditions and characterization methods. Measurements of the zeta potential as a function of pH and gelation kinetics shed light on the mechanism of instability in nano-sized silica suspensions. Experimental results showed that very stable particles can be suspended in a nonaqueous solvent after refluxing of the silica particles, while maintaining the original particles physical properties of size and electrochemical behavior. Extremely stable particles are obtained by aminosilane surface modification. Factors affecting susceptibility of small particles to irreversible aggregation caused by a nonaqueous solvent or a high concentration of a trialkoxysilane, including the large amount of reactive silanol groups on the surface gel layer of the particles, are discussed.     

A molecular docking simulation study on potent inhibitors against Rhizoctonia solani and Magnaporthe oryzae in rice: silver-tetrylene and bis-silver-tetrylene complexes vs. validamycin and tricyclazole pesticides

Structural Chemistry - Rice, well known as the most important staple food source worldwide, is highly susceptible to many infectious diseases, especially rice sheath blight caused by fungus...     

Binary and ternary alkali polyphosphates (MPO3, M = Li,Na, K) for thermal energy storage

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Up-to-date, solar salt (a mixture of 60 mass% NaNO3 and 40 mass% KNO3) is practically the only media for thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrated...     

Flavones from Combretum quadrangulare Growing in Vietnam and Their Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity

Combretum quadrangulare Kurz is widely used in folk medicine in Eastern Asia and is associated with various ethnopharmacological properties including hepatoprotective, antipyretic, analgesic, antidysenteric, and anthelmintic activities. Previous phytochemical investigations reported the presence of numerous triterpenes (mostly cycloartanes, ursanes, lupanes, and oleananes) along with dozens of flavonoids. However, the extracts of C. quadrangulare and isolated flavonoids have not been evaluated for their alpha-glucosidase inhibition. In the frame of our efforts dedicated to the chemical investigation of Vietnamese medicinal plants and their biological activities, a phytochemical study of the MeOH extract of the leaves of C. quadrangulare using bioactive guided isolation was undertaken. In this paper, the isolation and structure elucidation of twelve known compounds, 5-hydroxy-3,7,4′-trimethoxyflavone (1), ayanin (2), kumatakenin (3), rhamnocitrin (4), ombuin (5), myricetin-3,7,3′,5′-tetramethyl ether (6), gardenin D (7), luteolin (12), apigenin (13), mearnsetin (14), isoorientin (15), and vitexin (16) were reported. Bromination was applied to compounds 2 and 3 to provide four new synthetic analogues 8–11. All isolated and synthesized compounds were evaluated for alpha-glucosidase inhibition and antibacterial activity. Compounds 4 and 5 showed moderate antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus while others were inactive. All compounds failed to reveal any activity toward extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. Compounds 2, 4, 6–9, and 11–14 showed good alpha-glucosidase inhibition with IC₅₀ values in the range of 30.5–282.0 µM. The kinetic of enzyme inhibition showed that 8 and 11 were noncompetitive type inhibition against alpha-glucosidase. In silico molecular docking model indicated that compounds 8 and 11 were potential inhibitors against enzyme α-glucosidase.     

Structure-Based Discovery of ABCG2 Inhibitors: A Homology Protein-Based Pharmacophore Modeling and Molecular Docking Approach

ABCG2 is an ABC membrane protein reverse transport pump, which removes toxic substances such as medicines out of cells. As a result, drug bioavailability is an unexpected change and negatively influences the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity), leading to multi-drug resistance (MDR). Currently, in spite of promising studies, screening for ABCG2 inhibitors showed modest results. The aim of this study was to search for small molecules that could inhibit the ABCG2 pump. We first used the WISS MODEL automatic server to build up ABCG2 homology protein from 655 amino acids. Pharmacophore models, which were con-structed based on strong ABCG2 inhibitors (IC₅₀ < 1 μM), consist of two hydrophobic (Hyd) groups, two hydrogen bonding acceptors (Acc2), and an aromatic or conjugated ring (Aro|PiR). Using molecular docking method, 714 substances from the DrugBank and 837 substances from the TCM with potential to inhibit the ABCG2 were obtained. These chemicals maybe favor synthesized or extracted and bioactivity testing.     

Tubular Membrane-Like Catalysts for the Oxidative Decomposition of Low-Concentrated Toluene in Air by Periodic Short-Term Plasma Discharge

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - A porous membrane-like alumina (MA) tube was employed as a catalyst to improve the energy efficiency of the oxidative decomposition of low-concentrated...     

One-loop formulas for H → Zνlνl for l = e, μ, τ in 't Hooft-Veltman gauge

In this paper, we present analytical results for one-loop contributions to the decay processes \begin{document}$ H\rightarrow Z \nu_l\bar{\nu}_l $\end{document} (for \begin{document}$ l = e, \mu, \tau $\end{document}). The calculations are performed within the Standard Model framework in the 't Hooft-Veltman gauge. One-loop form factors are then written in terms of scalar one-loop functions in the standard notations of \begin{document}$ {\tt LoopTools}$\end{document}. As a result, one-loop decay rates for the decay channels can be evaluated numerically by using the package. Furthermore, we analyze the signals of \begin{document}$ H\rightarrow Z \nu_l\bar{\nu}_l $\end{document} via the production processes \begin{document}$ e^-e^+ \rightarrow ZH^* \rightarrow Z (H^* \rightarrow Z \nu_l\bar{\nu}_l) $\end{document}, including the initial beam polarizations at future lepton colliders. The Standard Model backgrounds, such as the processes \begin{document}$ e^-e^+ \rightarrow \nu_l\bar{\nu}_l ZZ $\end{document}, are also examined in this study. Numerical results indicate that one-loop corrections make contributions of approximately 10% to the decay rates. These are sizeable contributions and should be taken into account at future colliders. We show that the signals \begin{document}$ H\rightarrow Z\nu_l\bar{\nu}_l $\end{document} are clearly visible at the center-of-mass energy \begin{document}$ \sqrt{s}=250 $\end{document} GeV and are difficult to probe in higher-energy regions owing to the dominant backgrounds.     

Synthesis and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity of Ursolic Acid,Lupeol, and Betulinic Acid Derivatives

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Seven synthetic derivatives of ursolic acid, lupeol, and betulinic acid (1a–1b, 2a–2b, and 3a–3c) were synthesized to study their...     

Characteristics of radionuclides in soil and tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in Hoa Binh,Vietnam

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Understanding concentration and mobility behavior of radionuclides in soil and plant plays an important role and application. In this study,...     

Antiproliferative and antiinflammatory coxib–combretastatin hybrids suppress cell cycle progression and induce apoptosis of MCF7 breast cancer cells

In our study, some newly synthesized aryl-substituted pyrazole derivatives mimicking cis-diphenylethylene scaffold of two apoptotic inducing agents celecoxib and combretastatin A-4 were found to have strong antiproliferative as well as antiinflammatory activities. Among these coxib–combretastatin hybrids, two lead compounds 8 and 6c simultaneously inhibited prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in LPS-activated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells and suppressed cell cycle progression of MCF7 cells at G2/M or G0/G1 phases, but only compound 8 induced apoptosis via caspase-3 activation. Both the lead compounds showed good docking energies with both protein targets COX-2 and tubulin in the molecule interaction modeling. The cis-diphenylethylene scaffold of celecoxib or combretastatin A-4 as well as functional groups such as the ethyl ester group and the sulfonamide could be considered as potential key features for the dual activity of studied compounds meanwhile the trimethoxybenzene remained the crucial characterization of the newly derived compounds of combretastatins.