Development and validation of high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for determination of amygdalin

ABSTRACT

A new method for the extraction and quantitative determination of amygdalin has been proposed. Accelerated solvent extraction was applied for the extraction, and reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography method was developed, validated, and applied for the determination of amygdalin in the extracts of apricot, plum, almond, and peach kernels. The chromatographic system used was RP-18 silica, as stationary phase and acetonitrile/water (50:50, v/v), as mobile phase. Densitometric scanning was performed at 210 nm. The method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, precision, and accuracy. The results showed that the peak area responses were linear within the concentration range of 2.5–50.0 µg/spot (R² = 0.9984). The limit of quantification was 4.28 µg/spot, and the detection limit 1.28 µg/spot. The intra-day and inter-day reproducibility, in terms of %RSD, were in the range of 0.81–1.15 and 1.32–1.89, respectively. The accuracy data were in the range from 99.98 to 100.56%. The method is linear, quantitative and reproducible, and could be used as an efficient and economical green chromatographic procedure for the determination of amygdalin in the fruit kernel.     

Selenium and Selenocysteine in Protein Chemistry

Selenocysteine, the selenium‐containing analogue of cysteine, is the twenty‐first proteinogenic amino acid. Since its discovery almost fifty years ago, it has been exploited in unnatural systems even more often than in natural systems. Selenocysteine chemistry has attracted the attention of many chemists in the field of chemical biology owing to its high reactivity and resulting potential for various applications such as chemical modification, chemical protein (semi)synthesis, and protein folding, to name a few. In this Minireview, we will focus on the chemistry of selenium and selenocysteine and their utility in protein chemistry.     

Controllable Synthesis of Ultrathin NiCo2O4 Nanosheets Incorporated onto Composite Nanotubes for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

Exploring non‐precious‐metal‐based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts featuring high efficiency, low cost, and environmental friendliness is of great importance for the broad applications of fuel cells and metal–air batteries. In this work, ultrathin NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets deposited on 1D SnO₂ nanotubes (SNT) were successfully fabricated through a productive electrospinning technique followed by a sintering and low‐temperature coprecipitation strategy. This hierarchically engineered architecture has ultrathin NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets uniformly and fully erected on both walls of tubular SNTs, which results in improved electrochemical activity as an ORR catalyst, in terms of positive onset potential and high current density, as well as superior tolerance to crossover effects and long‐term durability with respect to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The excellent performance of SNT@NiCo₂O₄ composites may originate from their rationally designed hierarchical tubular nanostructure with completely exposed active sites and interconnected 1D networks for efficient electron and electrolyte transfer; this makes these composite nanotubes promising candidates to replace platinum‐based catalysts for practical fuel cell and metal–air battery applications.     

On the dynamics of a third order Newton's approximation method

We provide an answer to a question raised by S. Amat, S. Busquier, S. Plaza on the qualitative analysis of the dynamics of a certain third order Newton type approximation function , by proving that for functions f twice continuously differentiable and such that both f and its derivative do not have multiple roots, with at least four roots and infinite limits of opposite signs at , has periodic points of any prime period and that the set of points a at which the approximation sequence does not converge is uncountable. In addition, we observe that in their Scaling Theorem analyticity can be replaced with differentiability.     

Totally ordered sets and the prime spectra of rings

Let T be a totally ordered set and let D(T) denotes the set of all cuts of T. We prove the existence of a discrete valuation domain O_v such that T is order isomorphic to two special subsets of Spec(O_v). We prove that if A is a ring (not necessarily commutative), whose prime spectrum is totally ordered and satisfies (K2), then there exists a totally ordered set U?Spec(A) such that the prime spectrum of A is order isomorphic to D(U). We also present equivalent conditions for a totally ordered set to be a Dedekind totally ordered set. At the end, we present an algebraic geometry point of view.     

Thermal Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions

Amorphous solid dispersion drug delivery systems (ASD DDS) were proved to be efficient for the enhancement of solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. One of the major keys for successful preparation of ASD is the selection of appropriate excipients, mostly polymers, which have a crucial role in improving drug solubility and its physical stability. Even though, excipients should be chemically inert, there is some evidence that polymers can affect the thermal stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). The thermal stability of a drug is closely related to the shelf-life of pharmaceutical products and therefore it is a matter of high pharmaceutical relevance. An overview of thermal stability of amorphous solids is provided in this paper. Evaluation of thermal stability of amorphous solid dispersion is perceived from the physicochemical perspective, from a kinetic (motions) and thermodynamic (energy) point of view, focusing on activation energy and fragility, as well all other relevant parameters for ASD design, with a glance on computational kinetic analysis of solid-state decomposition.     

Solvothermal Synthesis of Multiple Dihydropyrimidinones at a Time as Inhibitors of Eg5

Solvothermal synthesis of multiple dihydropyrimidinones at a time has been developed in inexpensive and green bio-based solvent lactic acid without any additional catalysts or additives. By this method, thirty new dihydropyrimidinone derivatives were synthesized in two batches and characterized. All of the compounds were screened by Eg5 motor protein ATPase assay, and the positive compounds were tested against the Caco-2 cell line, HeLa cell line, L929 cell line and T24 cell line in vitro. Among them, compound C9 exhibited the best inhibitory activity against motor protein ATPase with an IC₅₀ value of 30.25 μM and significant cytotoxic activity in the micromolar range against the cells above. The Lineweaver–Burk plot revealed that compound C9 was a mixed-type Eg5 inhibitor. A molecular modeling study using the Discovery Studio program was performed, where compound C9 exhibited good binding interaction with Eg5 motor protein ATPase, and this was consistent with the attained experimental results.     

Study on the Correlation between the Protein Profile of Lupin Milk and Its Cheese Production Compared with Cow’s Milk

Australian sweet lupin, the largest legume crop grown in Western Australia, is receiving global attention from the producers of new foods. To understand the effect of protein on cheese yield, lupin milk proteins were separated from the first, second, and third filtrations by cheesecloths. However, proteins from the first and second were analyzed using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; then, the isolated proteins associated with cheese production were identified. The research also focused on identifying the optimal method of cheese production based on the coagulation process, temperature, yield, and sensory evaluation. Lupin curds from the two cultivars, Mandelup and PBA Jurien, were produced using vinegar, lemon juice, starter culture, vegetable rennet enzyme as coagulant, as well as curd generated using starter culture and vegetable rennet enzyme. Cow’s milk was used as a control. The results indicated that first-time filtration produced better extraction and higher yield of lupin proteins and cheese than the second filtration. A sensory analysis indicated that lupin cheese produced from PBA Jurien lupin milk using vinegar, 7.80% expressed as acetic acid, and ground in 45 °C water, was the most acceptable. The cheeses were examined for their protein, carbohydrates, fat, ash, and moisture contents. The concentration of protein was approximately 27.3% and 20.6%, respectively, in the cheese from PBA Jurien and Mandelup. These results suggest that lupin milk can adequately supply the proteins needed in human diets and, thus, could be used in the production of many existing products that require animal milk as an input.     

Application of the combined CFD and swarm intelligence for optimization of baffles number in a mixer-settler

Process optimization in a mixer-settler is of great importance. Optimization algorithm of particle swarm optimization is one of the evolutionary algorithms to solve optimization problem which is used in many fields. In this study, the optimal condition is calculated in finite volume method in terms of the number of baffles, inlet velocity of fluid, and impeller speed in a mixer-settler with a specific dimension that can be extended to industrial dimensions using the PSO algorithm and the numerical solution of Navier-Stokes equations and k-ε standard.