Chemical Profiles and Pharmacological Properties with in Silico Studies on Elatostema papillosum Wedd

The current study attempted, for the first time, to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the phytochemical components of Elatostema papillosum methanol extract and their biological activities. The present study represents an effort to correlate our previously reported biological activities with a computational study, including molecular docking, and ADME/T (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion/toxicity) analyses, to identify the phytochemicals that are potentially responsible for the antioxidant, antidepressant, anxiolytic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities of this plant. In the gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis, a total of 24 compounds were identified, seven of which were documented as being bioactive based on their binding affinities. These seven were subjected to molecular docking studies that were correlated with the pharmacological outcomes. Additionally, the ADME/T properties of these compounds were evaluated to determine their drug-like properties and toxicity levels. The seven selected, isolated compounds displayed favorable binding affinities to potassium channels, human serotonin receptor, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), COX-2, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and human peroxiredoxin 5 receptor proteins. Phytol acetate, and terpene compounds identified in E. papillosum displayed strong predictive binding affinities towards the human serotonin receptor. Furthermore, 3-trifluoroacetoxypentadecane showed a significant binding affinity for the KcsA potassium channel. Eicosanal showed the highest predicted binding affinity towards the human peroxiredoxin 5 receptor. All of these findings support the observed in vivo antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and the in vitro antioxidant effects observed for this extract. The identified compounds from E. papillosum showed the lowest binding affinities towards COX-1, COX-2, and NF-κB receptors, which indicated the inconsequential impacts of this extract against the activities of these three proteins. Overall, E. papillosum appears to be bioactive and could represent a potential source for the development of alternative medicines; however, further analytical experiments remain necessary.     

An Update on Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Design through a Computational Approach to Produce Molecular Recognition Material with Enhanced Analytical Performance

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) computational design is expected to become a routine technique prior to synthesis to produce polymers with high affinity and selectivity towards target molecules. Furthermore, using these simulations reduces the cost of optimizing polymerization composition. There are several computational methods used in MIP fabrication and each requires a comprehensive study in order to select a process with results that are most similar to properties exhibited by polymers synthesized through laboratory experiments. Until now, no review has linked computational strategies with experimental results, which are needed to determine the method that is most appropriate for use in designing MIP with high molecular recognition. This review will present an update of the computational approaches started from 2016 until now on quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics that have been widely used. It will also discuss the linear correlation between computational results and the polymer performance tests through laboratory experiments to examine to what extent these methods can be relied upon to obtain polymers with high molecular recognition. Based on the literature search, density functional theory (DFT) with various hybrid functions and basis sets is most often used as a theoretical method to provide a shorter MIP manufacturing process as well as good analytical performance as recognition material.     

Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of Chrysene and 1.2-Benzanthracence in Wax films

Chrysene and 1.2-benzanthracene are successfully doped in a solid wax film and their vibrational spectra in gooo--400cm^-1 are discussed. The harmonic frequencies and relative intensities of both the molecules observed in the film are compared with theoretical values calculated by the density functional theory （DFT） model as well as with the previous experimental data. The effects on spectra due to change of matrix and some additional bands observed in the wax film are also reported. Excellent agreement in the spectral positions and strengths between the experiments and DFT values are found.     

Erratum: Synthesis and characterization of diorganotin(IV) complexes of Schiff bases with ONO‐type donors and crystal structure of [N‐(2‐hydroxy‐4‐nitrophenyl)‐3‐ethoxysalicylideneiminato]diphenyltin(IV)

The article referenced above was first published online on 30 August 2007 with incorrect pagination; the pagination has now been corrected online and in print. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization in miniemulsion: Bimolecular termination in monomer‐free model systems

Bimolecular termination in nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization in miniemulsion has been investigated through the heating of a polystyrene–2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy macroinitiator and its 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyl‐1‐oxy analogue in an aqueous toluene dispersion with sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate as a surfactant at 125 °C. The level of bimolecular termination by combination, evaluated from the high‐molecular‐weight shoulder, was higher in miniemulsion than in solution and increased with decreasing particle size. Quantitative analysis revealed that these results cannot be rationalized solely by nitroxide partitioning to the aqueous phase. The results are explained by an interface effect, by which nitroxide is adsorbed or located at the aqueous–organic interface. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4995–5004, 2007     

Manifestation of diamagnetic chemical shifts of proton NMR signals by an anisotropic shielding effect of nitrate anions

A remarkable upfield shift of the py_α protons of complexed 2,2′-bipyridine in [cis-Pd(bpy)(NO₃)₂] is observed which is considered to originate from the anisotropic influence of suitably positioned coordinated nitrate anions around the Pd(II) centre of the molecule. A typical complexation-induced downfield shift is observed for the NH₂ protons in [cis-Pd(en)(NO₃)₂] where ‘en’ stands for ethylenediamine.     

A di-μ-oxomolybdenum(V) complex of 6-acetonylisoxanthopterin,undergoing oxygen atom transfer with dimethyl sulphoxide

The new compound, Na[(Mo₂ ^VO₄)(pte)(OMe)(MeOH)₂] (pte = anion of 6-acetonylisoxanthopterin), has been prepared using the redox non-innocent title ligand in MeOH–H₂O, and characterized by elemental analysis and physico-chemical methods including e.s.m.s., i.r., u.v.–vis. and ¹H-n.m.r. spectra. Rate constants data (1.4 × 10^–3 s^–1 at 300 K) for its oxygen atom transfer with dimethyl sulphoxide tally with those of synthetic analogue systems reported earlier by different authors. The negative activation entropy (–206.3 J mol^–1 deg^–1) is consistent with an associative mechanism for this reaction.     

Identification of extracellular nanoparticle subsets by nuclear magnetic resonance

Exosomes are a subset of secreted lipid envelope-encapsulated extracellular vesicles (EVs) of 50–150 nm diameter that can transfer cargo from donor to acceptor cells. In the current purification protocols of exosomes, many smaller and larger nanoparticles such as lipoproteins, exomers and microvesicles are typically co-isolated as well. Particle size distribution is one important characteristics of EV samples, as it reflects the cellular origin of EVs and the purity of the isolation. However, most of the physicochemical analytical methods today cannot illustrate the smallest exosomes and other small particles like the exomers. Here, we demonstrate that diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method enables the determination of a very broad distribution of extracellular nanoparticles, ranging from 1 to 500 nm. The range covers sizes of all particles included in EV samples after isolation. The method is non-invasive, as it does not require any labelling or other chemical modification. We investigated EVs secreted from milk as well as embryonic kidney and renal carcinoma cells. Western blot analysis and immuno-electron microscopy confirmed expression of exosomal markers such as ALIX, TSG101, CD81, CD9, and CD63 in the EV samples. In addition to the larger particles observed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) in the range of 70–500 nm, the DOSY distributions include a significant number of smaller particles in the range of 10–70 nm, which are visible also in transmission electron microscopy images but invisible in NTA. Furthermore, we demonstrate that hyperpolarized chemical exchange saturation transfer (Hyper-CEST) with ¹²⁹Xe NMR indicates also the existence of smaller and larger nanoparticles in the EV samples, providing also additional support for DOSY results. The method implies also that the Xe exchange is significantly faster in the EV pool than in the lipoprotein/exomer pool.

Diffusion and xenon NMR based methods to determine a very broad range of sizes and sub-sets of extracellular vesicles.     

Development of honey hydrogel dressing for enhanced wound healing

Radiation at 25 and 50 kGy showed no effect on the acidic pH of the local honey, Gelam, and its antimicrobial property against Staphylococcus aureus but significantly reduced the viscosity. Honey stored up to 2 years at room temperature retained all the properties studied. Radiation sterilized Gelam honey significantly stimulated the rate of burn wound healing in Sprague-Dawley rats as demonstrated by the increased rate of wound contraction and gross appearance. Gelam honey attenuates wound inflammation; and re-epithelialization was well advanced compared to the treatment using silver sulphadiazine (SSD) cream. To enhance further the use of honey in wound treatment and for easy handling, Gelam honey was incorporated into our hydrogel dressing formulation, which was then cross-linked and sterilized using electron beam at 25 kGy. Hydrogel with 6% of honey was selected based on the physical appearance.